Wine and Spirits - October 2011 - (Page 46)

YEARS BEST CHARDONNAY Our blind panels tasted 579 new-release chardonnays over the past 12 months. Our critics rated 121 as exceptional (90+) and 49 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene reviews California wines; Patrick J. Comiskey reviews New York, Oregon and Washington wines. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. C A L I FO RN I A 414254 | Flowers $ 2009 Sonoma Coast Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay Walt and Joan Flowers planted the east-facing slope of Camp Meeting Ridge in the early 1990s. As their ﬁrst vineyard, it was something of an experiment, one barely protected from the Paciﬁc two miles further west. It’s taken twenty years and some replanting for these vines to settle into the mash up of marine sediments and volcanic rock, which creates a character in the chardonnay that parallels oak’s woodiness. This vintage melds it into a roasted hazelnut scent, given over to ﬂoral delicacy as the wine evolves in the glass. Sea air and citrus cool the ﬂavors, tightening the chardonnay fat into a ﬁne and graceful richness. There’s pinkness to that citrus ﬂavor that would be delicious with roast salmon. Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Cazadero, CA year-old vines planted to the old Wente clone at 1,600 feet. It’s stainless steel fermented without added yeast, then aged on the lees for six months before bottling. At 12.6 percent alcohol, this balances rich, spiced apple ﬂavors with an underlying briskness. It’s focused without needing oak, lasting on a fresh scent of chamomile and peach, long, sleek and delicious. Great with roast sea bass. (426 six-pack cases) Lioco, Santa Rosa, CA own way, creating a chalk-pale chardonnay with the ﬂoral notes of basmati rice. The texture is meaty, enriched through barrel fermentation without any of the toastiness or evident tannin that oak can give (Munksgard uses all new barrels, with water-bent staves). There’s also no malolactic, so the clean ﬁnish will focus directly on hamachi sushi. (206 cases) Iron Horse Vineyards, Sebastopol, CA 414219 | Dierberg 413866 $ | Iron Horse $ 414253 | Flowers $ 2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay Longtime readers of this magazine will not be surprised that I love this wine. When it comes to chardonnay, Flowers’s Sonoma Coast bottling consistently delivers a fresh, fragrant, silken, mouthwatering wine. The freshness in the 2009 tastes real, the tension of the acidity captures the briskness of the far coast (70 percent of the blend in this vintage). The texture and ﬂavor are woven together into a soft cushion of white raspberry, tart lime, white ﬂowers, silk and down. Designed to drink rather than to impress, there’s nothing challenging about it. Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Cazadero, CA 414291 2008 Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay The Dierbergs planted this vineyard in the southern end of the Santa Maria Valley in 1997, a west-facing hillside of sandy loam soils. The chardonnay they grow on the estate developed complex fruit aromas in 2008, from nectarine to kumquat, with a tart acidity that keeps the ﬂavors open and airy. As the wine develops in the glass, the oak seems to energize the fruit, focusing attention on its ﬂoral perfume rather than on wood notes. Intensely ﬂavored, sunny and lasting, this will gain from several years in the cellar. (2,000 cases) Dierberg Vineyard, San Luis Obispo, CA 2009 Green Valley Heritage Clone Chardonnay The Sterlings planted 20 acres of the Hyde-Old Wente clone in 2005 and 2006, the young vines producing a vinous and subtle chardonnay. There’s ﬁne integration between the smoky oak and subdued fruit character, hinting at fresh cream and the kind of lees autolysis you ﬁnd in great Champagne. The supple texture carries its richness through the ﬁnish. Age this for a year or two, to decant during crab season. (204 cases) Iron Horse Vineyards, Sebastopol, CA 414005 | Qupé $ | Lioco 413869 $ | Iron Horse $ 2009 Anderson Valley Demuth Chardonnay Kevin Kelley made this wine from 2946 W I N E & S P I R I T S O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 2009 Green Valley Native Yeast Chardonnay David Munksgard let this ferment go its 2009 Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Reserve Block Eleven Chardonnay Grown on a steep hillside facing north by northwest, the fruit at Block Eleven achieves intensity of ﬂavor with restrained ripeness. Fine oak character surrounds it without entering the center of the wine, which is focused on citrus and fresh cream ﬂavors, lemon curd and apple butter. There’s a ﬂoral scent of jasmine that brings out the wine’s underlying minerality. An elegant match for arctic char roasted with wild mushrooms. (854 cases) Qupe Wine Cellars, Santa Maria, CA 414044 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com http://www.dierbergvineyard.com/start http://www.FlowersWinery.com http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine and Spirits - October 2011

Wine and Spirits - October 2011
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered: Jordan Mackay
Best New Sommeliers 2011
San Francisco’s New & Notable Restaurants & Bars
Raúl Pérez
Chablis Crosses Borders
Extreme Values
Tastings Overview
Chardonnay
Burgundy
Aussie Shiraz
Bierzo & Galicia Red
American
Imported
Joshua Greene

Wine and Spirits - October 2011