Wines To Go Buy This Week

Albariño is one of the those grapes that, in the right hands, presents not only an alternative to the typical Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that is ubiquitous on the market, but takes the best of what you want in a food-oriented white wine, and elevates it in terms of a floral and zesty nose, and comprehensive fruit and acids.

Duckhorn Vineyards has sourced grapes from Howell Mountain for more than a quarter century and has crafted a Howell Mountain bottling since 1989. Recognized as one of the Napa Valley’s best winegrowing regions, grapes from Howell Mountain are known for producing age-worthy red wines. The 2012, comprised of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, offers soft but intense fruit, is stunningly viscous and smooth, and fills the palate with bing cherry, wild berries, red currant, dried herbs and graphite, cedar, and back notes of earthiness and minerality, stone, and hibiscus.

Though Israel is one of the cradles of the wine world historically speaking, most people aren’t aware that this region still produces wine. There are currently about 60 commercial wineries and about 300 boutiques wineries in Israel. Psagot started in 2003 and their 2013 Cabernet is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon harvested from vineyards in the Jerusalem Hills at about 900 meters (3,000 feet). This wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks with both pump-overs and punch-downs up to eight times a day. Following a full malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged in French and American oak barrels for 13 months. The result is a wine full of notes of ripe cherry, black berry, blueberry and pomegranate, along with brambleberry, black tea and muted sweet cedar. It offers moderate to tight tannins allowing the fruit to be center stage, a graceful acidity, and a medium finish, allowing for a diversity of food pairings.

Cabernet Franc in California typically is a different animal than Franc from its home in the Loire Valley in France. New World Francs tend to have hefty tannic structure, are overripe and too often resemble Cabernet Sauvignon, though they shouldn’t.

As one of the largest landholders in Champagne and one of the oldest Champagne Houses dating from 1743, Moët & Chandon consistently turns out quality Champagne.

The Russian River Valley is synonymous with quality Pinot Noir, and Migration Wine uses most of their Pinot Noir fruit for their portfolio from here, though they also include vineyards in Sonoma Coast and Santa Barbara County.

Viognier is often produced as a floral one-trick pony, a wine that smells great, but offers little in terms of structure or food-pairing possibilities. However, in the capable hands of Lynn Penner-Ash, one of Oregon’s leading winemakers, it is elevated to world-class status.

Spottswoode Estate has long been one of those wineries that receives high acclaim but less commensurate public attention. Winemaker Aron Weinkauf crafts beautiful expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon, but also an impressive Sauvignon Blanc. Comprised of 73% Sauvignon Blanc and 27% Sauvignon Musque from six different vineyard sites in Napa, Sonoma and Carneros, his creation is an inviting wine.

White Burgundy derives much of its substance from its limestone soils as well as limited interaction with oak; therefore it is a heralded example of how clear and precise Chardonnay can be. The 2015 continues this traditional with a light and crisp style in their Macon-Villages.

This family-owned and operated winery on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge is one of the larger producers from Washington State. Mourvèdre typically doesn’t receive much attention, but this 100% Mourvèdre, with fruit pulled from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA who provide about 1/3rd of total grape acreage from Washington State, is aged 16 months in both French and Russian oak, which certainly provides notes of sweet charred cedar, but also rusticity from the Russian wood, along with soft tannins.