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 - 45
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 46
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 47
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 48
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 49
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 50
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 51
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 53
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 54
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 56
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 57
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 58
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 60
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 61
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 62
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 63
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 65
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 67
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 68
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 69
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 77
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 89
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 90
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 91
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 92
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Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 94
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 95
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 96
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover4
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