Indholdsfortegnelse for June 15-30, 2020 i Wine Spectator

FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS ONGOING CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE How are the wine and restaurant industries overcoming the coronavirus pandemic? Get the latest news on restaurateurs’ creative efforts to stay in business, charitable efforts, and how you can help. BACKYARD DINING Some of the country’s best chefs share their cooking tips and delicious make-at-home summer recipes, while our editors give you great value wine matches from their recent tastings. VALUE WINE PICKS Wine Spectator’s free Xvalues app for iOS and Android devices features a regularly updated library of our editors’ latest reviews of highly rated, widely available wines in five categories: top values ($12 or less); reds for $20 or less; whites for $20 or less; sparklers at $40 or less; and seasonal or holiday picks. Look for it in the…

Mark Dixon, self-made billionaire and CEO of IWG, a leading flexible-workplace company, has been building businesses since the age of 16. Born in the village of Danbury, England, Dixon, the son of a car mechanic, knew that school was not for him. Instead, he decided to become his own boss, delivering sandwiches to customers on his bicycle. “I realized, though, I needed more experience. So I set off to travel around the world,” says Dixon, “I read about St. Tropez in the newspapers, and I thought, ‘Now that looks like an exciting place!’ So I left for St. Tropez. I hitchhiked there. I had no real plan, only to get real work and figure it out.” In the south of France, Dixon learned French and worked a variety of jobs…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 95 Arista Chardonnay Russian River Valley Banfield Vineyard 2017 $80 CALIFORNIA Contoured, with a svelte structure to the pure-tasting flavors of Fuji apple, Bosc pear, peach tart and quince, layered with toasty accents.—K.M. COLLECTIBLE 95 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 2015 $125 ITALY A rich and round version, showing flavors of cherry, raspberry, floral and mineral. This is graceful and intense, with fine purity and freshness.—B.S. SMART BUY 90 Mercer Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills Mercer Bros. 2017 $20 WASHINGTON A spry and appealing red, with lively black cherry and dried sage flavors that add richness toward fine-grained tannins.—T.F. BEST VALUE 90 Domaine Bousquet Malbec Tupungato 2019 $13 ARGENTINA A smoky aroma leads to refined raspberry and red currant flavors, backed by crunchy acidity and ending with a…

Acacia House Las Alcobas, 1915 Main St., St. Helena Telephone (707) 963-9004 Website marriott.com/hotels/travel/sfola-las-alcobas Open Daily Cost Moderate Corkage $35 Acacia House, in the Las Alcobas hotel (see page 53), occupies a renovated and expanded Victorian mansion originally built in 1907. The interior is clean and modern, with an adjacent courtyard. Chef Chris Cosentino, known for San Francisco’s Cockscomb restaurant, is a winner of Top Chef Masters and has appeared on Iron Chef America. His modern take on classic cuisine is rich and full-flavored. A tomato soup is velvety and intense, pork schnitzel is topped with a creme fraiche dressing and white sturgeon caviar, and a campanelle dish is paired with charred rapini, duck sausage and crispy garlic. The wine list has good depth and range, including a charming section called “Sharing a Story,” in which local wines are introduced…

Barndiva 231 Center St., Healdsburg Telephone (707) 431-0100 Website barndiva.com Open Lunch and dinner, Wednesday to Sunday Cost Moderate Corkage $30 Best of Award of Excellence Barndiva’s recipe for success endures. Its minimalistic and charming chicfarm atmosphere, including a tree-covered patio, has made it a popular wine country brunch destination for 15 years. The wine list offers a healthy dose of local offerings, an array of sparkling options, and just about anything else one could desire, whether Chalk Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2017 ($45) or Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux 2012 ($1,800). Original cocktails—such as the Beautiful Ghost, a twist on a classic Negroni made with transparent bitters—invite you to hang out late into the night. The small menu remains dedicated to simple, seasonal farm-to-table fare, sourcing many ingredients from the owner’s family farm and other local purveyors, and includes steak frites…

WHERE TO TASTE 1 APERTURE CELLARS, 12291 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg; aperture-cellars.com 2 BEDROCK WINE CO., 414 First St. E., Sonoma; bedrockwineco.com 3 DONUM ESTATE, 24500 Ramal Road, Sonoma; thedonumestate.com 4 DRY CREEK VINEYARD, 3770 Lambert Bridge Road, Healdsburg; drycreekvineyard.com 5 FLOWERS VINEYARDS & WINERY, 4035 Westside Road, Healdsburg; flowerswinery.com 6 HANZELL VINEYARDS, 18596 Lomita Ave., Sonoma; hanzell.com 7 IRON HORSE VINEYARDS, 9786 Ross Station Road, Sebastopol; ironhorsevineyards.com 8 KUNDE FAMILY WINERY, 9825 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood; kunde.com 9 LA CREMA ESTATE AT SARALEE’S VINEYARD, 3575 Slusser Road, Windsor; lacrema.com 10 PAUL HOBBS WINERY, 3355 Gravenstein Highway N., Sebastopol; paulhobbswinery.com 11 SILVER OAK CELLARS, 7300 Highway 128, Healdsburg; silveroak.com WHERE TO EAT 1 BARNDIVA, 231 Center St., Healdsburg; barndiva.com 2 CAFE LA HAYE, 140 E Napa St., Sonoma; cafelahaye.com 3 DIAVOLA…

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. 96 Bodega Piedra Negra Chacayes Los Chacayes 2015 $99 ARGENTINA Very elegant and rich, with concentrated kirsch, dark plum and cherry tart flavors, backed by medium-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Shows grip midpalate, leading to a finish that turns creamy and plush, primed with spicy richness and chocolate mousse accents. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2027. 3,000 cases made.—K.M. 96 Spring Mountain Vineyard Elivette Napa Valley 2016 $160 CALIFORNIA Lush boysenberry, blackberry and plum fruit cascades forth, backed by streaks of charcoal, dark tobacco and roasted apple wood on the finish. Shows heft as well as mouthwatering cut, with a buried iron note resonating…

Visiting Napa and Sonoma is part of the fundamental education of any true wine lover, and exploring California’s wine heartland is a moving and delightful experience. We regularly publish travel guides to both regions—stories with suggestions for wineries and tasting rooms to visit, restaurants to enjoy, comfortable, well-situated places to stay. This coverage, combined with the information offered on WineSpectator.com, can help you plan your ideal trip. Unfortunately, the new coronavirus has suspended many plans. As we write this, in late April, the pandemic has basically halted tourism in wine country, as virtually everywhere. But we look forward to the time when Napa Valley and Sonoma County can welcome visitors again. So after much thought, we decided to go ahead with this special Napa-Sonoma double issue. Our cover story is…

Michael Broadbent, whose untiring passion and curiosity for wine helped build the modern wine auction market, died in England on March 18. He was 92. As senior director for Christie’s fine wine department for 26 years and then a consultant for another 17 years, Broadbent built the London-based auction house into a major power broker in wine auctions, bringing new attention to the rare wine market. His hard work and meticulous tasting methods made him a renowned expert in the field of collectible wines. “Michael was a pioneer and leader in the specialized world of fine wine auctions,” said Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator. “He brought an elegant sophistication to the events he moderated at our Wine Experience gatherings, and earned our Distinguished Service Award in…

Sometimes statistics can be surprising. In an era where wine lovers give increasing importance to wine’s sitespecificity and transparency of origin, I was taken aback by a recent press release from the consortium for the Delle Venezie DOC heralding a 34 percent increase in sales of Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie, totaling 223 million bottles sold in 2019. This vast appellation—spanning more than 60,000 acres of vineyards—allows grapes sourced from three expansive regions in northern Italy: Friuli–Venezia-Giulia, Trentino–Alto Adige and the Veneto. Maintaining a low consumer price point is a priority, and growers are often motivated by a quantitative, rather than qualitative, approach. In the past year, my ratings for bottlings of Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie top out at 86 points, and 75 percent fall between 79 and 84 points. That…

Happily navigating wine country means staying hydrated and not tasting on an empty stomach. Not every winery offers food, so be prepared to nourish yourself along the way. Below are some reliable places for supplies. Addendum 6476 Washington St., Yountville; thomaskeller.com/addendum Chef Thomas Keller is famed for his fine-dining venues, including the Wine Spectator Grand Award–winning French Laundry. At Keller’s Addendum, foodies flock for dishes such as buttermilk-fried chicken, lobster rolls, pulled pork and ribs. Tip: Order ahead online to skip the lines. Contimo Provisions 500 First St., Napa; contimonapa.com Located in a former ticket booth outside the Culinary Institute of America at Copia, Contimo is a gem for to-go breakfasts and lunches. The biscuits are fabulous—even better when paired with the homemade pimento cheese spread. Sandwiches include the miso…

Chardonnay thrives in numerous regions, and a look at the grape from four distinctly different areas allows for closer examination of its chameleon-like personality. This mix of classic and emerging regions not only reveals Chardonnay's allure, but shows the trajectory of its popularity - both today and beyond. Sonoma County, California The Sonoma Coast has long been revered for Chardonnay, but a new movement to create distinct identities within the larger appellation has led to what Craig McAllister, winemaker at La Crema, calls an "uncoupling" movement. "Because it's a big appellation, there are a number of soil types and climates throughout - the West Sonoma Coast pocket is vastly different from Los Carneros," he says. "So I think as people are looking for more distinctive Chardonnays, this uncoupling, in a…

This Buying Guide contains ratings of new releases from around the world. Complete tasting notes are provided for 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. Hundreds of additional reviews appear each month 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. Thomas Matthews Spain Kim Marcus California Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir, Argentina, Chile James Laube California Bruce Sanderson Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany James Molesworth California Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Rhône Valley, Port MaryAnn Worobiec California Sauvignon Blanc and other whites, Australia, New Zealand Alison Napjus…

The streets of Rome were suddenly empty. The Vatican closed St. Peter’s Square to visitors. Police told tourists walking the streets to return to their hotels. It was March 10 and COVID-19 had begun its rapid spread beyond China to Italy and around the world. That day, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte took the extraordinary step of locking down an entire nation, hoping to slow the spread of the virus. “The whole of Italy will become a protected zone,” he said in an address to the nation. “We all must give something up for the good of Italy. We have to do it now.” It was a prelude of things to come across the globe. Within days, other countries had followed suit, including many of the world’s leading sources and…

Riesling and More This group of wines from Germany, including a handful of different whites along with one red, proves that there’s more to German wine than Riesling. Much of this success is due to warmer vintages such as 2018 that benefit the country’s northern vineyards, enhancing the diversity of the German wine scene. NIK WEIS ST.-URBANS-HOF Riesling Kabinett Mosel Wiltinger 2018 (91, $23) Elegant, vibrant; Bosc pear, nectarine, lanolin, slate BASSERMANN-JORDAN Riesling Pfalz 2018 (90, $24) Citrus, Jonagold apple, lanolin, cream; expressive, firm FRIEDRICH BECKER Pinot Gris Pfalz Becker Family 2018 (90, $19) Harmonious; white cherry, apple, blood orange, mineral, floral, spice, sea salt FRIEDRICH BECKER Pinot Noir Pfalz Becker Family 2015 (90, $20) Fresh, focused, pure; dark cherry, spice, rose hip, mineral CLEMENS BUSCH Riesling Mosel Trocken 2018…

As a local, I don’t typically think about the Napa Wine Train. I know it brings in a steady stream of tourists, but for years it was considered a nuisance among Napans, and a hohum way to see the sights. However, when Brooks Street, a local development firm partnered with Noble House Hotels & Resorts, took over the rails in 2015, the conversation started shifting. Natives began looking forward to the Santa Train during the holidays. A new range of tours exponentially increased the offerings, including holiday experiences and murder-mystery dinners. Vintage cars were refurbished. The food starting getting rave reviews. And it’s easy to recognize the value of exploring the valley without worrying about driving or traffic. It was time for me to check it out. Being a tourist…

Bouchaine Vineyards 1075 Buchli Station Road, Napa Telephone (707) 252-9065 Website bouchaine.com Open Daily Cost Tastings $35–$250 There’s something transportive about Carneros; San Pablo Bay, rolling hills, winding roads and the sheep that dot the landscape all contribute to a bucolic feel. The updated Bouchaine tasting room is one of the best venues in which to soak it all in. An inlay on the patio floor that reads “Wine makes you happy” greets guests at the entrance. The new, modern building, full of glass walls and with a dramatic curved roof, feels like an extension of the hills that surround it. The interior is stylish, but most will be drawn to the outdoor terrace with its panoramic views. The website lists winery events, including pairing wines with music, chocolate or food from guest chefs. There are also monthly…

WHERE TO TASTE 1 BOUCHAINE VINEYARDS, 1075 Buchli Station Road, Napa; bouchaine.com 2 CHAPPELLET, 1581 Sage Canyon Road, St. Helena; chappellet.com 3 CLOS DU VAL, 5330 Silverado Trail, Napa; closduval.com 4 DOMAINE CARNEROS, 1240 Duhig Road, Napa; domainecarneros.com 5 FAVIA ERICKSON WINEGROWERS, 2031 Coombsville Road, Napa; faviawine.com 6 LOUIS M. MARTINI WINERY, 254 St. Helena Highway S., St. Helena; louismartini.com 7 OAKVILLE RANCH WINERY, 7781 Silverado Trail, Napa; oakvilleranch.com 8 OAKVILLE WINE MERCHANT, 7856 St. Helena Highway, Oakville; oakvillegrocery.com 9 OPUS ONE WINERY, 7900 St. Helena Highway, Oakville; opusonewinery.com 10 RUDD ESTATE, 500 Oakville Cross Road, Oakville; ruddwines.com 11 SCHRAMSBERG VINEYARDS, 1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga; schramsberg.com 12 STAG’S LEAP WINE CELLARS, 5766 Silverado Trail, Napa; stagsleapwinecellars.com WHERE TO EAT 1 ACACIA HOUSE, Las Alcobas Hotel, 1915 Main St., St. Helena;…

Willi’s Wine Bar 1415 Town and Country Drive, Santa Rosa Telephone (707) 526-3096 Website starkrestaurants.com/stark-restaurant/willis-wine-bar/ Open Lunch, Tuesday to Saturday; dinner, daily Cost Moderate Corkage $20 After their much-loved original restaurant burned down in the 2017 Tubbs wildfire, Mark and Terri Stark started over at a new location in the heart of Santa Rosa. It lacks the charisma of the old roadhouse but has the same accomplished menu of small plates and an eclectic wine list. The Starks have almost cornered the market on good restaurants in Sonoma County, with a portfolio of six and counting. Not one disappoints. Willi’s was their first and remains close to their heart. The menu's diverse, full-flavored dishes are ideal for sharing. Mainstays include luscious Moroccan-style barbecued lamb chops and an ahi tuna tartare with lemon, shiso and pine nuts. The wine list is…

ARGENTINA 96 Bodega Piedra Negra Chacayes Los Chacayes 2015 $99 See Highly Recommended, page 101. 91 Alpasion Malbec Los Chacayes Grand 2016 $35 Rich and well-spiced, with juicy flavors of cherry, huckleberry and plum. Creamy notes show midpalate. The finish lingers with tannins and graphite accents. Drink now through 2024. 2,700 cases made, 800 cases imported.—K.M. 91 Clos de los Siete Uco Valley 2017 $20 See Smart Buys, page 103. 90 Alpasion Private Selection Los Chacayes 2014 $50 Big and ripe, with focused dark plum and blackberry flavors that feature rich tarry and chocolate mousse notes. The lively finish is loaded with cooking spice accents. Malbec, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2023. 1,140 cases made, 240 cases imported.—K.M. 90 Domaine Bousquet Malbec Tupungato 2019 $13 See…