Hugely dark, no light can penetrate the wine's depths. Blackcurrants, vanilla, and black pepper show on the nose. A hint of green pepper shows for the briefest moment on the attack, giving hints of the South American origins, but disappears immediately. Blackcurrant and black pepper are joined on the mid-palate
We reviewed five of them for Palate Press, focusing on pairing with a traditional Passover meal, from gefilte fish to brisket. Hagafen's wines are all certified by the Orthodox Union as Kosher for Passover. They are also yayin mevushal through the process of flash pasteurization. For the uninitiated, this means they
The history of enology in Italy is rich in fairy-tale-like stories like this one. Once upon a time, there was a young Italian nobleman who loved two things: racehorses and French wines. His name was Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. In 1929 he was finishing his degree in agriculture at
“Well,” I said, slapping my hand playfully on the side of a brand new American oak barrel in the heart of Silver Oak’s nearly-as-new Napa Valley barrel room, the thump resonating through a state-of-the-art stone and steel structure that’s been built to withstand movement from California’s not-infrequent seismic events; “this
Sometimes a wine is so good, so special, that it stays in your brain for days. Weeks, or even months. And sometimes it can force you to confront what you think you know about wine. That was the case after I was mesmerized by a bottle of 1994 Dunn Howell
The nose is surprisingly understated, blackberries over a light aroma of vanilla. It is larger on the palate, offering up dark fruits cradled in silky tannins. Blackberries and mulberry lead, tobacco leaf and a hint of tar peak through on the mid-palate as the fruit takes a turn toward black
The nose is surprisingly understated, blackberries over a light aroma of vanilla. It is larger on the palate, offering up dark fruits cradled in silky tannins. Blackberries and mulberry lead, tobacco leaf and a hint of tar peak through on the mid-palate as the fruit takes a turn toward black
The nose shows some alcohol heat with ripe black fruits and some vanilla. Black fruits, black currant and elderberry, and some vanilla show on the palate. Tannins are full, round, and mouth-filling but the acids are lacking in comparison. Vanilla shows the most on the finish, lingering with the tannins.