Most Champagne blends favor Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, including very little, if any, Pinot Meunier. But Egly-Ouriet crafts a Pinot Meunier varietal Champagne, a yeasty, rich and elegant rarity I sampled in Vienna’s Silvio Nickol restaurant.
The 2011 vintage was unusually fine for Sauternes, and the dazzling Château Bastor-Lamontagne illustrates how invigorating this wine can be. It has a lush, sumptuous texture shot through with a bright beam of acidity and minerality.
Had I blind-tasted this Hungarian dry white wine, I might have guessed it was a fine Burgundy. István Szepsy is Hungary’s foremost winemaker, and his Furmint illustrates why. It has richness and depth balanced by exquisitely refined acids and an ethereal finish.
This sophisticated amber-colored dessert wine is made from Zibibbo grapes, also known as Muscat of Alexandria, on the island of Pantelleria. The fruit is first dried to concentrate its sugar and aromas, and the resulting wine is elegant and complex, with a rich but subtle nose of leather, tobacco and salt. A superb after-dinner wine, especially with chocolate.
New York produces an abundance of apples every fall, and enterprising distillers have taken note. The Cornelius Applejack made by Harvest Spirits in Valatie, New York, is double-distilled and aged in bourbon barrels. It is a smooth and delicious digestif, akin to a light Calvados.
One of my favorite desserts is the combination of biscotti dipped in Vin Santo. So I was delighted while in Chianti to discover Castello di Monterinaldi Vin Santo. Made with Malvasia and Sangiovese grapes and aged for at least five years, it is a slightly sweet wine with nutty undertones.
Castello Banfi makes its ExcelsuS Super Tuscan wine only in outstanding years. A blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is rich and complex, with a fine structure and intense flavors of dark red fruits.
At the pinnacle of the offerings from Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco, the Campo del Drago Brunello di Montalcino is an intense, deep-flavored wine with rich tastes of dark plums and notes of raspberry.
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