Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 94

US NEW RELEASES
CA LI FO RN I A RE D

and energy over the course of several days.
For roast beef. (75 cases) -J.G.
518173

CABERNET FRANC

89 | Long Meadow Ranch

518206

91 | I. Brand

$42

2016 Santa Cruz Mountains Bates Ranch
Cabernet Franc^A lean, light and fresh cabernet, this has wild-fruit scents of mulberries
and cranberries. There's a cool edge to the
fruit, a parsley-like crunch that would cut
through the fattiness of a country pâté or
duck rillettes. (112 cases) -J.G.
518377

90 | Knights Raven

$28

2014 Knights Valley Cabernet Franc (Best
Buy)^This comes on with gentle red-cherry
flavor, then lasts with an equally gentle
undertow of tannins. The wine's creamy richness will appeal to cabernet sauvignon drinkers, while its stamina and lively elegance give
it a lighter dimension. (400 cases) -J.G. §

MERLOT

$37

2015 Napa Valley Merlot (Best Buy)^This
is a light merlot with plum skin and strawberry flavors, its tannins cool, resinous and
tarry. "It's not too rich," noted associate editor Sydney Love. "It's easy to take another
sip." (354 cases) -J.G. §

PETITE SIRAH
518202

90 | Barra

$22

2017 Mendocino Petite Sirah (Best Buy)
This has the deep, floral sweetness of raspberries ripened on the bush. Its gentle tannins
have a tarry edge, hard and unyielding unless
you leave the wine in a decanter for a few
hours. Then those tannins turn fruitier, like
chewy black-currant skins, adding to the fruit
richness. The Barra family grows this wine at
its Bella Collina Vineyard, in the hills above
Ukiah, with a small contribution from its
estate in Redwood Valley; both are farmed
organically. (238 cases) -J.G. §

PINOT NOIR

$75

2016 Spring Mountain District Napa
Valley Reserve Mailbox Vineyard Mer-
lot^Consistently one of the top merlots in
the Napa Valley, Keenan's Mailbox Vineyard
Reserve captures the enigma of the variety:
The wine is succulent and potently concentrated even as it manages to feel light and
airy. That impression of light and air may
come from the forest-green, forest-floor
notes of the mountain-grown fruit, from a
northwest-facing vineyard above the fog line.
That fruit has a wild-raspberry floral character, and potent tannins that shadow it with
dark, savory length. Tight and firmly structured, this is a merlot that will continue to
improve with age. (500 cases) -J.G. §
518670

91 | Assiduous

$25

2016 Santa Cruz Mountains Blackridge
Vineyard Merlot (Best Buy) Keegan
Mayo, who works as assistant winemaker at
Bargetto, makes wines under his own label.
This one is all about texture-supple and satisfying. There's a rosewater scent deep in the
black fruit, and the wine sustains its tension

WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2019

518506

92 | Peter Paul

$85

92 | Seghesio

$38

2016 Napa Valley Master's Blend^
Martin Reyes selected this blend from the
winery's best barrels of cabernet sauvignon,
with an important contribution from cabernet franc and small amounts of merlot and
petit verdot. It's a floral take on Napa Valley
fruit, with scents of acacia flowers and hibiscus over dark and juicy currant flavor. Give
this time in a decanter for that fruit to absorb
the influence of the oak, then pour it for roast
turkey with cranberries in the stuffing. (91
cases) -J.G.§
518426
2016 Sonoma County Defiant This is a
blend from old bush vines in the Alexander
and Dry Creek valleys farmed by the Passalacqua and Saini families. It feels plush and
saturated with foresty fruit, even as the wine
remains light and easy-a clean, classical
Sonoma County red to pour for lamb chops
grilled with rosemary. -J.G.§
518508

90 | JCB

$130

2016 Napa Valley Leopard Jean-Charles
Boisset likes rich wines, and this one is an
immediate pleasure, a luxurious blend of
syrah, cabernet sauvignon and franc. Its
dark-chocolate tannins integrate with soft,
dimpled plum flavors, with some floral tension to keep the wine firm. (198 cases) -J.G.

518533

93 | Keenan

RED BLENDS

S TA . R I TA H I L L S
518333

91 | The Ojai Vineyard

518489

92 | Davis Bynum

$35

2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
(Best Buy)^Greg Morthole sourced fruit for
this 2017 from vineyards in the Santa Rosa
plain, the Middle Reach of the Russian River
and Green Valley. Some of the fruit also came
from an estate vineyard in the Petaluma Gap.
Those varied sites provided enough generous fruit flavor to balance the wine's brighter
notes of sassafras and earthy notes of roots.
It's a clean, fragrant and spicy pinot noir to
pour with grilled pork. -J.G.. §
518255

91 | Keller Estate

$60

2017 Petaluma Gap El Coro Vineyard
Pinot Noir This concentrated pinot noir is
saturated with red-plum richness. You can
almost taste the windy conditions of this
ridgetop vineyard-building thick skins in
the grapes and tannins in the wine. Give this
a year to settle into its structure, then serve it
with roast duck. (108 cases) -J.G. §

$32

2017 Sta. Rita Hills Sans Soufre Ajouté
John Sebastiano Vineyard (Best Buy) ^ A
50/50 blend of grenache and syrah without
any added sulfur, this has a smoky, heady
exuberance, with scents of smoke, bacon,
clove and blackberry, and silky, exotic flavors.
It has a short shelf life-two days stored in
the fridge was probably one day too many-
but it's a joyous flash in the pan for chilling
and pouring alongside a casual meal. -P.J.C.

NEW YORK WHITE
FINGER LAKES
518390

92 | Red Newt

$42

2016 Finger Lakes The Knoll Lahoma
Vineyards Riesling ^ The Knoll is a small
rise above this Seneca Lake vineyard that
typically produces some of Red Newt's most
intense wines. This one is pure and smoky at
first pass, with scents of lemon oil and alder
smoke; with air, a faint peach note emerges.

http://wine.keenanwinery.com/2015-merlot-reserve-mailbox-vineyard https://shop.davisbynum.com/SHOP.AMS?LEVEL=BOT&PART=5094174

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

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