Versatile. Quick but deep. Bright fruit and great acidity make for a tremendously well-balanced wine. Drink with a steak or solo. Awesome. WHO Bennett Lane Winery WHAT Cabernet Sauvignon WHERE California, Napa Valley WHEN 2006 HOW MUCH $95 (media sample)
Hedonistic but hardly recognizable as Nebbiolo. The nose evokes some of the hot vintages in the southern Rhone, with fig cake and jam. Dense, with rich and chocolate-covered fruit. The finish is halted by a wall of drying tannins that-read more-
Not as elegant as I had expected, but perhaps understandable given the vintage. Very perfumy, with stewed fruits and tar leading from nose to palate. A twinge of crowbar would keep the blind taster in Piedmont, as would the tannins,-read more-
The best spatlese I have ever had, dwarfing even the J.J. Prum from the same vintage. A buzz saw of gorge water and river rocks only amplifies the unfolding layers of fruit and spice. Caramel apple and lemon curd melt-read more-
Unusually low temperatures—as low as –20º C in mid-December—sent shivers down many Croatians’ spines. But the snow and frost that have covered vineyards in the northern and eastern parts of the country made conditions right for yet another excellent sweet-read more-
An initial burst of sulfur blew off with time, so open this bottle well in advance. This one is crisp, but it's less laser beam and more massaging shower head. A touch of diesel joins the apple pie to add-read more-
Give this wine some time to open. It starts one-dimensional, but as it opens it offers more Pommard than Russian River, deeply bruised plum and black cherries, earthy mushrooms still dirty with rich loam, all balanced by a hint of-read more-
This deep, earthy Pinot was aged in 75% new french oak. On the nose it presented clean red fruit, cranberries and tart wild cherries. Deeper, sweeter red fruits appeared on the attack, with significant depth on the mid-palate, earthy, offering-read more-