The nose is deep, dark mulberry and fresh-turned black earth. With a couple of hours decanting the wine opens beautifully, espresso-tinged mulberry on the attack, unsweetened chocolate and eucalyptus on the mid-palate, with the chocolate and black fruit, and lavender far in the background, lingering on a long finish. Tannins
I defy you to check out the wine list at the white-hot LA restaurant Sotto and not salivate. (That is, unless you're Steve Cuozzo, the easily and proudly stultified critic for the New York Post. Steve would find this horribly snobbish and over his head. Fortunately, you're not Steve. This
The wine is very dark, almost black. Even with a light behind it it is opaque in the center, royal purple around the edges. The nose shows fresh blackberry with coconut and vanilla lingering in the background. On the palate, blackberries and elderberries lead, with smoke and cayenne pepper in
The color is very pretty, a light ruby with pink fizzy bubbles. Aromas on the nose are sweet cherries and dried strawberries, with a light touch of dried herbs. On the palate the primary driver is acid, not fruit. The same cherries and strawberries are there, along with the herbs,
Beyond the easy pun on the dryness of this riesling – and the fact that it’s as easy to drink as one, two, three... – this is a seriously good Trocken wine with good depth and balance from a much-lauded producer in the Rheingau. Clean citrus aromas, with notes leaning
There is much to be said for the wonders of assyrtiko grown on the volcanic soils of Santorini. (Just ask W. Blake Gray.) Wines made from that grape variety have roundness and crispness, all at once, and this example from the 2011 vintage is no exception. There is a fruitiness
On June 28, 2012, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Canadians went from being lawbreakers to wine-loving, law-abiding citizens. That is because, on that day, Bill C-311, a short, one-article piece of legislation that modifies the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, was enacted into law, thereby removing the prohibition
Simon Woolf is a WSET trained wine and food enthusiast living in London. His blog themorningclaret.com focuses on smaller producers who use organic, biodynamic or natural wine-making methods, and on those parts of the wine world less well travelled. Simon also writes for timatkin.com