Innehållsförteckning för March 31, 2023 från Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator is well-versed in the history of wine in America. For more than four decades, we have chronicled the evolution of the wine market. We’ve witnessed American consumers’ growing appreciation of wine, especially at the dinner table. In this issue, we focus our attention on the future of wine. Senior editor Mitch Frank spoke with wine authorities from across the realms of viticulture, winemaking, climate science and business to get a read on what’s in store for fine wine in America. Some might feel that attempting to predict the future is a losing game. After all, back in 2019 who could have anticipated a global pandemic with implications across every walk of life, including wine. Restaurants and hospitality venues, key markets for wine, were devastated before eventually making a…

Wine Spectator is pleased to announce the promotion of Aaron Romano to senior editor. Romano, based in Napa, is an invaluable member of Wine Spectator’s editorial team and is lead taster for the wines of Argentina and Chile. He joined the tasting department in our Napa office in 2012, was promoted to associate tasting coordinator in 2017, then to associate editor and tasting coordinator in 2020. Romano has shown passion and dedication for covering the wine industry, tackling news stories and writing cover features on topics such as the developing cannabis industry in California wine regions. His recent in-depth profiles include star winemaking couple Annie Favia and Andy Erickson. “I have followed Romano’s progress over the years,” said Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher. “I am happy to appoint him…

After years of accolades, sommelier and restaurant owner Yannick Benjamin still needs a bit of time to process when amazing things happen to him. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” admitted Benjamin. “I’m truly one of the luckiest human beings on the face of the Earth. … I was given a second chance, maybe even a third chance. I just try to live every moment to the best of my ability.” In October, Benjamin learned he had received the $1 million Craig H. Neilsen Visionary Prize, an award for those pushing boundaries while living with spinal cord injuries. Benjamin, who uses a wheelchair, is an influential advocate for disability accessibility in the restaurant industry. Raised in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood by French parents who worked in the…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 96 AUBERT Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Lauren 2020 $130 CALIFORNIA A stunning white, with salted butterscotch, marzipan and grilled peach notes, plus hints of nutmeg, toasted green tea and lemon thyme. This is generous and intense, yet elegant, with fresh acidity weaving in and out on the expressive finish. COLLECTIBLE 96 CHÂTEAU LÉOVILLE LAS CASES St.-Julien 2020 $295 FRANCE Sleek and slightly austere, with a cold cast iron note framing cassis, plum and blackberry fruit flavors. Shows flashes of tobacco and charcoal, as the finish lingers with verve. SMART BUY 91 VOLVER Alicante Tarima Hill Old Vines 2020 $20 SPAIN This supple, medium-bodied red is dark and lightly juicy, with baked blackberry, black currant, wild herb, mocha and smoke notes that show a mineral edge. Zesty spices and balsamic…

There’s a short list of comments I hear when I tell people I am a wine critic for Wine Spectator. At No. 1 is probably, “How do I get that job?” delivered with an eyes-widened look of enthusiasm as the speaker imagines themselves surrounded by bottles of wine all day long. But not far behind that, another favorite question is: “I’m going to [insert country or wine region] on vacation this summer. Can you recommend a winery for me to visit?” That one always makes me laugh, as I consider the tens of thousands of wineries scattered across the different wine regions in each of the countries in Europe whose wines I cover for the magazine (France, Italy, Portugal and Spain). But even if a serious wine lover plans to…

Ski towns hold a special allure, even for those who never hop aboard the chairlift. As other areas hunker down for the winter, these destinations come to life with their own culture, lingo and rituals. Food-and-wine lovers are well-served by elite ski destinations, especially by the many Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners that call them home. But after a day on the mountains, even the most devout enophile can be forgiven for trading their favorite Cabernet—at least momentarily—for an après-ski cocktail. “We find that even avid wine drinkers are open to something a little bit new, a bit more adventurous. With the right service and education, many of them really get into a cocktail to start their evening,” says Colton Black, general manager at Grand Award–winning restaurant Element 47, located…

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). 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. Bruce Sanderson Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany James Molesworth California Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, Port MaryAnn Worobiec California Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Australia, New Zealand Alison Napjus Spain, Italy, Champagne, South Africa Tim Fish California Zinfandel and Merlot, Oregon, Washington, U.S. sparkling wines Aaron Romano Argentina, Chile Kristen Bieler Rhône Valley and other France, Germany, Austria How We Do the Tastings Wine Spectator editors taste…

A Stirring Story Although I have been a reader and subscriber for 40 years, I have never written to Wine Spectator. After reading the Nov. 30, 2022, issue, I had to write in praise of the collaborative work by senior editors Mitch Frank and Tim Fish on the cover story on Robert Mondavi. In my 20s, I lived about 70 miles south of Napa Valley, toured vineyards as often as possible and learned much about wines due to the knowledge and kindness of many vintners. I left for the East Coast in 1980 but continued to follow the Mondavi name and buy the wines, including half-cases of Opus One. Although the Mondavis have often made the pages of Wine Spectator, no issue has taken such a deep and broad look…

I began covering Bordeaux for Wine Spectator in the 2008 vintage. Initially my blind-tastings of the bottled wines were conducted in Bordeaux every December. My report on the most recently released vintage appears annually in the March 31 issue. (For this year’s analysis, see “Bordeaux Stands Firm,” page 42.) However, since COVID-19 hit in early 2020, the tastings have been shifted to our New York office. This move allows us to better accommodate the releases en masse as the châteaus bottle their wines in late summer and then ship them to the U.S. market in the fall. All Wine Spectator tastings are conducted blind. My fellow editors and I are shielded from knowing the producer or the price of any wine. The only information we have during our official tastings…

Bordeaux Bound Bordeaux’s 2020 vintage is now available, and this selection from the Left and Right Banks delivers plenty of fruit and charm at very attractive prices. Most are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, some with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and even Carmenère. CLOS MARSALETTE Pessac-Léognan 2020 (93, $33) Sleek, focused; currant, loganberry, iron, alder, red tea CHÂTEAU BOUSCAUT Pessac-Léognan 2020 (91, $23) Black currant, dark plum, black licorice, dark tobacco; solid, brambly CHÂTEAU DE CRUZEAU Pessac-Léognan 2020 (91, $25) Juicy, savory; black currant, black licorice, iron CHÂTEAU ROLLAND-MAILLET St.-Emilion 2020 (91, $22) Plum cake, boysenberry puree, cocoa; expressive, silky, hedonistic CHÂTEAU BOUTISSE St.-Emilion 2020 (90, $26) Plum, blackberry, apple wood, cedar, earth CHÂTEAU HAURA Graves 2020 (90, $20) Sleek, ripe; damson plum, red currant, red tea, savory CHÂTEAU HAUT-VIGNEAU Pessac-Léognan 2020 (90, $20)…

When Chateau Ste. Michelle put its flagship Woodinville, Wash., property on the market this past summer, the wine community was puzzled. Soon after, Gallo announced it was closing its Columbia Winery tasting room, located just across the road from Ste. Michelle. The two producers were the cornerstone on which the bustling Woodinville wine scene was built. What was going on? It’s a complicated story. Woodinville, 30 minutes northeast of Seattle, was originally a logging town, then became a farming community in the early 20th century, and then a suburb of Seattle after World War II. There were no wineries or tasting rooms in Woodinville when Ste. Michelle opened its iconic château in 1976. Columbia followed suit later, opening in 1988. Ironically, there were no vineyards there, and that remains true…

On every can of White Claw, America’s best-selling hard seltzer by a wide margin, you’ll see the words “Made Pure.” The company actually trademarked the phrase. You’ll also see “The Purest Hard Seltzer in the World” and written on the back is something almost no wine label yet has: nutritional and ingredient information. Every can of White Claw stresses that the product contains 100 calories per serving and just 2 grams added sugar. Ingredients include purified carbonated water, alcohol, natural flavors, cane sugar, citric acid, natural fruit juice concentrate and sodium citrate. A typical glass of red wine has 120 calories and less than 2 grams residual sugar. Ingredients include fermented grapes, sulfites for preservation and possibly tartaric acid or oak tannins. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at…

AUSTRALIA Shiraz & Blends 96 Jasper Hill Shiraz Heathcote Georgia’s Paddock 2019 $85 A stunning mix of concentrated blueberry preserves, salted black licorice, blackberry and huckleberry flavors, with details of black walnut liqueur, malty black tea, smoked paprika and bittersweet chocolate. The tannins are dense and toothsome, but there’s polish and refinement as well, ending with an epic finish. Drink now through 2035. 200 cases imported.—M.W. 94 Mollydooker Shiraz McLaren Vale Velvet Glove 2019 $220 Rich and decadent, with Black Forest cake, juicy maraschino cherry, salted caramel and fresh mint at the core, expanding to more detailed flavors as well as plush, velvety tannins, which add an air of elegance to this powerhouse of a wine. Drink now through 2035. 332 cases made, 50 cases imported.—M.W. 92 Kilikanoon Shiraz Clare…