Wine & Spirits - December 2013 - (Page 62)

YEAR'S BEST Cabernets & blends our blind panels tasted 829 new-release US cabernets and blends over the past 12 months. our critics rated 128 as exceptional (90+) and 39 as Best Buys. Within California, Joshua Greene reviews north Coast wines; Luke Sykora reviews Central Coast wines. Patrick J. Comiskey reviews US wines outside California. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. Ca li fo rn i a on small berries-black currants, wild blueberries-and also hint at herbs (tarragon, tobacco). This is a terrific vintage of Monte Bello: It feels healthy and sound, with tension and drive that will sustain it for decades in the cellar. § Ridge Vineyards, Cupertino, CA 424055 96 | Diamond Creek 424056 97 | Diamond Creek $200 2010 Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon ^ One of the most riveting vintages of Gravelly Meadow we've tasted on release, this grows on an ancient alluvial wash of river stones where the vines date to 1968 and consistently produce the lowest crop of Diamond Creek's three main vineyards. In 2010, the yield on this vineyard was down more than 25 percent, due to culling fruit after the west-facing bunches were burned in the heat wave. Phil Steinschriber delayed harvest until October 22nd, when the threat of rain forced his hand. In the end, Gravelly Meadow produced his most aromatically beautiful wine. It smells like the manzanita groves on the hillside above Gravelly Meadow; that, plus racy red and black fruit, lean forest-berry flavors that layer with a cool soil character in the tannins as the scent draws you in to the taste. What's equally beautiful is the texture, capturing the concentrated flavors and presenting them with silken grace. Under all that supple, lean muscle, the wine has a strong spine, structured to go the distance in the cellar. (434 cases) § Diamond Creek Vineyards, Calistoga, CA 62 WINE & SPIRITS DECEMBER 2013 $200 2010 Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Generally warmer than Gravelly Meadow, Red Rock is a terraced hillside facing north across the Diamond Creek lagoon toward Volcanic Hill. It's the richest and fattest of the three wines in 2010, a bold stroke of black fruit across the palate. Sweet, plummy and generously oaked, this wine's baby fat doesn't manage to completely hide its formidable structure. The detail in the tannins develops with air, in a raw silk texture and scents of conifer. Contrast that with high notes of jasmine and ginger root and the complexities begin to emerge. (611 cases) § Diamond Creek Vineyards, Calistoga, CA 423781 96 | ridge $160 2010 Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello Vineyard ^ Eric Baugher and Paul Draper select this wine from 58 acres at Monte Bello, predominantly cabernet sauvignon (74 percent in 2010), with merlot (20 percent), petit verdot and cabernet franc. They shape the wine through careful sorting of the grapes, fermenting without added yeast, pressing to new American oak barrels after seven days. The wine then ages two stories down in the 19th-century limestone cellar carved out of the ridge 2,600 feet above the Pacific. The vines, rooted in that same limestone, provide a massive wine, substantial in its structure, generous in its vibrant fruit flavors, gracious in its tannins. While fruit is at the center of the wine, it's savory and sophisticated rather than overtly sweet. The flavors touch 422403 96 | robert Craig $80 95 | Corison $80 2010 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Howell Mountain cabernets are often noted for the power of their tannins. This one shares that power: Grown on red volcanic soils at the estate vineyard adjacent to Robert Craig's winery-the west face of a ridge top closing in on 2,300 feet- it builds intensity out of dark fruit tones and the black spice of its tannins. At first, those tannins feel luxurious, richly layered with cedar and cool forest scents. Their complexity gains with air, as does the wine's refinement, subsuming power into tremendous length of flavor. It brings on a scent memory of camping in the woods-a cabernet that excites the senses, structured to develop for years in the bottle. (W&S 10/13; 950 cases) § Robert Craig Winery, Angwin, CA 423980 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^ For over 20 years, Cathy Corison has sourced her Napa cabernet from the same three vineyards, gravelly sites on the western benchland between Rutherford and St. Helena. This offers that area's distinctly plush and gentle tannins in a Napa Valley cabernet of the old school. It feels formal and reserved, contrasting fresh herbal notes of pipe tobacco and cedar with classic cabernet flavors of red and black currants. Impeccably balanced, this has a scent that's as compelling as any premier cru Pauillac, with the http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.diamondcreekvineyards.com/home.html http://www.diamondcreekvineyards.com/home.html http://www.robertcraigwine.com/

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

Wine & Spirits - December 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Acid Trips
The Great Whiskey Shortage of 2013
Spirits
Gadgets and Gi
New Destinations
Where to Eat & Drink in Seattle
Turning Champagne into Wine
Barolo & Formaggio
Douro, No Apologies
Walla Walla Cabernet
The Best for $10 or Less
Overview
Champagne
US Sparkling Wine
US Cabernet Sauvignon
Alsace
German Riesling
2011 Vintage Port
Barolo & Barbaresco
Rioja
US New Releases
International New Releases
Wine & Spirits Top 100

Wine & Spirits - December 2013