Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019 - 88

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

Wine & Spirits

BEST MERLOTS
517762

93 | Duckhorn

$78

93 | Frog's Leap

$40

2016 Carneros Napa Valley Merlot ^ Merlot
at its silken best, this makes the most of the
variety's fine tannins to support and coddle
its generous red fruit. It's firm and lovely,
delivering richness while sustaining clarity.
Delicious with roast duck. (W&S 10/19; 500
cases) -J.G.
516906
2016 Rutherford Napa Valley Merlot ^
Hmm. Dry-farmed merlot in Napa Valley?
John Williams and his team at Frog's Leap
grow some of the freshest, prettiest merlot in
a region where the variety is mostly irrigated
and taken to extremes of richness. They focus
this wine on fruit from their estate vineyard
on the east side of Rutherford, where the cool
clay soils near the Napa River provide shelter
for the vine roots while the heat of the day
ripens the fruit. I don't think I've ever written
"sing-song merlot" to describe the variety in
Napa Valley, but there it is in my notes on this
red-fruited wine, a mouthwatering depiction
of red plums, savory tobacco and light, brisk,
gentle tannins. (W&S 8/19) -J.G.

BEST MOURVEDRE
513743

94 | Terre Rouge

$30

2015 Sierra Foothills Mourvedre ^ It's hard
to argue with a chill-able, crunchy red that
races with energy and then lasts with the tannic earthiness of crushed rock. This includes
mourvedre from two sites, one on sandy
loam, another on granite and clay; there's
also a little grenache and syrah in the blend.
The flavors are high-toned, with strawberry
and cranberry notes and some dried orange
zest, making it savory, bright and delicious.
(W&S 12/18; 250 cases) -J.G.

BEST PETITE SIRAH
516442

94 | Stags' Leap Winery

$125

2015 Stags Leap District Ne Cede Malis
Petite Sirah ^ Frances Grange planted the Ne
Cede Malis block in 1929, a mix of 16 varieties. It's predominantly petite sirah, a variety first planted on the estate in 1872. Christophe Paubert tends that block today, and
has been fascinated by petite sirah since he
arrived at Stags' Leap Winery in 2009 (he
grew up outside of Sauternes, and his career
has included four years as cellar master at
Château d'Yquem). In 2015, he worked with
that mixed planting to produce a pretty
awesome wine, crunchy and detailed, an
old-vine perspective on Napa Valley. There's
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WINE & SPIRITS

complexity in the tannins and in the floral
buzz of the fruit, roseate and red. One panelist described it as "an elegant linebacker,"
which you might interpret as a wine that's
strong without being blunt, its flavor and
power coming at you from a lot of different
angles, then surprising you with a silkiness
where you might have expected weight. The
fruit has a cranberry richness (yet another
oxymoron), but the complexity is in the tannins, layering in a structure that's both tense
and lasting. (W&S 6/19) -J.G.

BEST PINOT NOIRS

517236

95 | Calera

$75

95 | Calera

$95

2016 Mt. Harlan Reed Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ Natural and effortless, the Calera 2016s
are among the most elegant California pinot
noirs we've tasted from the vintage, the summation of place and subtle but assertive winemaking. None more so than Reed, the smallest and oldest of the pinot noir vineyards
Josh Jensen planted on Mt. Harlan. It leads
with a quiet but spicy whole-cluster thrust
of lavender and bergamot, leafy and savory,
backed up by a coniferous wood spice from
French oak barrels, about 30 percent new.
For all the savor, it tastes like the cool radiant sunshine of California at high elevation.
The flavors feel sleek and quiet, unhurried
and poised. (W&S 8/19; 375 cases) -P.J.C.
515795
2015 Mt. Harlan Selleck Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ Planted on a cool, limestone-rich
mountaintop in the Gabilan Range, inland
from the Monterey Coast, this is a deeply
savory pinot. In this 2015, the spice, the oak,
the shimmering fruit and the fine foggy grip
of the tannins all suggest a wine of uncompromising stature. The flavors are at once
brooding and luminous, the textures fine and
delineated, even as the wine flaunts its complexity, its sense of place extending to the
pale morning light, the limestone soils. It's
so well put together that it's clear it will age
beautifully. (W&S 4/19; 110 cases) -P.J.C.
517967

BUYING GUIDE 2020

95 | Lioco

$48

95 | Radio-Coteau

$52

2017 Anderson Valley La Selva Pinot Noir ^
Drew Huffine joined Lioco as winemaker at
the beginning of 2018, inheriting the still-fermenting 2017 pinots from the Cerise Vineyard, on ridges above Boonsville, and from
Kiser, closer to the Pacific in Anderson Valley's Deep End. He also inherited a dilemma:
Lioco no longer purchased fruit from the
vineyard that had anchored La Selva, their
Anderson Valley blend, so Huffine and Matt
Licklider decided to declassify two barrels
each from these vineyard designates to create
this clean, rich pinot, using the brisk cherryskin notes of a far-coast pinot to lighten and
layer seashell salinity into the inland pinot's
bitter chocolate tannins. It's a pretty wine,
and pretty light in terms of extract and
weight, yet it delivers sophisticated flavor
depth. (W&S 10/19) -J.G.
515442
2016 Sonoma Coast La Neblina Pinot
Noir ^ Named for the coastal fog that rolls
in at night to blanket western Sonoma, this
wine blends fruit from five sites, including
Eric Sussman's Radio-Coteau estate in Occidental, and Hallberg, Dierke, Alberigi and
Laguna, all of them farmed under organics.
It seems to capture coastal energy with lovely
density to its red raspberry and pomegranate flavors, bold, refreshingly ripe and succulent. There's a lot of vibrato to the flavors,
a harmonic intensity that makes it thrilling
to drink now and suggests a long life ahead.
(W&S 4/19; 960 cases) -J.G.

515348

95 | Williams Selyem

$85

2016 Anderson Valley Burt Williams'
Morning Dew Ranch Pinot Noir ^ When
Burt Williams sold his interest in Williams
Selyem to John and Kathe Dyson in 1998,
he purchased this 40-acre ranch in Philo,
where he planted 13 acres of pinot noir. The
hillside planting, at an elevation of 600 feet,
faces north and northeast, a cool exposition
for grapes further cooled by proximity to
the coast. Jeff Mangahas, who now tends to
winemaking at Williams Selyem, used those

https://www.calerawine.com/product/2016-calera-mt-harlan-pinot-noir-reed-vineyard?productListName=Pinot%20Noir&position=3 https://www.williamsselyem.com/wine/2016-burt-williams-morning-dew-ranch-vineyard-pinot-noir

Wine & Spirits - Winter 2019

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