The Wines of This Week's Tasting:
Wines for the Feast - Sumptuous Wines for Meals and Giving
November 19, 2025
White
2024 Gueguen Chablis Vogros 1er Cru
2024 returns to a more classically styled Chablis, which the Gueguens agree is more traditionally Chablisienne. Bigger, bolder, less pretty fruit, more weight on the palate. The Gueguen wines are great value in an era of highly elevated burgundy prices. This wine is much less expensive than many other premier crus and offers excellent quality.
Aroma: heady and intense, excellent acid cut, ripe and savory, intense, bright; Mouth: clean, ripe, pretty fine acid firm, Bright and assertive, over deep chalk; Very Good - Excellent $54; Case, $46
2022 Pierre-Jean Villa St-Joseph Blanc Saut de l’Ange
Talented winemaker Pierre Jean Villa named his Roussanne Saut de l’Ange, Angel’s Leap, after the vineyard's steep edge. It could equally describe the transcendent purity of the wine’s fruit. It’s pure Roussanne, a grape that can produce a white fruit that evokes quince and peach. Neither the fat, unctuous Roussanne of Beaucastel’s super-premium white Chateauneuf, nor the lean, thin Roussanne from further north; it's the best of both, with the ripe fruit of the south and the exciting verve of the north, that excites and appetizes the palate
Revue du Vin de France loved it as much as we do .“ wonderfully characteristic 100% Roussanne, with its notes of yellow fruits and flowers, but above all a wonderful tension that holds it and gives it an elegant side. You don’t have to rush to drink it”.
Our notes: Aroma; impressive concentration and depth with vibrant peach, quince, and herb; Mouth smooth, nicely structured, and lively, with a saline mineral note giving savory depth. Excellent energy, long. Excellent Plus $75, case $64
Rose
2023 Clos Cibonne Cotes de Provence Cru Classe Tibouren Rose
Rose loves turkey. This less usual Rose comes mainly from the rare Tibouren grape. It’s a solid red-weight Rose that will stand up to richer dressings and accoutrements
Color: light orange tan; Aroma: light on the attack but vibrant with flinty orange zest, very full & rounded mineral notes; Mouth: round, vibrant sweet orange-tinted fruit, nicely concentrated, overtone of exotic tropical fruits, spicy mineral edge, long fruity finish; Very Good - Excellent $56; Case, $48
Red
2012 Lopez de Heredia Vinya Tondonia
Lopez de Heredia is one of the best producers of old-school Rioja, using traditional American oak barrels. They never rush the process to meet market demand. This is why the winery insists on releasing its wine only when it is ready to drink.
These qualities have long been the key ingredients in the great Lopez de Heredia wines, making them so sought after.
It’s ready to drink now as secondary and tertiary flavors have emerged, showing maturity. It will please all your senses.
Aroma: Rich red and black fruit, interwoven spice, tobacco, black tea, tangerine peel, and fresh ground peppercorn. Mouth: Medium-plus body, fine tannins, firm backbone, balanced acidity. Crushed rocks, a mineral impression, and it ends in a long finish. Excellent $67
2022 Audeant Pinot Noir Willamette
From a tiny winery that specializes in Willamette Valley pinot noirs, we found this one especially good. This is extraordinarily satisfying, both rich and vibrant. Only 580 cases were made.
Color: light red, black; Aroma: minimal over fruit, well-integrated oak over fruit, fresh, intense, pretty light, and forward; Mouth: light, clean, oaky light, pure and clean, good body, smooth, intensely flavored with dark fruit, young and intense;Excellent $69; Case, $58.65
2022 Fattoria Le Pupille Poggio Valente
Elisabetta Geppetti’s 100% Sangiovese Poggio Valente stands out as both a unique and spectacular wine. s.
The Wine Advocate “Here is another knock-out bottle from Fattoria le Pupille. …punchy and bright with terrific clarity of fruit… more varietal expression with blue flower, heritage rose, tart cherry, rye bread and crushed stone. The wine's flavor signature is wholly Mediterranean with hints of rosemary and lavender. … an elegant wine with a unique voice....Elisabetta Geppetti of Fattoria le Pupille has knocked it out of the ballpark."
Aroma: Sweet red cherries, raspberry, violets, hibiscus, toasted herbs, fennel, tobacco leaf, and vanilla. Mouth: Full-bodied, supple texture, rich and decadent spiced red fruit, elegant yet firm tannins, vibrant acidity, with a seamless finish. Excellent -Plus
Also recommended
2023 Florence Cholet Puligny-Montrachet $92 Net
2022 Marc Morey Chassagne Montrachet Vergers 1er cru $125, case $106
2021 Ch. Couhins Lurton Pessac Leognan $60, Case $51
Red
2022 Audeant Pinot Noir Luminous Hills Vineyrd; Color: vary dark very dense fullish, vary rich almost over the top; Aroma: heady dense, lifted rather ripe and forward heady and sweet, intense, firm, lighter than the Willamette savory and evocative; Mouth: clean fine acid ripe tight young forward, fierce, firm, fine and, firm, fir tannins young fine, racy and lighter balanced, perfect poise, delicate, exquisite, and precise, lifted and long; Excellent Plus $85; Case, $72
2020 Ch. La Dominique St. Emilion $89, Case $76
2017 Alessandria Barolo Monvigliero $99, Case $84
- 2017 Renato Ratti Rocche dell'Annunziata $119, Case $101
- 2019 Produttori Barbaresco Ovello Riserva $105, Case $89
- 2021 Montevertine Toscana Rosso $140, Case $119
- 2018 Barbi Brunello di Montalcino $90, Case $77
2022 Mont Olivet Chateauneuf du Pape $50, case $44
Mix any six or more of the wines above at their case prices
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