Wine & Spirits - October 2013 - (Page 50)

YEAR’S BEST Chardonnay Our blind panels tasted 586 new-release American chardonnays over the past 12 months. Our critics rated 39 as exceptional (90+) and 26 as Best Buys. Within California, Joshua Greene reviews North Coast wines; Luke Sykora reviews Central Coast wines. Patrick J. Comiskey reviews Oregon and Washington wines. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. 419757 96 | Chanin $35 2010 Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay ^ Gavin Chanin sources this wine from Bien Nacido’s W Block—some of the oldest vine material in the Santa Maria Valley. The Miller family planted the stony benchland to riesling in 1973, then grafted it over to Clone 4 chardonnay in 1990. (Chanin discovered this parcel of vines while working as an assistant winemaker at Au Bon Climat and Qupé, which share a winery on the property.) In 2010, the vines’ deep root systems grew a complex, resoundingly vinous chardonnay. Its flavors are reminiscent of particularly fine oolong tea, with refreshing herb and floral scents over a nutty, mineral bass line. At turns bombastic and lifted, powerful and nuanced, it’s a symphonic performance, with a sinewy texture that has plenty of room to evolve. (W&S 2/13) § Chanin Wine Co., Santa Maria, CA above Sonoma in 1953. The vineyard, now expanded to 44 acres, rises from 430 to 820 feet. It still includes that original planting (six percent of this blend) and the current team, led by Bob Sessions and Michael McNeill, still hold to the idea that chardonnay should be elegant and savory, an expression of its site (the average age of the vines is 32 years). This vintage is tight and stony, with oak firming up the plump and gentle curves of peachlike fruit. Air brings up a chamomile flower scent that lasts, the finish clean and delicate. For the cellar. § Hanzell Vineyards, Sonoma, CA ately apparent in this fresh, oceanic chardonnay. It’s grown at five estate vineyards, hovering at 1,900 feet along Skyline Boulevard. The vineyards were planted in the mid-’80s on fractured sandstone; three of them are dry farmed. Fermented in barrel without added yeast, this moves into tank to rest for six months before bottling without filtration. The resulting wine is as crunchy as an apple, as pale and tart as lemon cream. Everything about it has a sense of restraint; the hints of white flowers and crushed seashells parallel the delicate chardonnay fruit expression. The finish keeps cleaning up after itself, as if cajoling you to bring on the food, whether Dungeness crab or something richer, like roasted sweetbreads. § Thomas Fogarty Winery, Portola Valley, CA 423319 93 | Lawer Family Winery 421313 94 | Smith-Madrone $30 2010 Spring Mountain District Napa Valley Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ Stuart Smith dry farms just over 10 acres of chardonnay, which he began planting in 1972 on northfacing slopes. His brother, Charles, ferments this wine in new French oak barrels, and while the oak is there in the flavors, it doesn’t get in the way. Completely mineraldriven and rooty when first poured, this takes hours of air for the fruit to come forward, a wallop of pear and apple, as if biting into fresh fruit. The structure remains tight, holding the fruit succulence to a quiet shimmer, set to age with grace. (W&S 6/13; 703 cases) § Smith-Madrone, St. Helena, CA $26 2011 Russian River Valley Three Coins Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ This wine has a quiet strength and focus, its gentle peach and chardonnay-skin flavors providing structural integrity without intensity. As it takes on air, the pale pear and orange zest flavors grow rounder, with smoky, earthy richness. Its lemony acidity will take on a mako shark steak or other meaty game fish. (529 cases) § Lawer Family Winery, St. Helena, CA 422967 93 | Lioco 422898 94 | Hanzell $75 2010 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay ^ After his travels to Europe to implement the Marshall Plan, and later as Ambassador to Italy, James Zellerbach’s interest in Burgundy led him to plant chardonnay and pinot noir in the hills 50 WINE & SPIRITS OCTOBER 2013 422753 94 | Thomas Fogarty $34 2010 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ The Pacific influence is immedi- $20 2011 Sonoma County Chardonnay ^ This wine achieves textural complexities in its fruit, gaining depth and voluptuous richness with flavors of peach and nectarine in a pale earthen whiteness. An integral structure keeps all that fatness in check, with complexities of its own, from crisp apple and tangerine http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.chaninwine.com/wines http://www.smithmadrone.com/order.htm http://www.liocowine.com/# http://www.hanzell.com/wines.html http://www.fogartywinery.com

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

Wine & Spirits - October 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Books
Spirits
The Heights of Terroir
Best New Sommeliers 2013
New & Noteworthy Bay Area Restaurants
Finger Lakes Road Trip
Extreme Values
Overview
US Chardonnay
Red Burgundy
Australian Shiraz
Bierzo & Galician Reds
Sherry
US New Releases
Imported New Releases
Somm Gaffs

Wine & Spirits - October 2013