The nose is very deep, rich with figs and espresso, with a background of cedar. The nose was only a hint of the depth of the palate. It opens with blackberries and black pepper, then opens broadly to add licorice, coffee, unsweetened chocolate, and sweeter blueberry. The wine is well-structured,
“It was the 1995 Soldera [Brunello] that did it,” laughs Jan Hendrik Erbach, co-owner of Pian‘dell Orino in Montalcino with wife Caroline Pobitzer. A rustically attractive man with the charisma of a TV talk show host and the Einstein-like brain of crack geologist, Jan’s passion for terroir is easily conveyed
A nice vin de pays from a somewhat overlooked area of Languedoc. (If there was a vintage on this either it was invisible or the vintage sticker fell off.) This cab franc exhibits dark purple color, and is somewhat jammy on the nose, with elements of earth and pepper. Solid
Has this ever happened to you? It’s Friday evening, the end of a long, hard week. That morning you’d grabbed some meat from the freezer to thaw for dinner—let’s say bone-in chicken breasts. On the way home from work, you picked up some broccoli, a ripe red bell pepper, some
A blue-white stillness, frozen many times over. The soft sweeping and pattering of branches bowing against the ice, as a giant bison scratches against the trunk of a conifer tree. Somewhere, far off, the ice can be heard cracking; struggling to retain its dominance against the disruption of moving, warm
Dark cherries and a touch of mesquite smoke on the nose. Cherries are fresher, more tart, on the palate. Smoke and cola come through on the mid-palate. Acids really drive this wine, searching for a rich fats or gravy to challenge. Drink with bacon-wrapped figs or duck with gravy. Recommended.
The nose is very pretty, magnolia flowers and baked apples with a sprinkle of cardamom. Apples and just-fresh white peaches lead on the palate, barely sprinkled with cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg. Light acidity comes in the flavor of sweet Meyer lemon. Off-dry and creamy, this would contrast beautifully with
The nose is full and sweet, with blackberries, boysenberry, and a drop of caramel. The palate is filled with a melange of dark fruit, from deep mulberry to crisp blackberries. A hint of smoke peeks out on the palate, blossoming into a bite of espresso and unsweetened chocolate on the