Wine & Spirits - February 2012 - (Page 52)

YEAR’S BEST CATALAN WINES Our blind panels tasted 100 new-release Catalán wines over the past 12 months. Our critic for Catalunya, Patricio Tapia, rated 29 as exceptional (90+) and 11 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. is accompanied by scents of nuts and dried ﬂowers, in an overall context of freshness. The texture is soft but structured by acidity, the wine ending on an inviting ﬂoral fragrance. T. Edwards Wines, NY 175038 | Clos Dominic $ PRIORAT WHITE 180049 | Clos Figueras $ 2009 Priorat Font de la Figuera A blend of viognier planted in the late 1990s (85 percent) with garnacha blanca and chenin blanc, this is unlike any white we’ve tasted from Priorat. One of our panelists wanted to stock up on enough of the wine to drink it all through the fall. It has tremendous allure, ﬁlled with aromas of earth, herbs and licorice. The texture is creamy, ﬁnely delineated by acidity. It’s a wine of tremendous character, ﬁt for caragols a la llauna (a classic local dish of baked snails), or a veal stew. Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA 180051 fragrant it is, the aromas of ﬂowers gaining precedence over the texture, which air transforms into something creamy and smooth. It’s a wine with character, ready to challenge the senses. Jose Pastor Selections/Vinos and Gourmet, Richmond, CA 2007 Priorat Vinyes Altes A blast of fresh sour cherry ﬂavor introduces this wine, shifting little by little into sweeter ﬂavors while maintaining acidic tension and a foundation of ﬁrm tannins. An old-vine blend based on carignan (80 percent) and garnacha from Porrera, at the highest reaches of Priorat, it’s built to cellar four or ﬁve years. Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA 180067 PRIORAT RED 179795 | Partida Bellvisos $ | Scala Dei $ | Clos Mogador $ 2009 Priorat Nelin Nelin is half garnacha blanca, with contributions from macabeo, roussanne and darker strains such as pinot noir and the indigenous escanyo velles. It follows the logic of a red—the structure is powerful enough to feel tannic—with ﬂavors of almond and orange peel that ﬁnish fresh and juicy. A delicious wine to try with grilled pork. Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA 180024 2006 Priorat Cartoixa The 2006 vintage continues to deliver excellent Priorat wines like this latest release from Scala Dei: It’s a symphony of fruit ﬂavors with a youthful vigor remarkable for a six-year-old wine. There’s no sign of age in the ﬂavors, other than that time in the bottle has enhanced them, their fresh detail emphasized by an edge of acidity. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, grenache and syrah, it’s ready to decant for braised lamb, or cellar for another six years. Aveníu Brands, Baltimore, MD 180044 2006 Priorat Gratallops This blend of garnacha and cariñena combines amplitude and force. The ﬂavors are decadently sweet, accompanied by a strong acidity that escorts them like a Praetorian guard. The wine is substantial, gaining richness and added dimensions of red fruit ﬂavors as it develops in the glass. Decant it for lamb chops or let it age in the cellar for ﬁve years. Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY 179796 | Scala Dei $ | Clos Figueras $ | Mas Igneus $ 2010 Priorat Barranc dels Clos (Best Buy) The scent of gunpowder, more common in Sancerre than Priorat, emerges out of this stony blend of garnacha blanca (50 percent) with macabeo, pedro ximenez and a few drops of muscat. It’s a cool white, alive with acidity that points up its almond ﬂavor and that ﬁrm minerality. The perfect bottle for a ﬁsh curry. Opici Wines, Glen Rock, NJ 2008 Priorat Font de la Figuera (Best Buy) Consider the vibrant feel of this wine’s red fruit, along with the tension of its structure, as taut as the muscles of a long-distance runner. The ﬂavors are integrated with the spark of acidity, which brings its own share of lively freshness to the wine, a blend of garnacha with syrah and cariñena from vineyards planted in the late 1990s. Europvin USA, Van Nuys, CA 178504 2008 Priorat Prior (Best Buy) This garnacha transforms Priorat’s licorella soils into red fruit ﬂavors. Firm, dry tannins guard the ripe cherry and raspberry ﬂavor behind them, making this an austere red for rabbit stew. Aveníu Brands, Baltimore, MD 180251 | Cesca Vicent $ | Josep M. Fuentes $ C A TA L U N Y A W H I T E 180227 | Laureano Serres Montagut $ 2010 Vi Blanc de Taula Mendall Bernatxa Blanca de la Meva Comarca Entirely garnacha blanca, this may at ﬁrst seem like an oddity, with a scent that’s close to meat, a cloudy appearance and an almost tannic texture. But look deeper and note how distinctively the fruit is displayed, how fresh and 52 W I N E & S P I R I T S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 2 2008 Priorat Coraje (Best Buy) The notes of cherry and plum feel crisp and refreshing, as if you can taste the crunch of the ripe grapes at harvest. A blend of cariñena and garnacha from 20- to 60-year-old vines, it’s driven by sparks of red fruit ﬂavor that last through the ﬁnish, juicy and delicious. Frontier Wine Imports, Dover, NJ 180240 2005 Priorat Abat Domènech A blend of cariñena and cabernet sauvignon, this wine feels tense, with astringent tannins that prick the tongue. But the dried fruit ﬂavors are opulent enough to ﬁll out those tannins and turn them toward spice, while ﬁrm acidity assures the wine will age well for the next ﬁve years. T. Edwards Wines, NY 180047 | Clos Mogador $ | Cesca Vicent $ 2004 Priorat Lo Piot (Best Buy) Time in the bottle has brought an extra degree of complexity to this Priorat, a blend based on garnacha (70 percent). Its still-ﬁrm red fruit 2008 Priorat With the fruit purity and strength of ﬁne Priorat, this blend of garnacha, cariñena, syrah and cabernet feels clean and honest. Its black fruit and exotic spice ﬂavors are accompanied by lively acidity and tension that lasts through the ﬁnish, leaving a fresh memory, slightly ﬂoral. Boutique Wine Collection, Philadelphia, PA 180069 | Ferrer Bobet $ 2008 Priorat Vinyes Velles Based on oldvine cariñena—some more than a century http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com

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

Wine & Spirits - February 2012
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered: Sake Post-Tsunami; Aussies crack the Brett code; the Historic Vineyard Society.
Spirits: New Digestivi, by Lou Bustamante
Wines of the Pacific
Red Rising
Yarra Shiraz
Snowmelt & Chalk
Anatomy of a Field Blend
Extreme Values
Tastings Overview
American Zinfandel
American Syrah
New Zealand Pinot Noir
Rhône Wines
Catalan Wines
Chilean Cabernet & Blends
Argentine Malbec
American Wines
Imported Wines
Books: Winter Reading

Wine & Spirits - February 2012