Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017 - 99

100
BESTWINES
BESTWINES
OF THE YEAR
OF THE YEAR
U N I T E D STA T E S
BEST CHARDONNAY
507842

95 | Bergström

$95

2015 Willamette Valley Sigrid Chardonnay ^ Sigrid is Josh Bergström's barrel selection of lots from five biodynamically farmed
estate vineyards, and it's his most dramatic
white wine. In 2015 this chardonnay's shades
of fruit and savor, its layers and textural
breadth are on display, all of it propelled by
an edgy, acid-driven freshness. Initially, the
lees and reduction will take you in a savory
direction, but with air the wine appears to
fill with autumnal light. The flavors of ripe
apple, golden pear and mineral lees become
fuller and more focused, interwoven in what
seems like an intricate, dramatic and, frankly,
gorgeous pattern. (W&S 10/17; 500 cases)
508094

94 | Lioco

$50

2015 Santa Cruz Mountains La Marisma
Chardonnay ^ Protracted drought made for
extremely low yields at this vineyard in a
foggy valley on the west side of the Santa
Cruz Mountains, just six miles from the
ocean-and the result is a wine with a precise, concentrated freshness. At first, it feels
like a well-balanced, typical California chardonnay: warm, spicy fruit and biscuity richness. As it takes on air, it reveals more intensity and depth of flavor, building toward
flashes of succulent peach flesh and stony
peach pit, and the snappy spice of nectarine
skin. Age it for a few years and you'll have a
stunning bottle of chardonnay. (W&S 10/17;
325 cases)
450073

94 | Red Car

This year we tasted more than 15,000 wines at Wine & Spirits, recommending 4,700. Those recommended
wines tend not to be the biggest, boldest or most intense. Rather, we train our tasters and critics to seek
Here are the most exciting bottles we opened in the last 12 months.
out wines that carry the flavors of a place, wines that might be shy at first but reveal themselves over sevOut of the 12,000 wines we presented to our blind panels this year, these are the boteral days, with the kinds of textures and aromas that emerge with decanting or bottle age. The wines that
tles that excited our tasters, the wines our critics tasted for several days before their idenimpress us most have memorable depths of flavor, suited for cellaring or as integral parts of a meal.
tities were revealed, fascinated by their flavors that went beyond delicious fruit, the wines
Our critics selected these 100 wines as the most memorable we tasted over the past year. We present
that clearly brought to mind the places where they were grown.
them by country and region, starting with the US. Joshua Greene, Patrick J. Comiskey and Luke Sykora
We've arranged them here by country and region, starting with the United States.
reviewed the US wines; Joshua Greene, Stephanie Johnson, Patricio Tapia and Tara Q. Thomas
Joshua Greene and Patrick J. Comiskey reviewed the American wines; Greene,
reviewed
the imports.
We hope
you'lland
findTara
these Q.
wines
as memorable
as wethe
do,imports.
great dinner
companions
Peter Liem,
Patricio
Tapia
Thomas
reviewed
To access
all
and
conversation
starters.
of our tasting results from this year, please go to wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

ridge-a tiny block of chardonnay in a sea
of cool-climate pinot noir. Made without any
new oak, it's pretty stunning, with a wonderfully lacy texture, a vibrant scent of chamomile and a sunny burst of yellow raspberry
flavor. This would be awesome for a dim sum
brunch, next to shrimp and chive dumplings.
(W&S 10/17)

BEST SAUVIGNON BL ANC
450297

95 | Rochioli

$35

2016 Russian River Valley Sauvignon
Blanc ^ If you've never been blown away by
a California sauvignon blanc, you owe it
to yourself to taste this wine. Over half of
the fruit comes from an old vineyard that
Joe Rochioli, Jr., planted in 1959; it's now
farmed by his son Tom. Old vines, as well
as the sunny, temperate climate and stony
soil along the banks of the Russian River,
drew the fruit to a precise, focused intensity
in 2016. You'll find ripe, luscious flavors of
papaya and peach-even redder tones of
wild strawberry-tied to a profound sense of
mineral depth. For all of its power, the fruit
remains vivid and mouthwatering, as pure as
spring water. (W&S 8/17; 2,744 cases)

BEST CABERNET BLENDS

$58

2014 Sonoma Coast Hagan Vineyard Chardonnay ^ While many California chardonnays
bring butter to mind, this one instead suggests the floral richness of fresh milk from a
cow browsing in a mountain meadow. It's the
third vintage Carroll Kemp has made from
a young vineyard planted to the Old Wente
selection on the coastal end of Taylor Lane

446341

96 | Lexington

$95

2013 Santa Cruz Mountains Apex Gist
Ranch Estate ^ After Dr. Thomas Fogarty purchased the Four Winds Christmas Tree Farm
on Gist Road in 2000, he planted it to Bor-

deaux varieties as a foil to his cooler climate
pinot and chardonnay site further north.
When Tommy Fogarty, Jr., joined his father's
winery, he decided to create a separate label
to showcase the site, and give winemaker
Nathan Kandler the freedom to rethink the
farming and the wines. They began farming
the site organically, without irrigation, and
fermenting the wines without added yeast.
That effort has culminated in an astonishing
2013 Apex, a wine that brings together the
estate's best cabernet lots with some franc
and merlot, all grown at 2,000 feet of elevation on a sandstone ridge in the middle of a
coastal pine forest. Our entire tasting panel
practically erupted with a collective "yes"
when we first tasted this wine. Texturally, the
2013 Apex feels as fresh as a coastal pinot
noir but with the depth and ageworthiness of
mountain cabernet-nimble yet firm, with a
dark floral aroma that lasts. It's cool, resinous and savory. Cellar this next to a young
Monte Bello or Mount Eden cabernet, and
open them together in ten or twenty years for
a delicious side-by-side comparison. (W&S
12/16; 100 cases)
446474

95 | Andrew Will

$83

95 | Col Solare

$95

2013 Horse Heaven Hills Sorella Champoux Vineyard ^ Inky and dark when first
poured, Chris Camarda's top selection in
2013 feels massive at first pass; it's mostly
cabernet drawn from the old-vine blocks at
Champoux. With air its flavors turn a corner, as much savory as dark-fruited, leaning
toward crushed pink peppercorn and ground
sumac, with textures that seem to reflect that
vine age in the finesse of their suave tannins.
Those tannins carry a dusty minerality that
is saturating but not heavy in the least. Cellar, then serve with beef tenderloin. (W&S
12/16; 716 cases)
507907
2014 Red Mountain Collector's Society
Red Wine ^ When Col Solare started to bottle different components and blends of their
estate fruit, from vines now 12 years old,

WINE & SPIRITS

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