Wine & Spirits - Winter 2020 - 101

34TH A NNUA L B U YING G U ID E

this label in 2012, restoring the ruins of
the 18th-century Esterházy winery into a
contemporary showcase. He now hosts an
annual summer wine festival, the Bohém
Légyott ("Bohemian Fly"); his Bohém Cuvée
is the sort of wine you'd want to be drinking on the lawn. The blend is based on welschriesling along with sauvignon blanc, pinot
gris and riesling; it's crisp and mineral, with
a salinity that plays up the succulence of its
limey, peachy fruit. Sweet in the middle, it
ends clean, with a verve that encourages
another sip. -T.Q.T. (W&S 12/19) § 3W Beverage Importer, Washington, DC

C A M PA N I A : F I A N O

HU N G A RY D E S SE RT

P I E D M O N T: T I M O R A S S O

ITALY RED

278119

93 | Clelia Romano
Colli di Lapio

P I E D M O N T: B A R B A R E S C O
$26

2018 Fiano di Avellino ^ This estate's vines,
rooted in the calcareous clay soils around the
high-elevation village of Lapio, produced a
bold ﬁano in 2018. Vibrant acidity surges
through its rich tones of golden apple and
wildﬂower honey, propelling the ﬂavors as
notes of lime zest and salinity emerge. All of
the elements feel elevated and intense, maintaining a harmonious balance. -S.J. (W&S
10/20) § Marc de Grazia Imports, Brooklyn, NY

274517

92 | Vigneti Massa

274665

94 | Disznókó

$20/500ml

2017 Tokaji Late Harvest ^ This wine refutes
the generally held notion that late-harvest
Tokaji is never as profound as an aszú variation. "It's transporting," said one of our panelists, pulling out of a reverie involving wildﬂower ﬁelds and honeybees buzzing while
the sun sets in a blaze of gold...It might not
evoke the same images for everyone, but
there's undeniable pleasure in its smoky,
spicy golden-fruit ﬂavors and velvety, mouthﬁlling texture, and in how the citrusy acidity
manages to keep the wine simultaneously
buoyant. The ﬂavors last in a warm afterglow
of red-blushed ﬂavor and earth, furmint's
ﬁery side rendered with beauty. -T.Q.T.
(W&S 12/19) § Monsieur Touton Selection, NY

I TALY W H I T E

S I C I LY : E T N A
276029

$22

2018 Etna Bianco Buonora ^ Fresh ﬂoral
scents lead into this wine's ﬂavors of golden
apple and barely ripe white peach. Lemony
acidity propels the ﬂavors in a taut and energetic line, picking up notes of citrus zest and
smoke along the way. It's a nice introduction to Etna Bianco. -S.J. (W&S 4/20) -S.J. §
Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

VERONA: SOAVE
275185

A LTO ADIG E : P INOT GR I GI O
277447

91 | Abbazia di Novacella

$21

2017 Vino da Tavola Piccolo Derthona
Terra ^ Walter Massa began making Piccolo
Derthona in the 2015 vintage, using fruit
from young vines and aging the wine for just
a few months on the lees. The label indicates
12 percent alcohol, relatively low for a timorasso from this region, yet it feels round and
creamy, its white peach ﬂavors lifted by notes
of mint and lime pith. Mineral tones emerge
after several hours of air as the wine takes
on a honeyed richness. Although the name
pegs this as an entry level wine, it has balance
and substance to improve over several years.
-S.J. (W&S 12/19) § PortoVino, Buffalo, NY

91 | Tenuta Tascante

$20

2019 Alto Adige Pinot Grigio ^ Brisk acidity
washes this wine's ﬂavors of lime and crisp
apple across the palate like mountain spring
water. Notes of lemongrass add dimension
to the cool fruit tones, and a chalky texture
knits the ﬂavors together in a focused frame.
-S.J. (W&S 8/20) § Abbazia di Novacella/USA
Wine West, Sausalito, CA

91 | Gini

Wine & Spirits

273686

95 | Produttori
del Barbaresco

$45

2016 Barbaresco ^ This is Produttori del Barbaresco's ﬂagship wine, produced with fruit
selected from their 54 growers, who collectively farm some 250 acres of vines, and it is
a stunner in the 2016 vintage. It's ripe and
precise, the vibrant red fruit lifted by fresh
ﬂoral scents and subtle spice. The tannins
envelop that fruit like a soft leather glove,
as brisk acidity propels the ﬂavors toward a
vertical ﬁnish. There's no better bargain in
Barbaresco, and with 22,000 cases produced,
this should be on every serious Italian wine
list and in every nebbiolo lover's cellar. -S.J.
(W&S 12/19) § Vias Imports, NY

BAROLO
274030

95 | Comm. G.B. Burlotto

$56

2015 Barolo ^ Fabio Alessandria's fresh, ﬂoral
Barolo offers the best quality-price ratio of all
the 2015 Barolos we tasted this year. Culled
from the family's vineyards in Verduno and
Roddi, it underwent a shorter maceration
than his single-cru Barolos, giving a bright
and lithe wine. It tastes of fresh cherries
tinged with notes of tea leaves and orange
peel-classic, energetic and delicious. -S.J.
(W&S 12/19) § Bacchanal Imports, NY

L ANGHE NEBBIOLO

274296
$20

2018 Soave Classico ^ Gini's Soave Classico is
a fantastic value, combining the concentration given by old vines (averaging 70 years of
age) with a buoyant, ﬂoral freshness from the
moderate 2018 growing season. A blend of
fruit from ﬁve crus, each viniﬁed separately
in stainless-steel vats, the wine offers ﬂavors
of pear, yellow apple and green almond propelled by mouthwatering acidity that invites
another sip, and then another glass. -S.J.
(W&S 2/20) § Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY

91 | Fratelli Alessandria

$32

2017 Langhe Nebbiolo Prinsiòt ^ Comprised
of fruit from this estate's younger vines, this
is immediately expressive and ready to drink.
It's juicy and ripe, the ﬂavors of ﬂeshy plum
and cherry enlivened by notes of licorice
and white pepper. -S.J. (W&S 12/19) § North
Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA

TUSCANY: CHIANTI CLASSICO
275700

93 | Castello di Monsanto

$28

2016 Chianti Classico Riserva ^ The Bianchi
family's Riserva ﬁres on all cylinders in the
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Wine & Spirits - Winter 2020

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