Innehållsförteckning för December 15, 2016 från Wine Spectator

The wine world is big, and getting bigger all the time. This issue features stories anchored in three different countries, showcasing our commitment to exploring every corner of this amazing community. December brings many reasons to host family and friends, and every gathering is an opportunity to serve sparkling wine. This issue recommends sparklers from many countries and in a range of styles and prices. But our principal report focuses on sparkling wines from Champagne. Senior editor Alison Napjus, our lead taster on many of the world’s sparkling wines, has reviewed more than 350 Champagnes in blind tastings over the past 12 months. They run the gamut from elegant Chardonnay-based wines to complex, wellaged vintage cuvées to hearty rosés with enough structure to match with meals. The largest category is…

Numerous studies have shown that alcohol can hurt or heal our bodies. A major reason for the differing results? Confounding factors, from what tipple you prefer to when you drink it, with what and with whom. A recent review published in the journal Food and Function looked at all these variables to better understand how drinking patterns affect human health. Based on their findings, the authors make several recommendations regarding wine consumption and health guidelines. Their biggest takeaway was that moderate drinking with meals delivers maximum health benefits. The authors of the review, led by Dr. Mladen Boban of the University of Split School of Medicine in Croatia, began by noting the confusion surrounding health and alcohol. The United Kingdom released controversial guidelines this year on alcohol consumption, calling any…

Website www.venetian.com/entertainment/events/ultimo-2016.html Las Vegas has long been a finedining destination. How to improve on that? Leave it to the Venetian, already among the most opulent resorts in this over-thetop city. During the three-day event Ultimo: Le Grand Voyage (Dec. 9–11; rates begin at $4,551 per couple), the hotel will be supplementing its list of first-name chefs—Emeril, Wolfgang and Mario among them—with toplevel guest chefs. Wine will be central to all the events, with the following winemakers leading tastings: Pio Boffa of Pio Cesare in Piedmont; Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga of Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta in Spain; Hayes Drumwright, Adriel Lares and Adam Craun from Napa’s Memento Mori; and Daniel and Georges Daou of Daou in Paso Robles. Daytime events include a lunch on the hotel’s Grand Canal, hot-air balloon rides, vodka and…

FRENCH TREASURE The Rhône is well-represented in this selection of French wines, as is the 2015 vintage, a year in which abundant sunshine and warmth translated into ripe grapes. Drouhin’s Pouilly-Vinzelles is a particularly good value from Burgundy, a region that excelled in 2014. PIERRE GAILLARD Condrieu 2015 (93, $42) Unctuous; peach, bitter almond, anise PIERRE GAILLARD St.-Péray 2015 (91, $24) Creamed melon, peach, persimmon; ripe DOMAINE LES GRANDS BOIS Côtes du Rhône-Villages Cairanne Maximilien 2014 (91, $20) Pure, silky; plum, violet, white pepper, lavender LES VINS DE VIENNE Viognier Vin de France 2015 (91, $26) Peach, apricot, fennel, orange blossom; racy HENRI BOURGEOIS Pouilly-Fumé En Travertin 2015 (90, $25) White peach, lemon curd, gooseberry, flint CHÂTEAU LA CANORGUE Lubéron 2014 (90, $19) Cherry, plum, lavender, tea; sanguine JOSEPH DROUHIN…

97 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage White 2013 $250 FRANCE Acacia, orange blossom, white peach and fresh ginger notes lead the way, followed by waves of honeysuckle, Jonagold apple, chamomile and lightly toasted macadamia nut flavors. The finish combines weight and purity, fruit and minerality, as a quinine note echoes. Beautiful. Best from 2018 through 2035. 1,250 cases made.—J.M. 95 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape White La Crau 2015 $80 FRANCE This is packed with a range of starfruit, anise, white peach, yellow apple and Cavaillon melon notes that run seamlessly together, gilded with chamomile and orange blossom notes on the creamy finish. A late echo of wet pebbles adds further range and intrigue. Drink now through 2019. 342 cases imported.—J.M. 94 Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto 2012 $250 ITALY A…

89 Lacheteau Vouvray 2015 $8 FRANCE Very fresh, with lively pippin apple, green almond and green melon rind notes streaming along, backed by a light quince echo on the pure finish. Drink now through 2018. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 19,170 cases imported.—J.M. 88 Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc California 2015 $12 CALIFORNIA Bright flavors of peach, grapefruit and lime are accented by lime zest and peppery white flowers in this white, which is mouthwatering on the finish. Drink now. 45,000 cases made.—M.W. 88 Duorum Douro Tons Red 2014 $11 PORTUGAL A minerally and zesty red, with vibrant cherry and raspberry flavors that are supple. Sandalwood notes linger on the creamy, well-proportioned finish. Drink now through 2019. 32,000 cases made.—K.M. 88 Vina Santa Rita Pinot Noir Aconcagua Valley 120 2015 $8…

Campania / White 90 Antonio Caggiano Fiano di Avellino Bechar 2015 $23 This distinctive white is medium-bodied and expressive, showing notes of wild strawberry, Earl Grey tea, fleur de sel and steeped apricot. Framed by racy acidity, this offers a light, tactile sensation on the zesty, spiced finish. Drink now through 2020. 1,666 cases made.—A.N. 89 Antonio Caggiano Campania White Fiagre 2015 $18 This medium-bodied white is well-knit and expressive, layering a fleshy texture with lively acidity and flavors of apple skin, honey, slivered almond and mandarin orange peel, with a soft, creamy finish. Fiano and Greco. Drink now through 2019. 1,666 cases made.—A.N. 89 Antonio Caggiano Greco di Tufo Devon 2015 $23 This is fine and creamy, with light, citrusy acidity providing a balanced frame for subtle flavors of…

CALIFORNIA Chardonnay 92 Chalk Hill Chardonnay Chalk Hill 2014 $42 Strikes a balance between rich, spicy oak and an intense core of fruit, echoing pear, apple and melon flavors. Maintains equilibrium, ending with creamy, vanilla-scented oak notes. Drink now. 15,909 cases made.—J.L. 89 Antica Napa Valley Chardonnay Atlas Peak 2014 $35 Very pleasing, with a mix of zesty ripe pear, melon and apricot flavors, framed by smoky, toasty oak. Gains depth and richness, highlighted by spicy, citrusy notes. Drink now. 7,400 cases made.—J.L. 89 Chasseur Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2014 $40 More subtle than expressive now but this has all the right elements, with a rich core of tropical fruit, pear and apple flavors. The light cedary oak takes on a smoky edge. Drink now. 196 cases made.—J.L. 89 Landmark Chardonnay…

DISCERNING THE DIFFERENCE Readers respond to contributing editor Matt Kramer’s column “Differences of Magnitude” (online, Sept. 6) as he explains a wine critic’s approach to the subtle art of scoring wine. Kramer] stated, “After tasting 200 or 500 Cabernets from a single vintage, it’s not that you’re bored, it’s that, often unconsciously, what to anyone else seems a small difference is precisely what captures your attention and excites you.” Would it not take some time to notice that difference, and are wines at the beginning of the tasting suffering from their place in the lineup? Had they been tasted later, might they have scored one or two points higher? Jamie Sherman Sacramento, Calif. Matt Kramer responds: Speaking only for myself, I can quantisay that unless it’s a category of wines…

Scientists’ understanding of the relationship between prostate cancer and alcohol consumption has fluctuated in recent years. But a new study suggests that men who drink moderately have a lower risk of prostate cancer than those who drink either heavily or not at all. The research was conducted by a team from Harvard University and several health institutes in Finland, and was published online in the medical journal Cancer Causes & Control in June. The team examined data from the Older Finnish Twin Cohort Study, which followed 11,372 twins from 1981 to 2012, conducting regular surveys and medical exams. Over that period, 601 of the men developed prostate cancer. At first glance, the results are unsurprising: The data showed that heavy drinkers (who consumed more than 14 drinks per week) had…

The biggest changes in Napa Valley over the years have involved who owns the land and who makes the wines. One constant about Napa Valley is that it keeps reinventing itself. Just when you think that this slender valley has reached capacity, that there’s nothing new under the sun, along come more producers and more bottlings. They emerge seemingly out of nowhere and in turn trigger another round of excitement and anticipation. The agent of change is Napa’s ace: Cabernet Sauvignon. Even as the broader Napa Valley appellation has been finite for years, there always seems to be someone who finds a plot of land and plants a vineyard. Consider Al Brounstein, who parceled his 20-acre Diamond Creek Vineyard into three sites and bottled each separately, or Jean Phillips, who…

The time has come for Champagne to take its place at the table. For too long, this diverse category has been relegated to the predinner shuffle and toasts accompanied by polite laughter. Champagne does provide a buoyant mood and pleasure, but it can also step up with real symbiosis with the stuff on the plate. This menu prepared by New York–based Swedish restaurant Aquavit is a blueprint for wine matching WINE SPECTATOR MENU Diver Scallops With White Soy, Trout Roe And Apple Granita BILLECART-SALMON EXTRA BRUT CHAMPAGNE NV Crispy Fall Mushrooms And Quail Egg On Rye Bread MARC HÉBRART BRUT CHAMPAGNE SÉLECTION NV Seared Duck Breast With Pickled Cauliflower And Parsley Crust BOLLINGER BRUT ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE NV Champagne comes in a range of styles, and with judicious selection it is…

The process of drying grapes in order to strengthen the structure and flavor range of a wine is ancient, and Amarone has been made in the Valpolicella area under different names for centuries. Formerly produced as a sweet wine known as Recioto della Valpolicella (still available today in limited quantities), dry Amarone gained increasing attention through the latter half of the 20th century, growing in popularity and reaching a broader international audience in the late 1980s and 1990s. The Veneto region, in northeastern Italy, enjoyed a series of excellent vintages during the 1990s, which helped put Amarones on the map alongside Tuscany’s Brunellos and super Tuscans and Piedmont’s Barolos. A recent blind tasting featuring eight producers in three vintages highlighted Amarone’s evolution: It included a group of 1990s, now 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,…

ARGENTINA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 92 Pascual Toso Finca Pedregal Mendoza 2014 $74 A big, ripe and powerful red, with concentrated flavors of dark plum, mocha and dried blackberry that are framed by plenty of Asian spice notes. Dark chocolate details fill the dense, rich finish, complemented by a creamy texture. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2021. 300 cases made.—K.M. 90 NQN Vinedos de la Patagonia Cabernet Sauvignon Patagonia P15 2015 $12 This offers red plum and dried berry flavors that are refined and wellstructured, with an open-textured appeal. Firm savory notes linger into the crisp finish. Pure and fresh. Drink now through 2020.—K.M. 90 Finca Sophenia Cabernet Sauvignon Tupungato Altosur 2015 $12 A sinewy, muscular red, with concentrated flavors of roasted plum, dried berry and graphite that…

Douro 91 Poeira Douro 38 Barricas 2013 $90 A suave and savory red, with concentrated flavors of dried raspberry, roasted plum and currant, featuring notes of black olive and Asian spice. Hints of slate and white pepper show on the sleek finish. 1,100 cases made.—K.M. 90 Quinta das Bandeiras Vinhos Douro Passagem Reserva 2013 $25 Violet notes accent the plush dark cherry and blackberry flavors in this refined, pure red. Sanguine details show midpalate, with a finish that offers spice and bittersweet chocolate elements. Drink now through 2020. 500 cases made.—K.M. 89 Rui Roboredo Madeira Douro Castello d’Alba Vinhas Velhas Grande Reserva 2013 $25 Concentrated dark plum, cherry tart and blackberry flavors are moderately ripe and well-spiced in this full-bodied red. Chocolate and raspberry ganache notes fill the finish. Drink…

94 Alexandria Nicole Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills Alderdale Destiny Ridge Vineyards 2013 $42 See Highly Recommended, page 95. 92 Betz Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Pere de Famille 2013 $75 Firm and juicy, with spicy blueberry and currant flavors playing against a prickly texture. The bright flavors linger effectively and persistently. Best from 2017 through 2023. 1,000 cases made.—H.S. 92 L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 2013 $40 Broad and open-textured, brimming with cherry, blackberry, floral and licorice flavors. The finish gains lift and momentum against buffed, finegrained tannins. This has presence and an earthy tinge. Best from 2018 through 2023. 2,200 cases made.—H.S. 91 Alexandria Nicole Cabernet Franc Horse Heaven Hills Wild One Destiny Ridge Vineyards 2013 $45 This red is ripe in flavor and sleek in…

DR. VINNY Dear Dr. Vinny, Do vintage wine posters have any value? What’s the best way to preserve them? —Willi, Toronto Dear Willi, If you’re talking about original posters (not reprints), you might be in luck. Vintage posters in good condition of any genre are highly collectible. One of artist Leonetto Cappiello’s Carnaval Vinho do Porto posters sold for $34,000 in 2005 at Christie’s, and an original Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec poster for Moulin Rouge: La Goulue sold for $374,500 at Sotheby’s in 2010. There are a few different schools of thought on poster preservation. How to handle each poster will depend on its condition and whether you want to display it, but above all the goal is to avoid moisture, humidity, heat, light, acidity and hungry critters. An expensive but…

Can there be “great” vintages without bad ones? The fact is that bad vintages are now almost unknown. At this time of year we read the first reports of how the latest vintage turned out in various parts of the world. Of course what we really want to know is whether one place or another had a great vintage. But what is a great vintage? And who says so? At first glance you’d think the answers to these two simple questions are obvious: A great vintage is when the wines are extraordinarily fine. This is true as far as it goes. But the measure of “extraordinarily fine” tends to focus on the most striking, and often famous, wines and less on whether a comparable goodness is found from less exalted…

1990 94 Allegrini_Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Superiore_$31_ Rich and layered, with toffee pudding, balsamico and dried strawberry flavors and fine-grained tannins accented by smoky minerality, grilled herb and spice box. A still vibrant red that puts all the pieces together, with a lasting finish of raspberry ganache and spice that shows an overall sense of finesse. Drink now through 2025. 92 Tommaso Bussola_Amarone della alpVolicella Classico iVgneto Alto TB_$NA_Not a powerhouse, and in an oxidative style, but lovely for its delicate and distinctive bouquet of dried cherry, almond skin, iodine and dark chocolate shavings layered with citrusy acidity and a zesty base of spicy mineral, with a long, lingering sherry-tinged finish. Drink now. 92 Cesari_Amarone della alpVolicella Classico_$NA_This tarry version, with accents of bay leaf and Asian five spice lacing…

92 Castelli del Grevepesa Chianti Classico Castelgreve Riserva 2013 $30 ITALY Aromas and flavors of black cherry and black currant are pure and expressive as this smooth red unfolds on the palate. Spice, earth and tar notes add depth, while the finish lingers with tobacco and tea accents. Drink now through 2024. 7,000 cases made.—B.S. 91 De Wetshof Chardonnay Robertson Limestone Hill 2016 $20 SOUTH AFRICA A fresh white, with a quinine edge giving the core of green fig, yellow apple and white peach flavors extra zip through the floral-edged finish. Drink now through 2018. 10,000 cases made.—J.M. 91 Bodegas Ontanon Viura Rioja Vetiver 2014 $15 SPAIN This bold white marries expressive flavors to a muscular texture. Pear and quince flavors mingle with brioche, chamomile and dried pineapple notes, with…

Bordeaux / Bordeaux Supérieur 88 Chateau Feret-Lambert Bordeaux Superieur 2014 $20 Ripe, with a juicy edge to the plum and raspberry compote flavors, backed by a light charcoal shading. Picks up a lively tobacco note on the finish. Drink now through 2017. 4,000 cases made.—J.M. 87 Chateau Laville Bordeaux Superieur 2014 $16 Light bay and tobacco notes weave through the core of gently macerated plum and black cherry fruit. Shows a light alder edge to the finish, with everything melding nicely in the end. Drink now through 2017. 10,000 cases made.—J.M. 87 Chateau Pierrail Bordeaux Superieur 2014 $18 Soft and forward, with an obvious layer of toast over the plum and black cherry compote notes, ending with a smoky, fleshy feel. Drink now. 17,700 cases made.—J.M. 87 Chateau Le Roudier…