Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 92

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES
and a lightly creamy texture. § Tri-Vin Imports,
New Rochelle, NY

S LOVE N I A
273492

92 | Movia

$39

2018 Brda Gredic Exto ^ Exto (short for Ex
Tokaj) is the name Ales Kristancic now uses
for his friulano, since Hungary won sole
rights to use the name Tokaj for its sweet
wines. Kristancic harvests the friulano grapes
late and ferments them with ambient yeasts,
then ages the wine in 3,000-liter Slovenian
casks, leaving it on the lees as a natural protection since he does not add any sulfur. The
wine's lime-blossom scents and its flavors of
fresh peach and grapefruit turn savory with
exposure to air, taking on notes of salted
pork along with a chewy citrus-skin texture. §
Ethica Wines, San Diego, CA
273445

91 | Movia

$69

2010 Brda Veliko Rdece ^ Comprised of
late-picked merlot, cabernet sauvignon
and pinot noir that was cofermented with
ambient yeasts and aged for six years in barriques, this is meaty and smoky, with flavors
of fire-roasted tomato, grilled strawberry and
charred meat bound by leathery tannins. Pair
it with robust dishes, like grilled venison or
oxtail agnolotti. § Ethica Wines, San Diego, CA
273446

90 | Movia

$39

2010 Brda Puro Rosé ^ Ales Kristancic's sparkling rosé will appeal to pét-nat fans looking
for examples with body and heft. He macerates the pinot noir grapes for one day to pick
up a light salmon color, then ages the wine
in barriques for four years. To gain the effervescence, he adds fresh grape must (no sugar,
commercial yeasts or sulfur) at bottling, and
does not disgorge the wine, leaving the yeast
in the bottle as a natural preservative. The
wine has a rich texture yet is bone dry, with
hints of strawberry, blood orange and cider
seeping through flavors of cherry tomato and
white truffle. § Ethica Wines, San Diego, CA

S PA I N S PA RK L IN G
$17

Cava Brut The Evolution Edition Rosé ^
From a winery based in Seville, this is sparkling garnacha from Penèdes aged in bottle
for 12 months. It's fresh and rose-scented,
with a slightly sweet finish reminiscent of
Pink Lady apples and strawberries. Pair it
with chorizo. § Authentic Beverages, Austin, TX

92

WINE & SPIRITS

273717

90 | Viña Nora

DECEMBER 2019

$34

2015 Rías Baixas Nora da Neve Albariño ^
This albariño comes from Condado do Tea,
a dry, inland subzone of Rías Baixas. Aged on
the lees in 600- and 225-liter French oak barrels for six months, this is darker than most
albariño, with Sherry-like oxidative aromas
and salted pear flavors that may make you
wish you were in Green Spain. Pair it with
green olives and sheep's cheese. § Tri-Vin
Imports, New Rochelle, NY
273720

88 | Naia

$15

2017 Rueda s-naia (Best Buy) ^ This smells
like fresh green peas and tastes like ripe
green melon. With air, it develops a savory
undertone while staying fresh and acidic. § TriVin Imports, New Rochelle, NY
273695

86 | Santa Cruz de Alpera

$9

2018 Almansa Cueva del Chamán Sauvignon Blanc (Best Buy) ^ From a coop
founded in 1947 in Almansa, an inland
region in Castilla-La-Mancha, this is straightforward sauvignon, with flavors of green
apple and aloe that make for easy drinking. §
Vintage Wines, NY

S PA IN RED
273410

93 | Ego Bodegas

$75

2016 Jumilla Infinito ^ After working for
wineries all over Europe, Santos Ortiz and
Ioana Paunescu founded their own brand
in 2011, settling on a farm in Jumilla with
86 acres of vineyards of sandy soil and multiple varieties, including ungrafted monastrell. The monastrell in this wine comes off
those ungrafted vines, the fruit fermented
for 18 months in American and French oak
and blended with cabernet sauvignon, syrah
and petit verdot. It's a bold red, rich in tannins and mulberry flavors. With its gamey
savor and wild herb notes, it would pair
well with braised beef. § Tri-Vin Imports, New
Rochelle, NY
273751

93 | MontRubí

274456

90 | Sokatira

S PA IN WHITE

$48

2013 Penedès Gaintus Vertical Sumoll ^
MontRubí is named after the mountainous terrain in Font-Rubí where the vineyards for this wine are located. Josep Queralt launched the Gaintus project in 2000 to
focus on restoring sumoll, a local variety,
through biodynamic farming. This wine,
from 64-year-old sumoll vines is complex,
tart and bright, with floral notes, scents of
herbs and cranberry flavors underlined by
sandalwood tones from 12 months of aging

in new French oak. It's delicious now, and
worth savoring over the course of a few days. §
Wine Dogs, Brooklyn, NY
273419

91 | Virgen de la Sierra

$23

88 | Filón

$17

88 | Atalayas de Golbán

$16

87 | Bula

$15

2018 Calatayud Old Garnacha Vines ^ The
members of this coop collectively own 1,750
acres; this wine comes from some of the
region's higher altitude vineyards, at 2,460
feet above sea level. It is impressively fresh,
with a crunchy green edge to its spicy blackplum flavor. There's a beef-broth richness
that runs underneath the fruit, giving the
wine the substance to pair with hearty foods,
like barbecued beef. § Misa Imports, Dallas, TX
273620
2015 Calatayud Real Garnacha (Best Buy) ^
This garnacha is culled from old vines, some
dating back to the early 20th century, growing on slate-based soils at about 3,280 feet
above sea level. It spent six months in French
oak, which has left its mark in a caramel-like
note, but the wine is overall floral and clean,
with soft, earthy spice notes. An easy-drinking red. § Tri-Vin Imports, New Rochelle, NY
273639
2016 Ribera del Duero Torre de Golbán
Crianza (Best Buy) ^ Culled from a mix of
old and young vines and aged for 12 months
in 225-liter French oak barrels (30 percent
new), this balances its wood tones with ripe
red fruit and a soft minerality. Bring out
the acidity with a chill. § Tri-Vin Imports, New
Rochelle, NY
273731
2017 Montsant Bula (Best Buy) ^ A blend of
garnacha grown on llicorella soils and cariñena and syrah grown on a mix of sand, clay
and chalk, this has a brisk herbal quality to
its just-ripe berry flavors. It's easy drinking
for a dinner with a fatty cut of steak. § Tri-Vin
Imports, New Rochelle, NY
273696

87 | Santa Cruz de Alpera

$9

2018 Almansa Cueva del Chamán Garnacha Tintorera (Best Buy) ^ Made from garnacha tintorera (aka, alicante bouschet), this is
rustic and concentrated, with wild strawberry
flavor and an intense chocolate finish. § Vintage Wines, NY n
Wine & Spirits - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2019
