Innehållsförteckning för December 15, 2017 från Wine Spectator

A handful of restaurants around the world have achieved the status of icon. La Tour d’Argent in Paris traces its roots to the 16th century. Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach, which dates to 1913, was the first restaurant to serve the signature crab claw. Antoine’s in New Orleans has epitomized Creole cuisine since it opened in 1840. New York City is a cauldron of change, but even here a few restaurants have become icons. Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn. Katz’s Delicatessen on the Lower East Side The Four Seasons opened in 1959 in the Seagram Building on Park Avenue, the structure itself an emblem of modernist architecture. Over time, the restaurant became the quintessential gathering place for power, wealth and celebrity, all while maintaining impeccable standards for ambience,…

Convicted wine counterfeiter Rudy Kur-niawan’s latest appeal was shot down in late September by the same federal court judge who presided over his trial in 2013. He will continue to serve out his 10- year sentence. Kurniawan contended in a petition that one of his lawyers had not properly defended him during pretrial proceedings in 2013. But Dis-trict Judge Richard Berman ruled that the ex-perienced trial lawyer in question, Michael Proctor, had not been neglectful. At issue was FBI agents’ search of Kurni-awan’s house moments after he was arrested five and a half years ago. The agents had an arrest warrant in hand but not a search war-rant. Yet they spent at least 15 minutes roam-ing the house, where they found extensive evidence of a wine-counterfeiting operation. The agents based…

Small production is to wine-making what small ball is to baseball. A means of sur-vival. Baseball teams aim to put runners in scoring posi-tion and push them across the plate. Vintners rely on a range of analogous wines (a lineup of Pinots, Cabs or Zins, for example) to express different sites and fill coffers. Both can be winning strategies. Both have potential pitfalls. Many of the greatest wines I’ve drunk have come from a single site capable of producing extraordinary wine time and again. Yet often a winery can only make a few hundred cases of a given bottling—and that’s one huge reason for small ball. Most vintners don’t own their own vineyards and rely instead on the open market, where much depends on the grape and appellation. When a…

With 1,500 employees in 15 restaurants, Major Food Group has in short order expanded from a single deli into a formidable presence on the New York City restaurant scene. On Dec. 30, 2009, Rich Torrisi and Mario Car-bone opened Torrisi Italian Specialties, a deli by day and an intimate, insid-ers’ supper spot by night. Since then, the business partnership they formed with Jeff Zalaznick in 2011 has produced a constant flow of new ideas. The first was Parm (November 2011), specializing in sandwiches and pasta, which opens its sixth location in early 2018. Parm begat the more ambitious Carbone (March 2013), which begat ZZ’s Clam Bar (June 2013), Dirty French (September 2014), Santina (January 2015) and Sadelle’s (September 2015). Earlier this year, the Grill and the Pool opened in the…

Take two skyrocketing wine categories—sparkling wine and rosé—and put them together. The result is one of the fastest-growing segments in Champagne right now, and it shows no signs of slowing down. In 2016, the U.S. market for Champagne was dominated by bot-tlings of non-vintage brut, totaling about 75 percent of all Cham-pagne shipped stateside, yet non-vintage brut rosé, at nearly 16 percent, showed the most significant gain. The 2016 figure repre-sents an increase of 13 percent in volume and nearly 18 percent in value from 2015. It seems that despite typically higher price points for non-vintage rosé Champagne versus regular non-vintage brut, Americans can’t get enough of the pink stuff. In terms of the tastings conducted by Wine Spectator, the num-bers could not be clearer. Fifteen years ago, we included…

95Azelia Barolo Margheria 2013 $85 ITALY Cherry and plum flavors are buried in a dense matrix of tannins, shaded by tobacco, leather, tar and iron notes. Linear and persistent on the finish, if less expres-sive at this stage than its peers. Best from 2021 through 2040. 566 cases made.—B.S. 94Ayoub Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Memoirs 2015 $38 OREGON This supple and harmonious red offers floral cherry and strawberry aromas and elegantly complex flavors, accented by savory cinna-mon and tea hints that glide lithely along the finish. Drink now through 2023. 380 cases made.—T. 94Bollinger Brut Champagne La Grande Année 2007 $155 FRANCE This bright and lacy Champagne offers a tapestry of finely woven flavors, with notes of graphite, ground spice, crushed blackberry, dried apricot, toast and honeycomb. Firm and focused,…

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 At large Thomas Matthews Spain Kim Marcus Argentina, California, Chile…

FRANCE Alsace / Gewürztraminer 90 Muré Gewürztraminer Alsace Signature 2015 $22 This graceful white layers delicate acidity with subtle flavors of melon, ground ginger and smoky mineral on a lithe, light-bodied frame. Drink now through 2020. 300 cases imported.—A.N. 88 Kuentz-Bas Gewürztraminer Alsace 2015 $25 Light-bodied and snappy, with a minerally under-pinning and subtle flavors of crunchy white peach, lemon parfait, grated ginger and honeysuckle. Drink now through 2019. 500 cases made.—A.N. 88 Trimbach Gewürztraminer Alsace 2015 $22 A spicy thread of white pepper and ground ginger unravels through this minerally white, which is light- to medium-bodied and creamy, with hints of baked peach and grapefruit sorbet and a clean-cut finish. Drink now through 2020. 2,000 cases imported.—A.N. 88 Wolfberger Gewürztraminer Alsace 2016 $17 Light-bodied and creamy, this bright Gewürztra-miner…

SPAIN Jumilla 92 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2014 $45 Plush and alluring, this red delivers plum pudding, fig and licorice flavors, framed by cocoa and cinnamon. Well-integrated tannins and tangerine acidity keep this fresh and balanced. Generous and balanced, in the modern style. Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2024. 6,000 cases made.—T.M. 92 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido 2014 $130 This rich red delivers plum pudding, currant, fig paste, cocoa and cinnamon flavors, bold and heady. Well-inte-grated tannins support the generous texture, with enough acidity to keep this lively. In the modern style. Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell. Drink now through 2024. 400 cases made.—T.M. 90 Bodegas Juan Gil Jumilla Blue Label 2014 $35 Round, polished and harmonious, this is a modern-style red, delivering allur-ing flavors of…

DR. VINNY Dear Dr. Vinny, How does opening Champagne with a sword work? Isn’t the broken glass dangerous? —Eric H., Sacramento, Calif. Dear Eric, The technique of opening a bottle with a sword, or saber, is called sabrage. The pressure inside a bottle of bubbly is so strong that a small fracture will allow the liq-uid inside to burst out, and the glass will break off with a clean split—no shards left behind. Want to give it a try? Interestingly, the sa-ber isn’t—or doesn’t have to be—sharp. If you don’t have a flat-edged Champagne saber, you can use the back of a chef’s knife, or even a spoon handle. You just need a flat metal ob-ject to take advantage of a sparkling bottle’s weak point: the intersection of the bottle’s…

50 SHADES OF PINK News editor Mitch Frank’s column “Warning Signs in Pink” (online, Sept. 21) drew numerous comments as readers weighed in on the evolution of rosé; a sampling appears below. Added Value I enjoyed your New York City issue immensely (cover, Oct. 15 & 31). Another great place to visit on the Upper East Side is the museum of the Society of Illustrators. A classic building, fantastic art (and now exhibiting more original comic art), a keen sense of history, and a wonderful bar and restaurant on the top floor. A must-see destination right near the F train. John SciarappaEatontown. N.J. Worst-Case Scenario [I’ve] been an on-and-off-again subscriber for years, maybe decades, and this last issue (Oct. 15 & 31) is the worst. As with [many] of your…

In Italy’s Piedmont, daughters traditionally did not work in family wineries. But sisters Daniela and Monica Tibaldi have been runnings things at Cantina Tibaldi since 2014, bringing new energy to the business. They shared their story in “Vineyards and High Heels,” the winning entry in the 2017 Wine Spectator Video Contest. “We wanted to make this video just for fun, but it’s our reality,” said Daniela, 27. Carrying on their family’s tradition makes all the hard work worthwhile. “My grandfather, every time that he watches the video, he starts to cry,” Daniela said. Their prize included tickets to the New York Wine Experience, where their video was screened. But at press time the Tibaldi family was otherwise occupied with the impending birth of Monica’s first child, a baby boy. Watch…

IN VINO, VALUE These Italian wines are all about delivering quality for the price. From Piedmont’s Langhe area to Mount Etna on Sicily, this group rep-resents classic styles from well-known appella-tions that are full-flavored and food-friendly. ROCCA DELLE MACÌE Chianti Classico Tenuta Sant’Alfonso 2015 (92, $26) Dense, pure; blackberry, plum, iron, smoke, tar CASTELLO D’ALBOLA Chianti Classico Riserva 2013 (91, $28) Balanced, structured; cherry, plum, leather, spice AZELIA Dolcetto d’Alba Bricco dell’Oriolo 2015 (90, $16) Blackberry, plum, earth, tobacco; rich, vibrant PIETRADOLCE Etna 2016 (90, $21) Bright, lithe; dried mint, tea rose, sun-dried cherry, red licorice, tar, spice, graphite POGGIO DEI GORLERI Vermentino Riviera Ligure di Ponente Vigna Sorì 2016 (90, $19) Apple, almond, herb, white pepper; vibrant, intense, tangy SOBRERO Nebbiolo Langhe 2015 (90, $22) Aromatic, rustic; rose, macerated…

One of the eternal ten-sions in the business of wine is the seemingly opposite poles of brand versus land. One side submits that ownership of specific vineyard sites is vital. The other side says that vineyards and grapes are fun-gible. You can always buy what you need. Brands are what sells. You could be forgiven for thinking that, today, brands are not just ascen-dant but triumphant. After all, look at the acquisition prices paid for the likes of Meomi, Orin Swift and The Prisoner, each of which sold for hundreds of mil-lions of dollars. The big players that bought them (Constellation, Gallo) can—and will—grow them even larger. The appeal of brands can be cap-tured in a single word: scalability. As both wineries and wine distributors magnify in size and reach…

97Moët & Chandon Brut Champagne Dom Pérignon Plénitude P2 2000 $349 FRANCE A beautiful nose of baked peach, lime blossom and graphite draws you into the glass of this stunning 2000, whose fla-vors of brioche, salted almond and spun honey are wrapped around sleek, mouthwatering acidity and a streak of smoke-tinged mineral. This deftly meshed Champagne is hard to stop sipping. Drink now through 2030.—A.N. 96Graham Vintage Port The Stone Terraces 2015 $210 PORTUGAL Flattering, with a gor-geous and showy display of warm plum sauce, blueberry reduction and chocolate-covered açaí berry flavors rush-ing forth. Light milk chocolate and black licorice notes check in through the finish, which is juicy and open in feel. Best from 2028 through 2040. 400 cases made.—J.M. 95Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2015 $110 PORTUGAL This…

89Louis & Cherry Barruol Vin de France Little James’ Basket Press NV $13 FRANCE This has a fleshy, beefy feel, with dark currant and plum paste fla-vors lined with light charcoal, smoldering tobacco and dried anise notes, but shows only modest grip, letting the fruit and light funk play out easily on the finish. A solera-style Grenache, bottled in 2015. Drink now through 2018. 12,500 cases made.—J.M. 89Greg Norman California Estates Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County 2015 $15 CALIFORNIA Offering succulent fruitiness, with creamy notes to the red berry and damson plum flavors, this red has a silky mouthfeel and medium-grained tannins that support the spicy finish. Drink now. 10,000 cases made.—K.M. 8814 Hands Pinot Gris Washington 2016 $10 WASHINGTON Floral peach and papaya aromas combine with vibrant Meyer lemon…

ITALY Piedmont / Barbaresco 93 Fontanabianca Barbaresco Bordini 2014 $70 Offers intense aromas of rose, cherry and spice, with hints of tar, leather, iron and tobacco on the palate. This is firm yet ripe, with fine balance lining all the com-ponents on the long finish. Best from 2020 through 2035. 500 cases made.—B.S. 93 Sottimano Barbaresco Cottá 2014 $62 Pretty cherry, floral, mineral and tobacco flavors line this racy red. There’s an underlying density to the structure, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, iron, underbrush and to-bacco. Best from 2020 through 2033. 400 cases made.—B.S. 92 Produttori del Barba-resco Barbaresco 2014 $40 Fragrant, showing notes of cherry, strawberry and rose, this elegant red offers berry fruit, licorice and under-brush flavors on the palate, ending with a firm grip of tannins…

CALIFORNIA Chardonnay 92 Au Contraire Chardonnay Russian River Valley Mighty Mouse Reserve 2014 $45 Rich and well-oaked, giving the exotic fig, honeysuckle, melon and apricot flavors excellent density, focus, depth and persistence. Smoky oak sustains the flavors and adds complexity. Drink now. 600 cases made.—J.L. 91 Buena Vista Chardonnay Green Valley of Russian River Valley Natalia’s Selection 2015 $42 Elegantly styled, pure and complex, with a delicate medley of spicy, toasty oak and creamy pear, melon and apricot flavors, ending with a long, lingering aftertaste. Drink now through 2021. 439 cases made.—J.L. 90 Buena Vista Chardonnay Carneros 2015 $25 An attractive style, reliant on spicy, toasty oak as well as a zesty core of melon, green apple and white peach, maintaining an elegant mouthfeel throughout. Drink now through 2021. 5,698…

Does anyone remember a simpler time, 10 or 15 years ago, when hardly anyone kicked if you forgot bark bitters in a Manhattan, and when orange bitters in a Martini was just a bizarre notion? The joke among bartenders was that you’d pay off your mort-gage before you went through a bottle of bitters (which was likely An-gostura, the lone brand your liquor store carried). Today, no self-respecting cocktail crafter nor liquor supplier would think of limping along with such nar-row choices. The range of flavors of-fered by these biting tinctures has swelled. Furthermore, self-styled bar chefs have revived the concept of “house-made bitters.” And it’s come to the point where enthusiasts are mak-ing them in their home kitchens. Bitters are astringent botanical con-centrations made up of a variety of…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 94 Ayoub Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Memoirs 2015 $38 OREGON Supple and harmonious, with floral cherry and strawberry aromas and elegantly complex flavors. COLLECTIBLE 95 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2015 $83 FRANCE This has a lovely, perfumy mix of savory, mint, tobacco, blood orange, cherry and bergamot notes, carried by silky but ample structure. SMART BUY 90 Lagar da Condesa Rias Baixas 2016 $17 SPAIN Briny and blanched almond notes play off peach, lime and tarragon flavors in this firm and focused white. BEST VALUE 88 14 Hands Pinot Gris Washington 2016 $10 WASHINGTON Shows floral peach and papaya aromas that combine with vibrant Meyer lemon and spice flavors. IN THIS ISSUE’S BUYING GUIDE You’ll find 15 classic wines and nearly 300 outstanding wines from…

France’s Champagne region continues to offer exciting new labels and vintages alongside classic examples for wine lovers to explore. The firm acidity and complex flavors recommend these sparkling wines to pairing with food, while the festive pop makes them obligatory at any celebration. The hard work of producers across the region—from small growers to big-name houses—ensures a consistency of quality that is rare among the world’s wine regions. Since my previous report (“Champagne’s Holiday Power,” Dec. 15, 2016), I have reviewed more than 300 wines at our New York office. As is typically the case, vintage-dated bottlings, which show the strength and distinctive character of a particular harvest, account for most of the top marks this year. Yet non-vin-tage bottlings shine as well, with many offering remarkable con-sistency and more affordable pricing.…

91Fincas Patagonicas Malbec Mendoza Tapiz Alta Collection 2015 $20 ARGENTINA Explo-sively fruity, this is redolent of blackberry compote, with notes of dried blackberry and dark currant. Fresh and juicy on the intensely spicy finish. Drink now through 2021. 3,250 cases made.—K.M. 91Yalumba The Strapper GSM Barossa Valley 2014 $20 AUSTRALIA A fragrant red, with dried lavender, white pepper and green tea notes to comple-ment the firm kirsch, cherry and anise core, this is har-monious, especially on the finish, where the details expand. Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro. Drink now through 2023. 1,200 cases imported.—M.W. 90Canoe Ridge Merlot Horse Heaven Hills The Expedition 2015 $16 WASHINGTON Sleek and supple, this offers black cherry and dark chocolate aromas and layered plum and orange zest flavors that lin-ger toward polished tannins. Drink now through…

ARGENTINA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 93 Dominio del Plata Susana Balbo Brioso Single Vineyard Agrelo 2014 $45 A well-sculpted and lusciously fruity red, with a complex mix of raspberry, currant and plum flavors that are matched to fresh acid-ity. Minerally midpalate, with a long finish that echoes notes of slate, dried herb and pepper. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2022. 834 cases made.—K.M. 90 Finca Decero Cabernet Sauvignon Agrelo Remolinos Vineyard 2014 $22 Dense, with chiseled flavors of dark plum, dried berry and dark chocolate. Notes of dried green herbs and spice extend on the zesty finish. Drink now through 2020. 5,000 cases imported.—K.M. 89 Viña Cobos Cocodrilo Corte Mendoza 2015 $30 Plush and spicy, with vibrant raspberry, mulberry and red plum flavors that…

NEW ZEALAND 93 Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir Canterbury Earth Smoke 2015 $130 Elegant accents of sandalwood, peppery rose petal and dried orange zest mingle with vel-vety raspberry and plum flavors, accented with fresh loamy earth notes and a dose of dried sage. Lingers effortlessly on the long finish. Drink now through 2023. 125 cases made.—M.W. 90 Jules Taylor Pinot Noir Marlborough 2016 $24 A note of warm vanilla bean mingles with flavors of black cherry and plum in this plush and velvety Pinot. Elements of spice, cedar and chai tea are intense on the finish. Drink now through 2022. 300 cases imported.—M.W. 90 Jules Taylor Pinot Noir Marlborough OTQ Ballochdale Estate Vineyard Single Vineyard 2016 $36 Supple and generous, with blueberry and raspberry flavors at the core, accented with notes…