Indholdsfortegnelse for November 30, 2024 i Wine Spectator

Visit WineSpectator.com/113024 to find links to all of the following resources. TOP 100 WINES OF THE YEAR On Nov. 11, we begin unveiling the Top 10 Wines of 2024—complete with videos, tasting notes and more—culminating with the Wine of the Year on Nov. 15 and the complete Top 100 list on Nov. 18. FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS DAILY WINE PICKS Every day of the week, get a recently reviewed wine handpicked by our editors for its value, collectability or other wow factor that makes it worthy of the spotlight. Visit WineSpectator.com to see each day’s pick, plus the full archive of these standout wines. WINE & HEALTH Keep on top of the latest research with our regular Health News reports, get your questions answered in our Wine & Health Q&A, and…

Treasured family recipes are maintained and refined over generations. María del Carmen Vicario has been making empanadas, learning alongside her mother, since she was 7. “My mother made the best empanadas,” she recalls. “She would ask me to knead the dough, and then when I grew older, I would also cook the filling.” Today, Vicario is known as La Chacha, after an empanada-making character from the popular Argentine comic Pa toruzú. The renowned empanada maker crafts her delicacies at Santa Julia Winery’s Casa del Visitante restaurant in Mendoza, owned by the Zuccardi family. She began there as a dishwasher in 2004 and worked her way up to lead empanada maker—an important position, as the pastry is a Zuccardi family favorite. In 2019, her efforts won the award for best empanada…

Argentine Flair This selection from Argentina showcases the Malbec grape, which produces dynamic reds from various sub-zones in the country’s Mendoza region. These offerings are rounded out by a pair of delicious Chardonnays. BODEGA MIL SUELOS Malbec Paraje Altamira Finca La Escuela 2022 (93, $30) Rich, polished; plum, berry, savory, flowers MATERVINI Malbec Los Chacayes Tinto 2021 (93, $35) Plum, dried lavender, spices, singed orange peel, mineral; bright, aromatic, structured BODEGA ROLLAND Malbec Mendoza Mariflor 2021 (92, $30) Refined, detailed; violet, spiced plum, macerated cherry, molasses, graphite BODEGA CATENA ZAPATA Malbec Lunlunta Old Vines 2022 (90, $24) Cherry, roasted strawberry, loam, pepper, rooibos tea; plush, quaffable BODEGA MIL SUELOS Malbec Paraje Altamira Manos Negras Stone Soil 2022 (90, $20) Silky; raspberry, cherry, spices, flowers, mineral, loam VIÑA COBOS Chardonnay Mendoza Felino 2023 (90, $22) Spiced…

Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse represents the ninth generation of her family, owners of Château Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse in St.-Emilion since 1847. But despite that lengthy history, wine did not beckon right away. First, Joséphine considered being a veterinarian, then an engineer. Neither went according to plan. Then, after returning home she realized something: “I like to drink wine,” she says flatly. But instead of diving into her family estate, Duffau-Lagarrosse, now 33, went off to Burgundy, then New Zealand and Mexico, getting an education on the job at wineries along the way. Her path again brought her back to Bordeaux, but she was still unsure about being in the family business. She joined the team of the Bernard Magrez portfolio of châteaus and spent two years there, a period where she says she…

Nestled in the heart of Abruzzo, where rugged mountains meet ancient castles and the glistening Adriatic Sea, Masciarelli’s vineyards are a testament to the land’s raw beauty and remarkable potential. Masciarelli, a pioneer in promoting Abruzzo’s vinous heritage, has also become a leader in environmental sustainability, protecting the very earth that nurtures its grapes. With an unwavering commitment to the land, Masciarelli became one of the Ɯrst 10 Italian estates to receive the prestigious Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certiƜcation for sustainability, an accolade that speaks to the care and respect it give to the environment. Its vineyards span all four of Abruzzo’s diverse sub-regions, each unique and rich with character. At the heart of Masciarelli’s oƏerings lies the Marina Cvetic Montepulciano Riserva, a bold and captivating red. Grown…

Padma Lakshmi is not a chef, but she has deeply impacted the way America eats and understands food, most notably as a star of Bravo’s Top Chef, which she hosted for 17 years. Her forthcoming recipe book is based on her own Emmy-nominated food and travel series, Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, which premiered in 2020. And she has recently signed on to develop, produce and host a new reality cooking competition show with CBS. Since stepping away from Top Chef, the supermodel-cum-entrepreneur has explored fresh ambitions, including partnerships in wine and fashion. She also uses her notoriety and vast social media following, with 1.7 million Instagram followers, to advocate for causes such as immigrants’ rights. For this issue’s cover story, I assigned senior editor Kristen Bieler to speak…

Earlier this year, Burgundy’s Domaine Faiveley gained full ownership of legendary Sonoma Pinot Noir producer Williams Selyem. But don’t bemoan the sale of another of California’s boutique estate pioneers just yet. Faiveley had been a minority partner in Williams Selyem since 2020, and the sale was less a takeover than the culmination of a four-year ownership transition intended to keep Williams Selyem and its consistently excellent Pinot Noirs just that. If you’re skeptical, all you need to know is that longtime Williams Selyem winemaking director Jeff Mangahas isn’t going anywhere. It’s impossible to have a conversation about California Pinot Noir without including Williams Selyem. The Russian River Valley producer started in 1979 as a hobby of friends Burt Williams and Ed Selyem; the duo actually started with a Zinfandel, sourced…

Granted, Kentucky hospitality is hard to beat, but the good news is that while you’re waiting to visit Bourbon country and dine at Holly Hill Inn, you can make pairings with the state’s native spirit at home. It’s a whiskey with a broad flavor palette that will strike partnerships with a range of foods you eat regularly. Whether your plan is to match a dram with every course or make spot pairings, a few factors can point the way. Consider grain content: Being made mostly with corn, Bourbon is inherently sweet, but the other grains that make up the mash bill fine-tune it. Mix corn with rye (the usual case) and the whiskey is spicier and tart. Substitute wheat and it smooths the taste. The aging method is also paramount…

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. 97 Horsepower Grenache Walla Walla Valley Sur Echalas Vineyard 2021 $133 WASHINGTON Showing verve and personality, this red jumps from the glass yet is agile on its feet. Bold aromas of black olive, garrigue and grilled meat open to dynamically layered raspberry and black cherry flavors accented by river stone and white pepper. Finishes with well-framed tannins. Drink now through 2035. 284 cases made.—T.F. 95 Albert Bichot Echézeaux Domaine du Clos Frantin 2022 $722 FRANCE There’s some muscle behind the flavors of cherry, blackberry, pomegranate, sandalwood, graphite and sweet spices in this red. Bracing acidity keeps this well-delineated, with rhubarb and smoky mineral hints on the…

Pinot Opinions I thoroughly enjoyed your recent article on California Pinot Noirs and the talented people making them (“California Pinot Noir: Feeling the Heat,” Sept. 30). For those who seek high quality Pinot Noirs that are not as well known, I recommend Croix Estate in Sonoma, deftly made by winemaker and owner Kirk Venge. I have enjoyed wines that he has made at his Venge winery in Calistoga, as well as other wineries that he consults for. (I recently had a Sonoma Coast 2022 Pinot Noir Nightwing Vineyard that he made at B Cellars that is impressive.) Croix Estate is worth a visit for Pinot Noir aficionados visiting Sonoma. Ken WestbrookSan Diego City Site Thanks for the great article on Santa Barbara wine travel (cover, Sept. 30). Well-researched, but the…

Is there anything Marcus Samuelsson can’t do? When last we checked in with the globe-trotting chef, TV star and philanthropist, he was keeping fit on the soccer pitch in Wine Spectator’s April 30, 2023, Wine and Wellness issue (and on Wine Spectator’s Straight Talk podcast). But the man behind Harlem’s Red Rooster restaurant (and others) has been doing more than just playing footie since then. He’s also been making furniture. In July, Samuelsson launched his first furniture and houseware collection, in partnership with Williams Sonoma’s West Elm home retailer. The collection includes 32 products, ranging from tableware to lighting to chairs and cabinetry, and aims to honor his Ethiopian heritage, Swedish upbringing and longtime home-town of New York. “I’m super excited about the partnership,” Samuelsson told Wine Spectator. “I’ve been…

The growing fight over whether alcohol is healthy in moderation or dangerous from the first drop has spread to the decision-making behind the U.S. government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. And wine-and-spirits industry members are pointing out that it looks like the anti-alcohol movement is stacking the deck. This summer, trade groups including the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and the Wine Institute sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) raising pointed questions about a scientific review that an HHS agency plans to conduct on alcohol use. The review represents a dramatic change to how U.S. Dietary Guidelines are devised. Those guidelines, updated every five years, send an important message to Americans on how they should view alcohol consumption. In 1995, the guidelines broke…

“We began in 1998, widely regarded as the worst vintage in the last 50 years,” recalls Viña Cobos founder Paul Hobbs. Twenty-six years ago, Hobbs and his business partners, winemaker Luis Barraud and his wife, Andrea Marchiori, teamed up to study Malbec grown in vineyards north of Argentina’s Mendoza River. As a California-based winemaker who had spent the previous decade consulting with Bodega Catena Zapata, Hobbs was curious to explore the various terroirs of Mendoza. After abandoning the 1998 vintage, the team pressed on. Nico Volturno, Marchiori’s father, had already agreed to the use of his five and a half acres of old-vine Malbec in the Perdriel region within Luján de Cuyo, just south of the city of Mendoza. That vineyard, along with grapes contracted from small local growers, would…

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). 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. Bruce Sanderson Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany James Molesworth California Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, Port MaryAnn Worobiec California Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Australia, New Zealand Alison Napjus Spain, Italy, Champagne, South Africa Tim Fish California Zinfandel and Merlot, Oregon, Washington, U.S. sparkling wines Aaron Romano Argentina, Chile Kristen Bieler Rhône Valley and other France, Germany, Austria How We Do…