Wine & Spirits - August 2018 - 76

US NEW RELEASES
SYRAH
512145

95 | Drew

$48

2016 Mendocino Ridge Valenti Ranch
Syrah ^ When it was first poured, I liked this
wine, clearly built for Rhône-heads with its
cracked-green-peppercorn spice and porky
intensity. But then I fell in love with it the
next day. As it opens, it turns stemmy in the
best way, and races, fragrant, rosy, with the
scent of freshly turned earth and tart red
fruit. I could drink this all night, starting
with a thick-cut pork chop, then with aged
Comté, then just on its own. Valenti Ranch,
an east-facing ridge six miles from the Pacific,
consistently grows some of California's best
syrahs (I've scored Drew's 2008 and 2011 95
points or better; Luke Sykora scored the 2014
at the same level). Jason Drew makes this
wine without added yeasts and with 50 percent whole clusters, cofermenting the fruit
with a little viognier. Get some. (100 cases)
512146

93 | Drew

$48

2016 Mendocino Ridge Perli Vineyard
Syrah ^ Perli is 12 miles from the coast, a
high ridge rising to 2,200 feet, the vines facing northeast. The plant material is different here than at Valenti, where Drew also
sources great syrah (recommended here, as
well): half of Drew's Valenti is Chave selection, while half of his Perli is a selection from
McDowell Valley Vineyard by Steve Alden.
While Drew's Valenti seduces with its aroma,
his Perli is all about texture, meaty, almost
beefy in its richness. This packs savory black
cherry and blackberry into its powerful flavors, lasting, graceful and clean. (99 cases)
511882

92 | Donkey & Goat

$42

2014 El Dorado County Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah ^ Jared and Tracey Brandt have
been making syrah from the Fenaughty
Vineyard since 2005. The vines, planted in
1973, then grafted to syrah in 1980, grow on
a north-facing granite hillside at an elevation
of 2,800 feet. Tasted blind, this has a naive
grapiness that is likely tied to the spontaneous ferment and low-tech winemaking
at Donkey & Goat. Knowing what it is, I'd
probably score it higher, as the clarity and
intensity of El Dorado mineral expression,
combined with the gracious balance of richness and firmness, makes this a compelling
natural wine to drink. (118 cases)
5117244

92 | Drew

$32

2016 Mendocino Ridge The Ornbaun
Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Jason Drew focuses this
blend on syrah (84 percent), including small
amounts of grenache, mourvedre and viog76

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2018

nier; he ferments it with 50 percent whole
clusters and ages it in neutral oak. The spiciness of the stems comes first, adding to the
meatiness and black-olive flavors; then, as
the wine opens, it yields juicy notes of dark
fruit and refreshing, foresty scents of conifers
and violets. It's a dark and vibrant wine from
California's coastal hills. (300 cases)
512270

91 | Skylark

$45

2013 Sonoma Coast Rodgers Creek Vineyard Syrah ^ This grows on the western flank
of Sonoma Mountain, where the Pacific
winds racing through the Petaluma Gap lend
a cool green-peppercorn spice to syrah. Contrast that with sunny fruit and you have a
bright, big-boned syrah with direction to all
of its richness. Serve it with a grilled heritage
pork chop. (125 cases)
511884

88 | Qupé

$20

2016 Central Coast Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Bob
Lindquist's syrah is red fruited and ripe in
2016, its gentle strawberry and hibiscus notes
filling the smooth texture. This is simple and
enjoyable as a young wine, but it's worth noting that Qupé syrahs age reliably well.

COLORADO RED
512287

88 | Grande River

$18

2015 Grand Valley Estate Syrah (Best Buy) ^
Arresting in its exotic scents of cardamom,
olive and smoked ham, this has impressive
concentration and depth of fruit. Give it time
to knit, then uncork for barbecue. (226 cases)

N E W YORK WHITE
PINOT GRIS

when he considers conditions close to perfect. In this first release, he aimed for what he
calls an auslese level of must weight, which
he's achieved, here, in a wine that comes
in at 8.5 percent alcohol. The wine opens
with the scent of warm fruit-peach, honeysuckle, Blenheim apricot, pineapple-and
the flavors are as powerful and heady, with a
spectacular line of acidity that runs through
to the end, keeping those flavors lithe and
fresh, long and lasting. (200 cases)
511833

94 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$29

93 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$36

2016 Seneca Lake Reserve Dry Riesling ^
This wine draws from all three of Wiemer's
vineyards: Josef (50 percent of the blend),
HJW (30 percent) and Magdalena. Each is
vinified separately before blending. The
Reserve feels warmer and deeper than the
2016 Dry Riesling (also recommended here),
with a pronounced aroma of peach, as well
as lemon, lemongrass and green herbs. It's
as focused as a laser beam, with a minerality
that keeps the wine taut and long. (700 cases)
511830
2016 Seneca Lake Magdalena Vineyard
Riesling ^ In 2016, the Magdalena Vineyard's
proximity to Seneca Lake provided a cooling
effect, contributing to this wine's exceptional
depth of flavor (eight separate picks through
the vineyard helped, too). Starting off with
scents of peach and ripe apple, the wine has
a lanolin richness, a weight that feels wholly
satisfying and effortless. Though it has plenty
of fine acidity, it's not a wine of energy so
much as completeness, with a cradling palate presence, an ideal foil for something rich
and spicy, like a Japanese curry. (425 cases)

511709

90 | Atwater

$18

87 | Hazlitt 1852

$13

2016 Finger Lakes Pinot Gris (Best Buy) ^
Bright and lemony, this has a sneaky rieslinglike phenolic lift to its aromas and flavors.
With air, the wine achieves a deeper and
more concentrated depth, ballast against the
brisk, crunchy acidity. (185 cases)
511877
2016 Finger Lakes Pinot Gris (Best Buy) ^
Scents of citrus and rose lead in this balanced
white. It's got a core of lemon-spritzed apple
flavors; to pair with lake trout. (170 cases)

RIESLING
512223

95 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$45

2016 Seneca Lake Single Select Riesling ^
Fred Merwarth launched Single Select with
the 2016 vintage, and intends to make it only

511832

93 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$20

2016 Seneca Lake Dry Riesling (Best Buy) ^
This feels both complete and composed in
its array of flavors and aromas-a whiff of
white peach, a hint of saffron, a pinch of
bruised pineapple, a maple-sugar bass note.
The texture is similarly diverse, rich at first,
then slimming into a crisp finish. It has the
tension and the drive for pork loin.
511831

https://shop.wiemer.com/product/riesling-reserve/

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