Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 87

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES Our blind panels tasted 390 imported new-release wines for this issue. Our critics rated 86 as exceptional (90+) and 42 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene covers Australia, France (Bordeaux, Jura, Savoie); Stephanie Johnson covers Italy. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. A UST R A L I A WHIT E and leaves the wine to rest on its lees in barrel. This is a powerful chardonnay, seriously structured, holding its warmth of alcohol in a clean, round mouthful of red apple flavor. Cellar it to let the flavors evolve. § Vine Street Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ 118586 CHARDONNAY 90 | Leeuwin Estate 118556 92 | Giant Steps $42 2015 Yarra Valley Chardonnay ^ This is mouthwatering, a sensation that doesn't often come to mind with Australian chardonnay. That's due, in large part, to a vintage that ripened chardonnay to crisp flavors of apples and pears with plenty of natural acidity. Phil Sexton and Steve Flamsteed nurtured that freshness through fermentation in 500-liter French oak puncheons (20 percent new), with no added yeast, no malolactic and limited lees stirring as the wines matured. The result is delicate, bright and zesty, with a clean, pleasantly salty finish. The wine's precision suggests watching out for the release of Giant Steps' single-vineyard chardonnays from 2015. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA 118503 92 | Kooyong $35 2015 Mornington Peninsula Clonale Chardonnay ^ This estate-grown chardonnay ferments in French barriques without added yeast and rests on the lees without stirring for ten months. It smells like sea spray, a coastal, saline scent that carries through the wine's generous richness. Bright, floral and peppery, this would make an awesome wine for ceviche. § Negociants USA, Napa, CA 118682 90 | Bindi $125 2014 Victoria Quartz Chardonnay ^ At his estate in the Macedon Ranges northwest of Melbourne, Michael Dhillon selects this chardonnay from vines planted in 1988, a particular 1.2-acre sector where he finds the high proportion of quartz in the soil heightens the complexity of the finished wine. He doesn't add anything to the fermentation, $36 2014 Margaret River Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay ^ Bright with saturated flavors of peaches and ginger, this wine buzzes with energy and green spice. Barrel fermented in French oak (40 percent new), this wine is tightly focused, with enough fruit to outlast the wood in the finish. Ready to drink now and over the next several years, it will add spice to grilled marron, Australian freshwater crayfish. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA 118075 90 | Maverick $25 2013 Eden Valley Twins Pewsey Vale Chardonnay ^ A big, heady chardonnay, this is warm and unctuous in its kaffir lime flavors, with equally substantial acidity keeping it dry and bringing out the brioche notes of lees aging. An intriguing match for smoked salmon or any rich seafood. § Cannon Wines, San Francisco, CA 118679 90 | Ochota Barrels $75 2015 Adelaide Hills Slint Vineyard Chardonnay ^ Grown in a north-facing vineyard at more than 1,800 feet, this ferments without added yeast in French oak (50 percent new). Taras Ochota moves it to a cold place in the cellar to block malolactic, leaving it to age on the lees in barrel for ten months. That time on the lees gives this the scent of a savory pastry, the flavors touching on mandarin orange pith, lime and smoke. The acidity is potent. It's not a traditional style of chardonnay, but it's intriguing with food, especially rich shellfish. § Vine Street Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ RIESLING 118505 93 | Pewsey Vale $45 a vineyard first planted in 1847 and restored by the Hill-Smith family in the 1960s. She releases it five years after the vintage, when the wine has just begun to open. This 2010 is still youthfully austere, with a brisk, dramatic spiciness, a lime-leaf and mineral flavor that lasts. It should continue to mature over the next decade. § Negociants USA, Napa, CA 118635 91 | Grosset-Hill Smith $26 91 | Kilikanoon $20 2015 Eden Valley Mesh Riesling ^ Jeffrey Grosset and Robert Hill-Smith collaborate on this wine, a blend from two Eden Valley vineyards: Grossman, planted in 1944, and Miles, planted in 1982. Both are north-facing slopes at 1,400 feet. The harvest team picks alternate rows for Grosset and Hill-Smith, who make their own wines separately, later meeting to taste the various lots and decide on a final blend. In 2015, the wine is juicy, linear and clean, more fruit expressive than Grosset's Clare Valley rieslings, with scents of orange blossoms and a succulent texture, the kind of clean, talc-edged riesling that should develop into a marmalade-rich maturity with ten years in bottle. § Negociants USA, Napa, CA 118618 2014 Clare Valley Killerman's Run Riesling (Best Buy) ^ Earthy and austere, this is a dry white with playful tension to the flavors, a buzz of acidity stinging the scents of honeycomb and lime. Tight for now, this will develop richer lime flavors with five years in the cellar. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA SAUVIGNON BLANC 118484 89 | Riposte by Tim Knappstein $22 2015 Adelaide Hills The Foil Sauvignon Blanc (Best Buy) ^ A generous, full-bodied sauvignon with warm citrus and passion fruit notes, this has the green jalapeño spice of pyrazines, along with enough acidity to keep it tart and clean. Pour it with grilled prawns. § Little Peacock Imports, Wilmington, DE 2010 Eden Valley The Contours Museum Reserve Riesling ^ Louisa Rose selects this wine from the coolest hillside at Pewsey Vale, WINE & SPIRITS OCTOBER 2016 87 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.giantstepswine.com.au/shop/2015-giant-steps-yarra-valley-chardonnay

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2016

Contents
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 1
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 2
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 3
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 4
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 6
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 7
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 8
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 9
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 10
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 11
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 12
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 13
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 14
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 15
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 16
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 17
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 18
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 19
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 20
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 21
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 22
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 23
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 24
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 25
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 26
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 27
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 28
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 29
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 30
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 31
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 32
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 33
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 34
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 35
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 36
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 37
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 38
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 39
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 40
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 41
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 42
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 43
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 60
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 61
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 63
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 65
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 86
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 87
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 88
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 89
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 90
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 91
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover4
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