Wine & Spirits - June 2013 - (Page 66)

Year’s Best Southern italy Our blind panels tasted 424 wines from southern Italy over the past 12 months. Joshua Greene and Tara Q. Thomas, our critics for Italy, rated 41 as exceptional (90+) and 44 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. 90 | Mastroberardino I TALY W H I T E Abruzzo 188609 88 | Farnese $17 2011 Colli Aprutini Casale Vecchio Passerina (Best Buy) ^ Made from passerina, an old Adriatic variety, this is clean and lean, with green pear fruit and a slightly nutty edge. For fritto misto. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA 188650 88 | Farnese $20 2011 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio (Best Buy) ^ Pulled from 30 acres of coda di volpe grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvio, this is a sophisticated white, lean and long. A light floral edge gives it some delicacy, but the driving forces are acidity and minerality, a pithy, powerful combination that makes it feel alive and organic. § Winebow, NY $9 c A m pA n i A 188198 90 | Capolino Perlingieri $22 2010 Sannio Vento Greco ^ Alexia Capolino Perlingieri took over this Sannio estate 15 years ago, expanding it to almost 100 acres of vines, wheat and olive trees. The Vento Greco, made with enologist Stefano Chioccioli, is as concentrated in its fruit as quince paste, without the sweetness. It lasts, smoky and flinty, a white for pork scallopine. § Montcalm Wine Importers, NY 188402 90 | Mastroberardino $25 2011 Greco di Tufo ^ This is broad and meaty, a wine that recalls a vast expanse of beach in its saline notes and broad, pale gold flavors— pear skin and almonds, soil and light toast. It would be delicious on that beach, with a grilled fish and vegetables dipped in romesco sauce. § Winebow, NY 188401 66 WINE & SPIRITS JUNE 2013 $16 188664 90 | Matané 186777 $15 87 | Terredora di Paolo pugliA b A s i l i c A tA 2011 Basilicata Gabriel Greco (Best Buy) ^ Tight and grapey, this wine’s scent is closed off by sulfur, but the finish opens up to pineapple and spice. It should be more accessible this summer, to serve with grilled calamari. § Vine Street Imports, Philadelphia, PA $16 2011 Campania Tenuta Rocca dei Leoni Falanghina (Best Buy) ^ From a vineyard on the slopes of Mount Taburno, this is clean and lemony, with a waxy texture that gives it a little heft. For grilled shrimp. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA 188548 2011 Campania Coda di Volpe ^ This weaves a delicate herbal spice through sweet orange flavors. Give it a chill to reinforce the acidity, and then pour it with sardines off the grill. § Vias Imports, NY 2011 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo (Best Buy) ^ Succulent with pear-like fruit and a lightly nutty edge, this is quietly lovely, the sort of wine that you might not think much about until the bottle is suddenly empty. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA 87 | Poggio Anima 87 | Villa Matilde 188560 90 | Terredora di Paolo $24 88 | Feudi di San Gregorio $21 88 | Ocone $17 $10 2011 Salento Bianco (Best Buy) ^ The name Matané comes from Maria, Tara and Neil, the three Empsons who developed this wine in collaboration with Valentino Sciotti and enologist Filippo Baccalaro. The white, a blend of verdeca, malvasia bianca and bombino bianco, is full-bodied yet lively, with vibrant acidity keeping the almond and green grape flavors fresh. The smoky minerality helps keep the fruit in the savory realm. For grilled fish. § Empson USA, Alexandria, VA 2011 Fiano di Avellino Terre di Dora ^ This smells of honey and smoke, a powerful wine from high-altitude vineyards in Montefalcione and Lapio. It’s ripe and full, with dense almond and lemon flavors and a hint of tannin that combines with the minerality to bring pumice stones to mind. Yet despite the richness it doesn’t feel heavy at all. For pork chops with apricots, or smoked ham. § Vias Imports, NY 188896 2011 Greco di Tufo (Best Buy) ^ This is clean and saline, with a wheaty blandness and savory minerality. It would allow the tender flesh of a grilled snapper to shine. § Palm Bay Int’l., Boca Raton, FL 188524 2011 Falanghina del Sannio Flora (Best Buy) ^ This is ripe and sunny, with citrus notes that edge toward orange together with sweet peach flavor. An intriguing funk combines with the wine’s lanolin texture bringing to mind sheep’s cheese—with which it would be delicious. § The Marchetti Co./Scoperta Importing, Cleveland Heights, OH 188180 186500 90 | Tormaresca $22 2011 Salento Roycello Fiano ^ From the Antinori family’s Puglian estate, this is sleek and modern, a graceful fiano with a silky-smooth texture. A saline minerality counters the richness of the pear fruit, striking an impressive balance and keeping it anchored to Salento’s seaside. § Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Woodinville, WA 188396 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.terredora.com/en/ http://www.tormaresca.it

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2013

Wine & Spirits - June 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Fined & Filtered
Letter from Bordeaux
Mezcal
Destination: Atlanta, GA
Napa Cabernet, Interrupted
Tempranillo à la Chambolle
Mezcal in Mexico City
Value Brands of the Year
Introduction
Top Values of the Year at $15 or less.
Ribera del Duero
Southern France
Southern Italy
Hungary
American New Releases
Imported New Releases
Books

Wine & Spirits - June 2013