Wine & Spirits - February 2012 - (Page 65)

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES Our blind panels tasted 731 new-release imported wines for this issue. Our critics rated 67 as exceptional (90+) and 46 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene reviews Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; Patricio Tapia reviews Argentina, Chile and Spain. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. A RGE N T I N A W HIT E CHARDONNAY 107668 tering. For meaty grilled ﬁsh. Negociants USA, Napa, CA 108065 MUSCAT | Ruca Malen | Bindi $ $ 2010 Mendoza Yauquén Chardonnay (Best Buy) A soft and vibrant chardonnay to open on a sunny day, with shrimp tempura. Opici Wines, Glen Rock, NJ A RGE N T I N A RED SYRAH 108237 | Bressia $ 2009 Victoria Quartz Chardonnay This is a block selection from 1.25 acres where the Dhillons have found that the greater concentration of quartz in the soil gives more intense fruit. For now, it seems more closed than the Composition Chardonnay (recommended above). The texture is supple with ﬁnely integrated pear and oak ﬂavors, creamy and mouth ﬁlling. Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA 107350 107596 | Innocent Bystander $ 2008 Mendoza Monteagrelo Syrah Broad, round and voluptuous with a spicy blackberry juiciness, this is an archetypal warm-climate syrah. Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA | Henschke $ A UST R A L I A WHIT E CHARDONNAY 108060 | Bindi 2009 Eden Valley Lenswood Croft Chardonnay Fresh scents of Marcona almonds and peach pit give this pale chardonnay a delicate proﬁle. Mouthwatering acidity makes it a clean white to serve now with roast ﬁsh, or one to cellar for further ﬂavor development. Negociants USA, Napa, CA 108072 2011 Victoria Moscato (Best Buy) Scents of rose and fresh wild strawberries lend this pink, slightly ﬁzzy wine its brisk perfume. Lightly sweet, it is balanced by chalk-like minerality. Chill it for anytime. Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA RIESLING $ | Sticks $ 2009 Victoria Composition Chardonnay This comes oﬀ of 3.7 acres of chardonnay the Dhillon family planted in 1988. The vines grow at 1,640 feet in low-fertility soils derived from quartz and volcanics over clay. They produced a 2009 with impressive depth and freshness, its reﬂective green-gold color hinting at the green pear scents that race through it. There’s an intriguing modulation of ﬂavor, from the delicate initial scents of fruit and light oak to the heavier accent on wood notes and pear. The ﬁnish is clean with a second surge of ﬂavor, a ripe scent of pineapple and a nutty buckwheat note. There’s an ease and subtlety to the wine that should reward several years of cellaring. Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA 107850 2009 Yarra Valley Chardonnay A cool, brisk chardonnay, this presents scents of honeycomb, lemon curd and almond nougat without the accompanying sweetness. As fat as a salted caramel, but savory, it ﬁnishes clean, spicy and ﬁrm. For milk-braised veal. Click Imports, Seattle, WA 107752 | Yalumba $ 107871 | Vasse Felix $ 2010 South Australia The Y Series Chardonnay (Best Buy) Pain grillé scents and crème brûlée ﬂavors may sound fussy and French, but this is really just a brisk, clean chardonnay focused on lime zest and pure, grapey length of ﬂavor. There’s a lovely acid bite to the ﬁnish that places it with langoustine rôtie aux amandes à la crème de pistache... Negotiants USA, Napa, CA 107651 | Pewsey Vale $ 2011 Eden Valley Dry Riesling (Best Buy) Tight and ﬂinty, this wine needs several years of bottle age to soften and develop. The texture is lithe, the ﬂavor packed with lime and crushed stone. Restrained, almost severe for the moment, this should plump up with age. Negociants USA, Napa, CA 107881 2009 Margaret River Heytesbury Chardonnay A barrel selection from the Holmes à Court family’s best vineyard blocks, this offers a lot of fruit depth, from juicy apple and pear to litchi and kumquat, framed in new oak. Cool coastal acidity makes it mouthwa- | Robert Oatley | Jim Barry $ $ 2010 Mudgee James Oatley Tic Tok Chardonnay (Best Buy) Sweet caramel and lemon cream scents ﬁll this buttery chardonnay, with a hint of a green rasp to balance. For aperitifs. Robert Oatley Vineyards, Petaluma, CA 2011 Clare Valley Dry The Lodge Hill Riesling (Best Buy) Sweetly ripe, this riesling’s fruit heads into exotic territory toward litchi while a ﬁrm acid structure reins it in. A full, smooth-textured aperitif. Negociants USA, Napa, CA W I N E & S P I R I T S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 2 65 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.oldbridgecellars.com/store/pc/viewcategories.asp http://www.pewseyvale.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