Innehållsförteckning för November 15, 2018 från Wine Spectator

Among California wines, Cabernet Sauvignon is king. It commands the highest prices. It dominates Napa Valley, the most prestigious and expensive vineyard region in the state. Cabernet wines are prized by collectors and have proven their ability to improve with age. A winemaker who has the ability to make great Cabernet is a hot commodity in California. The icons range from André Tchelistcheff to Paul Draper to Helen Turley. Their skills helped improve and refine the character of Cabernet in California. In this century, a new name has joined the top ranks of Caber-net makers: Thomas Rivers Brown. In addition to running his own winery, Rivers-Marie, he consults for a large and growing number of ambitious producers. Schrader Cellars put Brown on the map beginning with the 2001 vintage. Since…

Today’s pantheon of American sommeliers and wine directors is more knowledgeable than ever. And for the most part, they’re also friendly, eager to help guide guests at their restaurants to bottles offering quality and value. And whether you’re a relative newbie or a seasoned veteran, when it comes to wine there’s always more to learn. For our Sommelier Talk feature on WineSpectator.com, we regularly ask the pros for their tips for wine lovers. Their No. 1 piece of advice? Don’t be afraid to ask questions. After all, they got into this job because they like to geek out about wine. Why shouldn’t you take advantage? Below are some words of advice and encouragement from several wine pros at Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners. For more, check out our in-depth dining…

Of all the categories of fine cheese, the bark-wrapped makes a strong case for being the most captivating. Like popping open a chilled bottle of vintage Champagne, serving a whole bark-wrapped cheese—the top of its rind carefully carved off, its glistening, scoopable paste beckoning indulgence—is guaranteed to ramp up the festivities at any occasion. Seasonal and scarce, they traditionally hit the stores just in time for the year-end holidays and deliver a cachet of rustic authenticity, offering subtle, complex flavor profiles across a spectrum of rich, luxurious textures. The category’s prototype is Vacherin Mont d’Or, from the Jura, in central-eastern France, and Canton Vaud, located across the border in Switzerland. When the cows’ diet changes to hay in the fall, they yield less milk with more protein and fat, resulting…

TOUR OF SPAIN A quick tour around Spain offers great deals in both reds and whites. The Ribeiro consists of four Spanish grapes, led by Treixadura, while the indigenous Xarel-lo, one of the grapes for Cava, is a Catalunya specialty. EL COTO DE RIOJA Garnacha Rioja Crianza 2015 (91, $18) Cherry, raspberry, vanilla, leafy; tender, exuberant ADEGAS MORGADÍO Albariño Rias Baixas 2017 (90, $21) Polished, firm; pear, quince, blanched almond, wet stone, sea breeze BODEGAS TIONIO Ribera del Duero Crianza 2015 (90, $24) Black cherry, cranberry, cocoa, clove, toast, mineral, floral; racy, firm FINCA VIÑOA Ribeiro White 2016 (90, $21) Deep, energetic; quince, melon, tarragon, tangerine, spice, ginger FERMÍ BOHIGAS Xarel-lo Catalunya 2017 (88, $12) Peach, tangerine, herbal, briny; crisp FRENCH OPEN This selection of bargains from France begins with the Loire Valley, winds through…

The term “boutique” could have been coined for Stony Hill, whose Chardonnay was Napa’s first cult wine. In September, the McCreas of Stony Hill Vineyard in Napa Valley sold their winery to the Hall family of Long Meadow Ranch. The sale offers opportunities for both wineries. Not only can the Halls use some of Stony Hill’s Cabernet for their wines, but perhaps more importantly, they can kick-start the venerable brand that once changed the course of Napa wine. Stony Hill succeeded against all odds, elevating an obscure grape to prominence and creating the template for modern-day direct-to-consumer sales. In 1943, Fred and Eleanor McCrea were looking for a summer retreat outside San Francisco when they found a 160-acre homestead near St. Helena. The property suited their needs, freeing them from…

All bubbles burst at some point, yet nothing seems to stop the rise of California Cabernet. The 2015 vintage looked like it might bring Cabernet down to earth, halting a string of exceptional harvests dating back to 2012. According to winemakers, California’s ongoing drought took its heaviest toll that year, putting stress on the vines at crucial junctures. But in the end, disaster was averted and producers delivered another great batch of Cabernets. “[The vintage] was one of those amazing challenges,” says Allison Tauziet, winemaker at Colgin Cellars in Napa Valley. “We were looking at a very small crop with very small berries, probably the height of the drought, but summer warmth kept pushing everything in one direction.” The vintage surprised many producers who feared the drought might lead to…

ARGENTINA Malbec & Blends 95 Viña Cobos Malbec Perdriel Cobos Marchiori Estate 2015 $225 See Highly Recommended, page 145. 94 Viña Cobos Malbec Los Árboles Cobos Chañares Estate 2015 $300 This red packs concentrated kirsch and red plum flavors, backed by lively acidity. Minerally midpalate, with a long, well-feathered finish filled with black licorice and dried tarragon accents. Drink now through 2022. 320 cases made.—K.M. 93 Viña Cobos Malbec La Consulta Bramare Rebon Estate 2015 $100 A ripe, refined and densely flavored red, with black olive accents to the dark plum, mocha and dried raspberry notes. Dried tarragon and chocolate nib accents fill the taut, powerful finish. Drink now through 2023. 540 cases made.—K.M. 93 Viña Cobos Malbec Perdriel Bramare Marchiori Estate 2015 $100 Refined, featuring concentrated red plum, raspberry…

Wowed by Wisconsin In addition to wine, I have a passion for great cheese. Having the privilege of living in Wisconsin, I have explored some of the world’s best cheese terroir, some-times deliberately but more often by serendipity. After reading David Gibbons’ “Top Picks From America’s Dairyland” (Grapevine, Oct. 15), I feel as though I’ve been given a humbling tour of my own turf. The two-page summary provided an extremely dense and succinct journey through the cheese state, and given the statistics presented regarding the sheer volume and breadth of production in Wisconsin, that is no easy feat. In addition to high-lighting several of my personal favorites, such as Marieke Gouda, Uplands Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Hook’s Cheddar, it introduced me to a platter of new cheeses that I look…

Is drinking any alcohol whatsoever dangerous? An ambitious meta-analysis of worldwide health data, published in the medical journal The Lancet, argues that the only safe level of alcohol intake is zero. But according to other experts, there’s no reason for wine drinkers to panic. The analysis, part of the larger 2016 Global Burden of Disease study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, looked at data from nearly 700 studies to estimate how common alcohol consumption is worldwide. They used another 592 studies—which included data on 28 million people in 195 countries accumulated from 1990 to 2016—comparing consumption in those nations to health statistics to try to gauge the risks associated with alcohol. The findings—including the fact that there were approximately 2.8 million alcohol-associated deaths in…

Lucia Solis was born in Guatemala, which grows some of the world’s best coffee, but her road to the coffee industry went through wine. Her family moved to San Francisco when she was 5, and after receiving a degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis, she worked in the wine industry for close to a de-cade, studying the microbes used in winemaking. In the course of her research, she developed a parallel interest in the fermentation that occurs in coffee production. To access the seed—the “bean”—of a coffee cherry, the skin and flesh that surround it must be removed. In one common method for doing so, called the wet process, the cherry is mechanically stripped of its skin and then soaked for up to 72 hours,…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 95 Leeuwin Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series 2015 $89 AUSTRALIA Supple and creamy, with precision to the nutmeg, lemon curd, verbena and mandarin orange flavors, which are intense and harmonious. COLLECTIBLE 94 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto 2014 $250 ITALY The picture of elegance, this Barolo is nonetheless steely and solid, with delicate floral, cherry, strawberry and mineral flavors. SMART BUY 92 Easton Zinfandel Amador County 2015 $22 CALIFORNIA This epitomizes fine Sierra Foothills Zinfandel, offering vibrant, briary raspberry, smoked pepper and wild sweet anise flavors. BEST VALUE 89 Ramos-Pinto Douro Duas Quintas 2016 $13 PORTUGAL This juicy, full-bodied red features a licorice-tinged core of cherry tart and red cur-rant flavors, with details of violet and mineral. IN THIS ISSUE’S BUYING GUIDE You’ll find 20 classic wines…

The amazing wine cellar at Restaurant Les Climats draws lovers of Burgundy from around the world. Paris has a reputation of condescending to Americans, but Restaurant Les Climats is the exception that proves the rule, attracting an anglophone clientele. I had the pleasure of visiting Paris this summer, and while I was there I stopped into Les Climats, which holds a Wine Spectator Grand Award for its amazing wine cellar. The list focuses on Burgundy, which gives you an idea of why I was there. At the bar, I found Carol and Bill Scott, an American couple from Los Angeles, drinking a kir and a glass of white wine. “This is our favorite restaurant in Paris,” Carol exclaimed. “We come here all the time.” The Scotts are also Burgundy lovers;…

En route to a degree in botany at Miami University in Ohio, a young Perry Hendrix decided to check out a lab course on viticulture and enology recommended by his girlfriend. While other science majors were spending lab periods scrutinizing petri dishes and performing dissections, students of viticulture were tasting wines from the regions whose growing and production practices were under discussion during lectures. Hendrix couldn’t get enough. He completed the course, audited it the next time around, and went on to serve as its teaching assistant. His professor liked to throw an end-of-semester party at his home for the students. He’d cook and they’d all drink the leftover lab wine. “We opened everything from California Zinfandels to Bordeaux to northern Italian whites,” Hendrix recalls. When he found himself helping…

Reader reply to senior editor James Molesworth’s blog “Old Heritage, New Blood, at Heitz Cellar”(Aug. 16). I am excited to see what new direction the wines take un-der the new ownership at Heitz. I’ve been a big fan for some time, with my love for Martha’s starting in 1997 and being a very early champion of the 2001, which took many critics a few years to warm up to. I am equally excited to see what direction J2 [Molesworth] takes in his new position as J1 [Laube] steps into a new role as well. I’m a massive Napa single-vineyard Cab fanatic and am anxiously awaiting J2’s upcoming tasting reports so that I may calibrate his reviews to my palate. I could always count upon the consistency of J1’s palate and…

ACHÁVAL-FERRER Malbec Mendoza Finca Bella Vista 2013 | ARGENTINA | 91 | $130 ADOBE ROAD Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard 2014 | CALIFORNIA | 94 | $145 BODEGAS Y VIÑEDOS ALION Ribera del Duero 2014 | SPAIN | 91 | $123 ALLEGRINI Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2010 | ITALY | 93 | $85 VIÑA ALMAVIVA Puente Alto 2015 | CHILE | 95 | $130 ALPHA OMEGA Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2015 | CALIFORNIA | 92 | $100 ALTA VISTA Malbec Luján de Cuyo Serenade 2013 | ARGENTINA | 94 | $48 ALTESINO Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 2011 | ITALY | 93 | $110 BODEGAS ALTO MONCAYO Garnacha Campo de Borja Veraton 2015 | SPAIN | 92 | $30 CASTELLO DI AMA Chianti Classico San Lorenzo Gran Selezione…

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, Port, South Africa MaryAnn Worobiec California,…