Innehållsförteckning för October 31, 2018 från Wine Spectator

Three years ago, Peter Sisseck of Dominio de Pingus became suspicious. A cork supplier his Ribera del Duero winery didn’t normally use contacted his office because a restaurant in Galicia had placed a request for Pingus-branded corks. “We sort of let it go,” Sisseck told Wine Spectator.But two years later, a Danish buyer complained about two seemingly fake bottles of Pingus he had purchased at auction in Belgium. When Sisseck looked into it, he found that someone from a restaurant in Galicia had sup-plied the wine. “It struck me that when we investigated the incident with the corks, it also came from a restaurant in Galicia,” said Sisseck. His concerns sparked an investigation by Spain’s Civil Guard. In July, officers announced that they had broken up a counterfeiting ring that…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 96 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge The Upper Terrace 2016 $110 OREGON This red combines structure with harmony and a silky texture, offering vivid black raspberry, rose petal and mocha espresso flavors. COLLECTIBLE 96 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Tychson Hill Vineyard 2015 $600 CALIFORNIA Amazingly complex and hard to resist, as the mix of dark berry, spice, loamy earth, licorice and cedar are all in harmony. SMART BUY 91 Canoe Ridge The Explorer Red Blend Horse Heaven Hills 2015 $22 WASHINGTON Expressive and well-built, with lively blackberry, smoky pepper and anise flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon blend. BEST VALUE 90 Jean Perrier & Fils Savoie Apremont Cuvée Gastronomie 2017 $15 FRANCE Fresh acidity carries honeysuckle, white peach and chamomile notes along in this bright white, ending with a…

ARGENTINA 92 Cheval des Andes Mendoza 2014 $99 Powerful, inky and ripe-tasting, with muscular dark fruit flavors that feature plenty of smoky notes. Dark chocolate and cream details show on the long, plush finish. Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2022. 1,300 cases imported.—K.M. 92 Dominio del Plata Nosotros Single Vineyard Nomade Uco Valley 2014 $115 Plushly textured, featuring ripe, juicy dark plum, blackberry and dark currant flavors flanked by a bittersweet chocolate note. Mineral and spice details show on the finish, with some white pepper hints. Malbec. Drink now through 2022. 200 cases imported.—K.M. 91 Dominio del Plata Brioso Single Vineyard Agrelo 2015 $45 A fresh-tasting red, with concentrated flavors of cherry, raspberry and damson plum that feature some tobacco leaf notes. The vibrant finish offers…

Italy holds a special place in the hearts of many wine lovers. First, there’s the larger context: the amazing history, the beautiful scenery, the delicious food. Then there’s the wine itself. It may not be as aristocratic as the bench-mark French appellations, nor as hedonistic as some New World regions, but in its elegant balance of fruit and earth, structure and pleasure, it’s like the Goldilocks of wine. This issue surveys three premier Italian regions: Piedmont in the north, Tuscany in the center and Sicily in the south. Tuscany and Sicily are the subjects of comprehensive tasting reports, by Bruce Sanderson and Alison Napjus, respectively. In Tuscany, Sanderson rates the 2015 vintage at 97 points—“classic” on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale. After reviewing more than 750 wines from the region, he…

Dom Pérignon Champagne Salon at Blantyre Website blantyre.com/dining/champagnesalon LENOX, MASS. — Following a multimillion-dollar renovation, the Berkshires’ Blantyre Hotel now houses the first Dom Pérignon Champagne salon in North America. It includes a 24-seat patio called the Cloisters, inspired by the abbey of the eponymous monk, and a 30-seat, wine cellar–adjacent speakeasylike indoor space called La Cave, which supplies the hotel’s Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine list. The salon offers about 20 Dom Pérignon vintage bottlings dating to 1971, including P2, P3 and Oenothèque, several large-format selections, and by-the-glass and half-glass pours, plus a small menu with snacks like caviar tater tots. —Julie Harans Waterman Poolside Bar at Windsor Court Hotel Website windsorcourthotel.com/waterman-poolside-bar NEW ORLEANS — Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans has completed a $15 million renovation, including…

The question I’m asked most often is: How do you preserve an open bottle of wine? My answer: Turn to your freezer. Of all the advice about wine I’ve given over the years, one piece stands out head and shoulders above the rest. It’s my response to the most frequently asked question I get: How do you preserve an open bottle of wine? It’s also the advice I give that’s most frequently disbelieved, as though I’m putting people on. I can assure you, though, that I’m not pulling anyone’s leg with this bit of advice. Here it is: The best way to save your open bottle is to freeze it. I’ve used this method for decades to preserve my wine and I’ve never been betrayed by it. The most common…

ELIO ATARE 94 Barolo Vigna Bricco Cerretta 2011 $130 Offers ample fruit, more focused on plum than cherry, with leather, tar, mineral and herbs. Rangy and powerful. 91 Barolo Arborina 2013 $115 This is developing, revealing aromas and flavors of vanilla, caramel, cherry jam, tobacco and spice. Rich and soft. 90 Barolo 2013 $80 A fragrant version, with spicy cherry, plum and leather flavors. The elegant profile is offset by refined tannins. CIGLIUTI 93 Barbaresco Vie Erte 2014 $48 A burst of cherry is aligned with leather, tar and tobacco flavors in this dense red, settling into a long finish. 93 Barbaresco Serraboella 2014 $65 A touch of oak spice adds roundness to this supple red, with flavors of cherry, strawberry and underbrush. FALLETTO DI BRUNO GIACOSA 97 Barolo Falletto…

CALIFORNIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 96 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Tychson Hill Vineyard 2015 $600 See Collectibles, page 101. 95 Odette Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 2015 $140 See Highly Recommended, page 101. 95 Red Stitch Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2015 $105 Ultrarich and powerful, sharply focused, deftly balanced, ending with a mouthcoating mix of black licorice, fresh herb and earth, and cedary oak notes. Best from 2020 through 2035. 300 cases made.—J.L. 94 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Beckstoffer Georges III 2015 $220 A seamless effort that puts the focus on supple, silky currant, blackberry and wild berry notes, with firm tannins underneath leading to a long, elegant, rich aftertaste. Best from 2020 through 2024. 500 cases made.—J.L. 94 Colgin IX Estate Napa Valley 2015 $600 Assertive, with…

Joël Robuchon, one of the chefs who revolutionized French cuisine, died Aug. 6 of cancer in Geneva. He was 73. His culinary empire comprised 24 restaurants from Paris to Shanghai, Las Vegas to Hong Kong. Robuchon’s career started modestly when, at age 15, he began work as a pastry chef at the Relais de Poitiers hotel in his hometown of Poitiers. He went on to earn raves as the head chef at Hôtel Concorde-Lafay-ette in Paris and opened his own restaurant, Jamin, in 1981. He later moved to larger quarters and renamed the restaurant Joël Robuchon. Robuchon’s signature cooking style focused on amplifying the flavors and textures of two or three ingredients at the center of a dish. He took the tenets of nouvelle cuisine, which simplified the rigid hierarchies…

SUPER SANGIOVESE The Black Rooster, the symbol of the historic Chianti Classico zone, crowed during the back-to-back vintages of 2015 and 2016. Both were ideal growing seasons for Chianti Classico, the former resulting in rich, concentrated reds, the latter in vibrant, elegant versions. CARPINETO Chianti Classico Riserva 2015 (94, $28) Firm, balanced; black currant, cherry, cedar, thyme, iron, sanguine ROCCA DELLE MACÌE Chianti Classico Famiglia Zingarelli Riserva 2015 (94, $26) Blackberry, black cherry, spice, tar; intense LANCIOLA Chianti Classico Le Masse di Greve 2015 (93, $22) Bold, expressive; cherry pie, currant, leather, tobacco, earth, iron CASTELLO DI MONSANTO Chianti Classico 2016 (93, $20) Black currant, black cherry, violet, earth; supple, vibrant ISOLE & OLENA Chianti Classico 2015 (92, $29) Ripe, harmonious; black currant, blackberry, iron, tar IL MOLINO DI GRACE…

British author Martin Walker has come to see “something extraordinary” taking place among Bergerac wines. When British author Martin Walker moved to the Perigord in southwest France, it took the local wines a while to impress him. Now he’s come to appreciate them for their own merits—and they have become increasingly important characters in his popular mystery novels. “In the beginning it was just great to be drinking locally,” he said in a recent conversation stateside. “I only found a half-dozen local vintners whose wines rose above mediocrity, but while I’ve been there a new generation has been raising quality. Now 30 or 40 domaines and estates can stand their ground with anyone in the world, euro for euro.” Walker now thinks the local Bergerac wines, made from the same…

It’s no secret that the Southern Hemisphere has become one of the world’s go-to sources for delicious yet affordable wines. But the story of how it achieved its success in the global marketplace is not as widely known. One of the ways in which the countries of Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and South Africa have grown into the players they are today is by closely identifying themselves with specific varieties and then working tirelessly to refine their expressions of those grapes. Once each of these nations aligned itself with its signature wine, vintners spent years honing their production process through a persistent focus on grape sources and winemaking techniques. The results are in the bottle: Australian Shiraz, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Argentine Malbec, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, South African Chenin…

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. 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 California, Argentina, Chile Bruce Sanderson Italy, Burgundy, Austria James Molesworth Bordeaux, Rhône Valley, Loire Valley,…

Initially, Corey Chow didn’t get the job. In 2007, after quitting a line-cook gig at the Oahu restaurant Alan Wong’s, he flew to New York to pursue his dream of working at Thomas Keller’s haute-cuisine destination Per Se. After the tryout of a lifetime, he got a “thanks but no thanks” from then executive chef Jonathan Benno. “I was destroyed,” Chow recalls. “It was an ego check.” He flew home to Los Angeles to regroup. But four months later, Chow got a call. It was Benno, offering him an entry-level role as commis chef at Per Se. “Being a young person, you don’t really think about how much rent is or where the good neighborhoods are—I just came,” Chow says. Eleven years on—including brief interludes at Torrisi Italian Specialties and…