Wine & Spirits - June 2021 - 37

Top 100 Values
producing this blend at their winery in Lixa,
close to the center of the Vinho Verde region.
This blend is all about brisk green pear flavor
and a scrub of acidity that keeps it bone dry.
The fruit expands with a day of air, as it will
over the next several months in bottle, gaining in its crunchy fruit and mineral freshness.
-J.G. (W&S 8/20) § Grape2Glass, Newark, NJ
125608

Santa Carolina

$12

2019 Leyda Valley Carolina Reserva Sauvignon Blanc (Chile, 92 points) ^ Luscious
and oceanic, this wine offers complexity in
briny notes of kelp and tart flavors of star
fruit and grapefruit. It's a savory sauvignon
with breadth and depth, the generous, juicy
texture coming to a tense, firm close. At $12
for the bottle, you may have enough left in
your wallet for a dozen wood-roasted oysters,
or a grilled branzino stuffed with lime and
thyme. -J.G. (W&S 8/20) § Carolina Wine
Brands USA, Charleston, SC
279631

Mont'Alegre

$14

2019 Tras-os-Montes Clássico Branco
(Port-ugal, 92 points) ^ If you like dry muscat,
this wine offers a similar pleasure in its subtle perfume, ripe apple flavors and granitic
sting of acidity. It touches on sandalwood
and lavender before landing on that refreshing sweet and savory finish, a fine balance
for cheeses, whether before or after a meal.
-J.G. (W&S 2/21) § Other Brothers Brands,
Newark, NJ
279195

Dila-o

$16

2019 Kakheti Dry Amber Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane (Georgia, 92 points) ^ This new brand
from Orgo Winery is dedicated to well-priced
introductions to traditional wines. This, however, is more than a bridge wine: A blend of
equal parts rkatsiteli and mtsvane that rested
for a month on its skins before being racked
into and a mix of qvevri and stainless-steel
tanks, it's clean, fresh and succulent, balancing rich spiced-apple fruit with firm tannins
and crunchy acidity. With air, notes of clementine and walnuts emerge, the complex
flavors ready to make a roast chicken into an
event. -T.Q.T. (W&S 12/20) § Georgian Wine
House, Beltsville, MD
277572

Denthis

$16

2019 Peloponnese Stamnaki Assyrtiko
(Greece, 92 points) ^ A private label made
for the importer Eklektikon, this comes primarily from an estate in Nemea practicing
organic farming, and includes some purchased fruit. There's nothing fancy about it:
It's just straight-up stainless-steel-fermented
assyrtiko. And that's where it succeeds: Pale,

crisp and mineral in flavor, with lemony acidity and a clear direction to its structure, it's
exactly what I'd hope for at a sidewalk café,
with a platter of kolokithakia (fried zucchini
chips) or marides (fried smelt). -T.Q.T.
(W&S 8/20) § Eklektikon, Wilmington, DE
279666

Casa Américo

$18

2018 Dão Encruzado (Portugal, 92 points) ^
Based in Vila Nova da Tazem, in the Serra
da Estrela, the team at Casa Américo grows
this encruzado at two parcels of 40-yearold vines. This local white variety has the
stamina for aging, presented here as a simple beauty in notes of hibiscus, lemon and
sage. It melds rich citrus fruit with herbal
and mineral notes in a refreshing white that
continues to gain depth over the course of
several days. -J.G. (W&S 2/21) § Aidil Wines
& Liquors, Newark, NJ
521231

BonAnno

$18

2018 Los Carneros Chardonnay (California, 92 points) ^ Matt Bonanno was working at Union Beverage in Chicago when he
started his own wine label in 2004, working
to create value-focused wines in Napa Valley. This one hits the mark, a smooth, supple
chardonnay with crunchy grape flavors and
a muscular scallop-like fatness to the fruit.
It's salty, rich and a steal at $18. -J.G. (W&S
10/20; 2,000 cases) §
525776

Domaine d'en Ségur

$11

El Porvenir

$12

2019 Côtes du Tarn Cuvée Madeleine
(France, 91 points) ^ Pharmacist Pierre Fabre
founded this domaine in 1989, now farming
89 acres of vines in Tarn. This barrique-aged
chardonnay finds its balance between lively
acid and a plush marzipan texture. Its lasting
scent of oak spice and floral golden delicious
apple would match the shellfish sweetness of
a bouillabaisse. Enjoyed under the sun, the
easy happiness of this wine might transport
you to the South of France. -C.W. § Bird Rock
Import, Westport, CT
525304
2020 Valle de Cafayate Amauta Absoluto
Torrontés (Argentina, 91 points) ^ Lucia
Romero-Marcuzzi oversees her family's
vineyards in the Calchaquí Valley, including
Finca El Retiro, where this torrontés grows
at 5,740 feet above sea level. This is a firm
and waxy young wine, bursting with precise
florals-acacia, lily and chrysanthemum-
and bright citrus notes. There's an intriguing savor to it that might remind you of a
flamed orange zest. Drink it with seared cod
and roasted winter vegetables. -C.W. § Brazos, Brooklyn, NY
524429

Toques & Clochers

$17

Compton

$17

Château de Montfort

$18

2018 Limoux Haute Vallée Chardonnay
(France, 91 points) ^ A brand from the Sieur
d'Arques cooperative, this comes from vineyards in the southwest of Limoux, where the
hills rise over 1,300 feet in altitude. Ninetypercent whole-bunch pressed, the other ten
macerated on the skins for a day, and all of it
fermented with ambient yeasts, it's full-bodied yet brisk, with crisp golden-apple flavors
and grapefruit acidity. Nine months in oak
adds a light spice. -T.Q.T. § DHI, NY
520724
2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Oregon, 91 points) ^ This is toasty and bright,
with a faint resemblance to a leesy Champagne. Its toasted lees and candied-apple
flavors are driven by a soaring high note of
acidity that gives the wine a bracing, mouthwatering finish for seafood, like scampi.
-P.J.C. (W&S 8/20; 139 cases) §
523300
2019 Vouvray Demi-Sec (France, 91
points) ^ Yields were low in 2019, but the team
at Montfort credit moderate September rain
for the maturity of the grapes that remained.
This wine is a bit closed off when opened, a
demi-sec that shows its texture and weight
first. With air, it offers stone fruit, peach pits
and skins next to some basil-y herbs. Decant
it for chèvre, country bread and onion jam.
-C.W. (W&S 4/21) § Taub Family Selections,
Boca Raton, FL

521424

Ovum

$18

2019 Elkton Oregon Big Salt (Oregon,
91 points) ^ A cofermented blend of riesling,
gewurztraminer and early muscat, Big Salt is
juicy and exuberant. The aromatics are in the
key of gewurztraminer-rose petal, peach,
gardenia, litchi and apple-giving way to a
wine that's juicy, salty, blowsy and irresistible. Buy it by the case, to pour with Korean
dishes, like the bubbling hotpot of gochujang
goodness at LA's Beverly Soon Tofu. -P.J.C.
(W&S 10/20) §
525788
WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2021

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Wine & Spirits - June 2021

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