Wine & Spirits - Winter 2012 - (Page 85)

100 BESTWINES OF THE YEAR U N I T E D STA T ES B E ST S PA R K L I N G 414861 Here are the most exciting bottles we opened in the last 12 months. Out of the 12,000 wines we presented to our blind panels this year, these are the bottles that excited our tasters, the wines our critics tasted for several days before their identities were revealed, fascinated by their flavors that went beyond delicious fruit, the wines that clearly brought to mind the places where they were grown. We’ve arranged them here by country and region, starting with the United States. Joshua Greene and Patrick J. Comiskey reviewed the American wines; Greene, Peter Liem, Patricio Tapia and Tara Q. Thomas reviewed the imports. To access all of our tasting results from this year, please go to wineandspiritsmagazine.com. sion: This tastes like drinking fossils, the lees transformed to scents of seashells and chamomile flowers. The structure of the wine is vertical rather than broad and horizontal, the texture seamless—creamy, lemon zesty and delicious. Chanin Wine Co., Santa Maria, CA arrow of lemon and orange citrus flavors, a grand wine buoyed by oceanic leesiness that brings oyster shells and kelp to mind. Grown predominantly with a selection of old Wente material from the Hyde Vineyard in Carneros, this has the intensity of a red wine, the supple refinement and welcoming grace of a fine chardonnay. Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Cazadero, CA | Roederer Estate $ 2003 Anderson Valley L’Ermitage This wine captures the cool tones of Anderson Valley fruit in a sophisticated sparkler, the marriage of pinot noir and chardonnay flavors transformed into lemon curd, white raspberry, bright apple and lasting spice. The tight balance keeps it fresh, while reserve wines add to its richness (the blend includes four percent of reserves from 1999). There’s nerve underneath the luscious texture, extending the sense of richness into finesse. Roederer Estate, Philo, CA BEST GEWURZTRAMINER 417774 | Breggo $ 418812 | Evening Land Vyds. $ BEST CHARDONNAY 418057 | Chanin $ 2010 Eola-Amity Hills La Source Seven Springs Vineyard Chardonnay^As they have in past vintages, Evening Land’s Seven Springs chardonnays manage to express an extra dimension of flavor, beyond fruit, beyond structure, penetrating new realms of complexity. This ethereal white leads with nutty lees and delicate background accents of pear and apple. The flavors, more biscuity and mild, assert themselves with a textural focus that’s as graceful—and as thrilling—as grand cru Chablis. Some years from its peak, this is built for the cellar. (225 cases) The Evening Land Vineyards, Carlton, OR 2010 Anderson Valley Ferrington Vineyard Gewurztraminer To produce this wine, Ryan Hodgins presses whole clusters directly into tank, allows the wine to settle, then ferments two thirds of it in neutral French oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel. It does not go through malolactic, holding the tension and liveliness of its acidity and a sense of precision in its texture. A gewurz with finesse and politesse, this is a citrusand lily-scented white with the structure to match choucroute. (648 cases) Breggo Cellars, Boonville, CA BEST MOSCATO 2009 Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay^Gavin Chanin had worked three harvests with Au Bon Climat’s Jim Clendenen before he turned 21, when he started making his own wines. He brings a fresh perspective to this Bien Nacido fruit, selecting a block of some of the oldest vines on the property, originally planted to own-rooted riesling in 1973, grafted to chardonnay in 1990. He harvests at the moment the grapes reach ripeness, pressing the cool grapes directly into tank and then transferring the juice with all its solids into barrel to ferment and age. His picking decisions and minimal handling result in a wine with maximum expres- 417174 | St. Supéry $ 419025 | Flowers $ 2010 Sonoma Coast Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay^The transparency of this wine gives it a slight edge over Flowers’s Moon Select for the moment. It’s a long, arching 2011 Napa Valley Moscato This ripe, floral muscat tastes like fresh peaches cut with a sharp knife. Acidity keeps it firm, while earthen bass notes keep it vinous. A delicious, off-dry white with substantial structure, this is a head-on match for grilled prawns with exotic fruit salsa or fried chicken and biscuits. (1,893 cases) St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery, Rutherford, CA W I N E & S P I R I T S B U Y I N G G U I D E 2 0 1 3 85 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://store.eveninglandvineyards.com/ http://www.chaninwine.com/wines http://www.stsupery.com https://store.flowerswinery.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=view

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

Wine & Spirits - Winter 2012
Editor’s Note
Contents
Directory: Wine & Spirits’ Wineries of the Year.
2013 Calendar of Wine Events
Book of the Year: The final word on wine grapes.
Spirits of the Year: Ten exciting new bottles in 2012.
2013 Winery of the Year Awards
26th Annual Hall of Fame: Our top performers over the last 26 years.
Wineries to Watch: Eight promising producers.
American Wineries of the Year: 42 top wineries from the United States.
International Wineries of the Year: 58 exceptional producers from worlds old and new.
100 Best Wines
100 Best Buys
New Stuff: Essentials for 2013.

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