Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 67

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES
ity from anywhere. -J.G. § Fetzer Vineyards,
Hopland, CA
124837

93 | Domus Aurea

$70

2015 Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^
This grows at Ricardo and Isabel Peña's vineyard in the foothills of Macul, a 45-acre parcel above the land that the Cousiño family
once farmed, that historic site now gone to
housing. This remains prime cabernet terroir, as showcased in Domus Aurea's cool
Andean style. The 2015 is quiet and mannered, with firm black-currant juiciness and
eucalyptus scents that bring to mind the
trees and the vineyard's edges. The chocolate notes of oak add to the saturation of the
texture, the wine needing bottle age to fully
evolve toward elegance. -J.G. § Global Vineyard Importers, Berkeley, CA

MAULE VALLEY
125182

88 | Casa Donoso

$17

2018 Valle del Maule Gran Reserva Bicentenario Carmenère (Best Buy) ^ This wine's
red and black fruit is ripe up front, then
tapers into light-weight, green-edged tannins. It's a floral, spicy red for duck rillettes.
-J.G. § Palmateer Wine Group, San Rafael, CA

PEUMO

FR A NC E WHITE
ALSACE
274668

88 | Lucien Albrecht

$16

2018 Alsace Cuvée Balthazar Pinot Blanc
(Best Buy) ^ With the soft, golden pear flavors
of pinot blanc, this wine shows its extract in
notes of green peas and ginger. It's concentrated, with searing apple-like acidity cutting
through its pale fruit. For pike quenelles or
other rich freshwater fish dishes. -J.G. § Foley
Family Artisan Imports, Santa Rosa, CA

C H A T E A U N E U F - D U - PA P E
274829

90 | Jean-Luc Colombo

$55

2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Bartavelles ^ This is smoky and leesy up front, then
lemony and bright, with a saline tang and
herbal notes. The oak returns on the finish,
suggesting this blend needs a few years in the
cellar to integrate all its parts. -T.Q.T. § Taub
Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL

COTES DU ROUSSILLON
274875

89 | François Lurton

$17

2018 Côtes du Roussillon Mas d'en Janeil
Le Petit Pas (Best Buy) ^ This is a blend of
macabeu with grenaches gris and blanc
grown around the town of St-Paul de Fenouillet. It's light and lemony, with a broad, waxy
texture that will provide a pleasant backdrop
for grilled trout. -T.Q.T. § Cape Classics, NY

COTES DU RH ONE
274866

88 | M. Chapoutier

124834

92 | Santa Ema

$17

2018 Côtes du Rhône Belleruche Blanc
(Best Buy) ^ A blend of bourboulenc, clairette,
grenache blanc, roussanne and viognier, this
brims with spicy, lemony fruit flavor. Its
waxy richness makes it versatile at the table,
able to pair with light fish as well as pork or
other white meats. -T.Q.T. § Terlato Wines
Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
$30

2017 Peumo Amplus One Carmenère ^ This
juicy carmenère opens from clean cranberryred flavors to deeper notes of currant, plum
and green tobacco. It has the riverstone tannins of Peumo, keeping the wine cool and
zesty, setting it up for several years of aging.
-J.G. § Pacific Highway Wines, Greensboro, NC

LOIRE
274669

94 | Dom. Patrice Moreux

$45

2017 Pouilly-Fumé Monopole La Loge
aux Moines ^ When Jeannine Corty of Pouilly
and Raymond Moreux of Sancerre married
in 1955, they brought together two families
of growers. As a wedding present from their
parents, the couple received this 11-acre parcel on the hillside of La Loge aux Moines, a
monopole first planted in the 11th century.
The vines grow in Kimmeridgian marl, a mix
of limestone and clay, and the Moreux family

began bottling it under their name in 2006.
They ferment it spontaneously in stainlesssteel tanks, where it then ages on the lees,
focusing in on the limestone freshness and
refinement in notes of seashells that develop
out of the lees. With air, the richness of the
clay in the soil adds volumes to the texture,
making this feel grand, with an ornate and
elaborate complexity that brings to mind
musk melon, yellow watermelon and tart
green apple. It's long and powerful, a PouillyFumé to age for a decade or more. -J.G. § Verity Wine Partners, NY
274818

92 | Dom. Vincent Carême

$40

90 | Langlois-Château

$35

88 | Dom. des 3 Versants

$15

2017 Vouvray Le Clos ^ Born in Vouvray,
Vincent Carême farms 42 acres with his
wife, Tania, who hails from South Africa.
They gained organic certification for their
domaine in 2010, making this wine from a
parcel of 50-to-70-year-old vines growing in
tuffeau. Fermented in 400-liter oak barrels
(15 percent new) by the yeasts on the grapes
and resident in his cold cellar carved out of
the same white rock, it ages in those barrels
on the lees for a year. It's powerful, mouthwatering Vouvray, heady and complex, with
a floral perfume and a potent minerality. This
needs years to mellow and unpack the concentrated citrus and quince freshness that
will carry it long into maturity. -J.G. § Cape
Classics, NY
275253
2018 Sancerre Château de FontaineAudon ^ This crémant specialist, under the
Bollinger umbrella, is focused in Saumur,
while its domaine extends to 81.5 acres in
Sancerre. This wine grows at 37 acres on
silex (flint) soils surrounding the château at
St-Gemme. Fermented in stainless steel and
aged into spring on the lees, it's an austere
sauvignon with notes of grapefruit pith and
white pepper. There's floral passion fruit
richness waiting to develop with bottle age.
-J.G. § Vintus, Pleasantville, NY
275264
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie La
Févrie (Best Buy) ^ Yves Bretonnière makes
this wine from his family's 37 acres of vines
on south-facing schist hillsides in La Févrie.
It's a ripe and gentle Muscadet, with notes of
green grapes and salty minerality. Pale and
creamy, it gains depth with air as it will in the
company of pan-roasted sole. -J.G. § Verity
Wine Partners, NY

WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2020

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Wine & Spirits - February 2020

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