Indholdsfortegnelse for December 31, 2016 i Wine Spectator

As most of you know, Wine Spectator celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. The Nov. 15 issue contained a wealth of memories, and we hope you enjoyed looking back on the amazing path we’ve taken as much as we did. But we are still moving forward, with all the excitement and enthusiasm with which we began this journey. This issue continues the theme of celebration. Those of you able to join us for the Wine Experience in October will agree it was truly a memorable occasion. On a single day, we enjoyed actor Sam Neill discussing his New Zealand Pinot Noir (and his films); a wine-pairing exercise with four celebrity chefs; a tasting of Il Palagio, a super Tuscan, by owner Trudie Styler that included a surprise performance by her…

Chateau Margaux owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos has named Philippe Bascaules as the Bordeaux first-growth estate’s new managing director. He will assume the position previously held by Paul Pontallier, who led the estate from 1983 until his death earlier this year. The move is official starting March 1, 2017. It’s a homecoming for Bascaules, who worked at Margaux as technical director for 21 vintages, beginning in 1990, under Pontallier’s stewardship. “I am very honored Corinne Mentzelopoulos has appointed me, and I like to think that Paul Pontallier would have been happy for me to carry on his work,” Bascaules told Wine Spectator. Bascaules has been working at Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook Estate in Napa since 2011, and the winery announced that he will remain director of winemaking there. He and his team…

THE SECRETS OF MY LIFE: Vintner, Prisoner, Soldier, Spy By Peter M.F. Sichel (Archway Publishing, 418 pages, $24) Some people are born into the wine business. Others are drawn to it by passion, plunging in after earning success in other fields. But few—if any—can match the trajectory of Peter M.F. Sichel. Sichel’s great-grandfather began buying and selling wine in Germany in the mid-1900s. Like the famous Rothschilds, another family of German Jews, the Sichel family scattered to various European capitals to establish branches of the business, which became an international success. Born in 1922 in Mainz, Germany, Sichel grew up in prosperity amid an extended family that prized education, culture and gastronomy. His lively and comfortable childhood occupies the first third of his newly published memoir. That ended with the…

I’m often asked what’s new in wine. The temptation is to say just about everything. One approach is to focus on the wines that deserve recognition yet fail to make our year-end lists or are otherwise overlooked. Here are a few worth seeking out, along with a glimpse at the bigger picture of appellations and emerging areas that you should keep an eye on in the future. Our wine of the year, Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, may be difficult to find, but as an alternative there are nearly 4,000 cases of the Altamura Napa Valley 2013 (94 points, $96). The beauty of Frank and Karen Altamura’s Cabernet lies in its sheer charm, exceptional depth and purity, and its ability to age. Time and again, Altamura Cabernet makes a strong…

Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 201395 POINTS | $90 | 1,600 cases made  Randy Lewis once drove race cars for a living. But when the five-time starter for the Indianapolis 500 crashed into the wall during trials for the famed race in 1991, he and his wife, Debbie, his racing team partner, decided they’d had their fill of death-defying thrills. Lewis decided to become a winemaker in Napa Valley, working first for friend and fellow vintner Bob Miner at Oakville Ranch while Debbie studied the business. When Miner died in 1994, the Lewises lost the vineyard source for the first few wines they had made. It forced the couple to seek a new path, but they have navigated it well, producing a bounty of exceptional wines over more than two decades.…

There’s no single reason why some highly rated wines are costly and others are affordable. Land prices, grape prices, produc-tion costs and growing conditions are all determining factors in the price of a wine, as are more subjective considerations affecting how much consumers are willing to pay for a certain bottle or brand. What can be said with certainty is that great wines don’t have to be expensive. The wines in this year’s annual roundup of top values offer 100 distinctive examples of this truth, all of them rated 88 points or higher, priced at $20 or less and made in large enough quantities to be widely available. Another 29 wines in this year’s Top 100 also represent exceptional value, providing further evidence This year’s top values hail from every…

Contributing editor Matt Kramer never fails to surprise with his wine picks, but he may have outdone himself with this year’s “Most Exciting White Wines of the 21st Century, So Far,” in which he took seminar-goers on a journey from Canada to South Africa to Portugal. The crisp Norman Hardie Chardonnay Prince Edward 2013 hails from the chilly north shore of Lake Ontario, where “there’s nothing between Santa Claus” and the site to temper the climate. Combined with the limestone soil, Kramer said, “Prince Edward County is like Chablis having a long-lost cousin who washed up somewhere in Canada.” Next he proclaimed, “South African Chenin Blanc will change the world’s opinion of Chenin Blanc.” At De Morgenzon, in Stellenbosch, the proprietors play baroque music in the vineyards, believing it…

Highly Recommended The issue’s most impressive wines. Includes top-scorers and wines that represent optimal purchases based on their combination of score, price and availability. 95Domaine Serene Chardonnay Dundee Hills Evenstad Reserve 2014 $55 OREGON Focused and expressive, this white is layered with wet stone, tangy citrus, pear and green guava flavors that swirl through the expansive finish, gaining momentum and extra dimensions with each sip. Drink now through 2024. 2,000 cases made.—H.S. 94Bergstrom Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Le Pre Du Col Vineyard 2014 $60 OREGON Expressive, rich and complex, layering blueberry, cherry and plum flavors with savory spice and cedar notes, with finepowder tannins lifting the long finish. Best from 2018 through 2024. 500 cases made.—H.S. 94DuMOL Syrah Russian River Valley 2014 $55 CALIFORNIA This is plush, rich and impeccably…

This Buying Guide contains ratings of new releases from around the world and the results of special tastings reported on in greater depth elsewhere in the issue. Complete tasting notes are provided for all new releases scoring 85 or more points (on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale, explained below); notes for wines scoring 84 points or less are included at the discretion of the taster. Additional reviews appear on our website, www.winespectator.com. Each review carries the initials of the Wine Spectator editor who blind-tasted and scored the wine and wrote the review, based on the regional specializations indicated below. If no reviewer’s initials appear, the wine was tasted by a panel of Wine Spectator editors. James Laube California Harvey Steiman Oregon, Washington Thomas Matthews Spain Kim Marcus Argentina, Austria, Chile,…

CALIFORNIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 89 12C Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Vineyard Georges III 2014 $89 Marked by a strong initial push of rich blackberry, licorice and gravelly earth notes, the weight of the herb and tobacco flavors tilt the balance. The finish holds steady, so be patient. Drink now. 134 cases made.—J.L. 89 Meyer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2013 $60 Sleek and refined, with a lively core of spicy oak, mocha, black licorice and blackberry flavors. The fleshy tannins let the flavors glide across the palate, giving this a measure of finesse. Ends a bit clipped. Drink now through 2026. 909 cases made.—J.L. 88 Laird Family Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Flat Rock 2013 $90 The spicy oak gains weight and traction, turning toasty and cedary, adding to this firm wine’s…

The following chart lists the 228 wines that earned classic scores of 95 points or higher on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale in 2016. An asterisk (*) indicates cases imported. “NA” means not available. WineSpectator.com members can access complete reviews for all wines tasted us-ing the online Wine Ratings search. SCORE WINE PRICE MADE 98 M. Chapoutier Ermitage White L’Ermite 2013 $615 *33 98 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie La Landonne 2012 $525 1,000 98 Krug Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Clos du Mesnil 2002 $800 NA 98 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2010 $145 800 98 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes 2013 $360 6,665 97 Blandy’s Bual Madeira 1966 $300 60 97 M. Chapoutier Ermitage L’Ermite 2013 $420 *29 97 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage White 2013 $250 1,250 97 Chateau Climens Barsac 2013 $68…

A Presidential Retrospective Congratulations on your 40th anniversary issue, which brought back some memories, since I graduated from my high school in Northern California just after your very first issue. Your retrospective mentioned that President Reagan “embraced California wines.” Actually, upon entering office Reagan may have known more about wine than any other president. I am a historian who has looked closely at the Reagan era, and I did quite a lot of research for a quotation book on his sayings. When his wife, Nancy, first met him in 1949, she was attracted to him because he was interesting and good-looking and because “he knew a lot about wine.” Despite having had an alcoholic father, Reagan during his acting career enjoyed wine with dinner. Once in 1953, while working in…

Burgundy Négociant Maison Champy Sold AdVini, a French wine company that owns more than a dozen wineries in France and South Africa, purchased the Burgundian negociant house Maison Champy on Oct. 14. The deal also includes Domaine Laleure-Piot, which Champy operates as a separate brand. The sale price was not disclosed. The deal includes 54 acres of vineyards held between Champy and Laleure-Piot. Founded in 1720, Champy is Burgundy’s oldest merchant house. Pierre Beuchet, the majority partner in Champy since 2012, cited erratic yields and adverse weather among the reasons he and his partners decided to sell. “I just turned 68, and it was probably time for me to give the reins of Champy to someone with the required financial strength and appetite for growth,” he told Wine Spectator. Technical…

We all know about the bugs, fungi and other small pests that can wreak havoc on grapevines, but winemakers in many regions face bigger problems. Ranging in stature from pocket-size rodents to predators weighing well over 500 pounds, they pose a real threat to vines—and a winery’s bottom line. As habitats shrink and local climates shift, some of these visitors are becoming more frequent. Deer populations have exploded in many areas, and during bad weather conditions the animals go looking for food. Vintners have learned which fences can keep them out, but larger, craftier mammals, like black bears, pose additional concerns. “In September 2010 we noticed bear scat and evidence that they were eating our grapes overnight,” says John Skinner of Painted Rock in British Columbia. More bears started coming…

This is, for me, an unusual column. Typically, at year’s end I review my notes and vivid wine memories to spotlight the three or four wines that struck me over the past year as extraordinary and worthy of your attention. Yet I realized that what has really grabbed me this year, repeatedly and forcefully, is just one wine, or rather one category of wine: cru Beaujolais. Now, I’ve long been on record as a devotee of Beaujolais. That, in itself, is nothing new. But what is new—for me and you—is how at this moment cru Beaujolais is arguably the world’s most compelling red wine for the money.  Cru Beaujolais seems to have arrived at an inflection point. Starting with the attention-getting 2005 vintage, producers steadily and incrementally improved quality and…

2 DOMAINE SERENE Chardonnay Dundee Hills Evenstad Reserve 2014 95 | $55 | OREGON Oregon has made serious strides with Chardonnay this decade, and a growing number of wines excite with depth and lively energy. Domaine Serene has made Chardonnay since 1998 and now bottles five single-vineyard versions from des-ignated portions of its 200-plus acres of vineyards in Dundee Hills. Beginning in 2010, owners Ken and Grace Evenstad blended selected barrels from these indi-vidual vineyards into an Evenstad Reserve bottling, following the successful for-mat of the winery’s similarly named Pinot Noir. The 2014 is the best one yet, taut, crisp, sleek and expressive, with a startlingly long finish. 2,000 cases made. 3 BEAUX FRÈRES Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge The Beaux Frères Vineyard 2014 95 | $90 | OREGON Mike Etzel…

Wines that will improve most from additional bottle age and that show the greatest potential to gain in value. 94La Rioja Alta Rioja 890 Gran Reserva 2004 $165 SPAIN Tea, tobacco, cedar and spice notes mingle with deeper licorice, plum and iron flavors in this savory red. The texture is supple and polished, but there’s a firm tannic backbone. Focused and harmonious, in the traditional style. Drink now through 2024. 1,166 cases made.—T.M. 94Schiavenza Barolo Cerretta 2012 $53 ITALY This is sleek and elegant, with cherry, menthol and tar flavors accented by licorice and mineral notes. Remains firm and austere through the finish, where mouthcoating tannins emerge. Overall, this shows balance, finesse and power. Best from 2019 through 2025. 318 cases made.—B.S.…

Wines with solid scores, modest prices and wide distribution. 91Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Grand Estates 2014 $12 WASHINGTON Broad and generous, open-textured and inviting, offering cherry, currant and red plum flavors that swirl enticingly among fine-grain tannins and creamy oak on the finish. Drink now through 2018. 170,000 cases made.—H.S. 90Vina Montes Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley Classic Series 2014 $13 CHILE There’s minerally freshness to the ripe dark plum, blackberry and cherry flavors, with peppery hints. Well-structured and crisp midpalate, featuring Asian spice and black fig notes on the finish. Drink now through 2020. 50,000 cases imported.—K.M. 90Charles Smith Riesling Ancient Lakes Of Columbia Valley Kung Fu Girl Evergreen 2015 $12 WASHINGTON Tangy and zingy, with lively acidity that balances against gobs of ripe pear and apricot flavors,…

Constellation Brands is adding to its burgeoning collection of premium wine brands, this time in Washington state. On Oct. 17, it announced an agreement to purchase five brands from Charles Smith Wines for $120 million. With this deal, Constellation says, it will become the second-largest supplier of Washington state wines. Charles Smith has numerous projects, but the deal features five wines that he calls “the five core brands” of his company: Kung Fu Girl Riesling, Eve Chardonnay, Boom Boom Syrah, Velvet Devil Merlot and Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon. Together, the brands add up to nearly 500,000 cases per year, selling mostly at $12 to $15 a bottle. Smith created the wines as separate brands, beginning with Kung Fu Girl in the 2006 vintage. The rest were added in 2007. The…

THE SHOW-ME SUIT Missouri bans most direct shipping by retailers. In the latest lawsuit, Sarasota Wine Market, LLC et al v. Nixon et al, filed Sept. 23, the owner of a Sarasota, Fla., store called Magnum Wine and Tastings is challenging the restriction. Like the Illinois complaint, the filing in Sarasota makes a two-pronged attack against the constitutionality of Missouri’s shipping code: that it violates the Commerce Clause by treating interstate sales, shipment and delivery of wine by retailers less favorably than intrastate sales; and that it violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause by denying Magnum owner Heath Cordes the privilege to engage in his occupation in the state on the same terms as Missouri citizens. MICHIGAN CONSIDERS CHANGING THE RULES In 2008, two of the lawyers in the Missouri…

When asked how he got his start in wine, Andy Myers says it all began with punk rock. Joining a band right out of high school, he waited tables between tours. “Then one day—this is a shock—my rock aspirations didn’t pan out,” laughs Myers. At 25, he snared a job as a server at Patrick O’Connell’s legendary Inn at Little Washington. Myers invited his parents to dinner at the Inn, and with them tried a 1993 Albert Morot Beaune Premier Cru Cent-Vignes. The experience put him on the path to the cellar life. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is why people lose their minds about wine,’ ” says Myers, now 44. The next day he approached the sommelier and asked if he could apprentice with wine. That first foray into…

TROY GUARD GUARD AND GRACE, DENVER “Who wants to go to D e n v e r when you’re from Hawaii, right?” quips Troy Guard. An Oahu native, he worked his way up in kitchens from Hong Kong to New York before landing in Denver in 2001. Fifteen years later, he’s chef-owner of eight area restaurants, including modern steak house Guard and Grace and eclectic spot TAG, both winners of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. “I love it here,” Guard says. “Everyone thinks it’s cold, and so did I, but even when it snows, it melts in a day—there’s always intense sun.” It doesn’t hurt that he’s learned to cook the rib-sticking cuisine of this climate. The pot roast recipe he’s provided here “is gonna warm your bones,” he promises.…

WESTWORLD This group from Washington reflects the state’s success with multiple grape varieties. Washington also delivers a number of successful blends, like the Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier combination from Alexandria Nicole. ASHAN Chardonnay Columbia Valley Barrel Fermented 2015 (91, $25) Sleek, vivid, fresh; pear, floral, pineapple LUKE Cabernet Sauvignon Wahluke Slope 2013 (91, $25) Blueberry, currant, savory; supple, focused ALEXANDRIA NICOLE Sheperds Mark Destiny Ridge Vineyards Horse Heaven Hills 2014 (90, $24) Generous; pear, quince, floral COLUMBIA CREST Syrah Columbia Valley Grand Estates 2014 (90, $12) Blackberry, plum, coffee, pepper; polished PENDULUM Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2014 (90, $17) Blueberry, currant, black pepper, black tea, toast; harmonious PACIFIC RIM Riesling Columbia Valley J 2015 (89, $11) Lightly sweet, polished; pear, apricot STOCKING STUFFERS Any one of these reds or whites…

The world of wine is full of surprises. Nature shapes the character of vintages differently each year. Winemakers adapt their decisions to best interpret each season. Grape varieties and wine styles ride trends, and regions ascend or decline. Capturing the character of the year just past is the goal of Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100. Our 2016 honor roll particularly showcases domestic wines; one-third of the list hails from the United States, with California fielding the largest contingent from any region, with 21 wines. Furthermore, six of the Top 10 wines are from the U.S., with France and Italy rounding out the group. A California Cabernet Sauvignon is our Wine of the Year, representing the excellent 2013 vintage. It leads the list of the 100 most exciting wines our editors…

WINESPECTATOR.COM Visit our Top 100 website to find matching recipes, videos and in-depth articles related to this year’s Top 10. Take a look back through wine history with our full set of Top 100 lists back to 1988. And enter Wine Spectator’s sweepstakes for a chance to win a bottle of each of the Top 10 of 2015! Find the whole package at top100.winespectator.com/2016.…

Washington reds can age without losing their freshness and bold fruit character. That was the takeaway from non-blind tastings of a range of older wines, most more than 10 years old, on visits to Washington wineries in late August and September. The best have added layers of complexity, and the edges of acidity and tannin that made it advisable to cellar them have softened. Most impressive was a vertical of Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from 2001 to 2013. Tasted blind in Wine Spectator offices upon release, the wines rated 93 to 96 points on the 100-point scale, and they’ve held up beautifully. With Quilceda Creek, the difference between great vintages and outstanding ones is often how the tannins balance with the flavor profile. The house style favors firm texture that…

SAM BEALL (1976–2016) The Blackberry Farm proprietor turned a small Tennessee inn into a renowned dining destination with a Wine Spectator Grand Award–winning wine program. HENRI BONNEAU (1938–2016) The iconoclastic vigneron’s wines, defined by richness, power and depth, are considered paradigmatic of a classic style of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. DONN CHAPPELLET (1931–2016) The pioneering vintner founded Chappellet Vineyards, part of Napa’s quality revolution and the winery that put Pritchard Hill on the map. DENIS DUBOURDIEU (1949–2016) A noted academic and trusted winemaking consultant, he brought improved quality and new techniques to Bordeaux’s white wines. ETIENNE HUGEL (1958–2016) The commercial director and public face of Famille Hugel was a charismatic ambassador for the wines of Alsace. LOUIS LATOUR (1932–2016) As the 10th-generation president of his family’s wine firm, he guided the domaine and…

ARGENTINA Red 93 Pascual Toso Magdalena Toso Mendoza 2013 $130 A refined red, with powerful cherry, dried plum and baked fig flavors, supported by fresh acidity. Lengthens out midpalate, presenting some beefy notes. Creamy accents show on the pure and minerally finish, revealing cocoa powder details. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2020. 300 cases made.—K.M. 91 Alta Vista Malbec Mendoza Terroir Selection 2013 $29 Rich and juicy, delivering a deep and concentrated core of dark currant, blackberry and cherry tart flavors, with loads of chocolate notes and hints of dried mint. This finishes ripe and well-structured, with big tannins and some creamy details. Drink now through 2021. 5,000 cases made.—K.M. 91 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolas Catena Zapata Mendoza 2012 $125 This shows touches of elegance to the dried…

The reviews that follow are the on-release tasting notes for the wines of the 2016 Top 100. Ranking is indicated by the number in the red box to the left of each note. Prices given are release prices. The date in parenthesis indicates the issue in which the wine was first reviewed. An overview of this year’s Top 100 and profiles of each of the selected wines begins on page 64. 1 95 Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2013 $90 Remarkably elegant and refined for a wine of this size and depth, with tiers of plum, blackberry and currant flavors, as well as subtle touches of black licorice that remain pure and graceful on the long, lingering aftertaste. Drink now through 2028. 1,600 cases made.—J.L. (2/29/16) 2 95 Domaine Serene…

CHAMPAGNE’S GRANDES DAMES For more than 200 years, women have been taking Champagne to new heights, with revolutionary innovations and keen business acumen. DR. VINNY Dear Dr. Vinny, What are these “pét-nat” sparkling wines my hipster wine friends keep talking about? —Jordan, Brooklyn, N.Y. Dear Jordan, “Natural” wines seem to be all the rage among a certain, ahem, “hip” segment of the market these days, and pétillant naturel wines are the bubbly equivalent (it literally translates to “natural sparkling”). But this trendy new thing in sparkling wine is actually so old that the term for the winemaking technique is méthode ancestrale. For a very long time—centuries, perhaps—carbonation was an accident of winemaking: Fermentation would halt when the weather turned cold in the winters of regions like Champagne, only to restart—after…