Wine & Spirits - June 2012 - (Page 68)

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES Our blind panels tasted 1,014 new-release imported wines for this issue. Our critics rated 100 as exceptional (90+) and 73 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene reviews wines from France (Bordeaux); Patricio Tapia reviews wines from Argentina, Chile and Spain; Tara Q. Thomas reviews wines from Croatia, France (Rhône, Languedoc, Southwest), Hungary, Romania and Turkey. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. A RGE N T I N A W HITE CHARDONNAY 108839 | Finca El Peral $ something as structured and ambitious as this juicy, powerful red. It’s bigger than most bonarda, but it holds to the slightly naïve grace of the variety, lasting on ﬂavors of raspberries and spice. Winesellers, Skokie, IL MALBEC 108473 | Noemía $ 2011 Tupungato Chardonnay (Best Buy) In a clean style, focused on the freshness of the variety and without any interference from wood, this chardonnay is crystalline and clear. Chill it for an aperitif with poached prawns. Catamarca Imports, Atlanta, GA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 108759 | Carmelo Patti $ SAUVIGNON BLANC 108460 | NQN Malma $ 2010 Patagonia Finca La Papay Sauvignon Blanc (Best Buy) As fresh and citrusy as lemonade, with a similar feel to the acidity, this is direct and simple sauvignon for grilled ﬁsh. Vias Imports, NY 108838 2004 Lujan de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon Marked by notes of mocha and exotic spices, this is not your typical Argentine cabernet. It spent a year in old casks, then four years in bottle prior to release. The aromas and ﬂavors have evolved toward roasted coﬀee and bitter chocolate, while in contrast, the wine itself feels fresh and cool, delightfully juicy, with acidity that seems to illuminate its ﬂavors. Southern Wine Group, Bend, OR 108445 2010 Patagonia J. Alberto Single Vineyard Noemía ﬁrst started making this wine in 2001 from a vineyard planted in 1955. This vintage is a complete departure from earlier bottlings: Rio Negro was cold and windy in 2010, especially in autumn at harvest, so rather than focusing on the richness of malbec’s sweet fruit, this wine emphasizes a linear structure, its ﬂavors arching like an arrow over the palate. Tense with acidity, this is refreshing malbec, precisely ripened to juicy Morello cherry ﬂavors and ﬂoral notes of violets. Cellar it for at least ﬁve years. Vias Imports, NY 108532 | Zorzal $ | Finca El Peral | Michel Torino $ $ 2011 Tupungato Sauvignon Blanc (Best Buy) While the ﬂavors are as sweet as an apricot sorbet, that sweet sensation is cut by tense, mineral acidity that keeps it in balance. Catamarca Imports, Atlanta, GA TORRONTÉS 108599 | Colomé $ 2010 Cafayate Valley Don David Finca La Urquiza #8 Cabernet Sauvignon At ﬁrst, this wine is all about herbal scents, but notes of cherries and blueberries develop, transforming that herbal intensity into a more composed and layered fruit complexity. It’s an intriguing wine grown in poor, rocky soils at an altitude of 6,200 feet. Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY 108510 2011 Valle Calchaquí Torrontés Grown in Cafayate at 5,600 feet, this has all the ﬂoral aspects of torrontés, along with a rich sweetness and a strict structure, which will soften in the company of ﬁsh curry. The Hess Collection New World Wines, Napa, CA | Zorzal $ 2010 Tupungato Malbec (Best Buy) This grows at an eight-year-old vineyard near the Zorzal winery in Gualtallary; at 4,500 feet, the vines look straight up to the snowy peaks of the Andes. Gualtallary’s calcareous soils show their inﬂuence in the structure of the wine, tense with ﬁrm tannins, focused on the ﬂavor of fresh-picked cherries. A delicious malbec that doesn’t resort to wood or hyper concentration, it seduces instead with its fresh fruit and a solid structure that will stand up to the most powerful cuts of meat. Wine Brindis Importers, Santa Clara, CA 108528 A RGE N T I N A RED BONARDA 2010 Tupungato Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Fresh red cherry ﬂavors project across the palate, lasting with grace in the midst of the wine’s sweet alcohol. This feels spicy, ﬁrm and tense, suggesting it will beneﬁt from several years in the cellar. Wine Brindis Importers, Santa Clara, CA 108570 | Zorzal $ | Fabre Montmayou $ 2009 Patagonia Barrel Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) Beneﬁtting from the intensity of the sun in Patagonia, this wine is sweet and unctuous, with generous ﬁg and mocha scents over juicy depths of red fruit. Southern Wine Group Imports, Bend, OR 108638 2009 Tupungato Climax Malbec Zorzal purchases the grapes for this wine from Sophenia’s vineyards, which are now 14 years old, some of the oldest in Gualtallary. In 2009, they produced a wine of such clarity that it commands attention: It’s concentrated and powerful in its structure and depth, yet it maintains a youthful simplicity and charm in its refreshing violet and spice notes. The acidity and tannins interlace in a pointedly sharp structure, needing another four years in the cellar to mellow and evolve. Wine Brindis Importers, Santa Clara, CA 108872 | Rio Perdido | Valle Perdido $ $ 108543 | Zuccardi $ 2010 Mendoza Emma Bonarda Bonarda can produce simple, easy to drink wines, or 68 W I N E & S P I R I T S J U N E 2 0 1 2 2010 Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) A fresh cabernet with tension in its acidity, this oﬀers simple, direct ﬂavors of crisp red cherries to pour with an Argentine asado. Southern Starz, Huntington Beach, CA 2006 Patagonia Cubas Patagonia Malbec A traditional style of malbec from Argentina, this is made without new wood, aging instead in 6,000 liter casks. Extended aging has matured the wine to nutty ﬂavors with ﬁrm acidity, building to notes of dried cher- http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.winesellersltd.com/wine/Mendoza/Zuccardi/Emma%20Bonarda/2010.html

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

Wine & Spirits - June 2012
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered: Bordeaux 2011, Diamond Jubilee Port, News in Brief
Jamon + Jerez
Spirits: Agave Distilled, by Lou Bustamante
Tequila Comes to Dinner
Sauvignon from the Heights
Geology Jazz
Value Brands of the Year
Tastings Overview
Top 100 Values
Sauvignon Blanc
Southern Italy
Ribera del Duero
American Wines
Imported Wines
Books: Summer Reading

Wine & Spirits - June 2012