Innehållsförteckning för September 30, 2016 från Wine Spectator

The 2015 vintage could be Bordeaux’s best in five years. It could also be a watershed moment for Bordeaux sales in America. Over the past decade, sales of top classified-growths slowed as prices rose and consumers looked elsewhere. Yet Bordeaux sales grew dramatically in the U.S. last year, fueled not by first-growths, but by less-famous wineries, which are offering ever more bang for the buck. Barrel tastings of the 2015s conducted by Wine Spectator this spring revealed that the vintage offers the potential for outstanding quality. When the futures campaign began in May, wine merchants knew that prices were going to rise compared to the 2014s, but hoped château owners would keep increases to 15 percent. That optimism quickly evaporated. Pape Clément’s 19 percent rise from its 2014 price to…

Paris’ No. 15 Quai de la Tournelle has been home to legendary restaurant Tour d’Argent for more than two centuries, and a place of hospitality even longer: It is said that King Henry III of France had his first encounter with the dining tool we call the “fork” here in the 16th century, and soon everyone wanted to be seen with a fork. But André Terrail, the restaurant’s current owner, is just 35, and took over custodianship of the iconic eatery in 2006 after his father, Claude, died. The Babson College–educated Terrail is not interested in merely watching over a cuisine museum in the Regency-style space, which looks out on Notre Dame. Earlier this year he brought on a new head chef, Philippe Labbé, previously of Paris’ Shangri-La Hotel and…

Why would I have problems with so-called natural wines? It’s surprisingly simple: Too many of them are unclean. I was once on a long car trip with my wife and two visiting friends, one Australian, the other British. The conversation turned to politics. I forget now who we were talking about, but our British friend staked out a defense of the politician’s policies that the rest of us considered preposterous. She defended her side against our gleeful onslaughts and ended by declaring, “Well, he has impeccable radical credentials.” With that we all convulsed in laughter, herself included. I thought of this memorable phrase recently while drinking yet another socalled natural wine that I found, much as I have others, deeply disappointing. Now, the term “natural wine” has become simultaneously a…

Rising to 2,699 feet, the Eagle Peak appellation stretches across more than 26,000 acres of remote terrain in northern Mendocino County. It’s home to a single winery, Masút, which is Pomo Indian for “dark, rich earth.” Jake and Ben Fetzer founded the winery as a tribute to their father, who first planted the region to Pinot Noir. The two brothers are third-generation vintners who grew up in the vineyards of Mendocino, where their family founded Fetzer Vineyards in the 1960s. One of 11 children, their father, Bobby Fetzer, was the green thumb of a family that came to embody Mendocino wine. “I always wanted to be in the family business,” says Jake, 34. “It was kind of alluring, something you felt proud of.” After the Fetzers sold the winery to…

VIVA ITALIA Italy is awash in native grapes. With more than 500 known varieties, no other country comes close. Here is a short list, including a few of my favorites. The Barbaresco is Nebbiolo and the Dogliani is Dolcetto from one of its masters. MARCO & VITTORIO Adriano Barbaresco Sanadaive 2012 (93, $32) Juicy, dense; cherry, plum, leather, tobacco, stone, chalk ROCCA DI FABBRI Montefalco Sagrantino 2011 (93, $32) Dried fig, graphite, black olive, herb, tar, mineral; dense, tight LA BRACCESCA Syrah Cortona Achelo 2014 (92, $22) Elegant; smoky cherry, strawberry, raspberry, mineral, tobacco, black pepper CARBONE Aglianico del Vulture 400 Some 2011 (91, $25) Wild herb, tar, black olive, cassis, dried fig; bright, chewy TENUTA DEL PORTALE Aglianico del Vulture Le Vigne a Capanno 2011 (91, $27) Candied raspberry,…

Long Island wineries should dial down to what the region does best, rather than merely what it can do sufficiently. Long Island’s wine history is, in global terms, pretty short. Founded in the 1970s, it has a couple of generations under its belt, but vineyards take time to mature and be understood, and winemaking experience takes time to accrue. It’s fair to say that Long Island’s wine industry remains in its early stages. Still, growth has been steady. AVAs were drawn up in the 1980s. By the 1990s, the North Fork had about 1,700 acres of vines and 21 operating wineries. Today there are 57 wineries drawing grapes from 2,200 acres. The South Fork (where weekend homes overshadow vineyards) chips in with 250 acres and an additional three wineries. Winemakers…

FOUR SWISS ICONS ▸ Gruyère 1655 ▸ Challerhocker ▸ Der Scharfe Maxx ▸ Nufenen To the casual observer it might come as a surprise that a small, landlocked nation roughly the size of Connecticut and Massachusetts put together runs a close second to the magnificent behemoth that is France in the world of fine cheeses. Such is the case with Switzerland, which operates as a federation of independent and, historically, at times disparate provinces, called cantons, that have consistently turned out an astounding breadth and variety of cheeses. What’s no surprise, given Switzerland’s geography, is that it produces more of the finest mountain cheeses than any other nation. The large-format Swiss alpine types— starting with Emmentaler and Gruyère— head that list, and they are the models for many flattering imitators…

FOUR PARMIGIANOREGGIANO ICONS ▸ Giorgio Bonati ▸ G. Cravero ▸ Bio Hombre ▸ Caseificio Santa Rita Cheese experts and connoisseurs of every ilk would be hardpressed (pun intended) to single out a type to best Parmigiano-Reggiano’s elite status as both one of the finest standalone table cheeses and one of the most versatile culinary ingredients. It stands to reason that Italy’s most prized cheese and one of its top food exports is not only an extraordinary comfort food but also a go-to ingredient for a vast variety of dishes, from the simplest pasta with fresh tomato sauce to one of molecular gastronomist Ferran Adrià’s signatures, the Parmesan Ice Cream Sandwich. On account of its remarkable texture alone—flaky yet moist, toothsomely firm yet mouthwateringly melting—Parmigiano-Reggiano can be grated, shredded, sliced, slivered,…

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. 96 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2011 $59 ITALY Intense aromas of cherry, rose, licorice and tar pick up tobacco, spice and mineral elements on the palate. Concentrated, yet elegant and expressive, with more to give. Ends with a long aftertaste of fruit, underbrush and mineral. Best from 2018 through 2032. 1,110 cases made.—B.S. 95 Two Vintners Syrah Walla Walla Valley Some Days Are Stones Stoney Vine Vineyard 2013 $45 WASHINGTON Supple and expressive, this is layered with plum, rose petal, orange peel and bacon flavors that come together harmoniously and extend into the long and harmonious finish. Shows great presence and depth. Drink now…

ARGENTINA 93 Cuvelier Los Andes Grand Malbec Uco Valley 2012 $60 A big, grippy red, with dense, powerful and lavishly spiced flavors of blackberry, dark plum and dried cherry. Creamy midpalate, presenting a long, rich finish filled with pepper and cocoa powder notes. Drink now through 2021. 600 cases made.—K.M. 92 Cheval des Andes Mendoza 2012 $99 A dense, rich and ripe red, with well-structured flavors of dark cherry, plum and chocolate. The creamy finish is filled with Asian spice and minerally notes, revealing lingering blackberry accents. Drink now through 2020. 3,500 cases made.—K.M. 92 Viña Cobos Malbec Uco Valley Bramare 2013 $45 Concentrated and rich, featuring flavors of dark cherry, roasted plum and currant, with notes of black olive and tarragon. Dark chocolate and savory spice details on the…

READERS REMEMBER MONDAVI Readers respond to senior editor James Laube’s profile of vintner Robert Mondavi and his storied impact on Napa Valley winemaking, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Robert Mondavi Winery. (“The Enduring Legacy of Robert Mondavi,” cover, July 31). I thoroughly enjoyed your wonderful tribute to Robert Mondavi. It brought back many memories. I knew Robert when I was a teenager in the 1950s at my grandmother’s home at Larkmead. My family, the Salminases, owned Larkmead Winery until 1943 and they were close friends with Robert when he started out at Sunny St. Helena Winery in the 1930s. Robert was everything you wrote in your tribute and more. Very late in her life I met a woman named Romilda Peri Gould, whose husband,…

In 1969 Ridge hired Paul Draper, a former Stanford philosophy student who aspired to be a winemaker. In 1969, Ridge Vineyards realized it needed a real winemaker. Since its founding a decade earlier, Ridge had essentially been a weekends-only home-winemaking operation, albeit a sophisticated one, and the trio of scientists and fine-wine intellectuals who owned it knew their limits. They hired Paul Draper, a 33-year-old former Stanford philosophy student who had served in the Army and the Peace Corps and who, after studying French and Italian cuisine, aspired to be a winemaker. Draper’s assured presence, his quizzical mind and his passion for the kinds of wines Ridge fancied quickly proved the right fit. The winery modernized, added new vineyards and grew in reputation. All the while, however, it retained its…

Mozzarella stands alone among the world’s great cheeses for the premium it places on purity and freshness. Celebrated as the king of the pasta filata (pulled curd) types, its name comes from the verb mozzare, meaning “to cut or pull off,” which is exactly what the cheesemaker does in order to hand-form each successive lump of elastic curds into a cheese. And precisely because it’s a young, unaged cheese—mild, lactic and inviting in flavor—the quality of the milk that’s converted to those curds is crucial. A fine fresh mozzarella has a smooth, pliable texture, soft, yielding consistency and fresh lactic aromas and flavors, featuring creamy highlights and lightly acidic notes. Its texture is striated, like that of a cooked chicken breast, but at the same time—in one of those delectable…

FOUR CHEDDAR ICONS ▸ Beecher’s Handmade Cheese ▸ Fiscalini Cheese Company ▸ Milton Creamery Prairie Breeze ▸ Quicke’s The great irony of Cheddar is that despite its status as England’s most venerated cheese, its name was never protected. Cheddar originated about 900 years ago in some of the finest cheese terroir anywhere— a wide swath of lovely green hills, dales and farmland encompassing the historic counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Its epicenter is the village of Cheddar and its picturesque gorge, about 150 miles due west of London. Long before the notion of protected place-names had crossed anyone’s mind, European settlers started bringing their cheesemaking skills to North America— at first, almost exclusively under the name of Cheddar. Mass-market techniques such as the manufacture of large rindless block…

FOUR U.S. BLUE CHEESE ICONS ▸ Point Reyes Farmstead Bay Blue ▸ Jasper Hill Farm Bayley Hazen Blue ▸ Sequatchie Cove Farm Bellamy Blue ▸ Rogue Creamery Oregon Blue The blues are a category apart: Strong, salty, bold and persistent, they’re not for everybody, yet they make no apologies. The cheesemaker’s challenge is to conjure enough other flavors to create a smooth, sophisticated and deliciously balanced cheese—not just a moldy salt bomb. First, it’s important to understand that cheese without salt would be like wine without alcohol—impossible. Second, the finest blues all offer complex flavor profiles that include sweet, buttery and rich components to offset not only their saltiness but the sharp, spicy bite of their blue molds. It’s a dynamic that the makers of the world’s elite blues—Roquefort in…

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 Oregon, Washington Thomas Matthews Spain Kim Marcus Argentina, Austria, Chile,…

DR. VINNY Dear Dr. Vinny, I miss the old “buttery” style of Chardonnay. What made them taste that way, and how can I find wines like that today? —Lisa, Mount Pleasant, S.C. Dear Lisa, You’re right—many winemakers these days have moved away from overtly buttery tones in their Chardonnays. Back in the 1990s, there were plenty of what I called “movietheater popcorn” Chardonnays, and there are still some out there! That buttery flavor typically comes from diacetyl, an organic compound that is a byproduct of malolactic conversion, or ML (and sometimes referred to as “malolactic fermentation”). During ML, a benign bacterium converts malic acid (like in tart green apples) into softer lactic acid (as in cream or butter). Some strains of bacteria produce more diacetyl than others; winemakers can pick…