2K5 May's Pick

Red:

Estancia Pinot Noir, Pinacles Ranches ’02,Monterey, USA:

A 100% Monterey Pinot Noir aged 7 month in oak. This effusively fruity wine shows on the nose ripe cherry and strawberry layered with sweet oak and aromas of dried flowers, leaf and spice. The palate is rich in berry flavors with hints of leather and briar notes. Silky mouthfeel with soft, round tannins and a long finish. (NDC)

Sebastiani Cabernet ’01, Sonoma, USA:

Jammy wine, focused on blackberry aromas with vanilla and toasty oak nuances. The flavor is richly textured with opulent blackberry fruit and a touch of dried herbs. This wine is amazingly soft as a result of blending in low tannin Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as well as the extended barrel aging. 89 points Wine Spectator.

Montecillo Gran Reserva ’96, Rioja, Spain:

A 100% Tempranillo from Rioja, the main spanish wine region. Gran Reserva must be aged a minimum of two years in oak barrels and three years in the bottle prior release. This wine shows earthy aromas coupled to dried cherries, black plums, and figs. Medium bodied, warm, spicy, intense, and flavourful, this amazing wine is very concentrated in plumy flavors laced with notes of pepper and cloves. Thanks to its excellent structure and great tannic strength, it has a very long and persistent finish.

Bertani Secco Valpolicella DOC, Veneto, Italy:

Wonderfully rich and mellow red blend (Corvina Veronese 70%, Rondinella 25%, Molinara 5%.) with a spicy, nutty aroma and taste. An outstanding red wine that highlights the virtues of the ripasso winemaking technique. Very deep garnet color, delicate typical bouquet, with hints of spices and walnut. Berry fruit flavors, dry, full, slightly bitterish and persistent.

Osoyoos Larose Red, British Columbia, Canada:

Intense dark crimson red color . Aromas of medium intensity with plums, liquorice, cedar and smokey tobacco.
A dry wine with a medium bodied bit dense. In the palate this wine is comparable to any young Bordeaux (66% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc), it has lots of chocolate, mocha, tobacco flavours integrated with cherry and plums.

Salmon Arbor Merlot ’02, Columbia Valley, WA:

Quite surprising and refreshing blend (87% Merlot, 4% Lemberger, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Sangiovese). Aromas and flavors of black cherry, cinnamon, anise, chocolate and smoke. This wine is showing moderate weight with a touch of oak and easy-going tannins.

Whites:

Bertani Soave Classico DOC ’02, Veneto, Italy:

The wine opens distinctly to the nose with a floral bouquet emanating the typical fragrances of Garganega, with traces of elderberry in particular. It then offers the sweeter aromas of fleshy and yellowish-pulp fruit such as peach. In the mouth it is round, and there is a repetition of the taste of the previously-smelt fruity aromas. It develops with a full round taste and finishes on more savoury notes.

Goundrey Offspring Chardonnay ’03, Western Australia:

Light straw yellow in colour with brilliant clarity. Aromas of peach, grapefruit and cashew nuts are complemented by fragrant oak characters adding subtle complexity. In the palate, rich and creamy textures, vibrant vanillin oak flavours and hints of sweet Chardonnay fruit also a touch of grapefruit and peach, completed by a firm, lingering acid finish.

Bertani Due Uve ’02, Veneto, Italy:

Strongly aromatic with characteristic notes of ripened peach against a background of elder flowers typical of Sauvignon. The strongly textured, velvety taste of Pinot harmonizes with the aromatic component of Sauvignon.

Sebastiani Chardonnay ’03, Sonoma, USA:

Light gold in color, this wine has apple, papaya and malt aromas. This wine is medium in body with generous yellow apple and tropical fruit on the mid-palate with shades of vanilla from the oak regime.

Toasted Head Chardonnay’03, Dunnigan Hills, USA:

Bright tangerine and pear fruit aromas are highlighted by clove and nutmeg. This medium-bodied wine has a crisp acidity and long finish, with pear and toasty butterscotch oak flavors, and a creamy texture.