Wine Reviews

Should Cairanne be a part of your wine vocabulary? Catherine le Goeuil thinks so.

Here is a sweet-natured, fragant Rhône wine. It is lighter than some and openly appealing. It is organic. It is a little floral — more field flower than scented garden. The taste is lively with just enough stone and wood at the back of our mouth to remind us that this is no summer-time idler, [...]

21Jan2010 | Tim | 0 comments | Continued

Want to Lounge in the Douro? Churchill’s Estate Douro Red will take you there.

For three centuries the great port wine houses which stand along the Douro River in northern Portugal have shipped vintage port across the English-speaking world. The region has always produced table wine as well from the same grapes — but these wines stayed at home. This has changed — we can now find very good [...]

11Dec2009 | Jason | 0 comments | Continued

Selvapiana Chianti Rufina 2004

Here is a small mystery. We are all looking for something special when we choose Chianti. Glamor, of course, a certain balance, not too sweet, not too dry, a certain bella figura, a little racy, a little exotic, not too crazy – – why am I recalling those freshman dorm room conversations about girls?
We are [...]

5Nov2009 | Tim | 0 comments | Continued

Kruger-Rumpf, Nahe, Munsterer Dautenpflanzer Riesling, Spatlese, 2008

Nahe – a region where the wines tend to be a bit more restrained and higher in acid as opposed to overtly ripe and sweet. This wine is explosive. It’s packed full of exotic tropical fruit like papaya and banana. Its touch of sweetness cloaks a powerful streak of acidity that works almost like a [...]

8Oct2009 | Jason | 0 comments | Continued

Messmer, Pfalz, Muschelkalk Riesling, Kabinett Feinherb, 2007

The name borders on the ridiculous, but don’t let that stop you. Pfalz is a region known for steely, brisk wines, with intense citrus and mineral flavors wound tight around a bright pillar of acidity. The Messmer adds a beautiful density and the alluring edge of baked apple and ripe pear to the mix. Texturally, [...]

8Oct2009 | Jason | 0 comments | Continued