With neighbors like Opus One and Rubicon, this was bound to be a keeper. Nose of cedar, anise, tobacco, and fresh leather. Flavors of blueberries, cassis, and chocolate with soft, well-integrated tannins. Velvety finish. Nice now, but will be even-read more-
Clear, medium-pale golden yellow color. Clean on the nose with aromas of pear, yellow apple, tropical fruit, and sweet pea. Dry on the palate, medium-high acidity, medium body, flavors of yellow and green apple, apricot, and oranges. Great texture; long-read more-
Italy is a country full of castles, and in SudTirol (Alto Adige) there is one particularly ancient, called Schloss Katzenzungen. The name means “cat’s tongue” but this is not a nickname, it is the real name of its former owner.-read more-
If you live near a Costco you know where this is going. “Kirkland” is Costco’s proprietary brand for everything from soup to nuts (and I mean that literally). They market a “Kirkland Signature Wine Collection” whereby they slap their own-read more-
A wine so rich, and so expressive of the essence of the region I told John Matta it should be called “Eaux de Tuscany” (the French not withstanding). Deep, dark purpose, almost opaque, with a nose of smoke and truffles.-read more-
Again, we tasted a slightly younger wine at the estate than the vintage currently available (2006). This is a bright, youthful wine but with plenty of weight nevertheless. Cherry, pepper, and earth come through on the nose. Chocolate and berry-read more-
The ’09 is not yet released, but is an absolute stunner. Tasted at a lunch with several of Olivier’s wines, so used the ’07 (an exceptional year in many regions of Italy) as a comparison benchmark. The ’07 was made-read more-