Roagna, Langhe Rosso, 2015
Hands down the best Langhe Rosso I’ve ever tasted, with its savory elegance and intense aromatics. If Michelangelo had painted the Sistine Chapel with aromas, this would have been his palate. Its personality is one of my favorite expressions of Piedmont: red cherries sautéed with truffles, with a touch of rose petals.
This is made from young vines from Paje in Barbaresco and Pira from Barolo. Young is a relative term. The vines are about 25 years old. The wine is vinified like an outright Barolo or Barbaresco and is aged long enough to qualify as a Barolo. If you want to declassify your wine to a Langhe, I can’t think of a classier way. (Nov. 8, 2021)
A fantastic entry level wine. Even though I usually feel dry wines are wrong for the Mosel, this is fantastic, a fantastic value, and expresses well the cool slate minerality of this great region. The green apple skin speckled with a touch of salt. Damn, no matter what the label says, it’s Spatlese level hot shit. (Oct. 25, 2021)
Almonds, oranges and apricots in a hot waters spring, that is, a vaguely sulfurous minerality. Develops fine complexity and confident, yet understated, flavors and aromas. (Oct. 27, 2021)
Jean-Luc Jamet, Cotes-du-Rhone, l’Enclave, 2019
This domaine is one half of the original Jamet estate. From what I can make out, this cuvée comes from within Côte-Rôtie appellation in Bonnivières in the Côte Brune. So think of it as a mini cote Rotie if you will, and revel in its bacon and black pepper aromas. Because that's all you’ll get in the next five years, or however long it takes to evolve past its nubile tartness and almost crude tannins. (Oct. 28, 2021)
Sphera, Riesling, 2020
We love Riesling’s versatility and ability to reflect terroir, we admire winemakers who take risks, yet somehow we wind up comparing most Rieslings to Germany instead of judging them by their own terms and how well they express their origins - which is Riesling's secret weapon in the first place. Now, I don’t know what direction Doron Rav Hon’s Rieslings will go, and I have no idea if it Riesling in Israel has it in it to become a world beater, but I’m sure Sphera’s customer base will never let Doron give up his dream. So we have years of following up on the journey. To be honest, something about the 2020 says Chenin Blanc to me. A certain honeyed citrus aroma followed by an echo of wet leaves and ashy minerality. The salty, green apple finish, though, is Riesling. Whatever, a wine I always love, just not necessarily as a Riesling. (Nov. 7, 2021)
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