Recent Magazine Reviews
Recent Magazine Reviews are wine, spirit and beer reviews with an issue date since February 20.
Gravner 2005 Anfora Breg White (Venezia Giulia)
- Cellar Selection
- $120
Gravner’s Breg (Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Riesling Italico) shows Sauternes-like aromas of honey, candied apricot, butterscotch, caramel and almond paste. The wine delivers a pretty orange color with copper highlights (it is famously aged in clay amphorae) with firm but velvety rich tannins. The finish is long and smooth and there’s a very beautiful…
— M.L.
(6/1/2013)
Bonaccorsi 2010 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley)
- $45
A terrific Pinot, wonderful for drinking now, and should develop some bottle complexity over the next 5–6 years. Really shows off that flashy Bien Nacido character, offering wildly rich cherry and persimmon flavors, balanced with brisk acidity and a dusting of fuzzy tannins.
— S.H.
(6/1/2013)
Bjornstad 2009 Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir (Green Valley)
- Cellar Selection
- $50
A fancy Pinot Noir from this coveted vineyard. The wine is very rich and slightly high in alcohol, offering deep flavors of oak-inspired raspberry jam, softened cola and bacon, brightened with crisp acidity and chewy in finely-ground tannins. Lovely to drink now, but try giving it 4–5 years for all the parts to knit together.
— S.H.
(6/1/2013)
Bjornstad 2009 Hellenthal Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)
- Cellar Selection
- $50
Greg Bjornstad brings his deft touch to this lovely wine. Hard to imagine a better restaurant Pinot for the wine list, with food-friendly bright acidity. It’s light and silky, brisk in acidity, and compellingly rich. The raspberry and cherry fruit has earthy notes of mushrooms, giving the wine great complexity. Good as it is now, it will easily develop bottle notes…
— S.H.
(6/1/2013)
Easton 2010 Estate Bottled Zinfandel (Shenandoah Valley (CA))
- $32
Edgy with mountainous berry flavor, Easton’s 2010 Shenandoah Valley is full-bodied, generous in savory spices and blackberry flavor and intoxicatingly aromatic with a peppery, leathery finish. It’s structurally able to withstand many more years in bottle, so enjoy it now or give it some time. Either way, it’ll shine poured alongside peppery meat.
— V.B.
(6/1/2013)
Avennia 2010 Gravura Red (Columbia Valley (WA))
- Editors' Choice
- $35
The name pays homage to the Graves region of Bordeaux, and the blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc also mimics those wines. Here the grapes are sourced from the Red Willow (Yakima Valley), Bacchus (Columbia Basin) and Klipsun (Red Mountain) vineyards. Supple, with beautifully integrated red fruits, and tannins as soft as a kiss, it’s…
— P.G.
(6/1/2013)
Avennia 2010 Sestina Red (Columbia Valley (WA))
- Cellar Selection
- $50
Sestina is the bigger sister to the winery’s Gravura; again Cabernet Sauvignon takes front and center, with Merlot (18%) and Cabernet Franc (9%) filling in the rest. 70% of the French oak used was new, and the wine has more toast, smoke and barrel depth than its companion, though less of the luscious red fruit is showing. Espresso, cacao and other dark, roasted…
— P.G.
(6/1/2013)
RN Estate 2011 Solomon Hills Vineyards Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley)
- $49
Beautiful and lush, with wildly delicious raspberry, cherry and red currant flavors. That’s not all. There are fine mineral notes, the acidity is near perfect, and the tannins are soft, ripe and succulent. Balanced in alcohol and gorgeous to drink now, making it one of the best Solomon Hills Pinots ever.
— S.H.
(6/1/2013)
advertisement
What We're Tasting
2008 PerryMoore Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard
This is a lush, heady wine that’s full bodied and dry, with massive…
Facebook Activity
advertisement
Twitter Activity