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Fantastic Wines From Every Major Growing Region The In World |
California Napa - Dunn Vineyards 2009 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon $115 96+pts Wine Enthusiast The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain has more energy and focus than the Napa Valley bottling. Iron, graphite, red fruits, dried flowers are some of the many notes that take shape in this deep, complex, powerful wine. I imagine the 2009 will still be spectacular at age 30. For now, it needs at least another handful of years of cellaring to drink well. Huge veins of minerality support the huge fruit, giving the wine much of its pure tension and vitality. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow over the coming decades. Napa - Shafer Vineyards 2010 Red Shoulder Ranch Carneros Chardonnay $70 90-92pts Wine Advocate Lush, luxurious aromas and flavors of melon, honeysuckle, apricot, pineapple and flint all held together with bright acidity, good structure and elegant balance. Santa Maria Valley - Sandhi Wines 2010 Bien Nacido Chardonnay $47 94pts Wine Advocate A crescendo of flavors and textures hits the palate as the 2010 Chardonnay Bien Nacido shows off its pure pedigree and class. A tapestry of lemon, pastry, white flowers and crushed rocks are all woven together beautifully. Clean veins of minerality underpin the fruit, adding considerable brightness and energy on the striking finish. Napa - Corra 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $150 95pts Wine Advocate Celia Welch is probably best known to readers for the wines she crafts for Scarecrow, Kelly Fleming, Keever, Lindstrom and others, but her own wines are every bit as compelling. Plums, mocha, espresso and pencil shavings all burst from the glass as the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon shows off its large- scaled, intense personality. With time in the glass, the 2010 becomes even richer, with endless layers of fruit that flesh out beautifully. This big, voluptuous wine is super-exciting from the very first taste. Santa Lucia Highlands - Siduri Wines 2010 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir $70 92-94pts Wine Advocate, 92 Wine Specator The 2010 Pinot Noir Pisoni is a rich, textured wine bursting with seamless layers of fruit. The Pisoni is distinctly dark yet elegant at the same time. Mint, licorice and sweet herbs appear later, adding further shades of dimension on the textured, chiseled finish. This is another gorgeous wine endowed with striking purity and finesse. 313 cases made. Washington Columbia Valley - Long Shadows Vintners 2009 Pedestal Merlot $67 95pts Wine Spectator, #11 Top 100 This red is round, generous and expressive, offering plum, loganberry, cherry and clove flavors that pick up hints of loam and floral character as the finish tightens its focus. Impressive for its length and deft balance. 1,994 cases made. Oregon Willamette Valley - Bergstrom Vineyards 2008 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir 94pts Wine Advocate The 2008 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard (Josh Bergstrom is Dick Shea’s largest client although not all the wine goes into the Shea bottling) is medium ruby-colored with more aromatic complexity than the preceding wines. Sandalwood, Asian spices, incense, rose petal, cherry, and raspberry scents lead to a medium to full-bodied (14.3% alcohol), ripe, structured wine with layers of fruit, outstanding grip and volume, and several years of aging potential. This packed offering merits 3-4 years of cellaring and will offer a drinking window extending from 2013 to 2023, perhaps longer. Argentina Mendoza - Achaval-Ferrer 2010 Finca Bella Vista Malbec $120 95pts Wine Spectator, #10 Top 100 Dark and powerful, yet elegant, with a delicious core of crushed raspberry, blackberry and damson plum notes tightly woven with silky tannins. The minerally finish lingers on with layered flavors of wildflowers, melted licorice and spice box. 1077 cases made. Chile Puente Alto - Concha y Toro 2007 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon $80 93pts Wine Spectator, 94+pts Wine Advocate It sports an incipiently complex bouquet of toasty oak, pencil lead, exotic spices, incense, violets, and black currant, and blackberry. Patience will be required because this tightly wound effort has much more to reveal. It should be most memorable when it attains its peak. |
Spain Priorat - Ferrer Bobet 2008 Vinyes Velles (Old Vine) Priorat $50 96pts Wine Advocate, 93 Tanzer A highly perfumed, seductive bouquet features candied red and dark berries, cola, incense and violet, with mineral and star anise accents. Juicy, palate-staining black raspberry and cherry flavors show a suave blend of richness and vivacity and pick up a smoky nuance with air. Rioja - Lopez de Heredia 1995 Vina Bosconia Rioja Gran Reserva $83 94pts Wine Advocate The 1995 has an alluring leather, dried orange peel and strawberry leaf scented bouquet that blossoms beautifully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, elegant tannins. It is both precise and exquisitely defined with hints of cured meat and leather towards the graceful finish. Portugal Vinho Verde -Deu la Deu 2012 Alvarinho $19 5 Stars Decanter Magazine, Varietal Wine of the Year Complex yet harmonious red apple and honeysuckle aromas giving a honeyed richness to ripe peach and honeydew melon with underlying minerality. Floral orange peel and citrus, very fresh with a fruity thread of acidity. Greece Santorini - Argyros Estate 2008 Atlantis Red $20 NY Time #1 Greek Red under $20 Juicy, dark red fruit with hints of leather and dried prunes. Lush and supple tannins round out the finish. Italy Tuscany - Voliero 2006 Brunello di Montalcino $67 95pts Wine Advocate The 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Voliero is a gorgeous, breathtaking wine laced with perfumed violets, dark fruit, minerals and licorice, all of which come together beautifully in the glass. This is a taut, energetic wine that shows off the dazzling freshness and vibrancy typical of this part of Montalcino. It is an impeccable, totally refined Brunello, especially when compared with the decidedly wilder, more sauvage Brunello from Uccelliera. The Voliero underwent malolactic fermentation in steel and was aged in large neutral Slavonian oak casks for approximately three years. France Rhone - Chateauneuf du Pape 2010 Beaucastel Rouge 95pts Wine Advocate This is a gorgeous wine, a classic blend of 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise and the balance the other permitted varietals in the appellation. Deep purple, with loads of bouquet garni, beef blood, blackberry, kirsch, smoke and truffle, this wine is full- bodied, rich and showing even better than it did last year. Rhone - Domaine Giraud 2009 Tradition Chateauneuf-du-Pape $48 94pts Wine Advocate The 2009 Tradition reveals deep kirsch liqueur notes intermixed with raspberries, smoked herbs, roasted meats and hoisin sauce. Complex, with great fruit, a voluptuous mouthfeel, low acidity and sweet tannin, it can be consumed over the next 10-15 years. Burgundy - Henri Boillot 2011 Pommard 1er Cru - Les Rugiens $115 2009 Tradition Chateauneuf-du-Pape $48 94pts Wine Advocate The 2009 Tradition reveals deep kirsch liqueur notes intermixed with raspberries, smoked herbs, roasted meats and hoisin sauce. Complex, with great fruit, a voluptuous mouthfeel, low acidity and sweet tannin, it can be consumed over the next 10-15 years. Australia Langhorne Creek - Noon Family Wines 2010 Reserve Shiraz $100 97+ Wine Advocate Deep garnet-purple in color, revealing a subtle earthy character over restrained notes of creme de cassis, mulberries and licorice, plus hints of cloves, lavender, spice cake, espresso and bacon fat. Very concentrated and richly fruited on the full bodied palate, the muscular fruit is well supported by a firm level of finely grained tannins with medium-high acid to lend just enough lift, finishing long. |