Wine & Spirits - December 2012 - (Page 58)

YEAR’S BEST CABERNET fresh balance between juicy and ﬁrm. Oak adds richness to the tannins, tilting the balance in their direction, but the fruit has a cool persistence that isn’t about to give up. If you like coastal cabernet (what else would you call a Médocain blend?), this is a Paciﬁc red that belongs in your cellar. (1,218 cases; W&S, 10/12) Mount Eden Vineyards, Saratoga, CA ﬁnish. For the cellar. (434 cases; W&S, 6/12) Schug Carneros Estate Winery, Sonoma, CA higher elevations. It grows in volcanic ash and alluvial soils eight miles north of San Pablo Bay, yielding an intriguing wine that tastes like something more than simple plummy fruit. Savory scents of mint and rose add layers to the red earth notes in the tannins. The wine has shape and direction, setting it up for aging. (2,995 cases) Gundlach-Bundschu, Vineberg, CA 419530 | Field Stone $ 419925 419453 | Nickel & Nickel $ 2009 Rutherford Napa Valley C.C. Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon A 15-acre selection from a 115-acre vineyard on a knoll west of the Silverado T rail, this wine has a supple Rutherford richness. The red fruit brings apple skin and plums to mind, lending elegance to the texture, carrying through a ﬁrmly stated ﬁnish. There’s nothing aggressive about it: a lively cabernet with ﬁnesse. (2,260 cases) Nic kel & Nickel Winery, Oakville, CA 2008 Alexander Valley Wally’s Block Field Stone Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) This cabernet is powerful and rich without edging into overripeness. It’s supercharged by oak and alcohol, pushing the ﬂavors forward, yielding cassis, herb, licorice and a lot of detail in the wood tannins. The ﬂavors gain traction with air, showing the wine’s staying power. (491 cases) Field Stone Winery & Vineyard, Healdsburg, CA 417449 | Hess Collection $ | Flora Springs $ 2009 Rutherford Napa Valley Hillside Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon This savory, herbal cabernet comes from Block J at the Komes Ranch, planted in 1985 and ’96 in the northwest corner of Rutherford. The red fruit has accents of tobacco and dried herbs and the tannins are soft, the wine supple enough to decant now for a ribeye with wild mushrooms. The plush texture doesn’t diminish the wine’s tannic strength, which needs cellar time to fully evolve. (316 cases; W&S, 8/12) Flora Springs, St. Helena, CA 2008 Mt. Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) This has the foresty, woodland cherry ﬂavors of Mt. Veeder cabernet, a crisp and vibrant red. It’s spicy rather than powerfully tannic, the fruit developing toward cranberry and persimmon, plump rather than long. An accessible mountain wine to serve with lamb kebabs with Middle Eastern spices. The Hess Collection Winery, Napa, CA 419509 | Ladera $ 2008 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Grown at Ladera’s estate vineyards, rising from 1,600 to 1,800 feet in volcanic soils, this is an old-fashioned Howell Mountain wine. It’s pungent with dried herb tones and conifer scents, the currant ﬂavor corseted by earthiness. The ﬁnish is smoky and warm, needing age to mellow. (1,300 cases) Ladera Vineyards, Angwin, CA 417499 417313 | Schug | Lancaster Estate $ $ 2007 Sonoma Valley Heritage Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Most of the cabernet for this wine grows at Rancho Salina, a vineyard adjacent to Monte Rosso that shares its red-tinged, basalt-based soils, a steep site planted in the 1990s. The blend includes 14 percent merlot, coming together in a rosy and elegant wine. Its red currant fruit has both plumpness and elasticity while the tannins have a pencil lead smoothness, amplifying the ﬂavors and the creamy texture while structuring the wine for age. It’s balanced and vinous, with light shining through the 58 W I N E & S P I R I T S D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 419606 | Gundlach-Bundschu $ 2009 Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Most of this wine comes from the Bundschu’s Rhinefarm Estate at the foot of the Mayacamas, blended with 10 percent from 2008 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon From a 53-acre hillside estate at the southern end of the Alexander Valley, this is made by Jesse Katz (proﬁled in our 30 under 30 feature in the Fall 2011 issue). This is predominantly cabernet sauvignon (92 percent), with small amounts of malbec, merlot, franc and petit verdot adding depth and complexity. The ﬂavors seem to emerge out of the ﬁrm tannins, yielding red berries, plums, dark earth and mint scents. This is ﬁrm and tight, built to age. (3,134 cases; W&S, 8/12) Lancaster Estate, Healdsburg, CA 415162 https://www.fieldstonewinery.com/xe/xe.asp?page=viewitem&p=438 http://www.farniente-dolce-nickelandnickel.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showdrilldown&productid=55c60a50-de7c-aa59-e528-9a624351998f&ProductCategoryID=6fbf7f56-a122-522c-fe64-3000607b3b6c&WineryID=6C3490B7-F7A3-A5A1-054A-42FF5803ABD3&WineTypeID=&ProductType=&wineVarietalID=&wineRegionID=&vintage=&lowprice=&highPrice=&WineBrandID=&WineAppellationID=&lowletter=&highletter=&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.Price1&ShippingState=CA http://hesscollection.ewinerysolutions.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showdrilldown&productid=ebafdaff-b29a-bc80-413e-a504068c078c&ProductCategoryID=7030f116-b700-5bcf-c12e-b8e255d6893c&WineryID=06ebad83-cae7-d6ff-9442-0a0a07938fe2&WineTypeID=&ProductType=&wineVarietalID=&wineRegionID=&vintage=&lowprice=&highPrice=&WineBrandID=&WineAppellationID=&lowletter=&highletter=&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.ProductName%20ASC&ShippingState=CA https://shop.schugwinery.com/SHOP.AMS?LEVEL=MID&CATCODE=HR http://www.gunbun.com/cab

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

Wine & Spirits - December 2012
Editor's Note
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Happenings
Books
Spirits
The Light in Douro
Sushi & German Riesling
Tokaji Myths
Napa vs Bordeaux: A Seismic Shift
A Tale of Two Vintages
Dinner with Barolo
Extreme Values
Tastings Overview
Champagne
US Cabernet Sauvignon
Barolo & Barbaresco
Rioja
German Riesling
Alsace
American New Releases
International New Releases
Faces at the W&S Top 100

Wine & Spirits - December 2012