Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019 - 108

33RD A N N UA L B U YI NG G UI D E

92 | François Chidaine

Wine & Spirits
$16

2017 Touraine Rouge Côt, Cabernet, Pin-
eau d'Aunis ^ Pineau d'Aunis offers its pepper spice while cabernet and côt bring rustic
power to cut this wine's fruit sweetness. It's
intriguing, a particular take on the theater of
the absurd that seems classic Loire. As one
taster said, "I love it: Just float me down that
river." (W&S 4/19) § Polaner Selections, Mount
Kisco, NY -J.G.

LANGUEDOC
270456

93 | Dom. des Deux Anes

$18

2016 Corbières Fontanilles ^ Biodynamically grown, this is a blend of old-vine carignan, syrah and mourvèdre, a powerful red
in a tense, muscular mode. Herbal, peppery
notes highlight its red-fruited, acidic side
while the smoky, gravelly tannins draw out
the dark, bloody flavors that run underneath.
It feels coiled, needing time in a decanter or
the cellar to emerge. (W&S 6/19) § Jenny &
François Selections, NY -T.Q.T.
270338

93 | Dom. de Fontsainte

$18

2016 Corbières Réserve La Demoiselle ^ The
Laboucarié family has been making wine in
Boutenac since the 1600s; more recently,
Bruno Laboucarié has been shepherding his
oldest parcel, La Demoiselle, into its 115th
year. Those ancient carignan vines put out
a quietly powerful red in 2016, savory to the
extreme. There's a lovely red juiciness in the
center, thanks to Laboucarié's practice of carbonic maceration for the carignan, and the
addition of a little younger-vine, cement-fermented grenache and mourvèdre. The lean,
tense structure adds to the wine's appeal,
carrying notes of coffee and walnuts, bay
leaves and warm stones. It tastes like a wine
from one of the sunniest places in Corbières,
vibrant and alive, radiating flavor without
weight. (W&S 6/19) § Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA -T.Q.T.

ROUSSILLON

WINE & SPIRITS

92 | E. Guigal

$18

2015 Côtes du Rhône ^ Given that the Guigals have close relationships with some 80
farmers up and down the Rhône Valley, perhaps it's not surprising that they make a good
Côtes du Rhône red. Still, this one goes far
beyond what you might expect. The scent
is enticing and warm, inviting in its complex mix of fruit, spice and earth; the flavors
weave spice, earth and violet tones through
vivid berry flavors. Sandy tannins keep the
wine firm, suggesting you might tuck a few
bottles into your cellar. (W&S 8/19) § Vintus,
Pleasantville, NY -T.Q.T.

SAVOIE
236290

93 | Eugene Carrel

$18

2016 Savoie Jongieux Mondeuse ^ A supple, cold mountain wine, this lasts on purple
fruit, fresh and pure. Some initial oak scents
add a butterscotch note, but that fades with
air as layers of lavender-and-violet complexity develop, as if the tannins were multicolored. Those tannins capture the briskness
of the Alps, and yet they're gentle enough
to accommodate braised hare, or porchetta
with fresh herbs. (W&S 4/19) § Martin Scott
Wines, Lake Success, NY -J.G.

GE RMANY WHITE
235494

94 | Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler

$23

2017 Mosel Graacher Himmelreich Ries-
ling Kabinett ^ From Himmelreich's bluegray slate, this is fragrant and filigreed, scents
of jasmine and lime leaf leading into notes
of lime, apple and mango. While it's on the
sweet side of Kabinett, the texture's gentle
richness supports it fully, and the acidity
keeps it light, lively and clean. (W&S 2/19) §
Winesellers, Niles, IL -T.Q.T.

GRE EC E WHITE

92 | Nerantzi

$20

2016 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les
Aspres Grand Terroir ^ A blend of syrah,
mourvèdre and grenache grown in schist
soils at the base of Mont Canigou, this smells
like violets and rosemary , with the scent of
the sea in the background. A three-week maceration extracted dark depths of fruit flavor,
with notes of licorice, herbs and salt playing
up the plummy lushness. Ripe, mineral tannins give the wine shape, and hold the flavors
long. Sumptuous and expansive. (W&S 6/19) §
USA Wine West, Sausalito, CA -T.Q.T.
108

271012

272080

270617

93 | Gérard Bertrand

RHONE

$18

2018 Serres Assyrtiko ^ Evanthia Mitropoulou grows this assyrtiko on the hills above
the Strymonas River, northeast of Thessaloniki. Planted on loam over limestone, the
vines have been producing some of the best
mainland assyrtiko we've tasted in the past
few years, including this rich, ripe wine that
retains the variety's hallmark acidity. Farmed
without inputs, fermented in stainless steel
and bottled with minimal sulfur, it's firm
and savory, with pleasantly abrasive acidity
driving the pithy grapefruit flavors forward.
If you open this now, splash it in a decanter

BUYING GUIDE 2020

before serving with something meaty, like
braised octopus; otherwise, tuck it away in
the cellar for a couple of years. (W&S 8/19) §
Dionysi Grevenitis Selections/DNS Wines, San
Francisco, CA -T.Q.T.

GREEC E ROSE
272151

94 | Parparoussis

$19

2018 Achaia Petite Fleur ^ Athanassios
Parparoussis has championed sideritis since
he founded his estate in the 1970s. He grows
this rare, ruddy-skinned variety just a few
miles from the coast in Patras, but there's
nothing beachy about the wine. Instead, it's
restrained and elegant, a pale copper rosé
that clads its quiet pear juiciness in sea-mist
saltiness and mineral drive. The wine lasts for
days after opening; serve it one night as an
aperitif; on another, with roast fish or grilled
vegetables, and watch it unfold. (W&S 8/19) §
Cava Spiliadis, NY -T.Q.T.

GREEC E RED
272264

93 | Argatia

$19

2016 Macedonia Haroula ^ Haroula Spinthiropoulou, one of the most respected agronomists in Greece, runs this winery with her
husband, Panagiotis Georgiadis, on the
edge of the Naoussa appellation. This blend
showcases xinomavro, the local favorite, with
negoska and mavrodaphne, to create an exuberant wine, its sweet, spiced-cherry flavors
layered with notes of licorice and earth.
And while it feels gentle, it has an internal
strength that keeps it fresh for days after
opening. (W&S 8/19) § Verity Wine Partners,
NY -T.Q.T.

HUNGARY WHITE
235364

93 | Királyudvar

$20

2015 Furmint Tokaji Sec ^ The product of
a hot, dry summer, this is an opulent dry
Tokaji, its sweet scents and honeyed flavors
countered by brisk acidity. A blend of furmint with 15 percent hárslevelu, it comes
entirely from Királyudvar's 24 acres of biodynamically-farmed land-a portfolio that
includes parcels in some of the region's
most coveted crus, such as Lapis, Becsek and
Heyne. Perhaps that's why this packs such
complexity for $20, the wine lasting with a
mineral firmness that's unmistakably Tokaji. § The Rare Wine Co., Brisbane, CA; Polaner
Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY -T.Q.T.

Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019

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