Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 129

FOCUS: NEW ZEALAND
92 | Valli

$50

2016 Central Otago North Otago Waitaki
Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Waitaki Valley in eastern Otago is cooled by its proximity to the
Pacific-which translates to a longer growing season and, in the glass, a mouthwatering
wine with briary fruit and elevated acidity.
Winemaker Grant Taylor planted early-ripening Dijon and Pommard clones here, and
the wine has a wonderful contrast between
the warm and smoky, flinty minerality and
the flavors of just-picked raspberries and red
cherries. The sensation on the palate is reminiscent of snow-light, silky, cool. § USA Wine
Imports, NY
121782

91 | Amisfield

$75

2016 Central Otago Block 3 Pinot Noir ^
Block 3 is a sector of the deepest sandy
loam soils at the biodynamically farmed
Elms Vineyard. The block produced a powerful 2016, one that exudes elegance and a
complexity of flavor without feeling forced.
There's a great play here between savory
notes of smoked parmesan and cured salumi,
and spiced cherries and red licorice. This is a
wine of conversation, best served with roast
meats. § Martin Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY
121706

91 | Valli

$50

2016 Central Otago Bannockburn Vineyard Pinot Noir ^ Shy at first, and becoming
more generous as it opens, this wine has a
delicacy of red fruit that's contrasted by cool
tannins and the cocoa-sassafras richness of
oak, harmonizing on the finish. It has concentration without weight, sophistication
with a light touch. Cellar for a year, to enjoy
with roast turkey. § USA Wine Imports, NY
121865

90 | Felton Road

$60

2016 Central Otago Cornish Point Pinot
Noir ^ Full of spice and rich in color, this
full-bodied pinot shows off pretty details of
crunchy red fruits. Rhubarb and strawberry
are brought out thanks to most of the juice
being fermented in neutral French oak. The
twenty-five percent that is fermented in new
barrels contributes woodsy notes of sarsapa-

92 | Craggy Range

$22

2015 Gimblett Gravels Te Kahu Single
Vineyard Gimblett Gravels Vineyards
(Best Buy) ^ This stylish merlot-dominant
blend grows in the gravelly soils left behind
from the 1876 flood of the Ngaruroro River.
The wine offers refinement and succulent
fruit countered by firm, ample tannins. Saturated plummy fruit and cassis curl up with
notes of violets and woodsy spice, making
this an excellent demonstration of Bordeaux
varieties grown in the right place. § Kobrand,
Purchase, NY

SYRAH
121789

94 | Trinity Hill

$45

2015 Central Otago Pinot Noir ^ Compact
at first, this wine revs up with exposure to
air, becoming a complex and direct pinot. It
drives right down the palate with lush but
just-ripe red currants and cherries and a
smooth-as-silk texture. Leafy notes of fresh
tobacco and tea underscore its earth tones,
making this a thrill to drink. Try it with a
grilled Gruyère sandwich on country bread. §
Pacific Rim Wine Logistics, Sebastopol, CA
121864

91 | Felton Road

rilla and star anise. Thirty percent whole cluster complements it all with earthy, red tea-
like tannins, which are fine and persistent. A
formidable food wine, it would be ideal with
roast pork and mushrooms. § Martin Scott
Wines, Lake Success, NY

121725

90 | Giesen

$25

88 | Winegrowers of Ara

$18

2015 Marlborough The Brothers Pinot
Noir ^ As aromatic as a bushel of plums, this
pinot is calibrated between its warm, lively
fruit, oak and lithe structure. Juicy red stone
fruits contrast the black-tea aromatics, and
there's an impression of sapid herbs and
mushroom caps that helps maintain a compact earthiness. Try it with beet salad. § Pacific
Highway Wines & Spirits, Petaluma, CA
121673
2015 Marlborough Single Estate Pinot
Noir (Best Buy) ^ Extremely drinkable, this
pinot's jammy fruit sweetness has seedy
black-raspberry notes perfectly proportioned
to the taut, streaky sensation of plum-skin
tannins, ripe and slightly sour. It ends in a
happy place, clean and fresh, without extra
heft. § Vinum Int'l, Napa, CA

$100

2015 Hawke's Bay Homage ^ Winemaker
John Hancock, who worked the harvest at
Jaboulet in 1996, received syrah cuttings
from the Hermitage hill as a gift from Gérard
Jaboulet. Hancock planted them in 2001,
and now, in good vintages, uses the vines for
Homage. This is its tenth release, a powerful wine, with an elegance that encourages
you to overlook its immaturity. Scents of potpourri, lavender and wild thyme rush the palate, the flavors balanced by a sturdy structure
that will frame it as it ages. This is bound up
in its youth and would benefit greatly from a
few years in the cellar. § Terroir Life, Napa, CA

DESSERT

RED BLENDS
121713

94 | Villa Maria

$150

2013 Hawkes Bay Ngakirikiri The Gravels ^ The inaugural vintage of this cabernet
sauvignon, this is made from fruit off of
vines averaging 22 years old. All the fruit is
destemmed; after fermentation, it aged in
French barriques, 52 percent new. Though
2013 was declared a drought vintage, cool
nights helped slow the grapes' ripening. That
coolness shows in the wine, reminiscent of
the snap of tempered dark chocolate, an
iron-like, gravelly minerality lifting through
delicate scents of rose, eucalyptus and bay
leaf. This is an elegant wine whose fruit is
wound up in its tannins now, but a few years
of settling will lend finer details and sophistication. § Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Woodinville, WA
121623

121817

92 | Giesen

$35/375ml

2014 Marlborough The Brothers Late
Harvest Sauvignon Blanc ^ Crushed by foot
before being basket pressed for four hours,
this wine ferments over two months in both
stainless steel and 1,000-liter fuders. The
result is an opulent wine with bright notes
of orange-flower honey, apricots and vanillabaked pears. Hints of saffron and freshly
picked button mushrooms add depth and
complexity, and the finish goes long thanks
to the resilient acidity. Ideal for cheese, blues
in particular, and custards. § Pacific Highway
Wines & Spirits, Petaluma, CA n
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2018

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2018

Contents
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 1
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 2
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 3
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 4
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - 6
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Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - April 2018 - Cover4
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