Wine & Spirits - October 2012 - (Page 94)

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES GRE EC E RE D 184489 tos estate, planted in the early 1930s. These old vines are ungrafted and pergola-trained, growing in granite-based soils. They produced a powerful, chalky white in 2008, its oceanic scent reminding Patricio Tapia of old-school Fino. The fruit has a salty, pearskin ﬂavor, green and tight. Youthfully fragrant, this is intriguing to drink now or to age. José Pastor Selections/Vinos and Gourmet, Richmond, CA 182712 184646 | Domaine Economou $ 1998 Sitia Oikonomoy Liatiko Gianni Economou resurrected his family’s estate in 1994, after working with Ceretto and Scavino in Barolo as well as doing stints in Germany and Bordeaux. On a high plateau above the sea at about 650 meters, he farms 40 acres of vines organically, including a clone of liatiko that’s unusual for the small size of its berries. It’s wild stuﬀ, as light as a white wine in texture and as robust as a red in ﬂavor. It’s spicy and brightly acidic, feeling lively despite the autumnal cast of its ﬂavors—from leather and leaves to forest ﬂoor, dried cherry, ﬁg and wild strawberry. It lasts long and stays ﬁrm, ready for roast duck or an intensely creamy cheese. Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY | Aveleda | Pazo $ $ 2011 Vinho Regional Minho Alvarinho (Best Buy) A broad, leesy white, this wine’s youth masks its powerful fruit under the talc and chalk feel of its acidity. It gets brighter with air, developing scents of clementine and lime, the smoky fruit almost tropical in character. Decant is for whole roasted sea bass. FJN Fine Wines LLC, Cumberland, RI 184642 2010 Ribeiro (Best Buy) From the Vitivinícola del Ribeiro, a cooperative with more than 800 members, this is a fresh and ﬂoral white with notes of beeswax and pale, stony fruit. A simple, lithe aperitif. Symposium Brands, Phoenix, AZ CASTILL A Y LEÓN 182963 | Aveleda | Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez $ $ 184462 | Semeli 2011 Vinho Regional Minho Follies (Best Buy) An equal blend of alvarinho and loureiro, this is tight with mouthwatering fruit sweetness touching on peach and green pear. Frisky acidity keeps it clean and light in the ﬁnish. Chill it for aperitifs on the deck. FJN Fine Wines LLC, Cumberland, RI $ 2010 Peloponnese Agiorgitiko–Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) Three-quarters agiorgitiko, this is bright and easy, its cherryberry fruit fresh and thirst-quenching. For souvlaki. Distinctive Imports, Antioch, IL SPAIN WHITE EUSKADI 184484 2010 Bierzo Ultreia La Claudina Godello This wine should come with a warning: If you expect the white fruits and ﬂowers of godello, stay away. Here the raw material is salinity, as if it were some mutant form of Fino Sherry. The wine is austere and dry, needing nothing more than shellﬁsh marinated in lemon juice. Olé Imports, New Rochelle, NY 184350 | Godelia $ | Zudugarai $ P O RT U G A L WHITE VINHO VERDE 2011 Getariako Txakolina A textbook Txakoli, this has juicy green apple ﬂavors surrounded and lifted by small bubbles and sharp acidity that gives a saline minerality to the ﬁnish. Ideal for oysters. Frontier Wine Imports, Dover, NJ 2009 Bierzo (Best Buy) With a salty touch, surrounded by ﬂoral aromas and ripe apricot ﬂavors, this wine gains enough tension and energy from its acidity to serve as a ﬁne aperitif. Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA SPAIN RED ARAGÓN 184521 GALICIA 184510 | Lazarus Wine $ | Benito Santos $ 184645 | Aveleda $ 2011 Vinho Verde Quinta da Aveleda (Best Buy) A bright, coastal white, this has the raciness of a wine from granitic soils with enough rich peachiness to sheathe that knife edge of acidity. The tart grapefruit ﬁnish will match grilled prawns or other shellﬁsh. Mouthwatering, balanced and a steal at the price. FJN Fine Wines LLC, Cumberland, RI 94 W I N E & S P I R I T S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 2011 Rias Baixas Igrexario de Saiar Albariño This is made by Todd Blomberg, from an estate founded by Santos in 1979. Blomberg replanted this ancient vineyard site in 2000, the vines now certiﬁed organic by Galicia’s Craega. The 2011 ripened to crisp litchi and pear ﬂavors, tense with jasmine scents and hints of peppermint. It’s fruity and refreshing, a wine to chill for mariscos. José Pastor Selections/Vinos and Gourmet, Richmond, CA 184516 2007 Vino de la Tierra Ribera del Gallego/Cinco Villas Orange Label Intriguingly herbal, like a bouquet garni per- fuming a Provençal kitchen, this 50/50 blend of merlot and syrah has a heart of ripe cherries racing with tense acidity. It’s smoothly textured and delicious, lasting with seductive complexity. Spanish Wine Exclusives, NY 182188 | Sucesores de Manuel Piquer $ | Benito Santos $ 2008 Rias Baixas Vinedo de Xoan Albariño Xoan is the original vineyard of the San- 2010 Cariñena Lelia Garnacha (Best Buy) The red fruit scents of this wine combine with earthy ﬂavors in a sort of youthful playfulness. Delicious wine in its unadulterated fruit, this is structured enough to serve with charcuterie. Frontier Wine Imports, Dover, NJ http://www.aveleda.pt http://www.semeliwines.gr http://www.aveleda.pt

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2012

Wine & Spirits - October 2012
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered: Jordan Mackay on Microlists
Skin Deep
Books: Josh Greene interviews Julia Harding, MW, about Wine Grapes
Spirits: Wild new whiskies, by Lou Bustamante
Best New Sommeliers 2012
Structured California Chardonnay
Nuits Blanches
Bourbon & Country Ham
New & Notable Bay Area Restaurants
Extreme Values: Great Buys for $10 or Less
Overview
American Chardonnay
Red Burgundy
Australian Shiraz
Bierzo & Galician Reds
American
Imported
Levi Dalton on Chinato

Wine & Spirits - October 2012