Wine & Spirits - August 2017 - 56

YEAR'S BEST SUMMER SPARKLERS
Our blind panels tasted 523 sparkling wines from outside of Champagne over the past 12 months. Our critics rated 29 as exceptional
(90+) and 25 as Best Buys. Patrick J. Comiskey covers New York; Luke Sykora covers California; Joshua Greene covers Australia,
Alsace and Loire; Stephanie Johnson covers Italy; Patrico Tapia covers Spain; Tara Q. Thomas covers Austria and France's
Languedoc. For Greek sparklers, see page 62. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

U N I T E D STA T E S
446496

93 | Iron Horse

$42

2011 Green Valley of Russian River Valley Classic Vintage Brut ^ Lacy and delicate,
this is a delicious evocation of the Iron Horse
estate in the rolling hills of Green Valley, as
seen through the lens of a particularly cool
year. It starts out soft and quiet, with whispery scents of white flowers and pear skin
that last with persistence and energy, grabbing the attention slowly, like a gathering
fog. Serve it with something equally delicate, like a seafood mousse. (W&S 12/16;
1,100 cases) §
448228

93 | Willamette Valley Vyds $55

2014 Willamette Valley Grower Series
Brut Sparkling Wine ^ This blend of pinot
noir and chardonnay is a very appealing
Oregon sparkling wine, its ripe fruit broad
and flavorful, leading with lemon-lime scents
and a sourdough splash of lees. Taut acidity
gives it contour, drawing out Fuji apple and
pear flavors that last in a fine, clean mousse.
The finish is long and lingering, with a crisp,
yuzu-like electricity. (W&S 4/17; 450 cases) §
450061

92 | Heart & Hands

$39

2009 Finger Lakes Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Wine ^ This sparkler charms with a
sweet, tree-fruit scent; then its flavors deepen
as its salty, autolytic notes lend the gravity of
age. It has a focused, steel-cut edge of apple
and white cherry flavor, the finish mineral
and long. (108 cases) §
446493

91 | Iron Horse

$50

2011 Green Valley of Russian River Valley Ocean Reserve Blanc de Blancs ^ This
captures a cool vintage in crisp, citrusy fruit
supported by a talc-like structure that might
have you thinking Champagne in a blind
tasting. It's not yeasty or layered, just cool
and precise, the flavors as pale as a polished
seashell. Serve it out of a wineglass rather
than a flute, letting air soften its firm edges.
(W&S 12/16; 500 cases) §
446530

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2017

90 | Balletto

$42

90 | Gloria Ferrer

$22

2012 Russian River Valley Brut Rosé ^ Brisk
and spicy, this lasts on bright lemon and raspberry flavors inflected with just a touch of
pinot noir leafiness. What it lacks in depth it
makes up for in energy. Its cleansing acidity
will match oysters. (W&S 12/16; 782 cases) §
446278
Carneros Blanc de Noirs ^ This isn't complex,
but something about its sweet, sunny fruit
and gentle precision feels properly Californian. The texture is soft and polished, lasting
on a clean chamomile scent that will keep
you coming back for more. (W&S 12/16) §
446517

90 | Roederer Estate

$48

2009 Anderson Valley L'Ermitage Brut ^
The 2009 vintage grew lush pinot noir and
chardonnay on the northern California coast,
and that vintage character defines Roederer
Estate's tête de cuvée: Its rich, ripe apple flavor is threaded with the toastiness of barrelaged reserve lots, while a bright line of acidity
gives healthy persistence. (W&S 12/16) §

90 | Langmann

$16

Weststeiermark Schilcher Frizzante
Blauer Wildbacher (Best Buy) ^ Less bubbly than Langmann's Sekt (recommended
here, too), this is floral and bright, with spicy,
juicy cranberry fruit that makes it particularly refreshing. (W&S 4/17) § Monika Caha
Selections/Frederick Wildman & Sons, NY

FRANC E
ALSACE
216229

90 | Cave de Turckheim

$32

Crémant d'Alsace Mayerling Brut Rosé ^
From fruit grown on gravel and granite
soils, this has clean, fresh flavors that last.
It's firm and juicy, with a touch of mushroom
earthiness adding structure to the length and
depth of pinot noir flavor. Pour it with sautéed cèpes. (W&S 12/16) § Magnum Wines
Int'l, East Greenwich, RI

LANGUEDOC

A USTRALIA
119052

90 | Jansz

$27

Tasmania Premium Rosé ^ A savory sparkler,
this wine's tart strawberry flavors and bitter
apple-skin notes set an austere style, while
the fine bubbles make it friendly. Clean and
firm, this will needle an appetite for raw oysters. (W&S 2/17) § Negociants USA, Napa, CA

A USTRIA
218605

91 | Langmann

$20

Weststeiermark Schilcher Sekt Blauer
Wildbacher (Best Buy) ^ Stefan Langmann
selects his best wildbacher grapes and macerates them for up to 18 hours before fermentation, drawing out a red that's much
deeper than this local grape will usually give.
He manages to extract some of the variety's
more intriguing aspects, like the black-currant-leaf and pepper notes that spice this
wine's wild strawberry flavors. It's meaty and
full bodied, a sparkling rosé for charcuterie,
like air-dried beef. (W&S 4/17) § Monika Caha
Selections/Frederick Wildman & Sons, NY
218620

222553

88 | Côté Mas

$16

Crémant de Limoux Brut Rosé (Best Buy) ^
Herbal, spicy, clean and mineral, this is a
refreshing chardonnay-based sparkler with
tart strawberry flavors from 10 percent pinot
noir. Pour it with an herb frittata. § Esprit du
Vin, Syosset, NY

LOIRE
219521

92 | Domaine de la
Taille aux Loups

$28

Montlouis-sur-Loire Triple Zéro ^ Triple
Zéro is one of the wines Jacky Blot developed
in the early 1990s, after he switched from
wine broker to Loire winemaker. It's conceived as a natural, bottle-fermented spar-

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2017