Category Archives: Special Features

Winery of the Week: Domaine Huet, Moelleux 2015 9-30-16

Domaine Huet, founded in 1928, makes one of the longest-lived, most balanced and expressive Chenin Blanc wines in all of France. Generations of commitment, biodynamic farming, and a traditional winemaking style result in a monument to Vouvray. The Huet Moelleux has become a classic. Its botrytis sweetness seductively displays the Chenin Blanc’s sublime ageability. Huet grows grapes in three different parcels. Le Haut-Lieu vineyard produces the most straight-forward wines. Le Mont’s low-yielding vines make supple wines. And Le Clos de Bourg, whose shallow, clay-limestone soil drains especially well, provides wines of great structure and ageing potential. Wines that sell themselves, but the Moelleux arrived today, we’ve still got some Demi-Sec, and after selling out we’re re-stocked on Sec. What cellar should go without some of Huet’s golden nectar?… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Twill Cellars Chardonnay, Willamette Valley 2014 9-28-16

Twill Cellars Chardonnay, Northern Willamette Valley 2014 750ML ($27.95) Buy Now: $24 special

Oregon Chardonnay that reflects its origins: humble, straight forward, and charming like a farmhouse in the valley where it was grown. Twill Cellars works hard at not over-working their wines. Fermentation unravels at its own pace, when and how nature says, like the leaves do in autumn. Neutral oak and no subsequent racking let the Chardonnay speak for itself, and for its home. Thanks to wines like this, I’m beginning to prefer Oregon Chardonnay to Pinot. – Daniel

Winery Note: Intense aromas of meyer lemon and white peach are complemented with notes of flint, toasted coconut and lime leaves. On the palate, concentrated and mouthwatering notes of lemon curd, fleur de sel and graham are followed with a very long, concentrated and vibrant finish.… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Lopez de Heredia ‘Vina Cubillo’ Crianza 2007 9-27-16

R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia ‘Vina Cubillo’ Crianza, Rioja DOCa 2007 750ML ($29.95) Buy Now: $24 special

Seek out some good, thinly sliced jamon and a chunk of queso manchego, and open a Cubillo: feel Spanish for the night. Or make a paella, or a tortilla, or grill a solomillo steak. Viña Cubillo pairs with whatever, and drinks like a reserva (which it qualifies as). Only classic Rioja comes from Lopez de Heredia, and here’s a fine daily drinker or an introduction to the winery. Heredia’s reds and whites represent some of Spain’s most graceful, since 1890. – Daniel

Wine Advocate 91+ points “The 2007 Viña Cubillo Crianza is the most affordable red. It is a wine that was born to go with tapas and to be sold at local restaurants showing a combination of fruit and the earth where the vines grow.… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Paitin ‘Sori Paitin’ Barbaresco 2012 9-21-16

Paitin di Pasquero-Elia ‘Sori Paitin’, Barbaresco DOCG 2012 750ML SOLD OUT

Few finer things can interrupt a workday than a visit by Giovanni Pasquero Elia, whose family owns Paitin, producers of fine Barbaresco. We tasted five reds, and the 2012 Barbaresco Sorì Paitin stood out like the Alps on a clear winter morning. The concentrated yet elegant nose of pomegranate, spice, and cherries deserved a little extra time to savor, and then the supple tannins and delightfully long finish inspired dreams of a five-course northern Italian meal… This wine drinks deliciously today, but would cellar just fine, too. Aromas of Barbaresco continue to saturate my palate. Grazie, Paitin! – Daniel

Antonio Galloni 93 points “Dark red cherry, plum, smoke, mint and leather are some of the notes that emerge from the 2012 Barbaresco Sorì Paitin.… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Round Pond Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 9-18-16

Round Pond Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2013 750ML ($59.95) Buy Now: $49 special

Case-12 Round Pond Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2013 750ML ($649.95) Buy Now: $536 special

In Napa, like in Bordeaux, some areas produce finer wines than others. The Rutherford region, for example, represents one of Napa’s best sites, something like a St Julien. Round Pond Estate, now in its second generation of family ownership and operation, hails from Rutherford. The MacDonnell family grows first-rate wine grapes, and trusts these to their gifted winemaker Muiris Griffin. Having studied in Bordeaux, Griffin soon collaborated with Opus One before working with Paul Draper at Ridge. None other than Robert Parker loves Round Pond wines, while Antonio Galloni has this to say: “Round Pond remains one of the true under the radar jewels of Napa Valley.”… Read the rest