Innehållsförteckning för November 15, 2016 från Wine Spectator

Vernon Singleton, a professor at the University of California, Davis, who laid the groundwork for the study of phenolics, died Aug. 26 of complications from a fall. He was 93. Singleton’s research has helped generations of winemakers around the world better understand the chemistry involved in winemaking. “Because of him, [today’s winemakers] appreciate the significance of phenolic compounds [the large group of organic chemical compounds that affect the taste, color and texture of wine] in the production, aging and flavor of wine,” said Carole Meredith, former U.C., Davis, professor and proprietor of Napa winery Lagier Meredith. Born in Oregon, Singleton joined U.C., Davis’, department of viticulture and enology in 1958. In a career spanning four decades, he authored more than 220 papers and four books, including the classic Wine: An…

TOUR DE FRANCE These French reds and whites range from Alsace in the northeast to Roussillon in the southwest. All have the flavor and structure for autumn dishes. Try the Muré with choucroute. PIERRE AMADIEU Gigondas Domaine Grand Romane 2014 (92, $34) Raspberry, plum, tobacco, bay leaf, garrigue, tar; brambly M. CHAPOUTIER Crozes-Hermitage White Petite Ruche 2015 (92, $33) Racy, pure; apple, melon, honeysuckle, chamomile, salted butter PIERRE AMADIEU Gigondas Romane Machotte 2014 (91, $29) Blackberry, black currant, bay leaf, earth; beefy FERRATON PÈRE & FILS Crozes-Hermitage White La Matinière 2015 (91, $25) Bright, floral; white peach, apple, green almond FERRATON PÈRE & FILS St.-Péray Le Mialan 2015 (91, $25) Melon, white ginger, peach, verbena, salted butter; creamy MURÉ Riesling Alsace Signature 2015 (91, $24) Tangy; pear, blanched almond, star…

America (Re)Discovers Wine, And the World Takes Notice In 1976, the United States celebrated its bicentennial. Two hundred years after declaring its independence from Europe’s biggest powers, the U.S., now a global force in its own right, was experiencing a cultural shift toward international tastes in fashion, food and, not least, drinking habits. That same year, a small newspaper with a tiny print run of 3,000 issues called The Wine Spectator debuted in California, where a wine revolution was afoot. Over the 10 years that followed, the volume of wine consumed by Americans would rise 25 percent; the number of wineries in California would more than double, from 330 in 1975 to 712 in 1985. A not insignificant number of those new California wineries would be founded by some of…

The Wine World Sees Green Inthe past decade, the world of wine has become larger, younger and greener than ever before, especially in the United States. The American wine culture fostered for decades by the Baby Boomers has been wholeheartedly embraced by their Millennial children, and with that generation entering its thirties, the United States cemented its position as the world’s most important wine market, surpassing France and Italy to become the top wine-consuming country by volume. While the wine market was globalizing, winegrowers were putting more and more emphasis on Earth-friendly farming and production methods. Vintners began converting to sustainable, organic and biodynamic farming, as well as eco-friendlier packaging designs (and it didn’t hurt that green inititives were marketing gold for the coveted new demographic of idealistic young drinkers).…

In the 1970s, Americans were beginning to embrace fine wine and were looking for information and education on the complex and unfamiliar subject. In addition to columns in general-interest publications, they found a growing number of magazines and newsletters, including a modest tabloid called The Wine Spectator, founded in San Diego in 1976 by Robert Morrisey. Marvin R. Shanken purchased it in 1979, and in 1988, wine journalist Frank Prial of the New York Times wrote, “The Wine Spectator has risen to the top.” At that time, circulation had increased from about 5,000 in 1979 to 76,000. By the magazine’s 20th anniversary, in 1996, circulation had reached 159,000. Today, Wine Spectator is the only wine publication whose circulation is audited by ABC, the industry standard. It has a paid circulation of…

A team of more than 40 people contributes to the creation of Wine Spectator’s print and digital publications. The 10 senior editors are the principal writers and tasters; with a collective total of more than 230 years with Wine Spectator, they review thousands of wines each year and travel to wine regions around the world to bring news and analysis to our readers. Here, many of them reflect on their experiences in the world of wine. “Our editors are out there all the time, finding new wines, tasting new wines, writing about new wines. They know their subject. My senior editors have been with me for 20, 25, even 30 years, so I know them like the back of my hand, and they know me, and together we have this…

Shiraz & Blends 96 Henschke Hill Of Grace Vineyard Eden Valley 2010 $813 Elegant, expressive and very complex, with bergamot, sandalwood and black walnut liqueur notes adding an aromatic complexity to the sleek, polished blackberry flavors. Shows a mix of power and finesse, with an epic finish. Drink now through 2032. 80 cases imported.—M.W. 95 Two Hands Shiraz Barossa Valley Secret Block Single Vineyard Wildlife Road Moppa Hills 2013 $125 Appealingly dense and fleshy, with generous blueberry and blackberry flavors wrapped in accents of licorice, dark chocolate and gingerbread. The finish is expansive, long and powerful. Drink now through 2030. 94 cases made.—M.W. 95 Two Hands Shiraz Clare Valley Samantha’s Garden 2013 $65 The chocolate-covered cherry flavors are bright and bold, with plush tannins, accents of toasted rye bread and…

Piedmont / Barbaresco 94 Musso Barbaresco Pora 2013 $38 See Highly Recommended, page 251. 94 Oddero Barbaresco Gallina 2013 $60 See Highly Recommended, page 251. 93 Pio Cesare Barbaresco Il Bricco 2012 $115 Spicy, warm and dense, with a firm structure lending austerity. Cherry, strawberry, tobacco and earth notes join the spice as this stays tight and vibrant on the finish Best from 2019 through 2032. 13 cases imported.—B.S. 93 Elvio Cogno Barbaresco Bordini 2013 $52 As much about the silky texture as the pure cherry and raspberry flavors, this red is beautifully balanced and expressive. Shows density, with a chalky twinge of tannins lining the finish. Best from 2019 through 2033. 833 cases made.—B.S. 93 Gaja Barbaresco 2013 $240 Cherry, strawberry, cinnamon, peony and chalky flavors mingle in this…

DR. VINNY Dear Dr. Vinny, What are the best wines with turkey and with ham for Thanksgiving dinner? —Debra, Sanford, Fla. Dear Debra, I’m excited to get this question, because it means that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And of all things that can be around the corner, Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite one. Usually when I give advice about Thanksgiving dinner, I say that you can throw the turkey out of the equation, since turkey is pretty neutral and goes with nearly any wine. Instead, you need to find wines that will pair well with a complicated array of side dishes. Many traditional holiday sides can have a sweet component to them, such as cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and even stuffing with dried fruit or apples. A Thanksgiving…

On this 40th anniversary of Wine Spectator, what are my earliest memories and selected highlights? ♦ A summer day in 1979, when my friend Bob Morrisey, the founder of Wine Spectator, flew to New York, sat me down, looked me in the eye and said, “Wine Spectator will die unless you buy it. I can’t go on.” 􀁘 The day in 1981 when a small group of young Wine Spectator staffers packed a van with all of our office equipment and files and drove from San Diego to San Francisco, where we opened our first real office. We rented 1,500 square feet at the just-opened Opera Plaza complex on Van Ness Avenue. We agreed to a rent we couldn’t afford and had no idea how we were going to pay…

Napa’s Ultimate Ambassador Margrit Biever Mondavi, one of America’s leading wine ambassadors, died at her Napa Valley home on Sept. 2 of cancer. She was 91. Alongside her husband, Robert Mondavi, Margrit helped promote California wine in its infancy. A presence in her own right, she was known for her charm and intellect, creating a warm atmosphere for visitors that inspired other wineries to do the same. The example she set established Robert Mondavi Winery as a showpiece for Napa wines during the 1970s and 1980s. She was also instrumental in guiding Napa’s cultural awakening, helping to shape the region into the thriving center of wine, food and art it is today. When she arrived in Napa in the 1960s, the area was better known for its natural splendor than…

Wine Steals America’s Heart Themid-1980s found America gripped by a fitness craze, with a Jane Fonda cassette in every VCR and, thanks to the revelation that wine could offer health benefits, a bottle of red wine on more and more dinner tables across the country. Thanks in large part to a 60 Minutes segment in 1991 that introduced the Western world to the “French paradox,” red wine sales in the United States jumped nearly 40 percent in 1992, and Americans had the money to spend. The 1990s brought a booming economy and an increased demand for luxury products. And Napa Valley was primed to deliver: Cult Cabernets became American wine’s success (and excess) story of the decade, epitomized by the debut of Screaming Eagle with the 1992 vintage. But it…

THE GALLO FAMILY The Gallos are America’s first family of wine, not as flashy as others perhaps, but a constant presence, always seeming to know what consumers are thirsty for and delivering a quality product. For 83 years and four generations, the Gallos have been making and selling wine, and it’s hard to imagine that America would be the world’s biggest wine-consuming nation without them. It began with Ernest and Julio, two young brothers working with their father in California during Prohibition, shipping grapes to Italian-American families like theirs who wanted to make wine at home. In 1933, after Repeal came, the brothers started their own wine company, E. & J. Gallo, in Modesto, Calif. They found some old commercial pamphlets on winemaking in the local library and took out…

Every plunge into the future begins with a moment of discovery. Exploring the vast world of wine is no dif-ferent. • My discovery moment occurred 48 years ago, on a beach in the Netherlands. My wife, Carol, and I were on our honeymoon. As the midsummer sun sank over the North Sea, we dined in a restaurant we could barely afford. We ate whole Dover sole sautéed in butter and accompanied it with a bot-tle of Riesling Kabinett Piesporter Goldtröpfchen. • We had never had fish quite that good, and the wine, light and delicately sweet, played off the succulent flesh beautifully. We said to each other, simultaneously, “We need to do this more often.” At about the same time, many other Americans were having similar moments of revelation. By…

First, a flamethrower torches the sugarcane field. Fire consumes the leaves, but the stalks—where cane holds its sugar— remain. Snakes and rodents flee the blaze, becoming easy prey to hawks drawn by the smoke. Once the flames are extinguished, workers hack swiftly through the field with special machetes angled to cut close to the base and retain as much sugar from the stalk as possible. Piled in trucks, the cane heads to a processing plant; reducing “kill-to-the-mill” time—when sugar content drops and bacteria and volunteer yeast can intervene—is critical. Most rum-making follows this first stage of the process in lockstep. Then paths diverge. What arrives at the liquor store is a broad spectrum of choices in different hues, flavors, styles and quality levels. With a heritage spanning almost four…

91Villa Pillo Toscana Borgoforte 2014 $12 ITALY Enticing aromas of violet, black currant and rosemary are accented by licorice and tobacco flavors in this fluid and harmonious red, with fine tannins gracing the long finish. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mer-lot. Drink now through 2022. 12,500 cases made.—B.S. 89Monte Antico Toscana 2012 $13 ITALY Cherry, strawberry, tobacco, white pepper and earth flavors turn to spice on the compact finish. A light dusting of tannins completes the profile. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2019. 75,000 cases made.—B.S. 88Four Vines Zinfandel Lodi Old Vine 2014 $13 CALIFORNIA Jammy and soft, with appealing notes of blackberry and smoky pepper. Drink now through 2025. 10,000 cases made.—T.F. 87Viña Santa Rita Malbec Central Valley 120 2015 $8 CHILE There’s lots of blackberry and…

Sauvignon Blanc 89 Laberinto Sauvignon Blanc Maule Valley 2015 $19 Fresh and juicy, with concentrated green apple and lemon-lime flavors, backed by loads of fresh acidity. The spicy finish has some minerally details. Drink now. 1,200 cases made.—K.M. 87 Via Wines Sauvignon Blanc-Carmenere Maule Valley Oveja Negra Reserva 2015 $11 Shows peachy overtones to the green apple and melon flavors. White pepper and spice accents emerge on the finish, revealing some chamomile hints. Drink now. 1,700 cases imported.—K.M. 86 Vina Leyda Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley Reserva 2015 $12 A crisp white, with dried herbal notes to the lemonlime and green apple flavors. Marmalade accents add richness to the finish. Drink now. 8,300 cases made.—K.M. 86 Vina Ventisquero Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley Root: 1 2015 $12 Lemongrass, green peach and dried…

Chenin Blanc 92 De Morgenzon Chenin Blanc Stellenbosch Reserve 2015 $35 A broad, creamy and honeyed version, with an alluring toasted hazelnut accent framing the core of creamed peach, apricot and melon flavors. The long finish lets matchstick and dried quince notes in. This is not shy in style. Drink now through 2019. 300 cases imported.—J.M. 90 Tania & Vincent Careme Terre Brulee Le Blanc Swartland 2015 $16 Very enticing, with a creamy core of green fig, pear and yellow apple fruit underscored by hints of chamomile and white ginger, giving the finish extra range and a lingering feel. Chenin Blanc. Drink now through 2017. 600 cases imported.—J.M. 90 Raats Family Chenin Blanc Stellenbosch Original Unwooded 2015 $15 Very fresh, with a mix of apple, white peach and verbena notes…

Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 96 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Hillside Select 2012 $265 See Collectibles, page 252. 94 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon 2013 $200 This masters a balance of loamy, rich, earth-laced currant and blackberry notes with savory tar and dried herb flavors in a tightly focused presentation highlighted by a spicy, mocha-tinged oak ending that pulls the flavors together. Drink now through 2030. 350 cases made.—J.L. 94 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena St. Helena Home Vineyard Single Vineyard 2012 $110 Beautifully crafted, rich and structured, this is deep and focused, offering a lively mix of juicy dark and red berry flavors, and fine-grained tannins speckled with crushed rock notes. Impressive for the weight, muscle and deft balance. Drink now through 2030. 401 cases…

A Look Back It was a pleasure reading the story of the emerging wine market for Portuguese wines (“Breaking the Mold,” Aug. 31). Around 1917, my mom and dad emigrated to the Boston area from the Portuguese island of San Miguel. I was born in 1928, in Cambridge, Mass. Your article reminded me of the wonderful times my wife and our kids have visited the mainland, Madeira and the Azores. The people are sweet, and I am very proud to share that heritage with my children and grandkids. Joe Perry San Francisco Sky’s the Limit I read the July 31 issue about Robert Mondavi not just for insight into the man and his winery, but for insight into Napa’s history. After reading the corresponding letters in the Sept. 30 issue,…

Greg Walter, whose career in wine and publishing spanned 36 years, including working as president of Wine Spectator and then founding the newsletter The Pinot Report, died at his home Sept. 1 in Yountville, Calif. after a long battle with cancer. He was 58. Walter was studying journalism at San Diego State University in the late 1970s and working a part-time job as assistant manager at a liquor store when his boss showed him a help-wanted ad for a fledgling newspaper called The Wine Spectator. His wine-writing career flourished with the publication, as it grew from a small newspaper in San Diego into the benchmark consumer magazine for American wine lovers. He was a keen student of wine, a good writer and a skilled editor, taking pleasure in overseeing the…

It was at an outdoor dinner under a flowering, vine-laden pergola in Venice about 25 years ago that I first ran headlong into the Italian taboo against seafood with cheese. Feeling a tad feisty and iconoclastic that balmy evening, I ordered some grated Parmigiano for my bowl of linguine with white clam sauce. ”Impossibile!” was the waiter’s haughty response. “Non si fa così.” [“Impossible! It’s just not done.”] Opting not to test my rusty Italian by explaining how, where I come from, the customer is always right, I vowed to exact revenge at a later date. Of course, to the adamant Italians, the French reply, “Le fromage avec les fruits de mer? Mais oui, bien sûr!” One of the most famous French seafood classics, lobster Thermidor, is topped with grated,…

America’s Wine World Widens The good times were rolling and the red wine was flowing in the mid- to late 1990s. Napa Cabernet remained the standard-bearer, but other varietals were on the rise. California Merlot sales had increased sixfold since 1990, to the tune of 5.2 million cases in 1996. The economy was booming on the backs of optimistic dot-com stock valuations, and prices for collectible wines were soaring. America was partying like it was 1999, but a reality check the size of a millennial New Year’s Day hangover was just around the corner. The bubbly popping went quiet when the dot-com bubble burst, with publicly held Internet companies such as Amazon, eBay and Yahoo losing their stockholders billions of dollars in a matter of months, but nothing sobered the…

Wine is best when served with food and shared with friends. But in the 1970s, very few restaurants had serious wine lists, so half of the equation was missing. In 1981, Wine Spectator created the Grand Award program, with the twin goals of recognizing restaurants that were serious about wine and helping readers find restaurants where they could enjoy a good bottle with their meal. Today, the program includes more than 3,500 restaurants from all 50 states and more than 70 countries around the world. “The first few years, even people who worked at Wine Spectator thought I was wasting my time. But today the Restaurant Awards program is incredibly successful— many great restaurants all over the world are part of it. Our wine list awards have become an important…

Since Wine Spectator’s founding in 1976, its cover stories have spotlighted important people, places and trends in the worlds of wine and food. • Here is a selection of cover images recalling personalities Wine Spectator has brought to its readers over the years. “First, we decide what we want on the cover, and then we assign the story to one of our editors, many of whom have been with the magazine 20 or 30 years. We know they will give us the quality and the objectivity we want. We go straight up the middle and tell the truth. ”…

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, Germany, Portugal Bruce Sanderson Burgundy,…

Chardonnay 91 Vina Cobos Chardonnay Tunuyan Bramare Los Arbolitos Vineyard 2015 $46 A fleshy style, with concentrated flavors of baked apple, ripe pear and roasted pineapple, layered with plenty of buttery accents. The spicy finish has notes of sage cream. Drink now through 2018. 400 cases made.—K.M. 90 Bodega Eduardo Alfredo del Rio Chardonnay Rio Negro Valley Verum 2015 $17 See Smart Buys, page 253. 90 Vina Cobos Chardonnay Lujan de Cuyo Bramare Marchiori Vineyard 2015 $46 Buttery and rich, with plenty of spicy notes to the ripe apple, pear and caramel flavors. Tropical fruit accents enliven the plush finish. Drink now through 2019. 600 cases made.—K.M. 90 El Enemigo Chardonnay Mendoza 2015 $30 Rich and creamy, with luscious baked pear and ripe apple flavors that are well-spiced, showing loads…

Alsace / Riesling 92 Josmeyer Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Hengst 2014 $69 Finely knit and vibrant, this sleek white layers flavors of melon, Meyer lemon zest, fresh tarragon and white pepper over a rich note of smoky minerality. Long and lithe, with a firm, focused finish. Drink now through 2024. 500 cases made.—A.N. 92 Mure Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Clos St.-Landelin 2014 $60 Slate and smoke notes lead the way in this minerally white, while sleek, mouthwatering acidity enlivens an expressive mix of fleshy yellow peach, apricot, star anise and candied ginger flavors. Drink now through 2026. 68 cases imported.—A.N. 91 Barmes Buecher Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Hengst 2014 $46 This lacy white is sleek and minerally, with smoke and petrol accents to the flavors of pineapple, passion fruit, almond…

92 Rafael Cambra Valencia El Bon Homme 2012 $20 Juicy acidity and light, firm tannins give this red a focused, balanced structure, showcasing lively flavors of black cherry, licorice, mineral and smoke. Graceful, but has intensity and drive. Drink now through 2022. 6,000 cases made.—T.M. 91 Avancia Valdeorras 2014 $44 Garrigue and floral notes frame cherry and berry flavors in this aromatic red. Features a modest structure but good intensity, with a floral and spicy finish. Graceful. Drink now through 2020. 100 cases made.—T.M. 91 Compania Bodeguera de Valenciso Rioja Reserva 2009 $37 This red is round yet firm, offering plum, tobacco and meaty flavors, with firm tannins and orange-peel acidity. Focused, with tar and mineral notes adding depth and interest. Drink now through 2022. 8,000 cases made.—T.M. 90 Bodega…

92 Evening Land Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills Seven Springs Estate La Source 2014 $75 This Chardonnay is bright, focused and laser-sharp, articulating the mineral-accented pear and citrus flavors and lingering with presence. Drink now through 2024. 450 cases made.—H.S. 92 Hyland Pinot Noir McMinnville Coury 2014 $60 A light grip of tannins underlies a lithe, expressive range of currant, blackberry, mineral and floral flavors in this red, focusing into a taut beam as the finish lingers expressively. Best from 2018 through 2023. 180 cases made.—H.S. 92 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge Ribbon Ridge Estate 2014 $49 Firm, focused and light-footed, with pretty strawberry, raspberry, wet earth and mineral flavors in a tight spiral, gliding into the lithe finish. Drink now through 2023. 648 cases made.—H.S. 91 Aberrant Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton District…

Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 91 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Ethos Reserve 2013 $48 This red is firm in texture, with a blanket of superfine tannins surrounding the pulsing core of blackberry, currant, dark plum and violet flavors that keep coursing through the long finish. Best from 2018 through 2023. 3,000 cases made.—H.S. 91 L’Ecole No. 41 Apogee Pepper Bridge Vineyard Walla Walla Valley 2013 $55 Firm and generous, rolling out blackberry, plum and currant flavors onto a velvety frame. Gains momentum on the long and expressive finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2018 through 2023. 1,000 cases made.—H.S. 91 Novelty Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2013 $26 A fresh, open-textured and appealing red, with generous plum, currant and black tea flavors riding…