Innehållsförteckning för February 28, 2018 från Wine Spectator

Colgin owners Ann Colgin and her husband, Joe Wender, have agreed to sell 60 percent of their Napa Valley winery to French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The deal includes the brand, the winery and its 26 acres of vineyards. Colgin, Wender and COO Paul Roberts will stay on in leadership roles, and winemaker Allison Tauziet will continue to make the wines. The sale price was not disclosed. “Their ethos of luxury and spirit of entrepreneurship resonated with us,” Colgin said of LVMH. “Their track record of championing handcrafted products and showcasing them to the world made us confident that a partnership would preserve the quality of our wines.” Founded in 1992 by Ann and her then-husband, Fred Schrader, Colgin has become one of Napa’s cult classics, with…

Cabernet Sauvignon Daou For brothers Georges and Daniel Daou, owning Cabernet vineyards in Paso Robles fulfills a dream that began years ago when they left France in pursuit of Cabernet excellence, choosing this still-evolving region as their base. They recruited winemaker Scott McLeod as he exited Inglenook, where he’d been for 20 vintages, to steer their efforts. “This is about the American dream, nothing more and nothing less,” says McLeod. They located a mountain site in Adelaide, an area west of Paso Robles, and staked their claim. Though Napa was a strong option, economics and the potential to be pioneers lent allure to Paso. “At Daou, I tasted the blue and black tones of great Cabernet and saw the raw enthusiasm of owners that wanted to compete in the crowded…

Gunderloch Founded by banker Carl Gunderloch in 1890, Weingut Gunderloch is a leading estate not only in the Rheinhessen region, where it is located, but all of Germany, with fifth-generation winemaker Fritz Hasselbach’s meticulous work having elevated the winery to its modern reputation. In 2013, his son Johannes officially joined as winemaker, taking over completely after Fritz’s death in October 2016. The estate owns 61 acres of south- and southeast-facing slopes in the Roter Hang (“Red Hill,” so-called for its red slate soils), primarily in the celebrated Nackenheimer Rothenberg vineyard. Additional holdings are in Englesberg, Hipping, Oelberg and Pettenthal, all in the town of Nierstein. Farming is eco-friendly, leaning toward organic, and winemaking is traditional, with a focus on expressing the terroir. Thanks to Fritz, the winery has been recognized…

Josep Maria Raventós i Blanc Founded in 1986 by Josep Maria Raventós i Blanc, this 225-acre estate sits just outside the town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the area best known for Spain’s signature sparkling wine, Cava. But since 2012 Raventós i Blanc’s son, Manuel, and grandson, Pepe Raventós i Vidal, have eschewed the Cava appellation, instead labeling their wines with the more basic Vino Espumoso while they lobby for the creation of a more tightly defined and rigorous appellation, called Conca del Riu Anoia. They practice what they preach, and their sparklers utilize indigenous grape varieties such as Xarel-lo, Macabeo and Parellada sourced from biodynamically farmed vineyards with lower yields and higher average vine age than what’s mandated by the Cava appellation; all of the bottlings are aged on their…

“I’m sort of a nervous wreck,” said Barbara Banke. The chairman of the board at Jackson Family Wines was on a special panel, representing her family-owned company whose holdings include more than 40 wine brands around the world. What’s more, she was scheduled to receive Wine Spectator’s Distinguished Service Award later that night. But Jackson Family Wines is headquartered in Sonoma County, where some of Northern California’s most devastating October wildfires raged. For the previous two weeks, Banke had been helping her team feed displaced members of the community and house employees who had lost everything, all while wondering about the fate of vineyards they could not reach. Banke evacuated her own home twice. Yet, despite the exhaustion and the sorrow, she said she felt fortunate and optimistic about the…

Marilisa Allegrini took the Wine Experience stage with memories of her father in her heart. In 1979, Giovanni Allegrini purchased La Poja, a small hilltop vineyard at the western edge of Valpolicella Classico in Italy’s Veneto region, with plans to create a quality table wine made entirely from the local grape Corvina. It was a huge risk at a time when “people were looking for quantity rather than quality,” Marilisa explained. Giovanni died in 1983, but the trailblazing estate has stayed in the family, with Marilisa the CEO and her brother Franco the winemaker. Allegrini shared the powerful, fruit-forward Allegrini Verona La Poja 2000, an outsider in Valpolicella: In addition to being a single-vineyard, single-variety wine, the grapes are not partially dried via appassimento, as they are for Amarones and…

At this year’s wine-andfood pairing seminar, the only thing bigger than the flavors on the table were the personalities on stage. The three veterans—Emeril Lagasse, José Andrés and Danny Meyer—were joined by New York chef Mario Carbone. “Every year, we include one rookie,” said executive editor Thomas Matthews. “That gives the others someone to pick on.” Carbone rose to the challenge, giving as good as he got. Fortunately, the game is an equal-opportunity stage. Four great chefs each create a dish; for each dish, one of the other chefs chooses a wine and so does Matthews. The audience tastes the pairings and votes on the most successful. Meyer brought a roasted honeynut squash with ricotta that drew Chardonnay-based wines from both Lagasse and Matthews. Lagasse picked a Chardonnay-Auxerrois blend from…

When it comes to reflecting terroir, no wine does it better than Pinot Noir. Wine Spectator senior editor James Laube and Siduri winemaker Adam Lee set out to prove that with a seminar devoted to West Coast Pinot Noir. Lee selected four different 2014 Pinot Noirs from the nearly 30 he produced that vintage in California and Oregon. “If we’re successful,” Laube told the audience, “we’ll show you that these four wines are about as different as you can expect coming from the same grape.” Lee and his wife, Dianna, had no formal winemaking training when they moved from Texas to Sonoma County in the early 1990s, but by 1994 the couple was already making Pinot from Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. Oregon wine followed in 1995, and that soggy vintage…

Baron Eric de Rothschild, chairman of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), the wine company that includes the Bordeaux first-growth Château Lafite Rothschild, has announced a once-in-a-generation transition in leadership. In March 2018, Saskia de Rothschild will move into her father’s position as chairman, while Jean-Guillaume Prats will succeed Christophe Salin, the company’s current president and CEO. “Christophe Salin and I have spent more than 30 years working together, and I am extremely grateful for what he has achieved during this period,” said Baron de Rothschild, who will remain managing partner at Lafite. “We are happy to welcome a new tandem, which will lead the group to new heights.” The château has been owned by the same branch of the Rothschild family since 1868. Eric de Rothschild, 77, took over the…

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival is back Feb. 21–25, replete with must-go events and exciting celebrity chefs. But you can explore the city’s heady cocktail of sun-kissed beaches, art deco architecture and contemporary art outside the festival too. For a taste of Miami beyond the velvet ropes, we’ve selected some of the best local restaurants for memorable, wine-filled experiences. Casa Tua Website www.casatualifestyle.com SOUTH BEACH — Founded by Miky and Leticia Grendene in 2003, Casa Tua is a welcome step back from the frenzy of Miami Beach. High garden walls screen the Mediterranean-style villa from view. Inside, there’s a private club and inn with five comfortable suites, all designed differently. But the real draw is Casa Tua’s Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence–winning restaurant of the same name,…

Argyle Argyle was among the second generation of Willamette Valley wineries that helped lead Oregon into a golden era of Pinot Noir. Founded in 1987 and now owned by Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners, Argyle had its genesis with Texas-born winemaker Rollin Soles, who set the house style and kept his hands dirty in the vineyard. It’s that connection to its vineyard sources that made Argyle what it is today, and one reason value can still be found in the portfolio. Nate Klostermann, who took Soles’ place in 2013, can draw on 460 acres of vines, with the backbone vineyards Knudsen in Dundee Hills and Lone Star and Spirit Hill in Eola-Amity Hills providing a versatile palette of terroirs, clonal selections and vine age for Argyle’s Pinots and Chardonnays alike.…

Casas del Bosque The Casablanca Valley, west of the Chilean capital of Santiago, has excelled since the turn of the century in making coolclimate varietals such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Casas del Bosque is one of the area’s quality pioneers. The family-run winery, founded in 1993, draws primarily on its 500 acres of vineyards in Casablanca to make the vast majority of its wines, led by Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The estate vineyards’ soils are based on red clay composites of volcanic origin that rest atop layers of decomposed granite, which gives the wines minerally and saline characteristics. Smaller vineyard plots in the Rapel Valley and Maipo district farther inland are sourced for the winery’s Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings. —K.M. Casas del Bosque Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo…

Mt. Beautiful This stunning property with 184 acres of vineyards is located in a remote corner of New Zealand’s South Island. North Canterbury might not be a familiar winegrowing region yet, but there’s lots of potential, as demonstrated by Mt. Beautiful’s distinctive wines. Founder David Teece is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and is one of the most widely cited economic and business scholars in the world. He picked this spot in his home country to plant vineyards in part because he wants to tell the new and exciting story of an emerging wine region. His project benefits from the experience of CEO Robert Watkins and viticulturist Fin Grieve. —M.W. Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir North Canterbury 2015 | 91 | $26 | 2,780…

Abruzzo Il Feuduccio After a successful career in ceramics in South America, Abruzzo-native Gaetano Lamaletto returned home with his wife, Maria, in 1996 to establish Il Feuduccio. Today the winery is primarily run by the founder’s son and grandson, Camillo and Gaetano. The estate encompasses more than 130 acres of vines, including vineyards at elevations of nearly 1,500 feet. Planted entirely to the region’s local varieties— Montepulciano for reds and rosés, and Passerina and Pecorino for the whites— the winery’s range includes 10 still versions, with an additional three bottlings of sparkling wine and a passito. The modern winery digs deep into the local mix of sand, clay and silt, and vinification and aging take place nearly 50 feet below the vines on the surface. —A.N. Il Feuduccio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo…

Attention value shoppers! This year’s edition of the Ultimate Guide to Value hits a new high for the number of affordably priced wines rating 90 or more points in our blind tastings: The following pages list 1,317 wines that earned outstanding scores while carrying price tags of $30 or less. Because Wine Spectator’s stringent tasting methodology precludes any knowledge of price on the part of our editors as they review the wines, the number of bottles that meet the criteria for this list remains a mystery even to us until we crunch the data at year’s end. This year, we are pleased to see that the ratio of value wines to total wines is on the rise. Because pointing our readers to high quality bottles at good prices is one…

Danny Meyer with chef Suzanne Cupps Roasted Honeynut Squash with Ricotta, Bacon and Pickled Peppers LAGASSE’S WINE: Zind-Humbrecht Vin de Table de France Zind 2012 MATTHEWS’ WINE: Antinori Umbria White Cervaro della Sala 2014 José Andrés Foie Gras Custard with Pineapple-Rum Gelatin, Coconut Cream, Fresh Pineapple and Lime Zest CARBONE’S WINE: Domaines Schlumberger Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Saering 2014 MATTHEWS’ WINE: Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Malaga Victoria 2015 Mario Carbone Bigeye Tuna with Ravigote Sauce, Sliced Cucumber and Soft-Boiled Egg MEYER’S WINE: Benanti Etna White Superiore Pietra Marina 2013 MATTHEWS’ WINE: Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc Knights Valley L’Après-Midi 2013 Emeril Lagasse Pressed Louisiana Wagyu Reuben with Fennel Sauerkraut, Apple Hittisau and Cajun Caviar ANDRES’ WINE: Barboursville Vermentino Virginia Reserve 2015 MATTHEWS’ WINE: M. Chapoutier Riesling Alsace Lieu-Dit Buehl Schieferkopf 2012…

“Clos de Vougeot has a special place in Burgundy wine culture,” said Wine Spectator senior editor Bruce Sanderson of the 125-acre Côte de Nuits grand cru vineyard planted by Cistercian monks beginning in the 12th century. Today, parceled among more than 80 owners, Clos de Vougeot offers many iterations of Pinot Noir that can vary widely in style. Attendees at the red Burgundy seminar were treated to four vintages from two top producers, Château de la Tour and Louis Jadot. Clos de Vougeot “is a great heritage and a great responsibility,” began Château de la Tour proprietor François Labet, who noted that he had a lot in common with Louis Jadot president Pierre-Henry Gagey, including “a fantastic respect for soil, which gives us what we have in our glass.” “Clos…

When Hervé Berland left his job as managing director of first-growth Château Mouton-Rothschild to join Château Montrose, it was considered an unusual move in hierarchy-driven Bordeaux. But Berland, now Montrose’s CEO, saw great potential in the second-growth St.-Estèphe estate. “If you don’t have 2010 Bordeaux in your cellar, your children are going to be very disappointed in you,” Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth warned the crowd before Berland poured Montrose’s 2010, a benchmark vintage. Owners Mélissa and Martin Bouygues bought the estate in 2006 and undertook a seven-year renovation of the property to provide the best winemaking and viticultural technology. “We only modernize for the benefit of improving the quality of the wine,” said Berland. The Montrose team’s efforts shone through in the 2010. The Cabernet Sauvignon–Merlot blend had…

Excitement in the wine world comes in many forms. New wineries create a buzz, established producers innovate and diversify, emerging regions serve up new flavors, rare wines offer the thrill of the hunt. But what about the excitement of finding a distinctive and well-priced wine you can reach for with confidence time and time again? And what if you knew of such wines from dozens of regions and from a versatile variety of grapes? In the pages that follow, you’ll find our editors’ profiles of 60 wineries that send high-scoring wines at reasonable prices into the market year in and year out. There will be vintage variation, of course, but all the bottlings listed have track records of maintaining quality while respecting the wallets of wine lovers, making them delicious…

De Morgenzon Founded in 2003 by entrepreneurs Wendy and Hylton Applebaum, this property was producing wines by the 2005 vintage. Named from the Dutch for “morning sun,” de Morgenzon is situated on a sundrenched and windswept hillside in the Bottelray Hills of Stellenbosch. This hillside, which rises to an elevation of nearly 700 feet, with views of both Table and False bays, draws in morning fog and ocean-fed breezes. The result is a markedly cool microclimate for the vineyard. Consequently, since 2013, winemaker Carl van de Merwe has shifted plantings away from red grapes, replacing them with white varieties such as Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Roussanne and Marsanne. Today, the 120-acre vineyard is farmed sustainably and is planted nearly two-thirds to white varieties. The Reserve and Maestro lines are made entirely…

Herdade do Esporão The sun-soaked region of Alentejo, located in southern Portugal, is becoming a hotbed for talented winemaking, and familyowned Esporão—the parent company to flagship estate Herdade do Esporão—has been leading the charge since José Roquette and Joaquim Bandeira founded it in 1973. A property with historical significance, Esporão celebrated the 750th anniversary of its estate boundaries in 2017. Today the winery, located 100 miles southeast of Lisbon, consists of approximately 1,100 acres of vines as well as 210 acres of olive groves. Esporão’s chief winemaker, Australiaborn David Baverstock, and his team oversee the 40 different grape varieties grown on the predominantly granite, schist and clay soils. The graceful red reserva and charming colheita reds are blends of indigenous and international varieties, with the reserva aged in both new…

Vintage Port lovers can finally start rubbing their hands together. Not only do the winter months provide the ideal time to cozy up to a bottle of Vintage Port, but the release of the 2015 vintage offers some excellent buys. Add to that the potentially superb 2016s that wait in the wings, and the pipeline is filling up again after a gap in the market since the last widely declared vintage in 2011. Since my previous report on the category (“Port: Unique, Historic, Delicious,” Jan. 31 – Feb. 28, 2017), I have reviewed 28 Vintage Ports from 2015 in blind tastings at our New York office. All 28 wines earned outstanding ratings of 90 points or higher on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale. Despite this high quality, 2015 was not…

“Ioften say that we are not creators; we are not winemakers,” commented Corinne Mentzelopoulos, owner of Bordeaux first-growth Château Margaux. “We are at the service of Margaux, which is much bigger than us.” Humble words for one so accomplished. Mentzelopoulos took over the historic estate when she was 27, following the death of her father, André, in 1980. She invested in upgrading the château, winery and vineyards and, perhaps most important, hired a young Paul Pontallier in 1983. All six wines served were made under Pontallier, who died in 2016. “The quality you will hopefully find in these wines is really due to him,” Mentzelopoulos said. But Margaux is in good hands, she added: Successor Philippe Bascaules spent 21 years at the château before a five-year stint at California’s Inglenook.…

“Probably 99 percent of you have at one time tried Veuve Clicquot’s Yellow Label nonvintage Champagne,” said senior editor Alison Napjus as she kicked off the seminars. “Together, Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot account for about two-thirds of the 21 million–bottle market for Champagne in the United States, and on Veuve Clicquot’s side, the vast majority of that volume is Yellow Label.” That’s an enviable position, she said, but “other projects may not get the fanfare that they rightfully deserve. In my opinion, this couldn’t be more true for La Grande Dame.” To showcase the prestige cuvée, winemaker Pierre Casenave led a tasting of four bottlings. La Grande Dame refers to Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who in 1805 took over her late husband’s winery and turned it into one of…

The original Nike wafflesoled trainers. The opening of Studio 54. The MobileVoxx “mobile telephone.” And four Vintage Ports from Graham, Taylor Fladgate, Dow and Fonseca poured at a Friday morning seminar at the 2017 New York Wine Experience. What do these have in common? All date to the 1977 vintage, and Adrian Bridge of the Taylor Fladgate Partnership cited the pop-culture throwbacks to demonstrate just how many decades these remarkably vivacious wines had aged. Bridge, whose group includes Taylor and Fonseca, was joined by Rupert Symington, of the Symington Family that owns Graham and Dow, and Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth. Introducing the curious crowd to the Douro region, “the most extraordinary hidden corner of Europe,” Symington explained that it’s walled off from coastal rainfall by mountains. The roots…

Wine can elevate a meal, kindle new friendships, raise our spirits when we are down and even help heal wounds. On the last night of the Wine Experience, it did all that, as vintners, restaurateurs and wine lovers from around the world gathered at the annual Grand Award Banquet. As the crowd mingled in a ballroom of the New York Marriott Marquis, many were speaking of the recent fires in California. But the focus was less on what was lost than on plans to rebuild. “We feel deeply for all the people who lost their homes, and we’re going to try to help all we can to make things better,” said Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, as he addressed the audience in the ballroom. The evening…