Innehållsförteckning för November 15, 2020 från Wine Spectator

FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS GLOSSARY OF WINE TERMS Unfamiliar with a word on a label or in a tasting note? Check our glossary. WINE CHALLENGE From the basics of tasting to trivia about grapes, regions and styles, test your knowledge of all things wine by taking our quizzes. Every two weeks, we post a new set of questions. STRAIGHT TALK WITH WINE SPECTATOR is an Instagram Live series featuring conversations with industry newsmakers, hosted by our senior editors such as (top, from left) James Molesworth, MaryAnn Worobiec and Bruce Sanderson. Recent additions include (above, from left) Bart and Jaime Araujo of Napa’s Accendo Cellars, Greg and Morgan Norman of Greg Norman Estates, and somm/vintner Rajat Parr. All episodes are archived on our IGTV channel for viewing anytime, or…

Although its name and modern origins are oh-so-English, the development of cheddar as we know it has been very much a transatlantic affair. Emerging from the Middle Ages, cheddar took on the name of the principal market town in its Somerset County home territory, about 135 miles west of London. In the 17th century, cheesemaking savvy emigrated to North America with the Puritans; by the late 18th, colonial cheesemakers had begun wrapping their cheddars in cloth smeared with butter or lard for protection during aging. When American cheese factories arose in the mid-19th century, their output was virtually all cheddar. Larded cloth-wrapping gave way to coatings of paraffin wax and, in the 20th century, plastic, enabling mass production of 40-pound block cheeses. In 2007, English West Country Farmhouse Cheddars was…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 96 LEEUWIN Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series 2017 $89 AUSTRALIA Opens rich and lush, with grilled pineapple, ripe pear and fleshy apricot flavors, while details of mineral, lime peel and Meyer lemon add a fresh thread of acidity and a sense of precision. COLLECTIBLE 96 RIDGE Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains 2017 $230 CALIFORNIA Distinctive, with vibrant flavors of violet, juniper and anise, backed by a core of intense dark currant, plum and cherry fruit. A chiseled, ripped Cabernet for the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. SMART BUY 91 LUCA Malbec Paraje Altamira 2018 $25 ARGENTINA Focused red currant and crushed plum flavors feature hints of green olive on a silky and finegrained texture. Turns minerally midpalate, with a licorice accent on the finish.…

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 Leeuwin Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series 2017 $89 AUSTRALIA Opens rich and lush, with grilled pineapple, ripe pear and fleshy apricot flavors. Details of mineral, lime peel and Meyer lemon add a fresh thread of acidity and a sense of precision, finishing with a note of sesame seed. Drink now through 2030. 800 cases imported.—M.W. 96 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder 2016 $135 CALIFORNIA This distinctive red throws a lot of wild sage, herb and sassafras notes out first, while the core of intense red currant, damson plum and bitter cherry fruit waits its turn. The vibrant structure is built on acidity, pulling everything together…

As most wine lovers know, California has been battling wildfires this fall. They have damaged wineries, homes and vineyards. You’ll find all the latest news at our website, WineSpectator.com. The fires, and their smoke, have also impacted the 2020 harvest. We don’t know all the consequences, but some vineyards won’t be harvested, some grapes will suffer from smoke taint, and some wines will simply not be bottled or sold. In this issue, we present our annual report on the current releases of California Cabernet Sauvignon. Our coverage is led by lead taster James Molesworth, and his analysis focuses on the 2017 vintage. That year too, wildfires raced through the vineyards, causing destruction on the ground and adding to the difficulties the region’s vintners already faced in a season marked by…

After a career spanning more than 30 years at M. Shanken Communications, Thomas Matthews is stepping down as executive editor of Wine Spectator. Jeffery Lindenmuth, executive editor of sibling publication Whisky Advocate, will assume the role. The transition will take place at the end of 2020, announced Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of both magazines. Matthews joined Wine Spectator in 1988, working in the London and then the New York offices. In 1999, he was promoted to executive editor, overseeing print and digital operations as well as events and special projects. Matthews has also been the magazine’s lead taster for the wines of Spain, and a principal travel and restaurant writer. During his tenure, Wine Spectator became the most widely read wine publication in the world, with more than…

Beecher’s Flagship Reserve $17/7 ounces, beechershandmadecheese.com Adds some nice acidic bite and a creamy finish to its signature browned butter flavor. The Flagsheep version, with 30% sheep’s milk, has a pronounced toasted hazelnut note. Bleu Mont Bandaged $19/8 ounces, murrayscheese.com Shows outstanding balance and depth of flavor. Comparable to the Cabot Clothbound in quality—not quite as assertive but equally profound. Cabot Clothbound $16/8 ounces, jasperhillfarm.com Offers great volume and depth of flavor, with a cavalcade of well-integrated flavors, including bittersweet, earthy, meaty, musty, nutty and tangy, with loads of umami. Crawford Clothbound by 5 Spoke Creamery $14/7.5 ounces, igourmet.com Features bright, lively citrus and mineral notes, with a bittersweet underpinning. Face Rock Creamery Clothbound $10/8 ounces, facerockcreamery.com Oregon’s distinguished entry in the fine cheddar sweepstakes—dense, creamy and savory, with a…

Even though I stay in the same hotels and tend to eat at the same restaurants, every trip I make to a wine region is different. When I see vintners I’ve met before, I see the changes at their properties and in their wines over time. I also see new projects, taste new wines and meet new people. Keeping up on that constant change is one of the exciting challenges. But I was not prepared for what I wound up seeing on my most recent trip to Napa. I was still in the air, a couple hours out from landing, when I started getting texts from winemakers. They were pictures of a new wildfire starting, this time at the base of Howell Mountain and quickly spreading to the eastern edge…

“When I was a kid, I dreaded the kitchen,” says Anna-Christina Cabrales, sommelier at Morrell Wine Bar at New York’s Rockefeller Center. “But coming from a Filipino family where everything revolves around food, I really had no choice, and at the age of eight I started cooking with my grandmother.” But Cabrales was a natural, and as a teenager even dreamed of going to culinary school. Three years ago she abandoned her “sensible” career in finance and decided to follow her heart to the International Culinary Center, earning a classic culinary diploma and completing the intensive sommelier program. “Lola, my grandmother, is an inspiration to me. She was a chemist by occupation, so it was cool to watch her cook, to see her mise en place always lined up around…

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. Thomas Matthews Spain Kim Marcus California Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir, Argentina, Chile James Laube California Bruce Sanderson Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany James Molesworth California Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Rhône Valley, Port MaryAnn Worobiec California Sauvignon Blanc and other whites, Australia, New Zealand Alison Napjus…

CALIFORNIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 98 Abreu Madrona Ranch St. Helena 2016 $525 See Collectibles, page 87. 97 Abreu Cappella St. Helena 2016 $525 See Collectibles, page 87. 97 Harlan Estate Napa Valley 2016 $1,600 See Collectibles, page 88. 96 Accendo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2017 $360 A beauty, with lush, velvety and seductive waves of creamed plum, blackberry reduction and warmed fig compote notes, seamlessly inlaid with singed alder, loam and humus details. Shows a flicker of menthol at the very end as everything melds together. A big wine, without any of the telltale hiccups of the vintage. Best from 2022 through 2040. 712 cases made.—J.M. 96 Bond Quella Napa Valley 2016 $775 Distinctive, with aromatic savory, sassafras and bay leaf notes leading off, followed quickly by rich yet…

Most Americans are familiar with Kahlúa, the coffee-infused rum from Veracruz, Mexico. It’s appealing on the rocks, and also anchors popular cocktails such as White Russians and Mudslides, where it provides a smooth, dark-roasted element. Tia Maria and Kamora aren’t bad choices for widely available coffee-flavored liqueurs, either. For more boutique options, there’s Leopold Brothers’ French Press Style American Coffee Liqueur (bright and acidic), Patrón XO Cafe Coffee Liqueur (fruitforward) and Lockhouse Revolution Coffee Liqueur (molasses, burnt sugar). Lyre’s Coffee Originale, a nonalcoholic variety, provides the coffee kick and the imitation taste of a distilled beverage, with a distinctive nutty, caramel note. But instead of buying a commercial product, why not try making your own coffee-infused spirit? I have experimented with Bourbon and vodka mixtures using medium-roasted Rusty’s Hawaiian Yellow…

Over the River The Loire River winds through the center of France, its banks the source of many distinctive and value-oriented white and red wines. This group features two of the Loire Valley’s most important grapes: Chenin Blanc (Saumur, Vouvray and Montlouis) and Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé). ARNAUD LAMBERT Saumur White Breze Clos de Midi 2019 (93, $25) Expressive; yellow apple, persimmon, Meyer lemon, hazelnut, smoke, floral FRANÇOIS PINON Vouvray Les Trois Argiles 2018 (93, $35) Bosc pear, green almond, mineral, sea salt, spicy; pure, bright, invigorating JOSEPH MELLOT Sancerre La Grande Chatelaine 2016 (92, $29) Silky, complex; yellow plum, candied ginger, gooseberry LE ROCHER DES VIOLETTES Montlouis Sur Loire Touche-Mitaine 2018 (91, $23) White peach, dried mango, cardamom, mineral; austere, focused, precise CHÂTEAU DE TRACY Pouilly-Fume Mademoiselle de…

The explosive growth of California’s modern wine industry is one of the most remarkable features of its history, with seeds of its present-day prominence firmly planted beginning in the mid-1960s. This growth is nowhere more visible than in the Los Carneros district, which straddles both sides of the county line separating Napa and Sonoma, just north of the cool-water expanses of San Pablo Bay. Given its easy access across bay waters to the docks of San Francisco, 25 miles to the south, it quickly became a center for growing hay, vegetable crops, orchard fruits—and grapes. Throughout much of the 20th century, it was prime dairy and pasture land. But beginning in the 1970s, the dairy cows that grazed the bucolic rolling hills and valleys of Carneros (which means “sheep” or…

ARGENTINA 91 Luca Beso de Dante Uco Valley 2018 $41 Big, rich and fleshy, with a broad spectrum of red fruit and dried dark fruit flavors loaded with cooking spice accents. The ripe finish shows cocoa nib notes. Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2024. 1,100 cases made, 1,100 cases imported.—K.M. 91 Luca Malbec Paraje Altamira 2018 $25 See Smart Buys, page 89. 91 Bodega Septima Malbec Agrelo Tierra 1050 Msnm 2018 $30 This rich red is filled with concentrated dark fruit and Asian spice flavors that feature a creamy texture, with slate and mineral notes that come in midpalate. leading to a finish that’s filled with dark chocolate accents. Drink now through 2024. 100 cases imported.—K.M. 90 Domaine Bousquet Chardonnay Tupungato Valley Reserve 2019 $18 Vibrant…