Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up on my doorstep, asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have arrived recently.
This past week I received a few bottles from Whitehall Lane in Napa. Their Sauvignon Blanc is a classic representation of the form that delivers bright tropical flavors while being very easy to drink. I wasn’t aware that they also made Pinot Noir, which is decent, but I suppose there’s a benefit to offering a little variation to your customers when you’re smack-dab in the middle of Napa Valley. Their Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2022 vintage offers a lot of ripe fruit qualities that are perhaps a consequence of the warm vintage, and may make the wine slightly less ageworthy than either the 2021 or 2023 vintages.
When it comes to Portuguese fortified wines, everyone knows Port, and some people know Madeira is also from Portugal, but there are a number of other fortified wines produced in the country that would be much more famous were they not overshadowed by the leviathan that is Port (and their historical occupation of some of Portugal’s most attractive real estate). In fact, in the 19th century, the light amber fortified wines of Carcavelos were just as famous as Port. But the region sits on the coast east of Lisbon and over the course of the next 150 years, urban expansion and seaside tourism all but wiped out the vineyards there. Still, a bit of viticulture (a mere 22 hectares) clings to life, from which Villa Oeiras (for the longest time, the only game in town) makes a traditional fortified sweet white wine that brims with acidity and caramelized flavors.
Moscatel de Setubal enjoys slightly less threatened status as a wine, in large part thanks to the efforts of José Maria da Fonseca, who is credited with not only pioneering the style of the region’s fortified wines, but also keeping the production of these wines relatively robust since the early 1800s. The wines take their name from the Setubal Peninsula, south of Lisbon, where both dry and sweet wines are produced, but where sweet fortified wines made from Muscat have long been the most famous. Roughly 330 hectares remain dedicated to Moscatel de Setubal production, with José Maria da Fonseca still the dominant regional force, along with half a dozen other smaller wineries. The 20-year-old bottling from Fonseca I’m recommending this week is a great demonstration of why these wines were so well-regarded historically. It’s beautiful and manages to be refreshing despite its sweetness. Interest in the wines (as with most fortified wines) has been dropping in recent years, so drinking a bottle can help support this storied appellation, which, in 1907, was the second demarcated wine region in Portugal after the Dão.
One of the things I love about rosé wine is the sheer breadth and variety of styles you can find in the category, from the palest pinks to wines that approach the hues you expect from red wines. The Rosa di Lupo rosé from COS Winery in the Vittoria region of Sicily sits somewhere in the middle, offering a slightly darker color and some tannic grip in addition to all the wonderful freshness and saline brightness that I love in a good rosé. Made from Nero d’Avola, the wine is a wonderful expression of the effortlessly delicious style of COS wines.
To finish up this week, I received three single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons from Nickel and Nickel winery in Napa, which is part of the Far Niente empire. All three are from the 2023 vintage, and each demonstrates the impressive quality of that year. As usual, these bottlings are reliably delicious and very well made, rewarding anyone who’s willing to spend $100 on a Cabernet with all the grace and power you’d typically look for in Napa Cabernet without getting close to being over-the-top.
Notes on all these wines…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2026/09/vinography-unboxed-week-of-9-20-26