Starting up a New Year – We’re ready if you are!
The first The Dozen of the year is – as most of our Dozens are – a mixture of different styles of wine from a variety of places – California, Virginia, France, Italy and Portugal, where we will focus on four table wines, two white and two red, both from the north of this Iberia country.
The photo above is from vineyards in the Quintas das Arcas estate where one of their white wines was born.
Don’t forget – it’s 2025, not 2024.
2022 Quintas do Homem “Vale do Homem” Branco ($11). Crisp, green fruits with a little cream, but short on the palate.
2023 Arca Nova Vinho Verde Alvarinho ($19).Very spicy apple, quince and lime flavors with good length and a tart finish.
2023 Glen Manor Virginia Sauvignon Blanc ($39). One of the best American Sauvignons I’ve tasted, it has blue-green flavors of tropical fruits, kiwi, a touch of lime and a weedy savory note – very complex.
NV Spellbound “Incanto” Prosecco Brut ($15). Nice grain and bready flavors, but the fruit notes are light, as is the body of this bubbly.
NV Piper Sonoma Sonoma County Brut ($23). Enjoyable sparkler at a good price – crisp and lemony flavors, a hint of straw and tin-can minerality.
2018 Barons de Rothschild Triptyque Champagne Extra Brut (about $112). Coming to America soon, this new vintage from the Barons is half Chardonnay, half Pinot Noir and has crisp but creamy structure with flavors of brioche and apples dominating.
2022 Prats & Symington “Prazo de Roriz” Douro Red ($19). Rich, red berry flavors, lightly tart, good structure, almost silky in the finish, dusty tannins.
2022 Prats & Symington “Post Scriptum de Chryseia” Douro Red ($32). Tart red fruits, good intensity and firm body, lots of tannins.
2022 Inman Family “Whole Buncha Love” Sonoma County Red Blend ($73). A Pinot Noir/Grenache mix, it has fresh cherry and red raspberry tastes and a touch of tartness in the finish.
2019 San Polo Brunello di Montalcino ($74). Slightly gamey, a tad light on the fruit, with solid tannins in the finish.
2021 RdV “Rendezvous” Middleburg Red Wine ($120). A fabulous wine from this Virginia cult winery, recently bought by the French and soon to be re-named Lost Mountain. Lovely brandied flavored cherry fruit, texture as smooth as satin, with supple tannins.
2021 Charles Krug “Family Reserve” Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ($175). Concentrated blackberry flavors, quite creamy, with moderate tannins and good depth of flavors.
Prices listed are generally SRP or from wine-searcher.com. As more wineries are now shipping direct-to-consumer, check the winery website if you can’t find a bottle in your retail store.
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