Wine & Spirits - Winter 2020 - 97

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

RED BLEND
125077

93 | d'Arenberg

$29

2015 McLaren Vale Sticks and Stones ^ Iberian grapes thrive in McLaren Vale's contemporary climate, this blend being a prime
example. It combines tempranillo (60 percent) and garnacha (okay, grenache), two
varieties from Rioja, with souzão and tinta
cão, important grapes for blends in the
Douro. It takes a svelte shape that's completely different from that of the region's
shiraz, the ﬂavors gamey and meaty, with a
vibrato reverb in their smoky spice. Everyone
on the panel had a different idea for what
to serve with it, from spicy Iberian lamb
to andouille and baked cherries, to braised
oxtail ravioli with crème fraiche, Madeira and
truffles. -J.G. (W&S 2/20) § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA

SHIRAZ

a high outcropping with a clear view to the
ships (schiffe) sailing the Danube. The warm,
protected site produced a rich wine in 2017,
a gentle robe of honey wrapping around
zesty notes of grapefruit and herbs. It feels
elegant and harmonious, so drinkable you
might miss the complexity it holds. -T.Q.T.
(W&S 4/20) § Monika Caha Selections/Frederick Wildman & Sons, NY
276203

93 | Ruttenstock

$23

2017 Weinviertel Ried Reipersberg Grüner Veltliner ^ Mattias Ruttenstock farms
44.5 acres around his home base in Röschitz,
including a parcel of 55-year-old vines
planted in the granite soils of the Reipersberg vineyard. In 2017, those vines produced
a veltliner that dances with energy. It's bright
and buoyant, with a hint of spritz boosting
the lemon-lime ﬂavors; notes of wintergreen
and crunchy green beans add to the sense of
cool freshness. You might want to buy this
by the case for summertime drinking; it will
uplift all manner of salads. -T.Q.T. (W&S
4/20) § Artisanal Cellars, NY

Wine & Spirits

vors. Notes of coffee and brisket ﬁll out the
bass line, the wine feeling full but not heavy,
sturdy yet elegant. -T.Q.T. (W&S 4/20) §
Monika Caha Selections/Frederick Wildman
& Sons, NY

Z W E I G E LT
276793

91 | Handwerk

$17

2017 Niederösterreich Handwerk Weingartenselektion Zweigelt ^ Netzl makes this
label for Monika Caha, a former chef in NYC
who's now an importer. It's a serious zweigelt, with tannins and bright acidity to support the variety's brambly blue fruit, and
some smoke and spice for detail. It's priced
to pour as an everyday wine, but this would
stand up to roast duck or a dry-aged steak.
-T.Q.T. (W&S 4/20) § Monika Caha Selections/Frederick Wildman & Sons, NY

C ANADA SPARKLING

Z I E R FA N D L E R
276781

90 | Stadlmann

125073

92 | d'Arenberg

$20

2017 McLaren Vale The Footbolt Shiraz ^
The Osborn family has been growing grapes
for more than 100 years, ever since John
Osborn sold his collection of racehorses,
including Footbolt, to buy their original
vineyards. During the South Australia government-sponsored vine pull of the 1980s,
d'Arry Osborn and his son, Chester, bought
up a lot of old vineyards and continue to preserve them today. The Footbolt includes fruit
from vines aged 20 to 100 years, traditionally fermented and blended into a supple,
black-fruited wine of gentle power. Umami
undertones of roasted meat and mushrooms
warm the tannins, while the clean, rich fruit
lasts. This will bring some sophistication to
a cookout. -J.G. (W&S 2/20) § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA

A UST RI A W H I T E
G R U N E R V E LT L I N E R

276776

93 | Forstreiter

$23

2017 Kremstal Ried Schiefer Reserve
Grüner Veltliner ^ Schiefer is an old vineyard nestled into the side of the Schiffberg,

$18

2018 Thermenregion Anning Zierfandler ^
Johann Stadlmann cultivates some of the last
remaining plots of zierfandler in Thermenregion, culling the fruit for this wine from his
younger vines on the Anning hill. The 2018
is a particularly pretty example, with honeysuckle scents and fresh, crisp lemon acidity. The middle of the wine has substance to
it that one panelist compared to humidity,
another to soft water; it's an umami note that
creates a sense of fullness without weight.
-T.Q.T. (W&S 4/20) § Monika Caha Selections/Frederick Wildman & Sons, NY

A UST RIA RED
PINOT NOIR
276777

95 | Forstreiter

$24

2016 Niederösterreich Reserve Pinot Noir ^
"Pinot noir in a motorcycle jacket," said
Michael Dolinksi, who mans the all-Austrian
wine list at Wallsé in NYC. As for my notes,
they read, "I just want to drink this." Meinhard Forstreiter culls his best pinot noir, as
well as some fruit from friends in the Kremstal, fermenting this wine in stainless-steel
tanks before sending it into barriques (half
new) for 12 months or more. In 2016-a wet
year, but free of heatwaves-the wine came
out gloriously spicy, smelling like a forest
after a rain, with translucent dried-cherry ﬂa-

125377

91 | 13th Street Winery

$25

2017 Creek Shores Blanc de Blanc ^ JeanPierre Colas fermented this chardonnay in
stainless steel tanks, then suppressed malolactic to retain the primary fruit character
and acidity. Made with grapes harvested at
18.5° Brix and bottled with just ﬁve grams
per liter of residual sugar, it's an extreme
sparkler-some of our tasters even found
it a little masochistic. Others (including
myself) found it invigorating, like a dip in a
cold pool, the chill of the acidity giving the
ﬂavors a glassy clarity. It tastes white-white
pear ﬂesh, lemon pith, chalk-with a pleasant edge of bitterness. Use it like a knife, to
cut through the ﬂesh of a sweet, fat sautéed
scallop. -T.Q.T. (W&S 4/20) § Esber Beverage
Co., Canton, OH

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Wine & Spirits - Winter 2020

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