Wine & Spirits - August 2013 - (Page 52)

Year’s Best Alto Adige & Friuli Our blind panels tasted 275 new-release Alto Adige and Friuli wines for this issue. Joshua Greene, our critic for italy, rated 32 as exceptional (90+) and 20 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. W hi t e Gewurztraminer Friulano 190496 92 | Dario Princic $53 2010 Venezia Giulia Jakot ^ From one hectare of 8-year-old vines on Princic’s estate in Oslavia, this friulano macerates on the skins for 22 days in open-top oak and chestnut fermenters, then ages in wood for two years. The dark fruit flavors of late-season peaches and pears take on a red wine tone, oxidative and earthy, with tonka bean, ginger and turmeric spice. Complex and heady, it retains enough composure to appeal beyond the orange-wine fringe. Decant it for vitello tonnato. § Vine Collective, NY 189478 91 | Conti Formentini $32 88 | Bastianich $18 2011 Colli Orientali del Friuli Adriatico Friulano (Best Buy) ^ Tangy and rich, this friulano from Lidia and Joe Bastianich has a bittersweet balance to its flavors of tart cider apple, apple skin and honey. Chill it for prosciutto. § Dark Star Imports, NY $18 91 | Schiopetto 189701 2011 Collio Furlana Friulano (Best Buy) ^ Made from purchased fruit grown in the towns of Zeglia and San Floriano del Collio, this is a floral friulano with layered flavors of cider apple and juicy pear. A touch of pear nectar sweetness creates the saturated feel, while the flavors remain fresh. For calamari sautéed in lemon and garlic. § Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY 189838 2011 Collio Friulano ^ Richness is all in this fat friulano, the wine a cascade of buttered almond and toasted lees flavor. It has the generous texture that would attract chardonnay drinkers, though most others will also find it hard not to love. Chill it for a lobster roll. § Vintus, Pleasantville, NY 189452 88 | Luisa $22 87 | Monteflor 90 | Poggiobello $23 2011 Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano ^ A classical, fragrant friulano, this has the nuttiness of toasted pumpkin seeds and roasted almonds. It’s a fresh, clean white to match grilled seppie. § Montcalm Wine Importers, NY 52 WINE & SPIRITS AUGUST 2013 94 | J. hofstätter $50 2011 Alto Adige Kolbenhof Gewürztraminer ^ The Kolbenhof vineyard is located in Söll, in the southeast-facing hills above Tramin, the vines planted in clay mixed with gravel and lime. The vineyard, first documented in the 16th century, has been in Martin Foradori Hofstätter’s family since 1936, when it was planted mostly to schiava, with a small block of gewürztraminer. Now it is pure gewürztraminer, producing one of the world’s noblest expressions of that variety. The 2011 is sophisticated in its layers of flavor, scented with lemon, peach fuzz and the pith around the pit. It feels round, supple, statuesque. There’s nothing perfumed about it, just the pinprick of spice and acidity that heralds the graceful nature of this variety when it’s grown in the right place. § Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY $13 2011 Isonzo del Friuli Mariano del Friuli Friulano (Best Buy) ^ The nutty, fresh almond flavors and light grip of acidity make this a clean white for a pan-roasted calamari steak. § Vias Imports, NY 189988 2011 Friuli Grave Satis Friulano (Best Buy) ^ A pale, creamy white with the flavor of Marcona almonds, this is supple in texture and refreshing in the end, with the delicate bitterness of white tea. It’s a great buy for fried fish sandwiches or crabcakes. § Regal Wine Imports, Moorestown, NJ 189869 190472 189954 90 | i Vigneti Peter Sölva $24 2011 Südtirol Gewürztraminer (Best Buy) ^ Grounded in mineral character, this wine’s flavors rise through nectarine toward high notes of lemon peel and flowers. It’s a bright gewürz, with stature and strength, a match for choucroute, as long as there are sausages involved. § Vignaioli Selection, NY http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.bastianich.com/wines_adriatico_friulano.cfm http://www.domaineselect.com/ http://www.tenutaluisa.com http://www.vignaioliamerica.com/wines/italy/trentino/ivigneti_gewurztraminer.html http://www.montcalmwines.com/

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

Wine & Spirits - August 2013
Editor's Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Spirits: Rum & Ginger Beer
Athens Wine Bars
The New Naoussa
California's Heritage Whites
Insider's Guide to Sonoma
Local Snacks, Local Bubbles
Extreme Values
Introduction
Summer Sparklers
US Pinot Gris
Alto Adige/Friuli
Vinho Verde/Albariño
US Riesling
Rosés
Greece
US New Releases
Imported New Releases
Last Sip

Wine & Spirits - August 2013