The composition of 69% Cabernet Franc, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Malbec is a nod to Bordeaux’s Right Bank Grand Cru wines of St. Émilion. Aged 18 months in 225-liter French oak barrels, we taste ripe red and black fruit, combined with licorice, violets, and espresso. Dusty, mineral-based tannins glide across the palate as juicy black cherry leaves a remarkable finish.
Black cherry-vanilla and purple plum settle into a creaminess that bathes the mouth. Streamlined, with velvet tannins, this balanced red surpasses expectations at this price point. The spiced black currant finish is delectable.
Comforting baking spices tantalize the senses. Butter and apple pie and acacia flowers prevail on the palate. The wine coats the mouth and has incredible staying power. Apple skins and a creamy mid-palate scale to a pleasing final flourish.
This is a contemplative wine with luscious, dark red fruit that echoes throughout. A velvety texture complements rich all-spice and clove. It crescendos with a gripping and savory flourish of flavors, including cocoa powder, a touch of smoke and crunchy red fruit.
Well-structured and food-friendly, this threads the needle between the brambly berries and tobacco so typical of good Cab Franc. Cigar humidor, blackberries, Amarena cherries, licorice, and sappy, woodsy spice come together to lend it all depth.
Showcasing the fresh, more herb- and flower-tinged side of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, this 2022 is full of vigor, with plenty of cranberries and red raspberries framed by fine-grained yet sappy tannins that follow through to a savory blood orange and bergamot finish.
Comprising 146 wines from 11 vintages spanning 1998–2016, this blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay, and 20% Meunier is as uplifting as a psalm. Splendid aromas of stollen rise and fall and rise again in tandem with tangerine, florals such as jasmine and lime blossom, and oyster shell, while luxurious suggestions of white fig and walnut skin, attended by finely etched acidity, trail lemon as the palate unfolds like finespun silk. The finish is so alive it almost has a pulse.
The evolution that a single glass of Krug Rosé undergoes at virtually any stage of its development is more notable than most wines experience in their lifetime. This release is no exception. Composed of 32 wines from six vintages between 2010 and 2016, the blend of 58% Pinot Noir (including 10% red wine), 25% Chardonnay, and 17% Meunier is a tad more generous than the 27th edition but no less precise for that. Over time, the nose clearly evokes everything from cranberry and cinnamon to bergamot and rose to fresh soil and prosciutto, while the palate brings in brûléed pink grapefruit, peach, and ginger by turns as its plush texture hews to its elegant frame. When people laud Champagne’s combination of power and finesse, this is exactly what they mean.