Wine & Spirits - June 2018 - 77

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES
juicy, more ripe than sweet, with a complexity that brings to mind pear skin, quince
paste, and a peppery, turnip-like character.
The wine feels rooted in the earth, a firm,
broad white for a veal-and-mushroom braise. §
New Wines of Hungary, Sarasota, FL
229505

flavor, a little alcohol spice adding texture. §
Eric Solomon Selections/European Cellars,
Charlotte, NC

$27

2016 Transylvania Legendary Estate Series
Pinot Grigio (Best Buy) ^ Brunch wine, this
is clean and easy, with vanilla-tinged apple
sweetness. § Tri-Vin Imports, Mount Vernon, NY

90 | Demetervin

2015 Tokaj Tribal Tatoo Dry Furmint ^ A
juicy furmint, this plays sweet, ripe lime and
apricot notes over the variety's spicy, earthy
flavors. Those flavors last, a bright hint of
citrus zest contrasting its umami tones. § New
Wines of Hungary, Sarasota, FL
229030

90 | Kvaszinger

$23

2016 Tokaji Estate Furmint (Best Buy) ^ The
Kvaszinger family has owned a vineyard in
Tokaj since 1929, but didn't begin to make
wines until 2011. Today, Laszlo Kvaszinger
and his sons organically farm 23 acres in
Olaszliszka. Their 2016 is a spicy, waxy Tokaji, earthbound in flavor and feel. Notes of
dried flowers and honeycomb scent the fruit,
quince-like and meaty. The wine lasts, quiet
and firm. § New Wines of Hungary, Sarasota, FL
229015

89 | Majoros

$18

2016 Tokaji Dry Furmint (Best Buy) ^ With
air this wine moves past its flinty reduction,
allowing gentle notes of Meyer lemon and
herbs to come up. Tea-like tannins give it
shape; a simple white for fish. § New Wines of
Hungary, Sarasota, FL

M A C E D O N I A W HIT E
229655

85 | Tikves

$11

2017 Tikves Special Selection Rkatsiteli
(Best Buy) ^ Clean and juicy with golden apple
flavors, this is simple and slightly bitter.
Give it a chill for fried chicken. § Eric Solomon
Selections/European Cellars, Charlotte, NC

M A C E D O N I A RE D

85 | Cramele Recas

$9

R OMA NIA RED
229448

85 | Cramele Recas

$7

2016 Romania Dreambird Pinot Noir
(Best Buy) ^ With light oak and strawberry
flavors, this is a summer-weight pinot to
pour with grilled chicken sausages. § Tri-Vin
Imports, Mount Vernon, NY

2015 Tikves Special Selection Vranec (Best
Buy) ^ Iris purple, this is juicy with blackberry

$17

87 | Spier

$19

2015 Western Cape Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ This wine's fruit
has a savory tone, its herbal notes leaning
toward tobacco and ash. It fills that austerity with notes of cherry syrup and chocolate,
vinous and firm. § Classic Wines, Stamford, CT
122214
2016 Coastal Region Vintage Selection
Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ Smooth
and saturated with cassis flavor, this is a
sweet and smoky cabernet to serve with brisket. § Saranty Imports, Stamford, CT

C I N S A U LT

SAUVIGNON BLANC

93 | A.A. Badenhorst

122645

122446

91 | Simonsig

$18

2017 Western Cape Sunbird Sauvignon
Blanc (Best Buy) ^ This brisk sauvignon has
a coastal feel that aligns it with pan-roasted
fish. Its clean savor of peach and white grapefruit make it refreshing while the hint of narcissus points toward spring. § Quintessential,
Napa, CA
122375

90 | Tokara

$25

2017 Elgin Reserve Collection Sauvignon
Blanc ^ A rich sauvignon with pink-grapefruit
flavors and a touch of gingery sweetness,
this follows a crisp line of flavor. Pour it with
Cantonese steamed flounder with ginger and
scallions. § Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., NY

SOUTH AFRIC A RED
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

91 | Anthonij Rupert
$11

87 | KMV

S OUTH AFRIC A WHITE

121993

229282

85 | Tikves

229449

$22

2015 Tokaji Tarcal Deák Vineyard Dry
Furmint (Best Buy) ^ Oak makes the greatest impression in this wine, adding breadth
to the texture and smoke to the peach flavors.
That fruit feels slightly oxidized, the nutty
notes and saline minerality giving it a Fino
Sherry-like edge. Pour it with grilled shrimp. §
New Wines of Hungary, Sarasota, FL
229016

87 | Slopes

R OMA NIA WHITE

ity. It moves from smoky richness, hinting at
roasted portobello mushrooms and bacon,
toward violet scents and clean red-fruit flavors. A wine with staying power, this is built
to age. § Terlato Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
121941

$80

2012 Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon ^
This aged for two years in mostly new French
oak, then another two years in bottle prior
to release, and needs plenty of air once it's
opened for the wine's fragrance to gain clar-

$63

2016 Swartland Ramnasgras Cinsault ^
This cinsault comes from dry-farmed vines
planted in the 1950s at the Badenhorst cousins' ranch in Swartland. It's farmed organically, the grapes fermented in whole bunches
in open-top wooden vats, then aged in large
barrels, presenting a deliciously fresh, fragrant red with lasting notes of forest strawberries. There's a red-fruit glow to the smooth
tannins, firming up the wine's gentle richness, placing it with anything from pork rillettes to a crown roast. § Broadbent Selections,
San Francisco, CA

PINOT NOIR
122621

91 | Storm Wines

$50

2015 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Vrede Pinot
Noir ^ Hannes Storm farms this five-acre parcel two miles from the Atlantic, south of False
Bay. It's planted on a mix of shale and clay,
the young vines producing a rosy, red-fruited
pinot, its savory tension mellowed by lush
notes of cherries. It feels clean and coastal,
ready to serve cellar temperature with roast
fish with a red-wine reduction. § Broadbent
Selections, San Francisco, CA

SPAIN WHITE
RUEDA
229073

90 | Juan Galindo

$25

2016 Rueda Verdejo ^ The scents of apricot and ripe pineapple may immediately
capture your attention while almond and
herbal notes play in the background. This
WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2018

77
https://www.simonsig.co.za/wines/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - June 2018
