Innehållsförteckning för December 31, 2023 från Wine Spectator

As 2024 approaches, the American wine industry isn’t sure how things are going—much like the American consumer. Contrary to most economists’ predictions last year, the U.S. economy has not entered a recession so far. Inflation has slowed; consumer spending continues to be strong. At the same time, costs are still higher than a year ago, wages have not kept pace and most Americans are still feeling uncertain. Economic weakness in other countries as well as conflict overseas are adding to the anxiety. Leading members of the wine industry say they are feeling all of those factors. In 2022, the U.S. wine market declined by 10 million cases, or 3.2%, according to Impact Databank, a sister publication of Wine Spectator. Value-wise, wine was flat. Sales of wines priced $15 a bottle…

Star chef Michael Chiarello—who helped put Napa Valley on the culinary map and became a pioneering restaurateur, author and TV food personality—died Oct. 6 after an acute allergic reaction led to anaphylactic shock. He was 61. Chiarello had been hospitalized at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa for several days before his death, according to his company, Gruppo Chiarello. “It’s incredibly sad to lose a really great chef and mentor to many next generation culinary talents,” said fellow chef Charlie Palmer. “[He was] a great friend, creator and genuine human being.” Born in Red Bluff, Calif., in 1962, Chiarello developed a passion for cooking in his mother’s kitchen, where he learned the food traditions of his southern Italian heritage. In 1987, he opened Tra Vigne in St. Helena,…

Down Under This wide-ranging selection of flavorful wines from Australia showcases the diversity of this dynamic country. The Punt Road is a whimsical blend of Grenache, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Malbec and Petit Verdot. BEC HARDY Cabernet Sauvignon Limestone Coast Garden Series 2021 (92, $20) Succulent, rich; huckleberry, marionberry, herbs, spices KILIKANOON Grenache-Shiraz-Mataro Clare Valley Killerman’s Run 2020 (92, $20) Black cherry, dark berries, herbs; intense, grippy MOUNT LANGI GHIRAN Shiraz Grampians Cliff Edge 2021 (92, $24) Fresh, refined; dark berries, chocolate-covered espresso bean, herbs, tobacco PUNT ROAD Airlie Bank Garden Red Yarra Valley 2022 (92, $25) Cinnamon, toasted cumin, wild strawberry, raspberry puree; vibrant, aromatic RINGBOLT Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River 2021 (92, $20) Aromatic, velvety; dark berries, cardamom, clove, chai tea, herbs TIM SMITH Grenache Barossa Bugalugs 2022 (91, $25) Violet, dried…

Predicting the ageability of a wine is essentially speculation. Burgundy, Bordeaux and a few other regions have track records, but the New World is still working on it. Back in the 1950s and ’60s, Inglenook and Beaulieu produced long-lived Cabernet Sauvignons, proving it was possible in Napa Valley. Washington state may lack the history of Napa, but its top producers are following their own path and proving that their wines can age with the best of the New World. DeLille Cellars demonstrated that unequivocally when the winery recently poured a 12-year retrospective tasting of its red blend D2. The Wood-inville-based winery has produced D2 since its first vintage in 1992, along with the Chaleur Estate bottling. Both are Bordeaux-style blends; however, Chaleur Estate is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, à la…

2 OCCIDENTAL Pinot Noir West Sonoma Coast Freestone-Occidental 2021 94 | $65 | California Steve Kistler’s namesake winery became synonymous with California Chardonnay decades ago. Since founding Occidental in 2011, he has become known for California Pinot Noir. With his daughter Catherine, Kistler farms 65 acres of Pinot Noir vines around their newest winery, in the recently created West Sonoma Coast AVA. Kistler’s parcels typify the extreme nature of this developing viticultural area—near the coast, high elevation, blanketed with morning fog and buffeted by afternoon winds. All of that results in yields generally in the skimpy 2 tons per acre range. The resulting wines, however, are anything but skimpy. This bottling brims with pure blackberry and black cherry fruit, enlivened by a light savory note, while an underlying mineral edge…

Wisconsin’s answer to Chez Panisse, L’Etoile is located at the literal and figurative hub of America’s foremost cheese state. Its glass-walled facade has a view of the Wisconsin Capital Building and, on Saturdays, of the Dane County Farmers Market, where such local cheese luminaries as Willi Lehner of Bleu Mont Dairy, the Hook family and the Hedriches of LeClare Family Creamery ply their wares. (See “Discovering Dairyland,” Sept. 30, 2019, issue.) Executive chef Tory Miller, whose credentials include stints at Jean-Georges and Eleven Madison Park in New York, offers his selections of three Wisconsin artisan and farmstead cheeses each at L’Etoile and his more casual restaurant, Graze, nearby, rotating them every couple of months. Wine director Michael Kwas provided pairings for his and chef Miller’s favorites: SUGGESTED PAIRINGS Bleu Mont…

Among the Philadelphia area’s premier gourmet Italian options, Vetri Cucina offers a selection of three cheeses as a dessert alternative. Chef Jacob Rozenberg sources his selections, which he rotates every couple of weeks, mostly from a local purveyor, Third Wheel Cheese, whose retail shop is located in the Cedar Park neighborhood of west Philadelphia. The Vetri offerings highlight outstanding artisan and farmstead cheeses from Pennsylvania and across the Northeast. And the restaurant’s complementary wine list places an emphasis on Italian regional varietals. Following are Rozenberg and wine director Bobby Domenick’s current personal favorites, along with the latter’s suggested pairings: SUGGESTED PAIRINGS Birchrun Hills Blue with Vin Santo COW’S MILK BLUE | $12 for 8 ounces | thirdwheelcheeseco.com “The Felsina Vin Santo del Chianti Classico is beautifully rich with delicate notes of…

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 Poliziano Toscana Le Stanze 2019 $67 ITALY Tightly wound and dense, this red features pure flavors of black currant and blackberry that show accents of iron, cedar and oak spices, with tannins flexing their presence on the long finish. Energetic and fresh, with a lasting impression of sweet, ripe fruit. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2045. 1,666 cases made, 250 cases imported.—B.S. 95 Domaine Roy & Fils Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Incline 2021 $64 OREGON A compelling wine that slowly reveals its details, offering expressive raspberry and blueberry flavors that take on accents of black tea, mineral and baking spices, building toward medium-grained…

CALIFORNIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 93 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2020 $155 Solidly built for the vintage, with a muscular core of dark currant and plum fruit backed by warm earth, melted licorice and a flash of menthol. Reveals a sweet tobacco hint at the very end, with the fruit keeping pace. Drink now through 2035. 456 cases made.—J.M. 92 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2020 $75 Shows the up-front fruit of the vintage, with a good lush feel to the mix of plum and warmed cherry compote notes, lined with light menthol, sage and warm earth hints along the way. Polished (for the vintage) finish. Drink now through 2034. 11,200 cases made.—J.M. 91 The Vice Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 99 Vices Batch #99 Single Vineyard 2020 $89 Lush and forward in…

The reviews that follow are the on-release tasting notes for the wines of the 2023 Top 100. Ranking is indicated by the number in the red box to the left of each note. Prices given are release prices. The date in parentheses indicates the issue in which the wine was first reviewed. An overview of this year’s Top 100 and profiles of each of the selected wines begins on page 36. 1 95 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2018 $90 Rose, strawberry and cherry aromas and flavors are the main themes in this red, along with wild herb, mineral and cut hay accents. Racy and full of energy, with a long, saturated finish. Best from 2025 through 2042. 9,400 cases made, 3,504 cases imported.—B.S. (6/30/2023) 2 94 Occidental Pinot Noir West…

This year our editors blind-tasted and reviewed more than 9,200 wines, with 5,819 achieving scores of 90 points or higher on our 100-point scale. This was only the first hurdle in eligibility for our Top 100 most exciting wines of 2023. In addition to quality, we look at value (based on price) and availability (based on cases produced or imported). Finally, we consider whether the wine has a story to tell—something we refer to as the X-factor. Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year for 2023 is Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2018, scoring 95 points and costing $90, with 3,504 cases imported to the U.S. Beyond these impressive numbers, the story of Argiano is a reminder that positive change rarely comes quickly or easily in the world of wine. Argiano is…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 95 LINGUA FRANCA Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Lingua Franca Estate 2021 $60 OREGON A compelling, multilayered red, with lilting raspberry and cherry flavors that expand to reveal fresh violet and earthy mineral accents, which build tension toward refined tannins. COLLECTIBLE 96 FONTODI Colli della Toscana Centrale Flaccianello 2020 $199 ITALY This pure red is sophisticated, complex and balanced, permeated with black cherry, blackberry, violet, mineral and spice aromas and flavors, with tannins that are present yet refined and well-integrated. SMART BUY 90 CASAL DE ARMÁN Ribeiro 2022 $24 SPAIN A juicy white, with a lively mix of nectarine, blood orange sorbet, white blossoms and Marcona almond. Creamy in texture, with a fresh, salty finish. Treixadura, Godello and Albariño. BEST VALUE 90 D’ARENBERG Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale The Stump…

Many fine dining restaurants in the U.S. are happy to serve a cheese plate as the final course for those who prefer it to pastries and sweets. But a select handful aim even higher, offering traditional French-style service featuring a gueridon (cart) laden with a carefully curated, frequently rotated selection. We polled the decision-makers—chefs, fromagers and sommeliers—at five of these outstanding restaurants, all Wine Spectator Restaurant Award recipients, for their favorite cheeses along with a wine pairing for each—a fun, informative exercise meant to inspire readers’ choices at a time of year when celebrating with fine cheeses and wines is on most of our minds.…

Daniel Boulud has mandated America’s most extensive and thorough cheese program at his namesake flagship on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Maître fromager Pascal Vittu’s gueridon, replenished weekly, groans with 20 to 25 cheeses during the summer months and up to 30 in winter. When asked for a personal favorite, Vittu hedged: “It’s like when you have children. You must say you love them all equally.” Pressed, he eventually cited Oma, from Von Trapp via Jasper Hill Farm, which he had recently enjoyed paired with a wheat beer. Chef Boulud’s preferences among hard cheeses are an aged Comté or Mimolette. “When I want to indulge in a creamy cheese instead,” he says, “my favorites are Sherry Gray, a double-cream ash-rind cow’s milk from Jasper Hill Farm, and the Ovalie Cendrée, a…

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…

Meeting A Master [The Chuck Wagner interview] (cover, Nov. 15) was one of the most enjoyable I have read, due to my personal experience with Caymus. I grew up in the Bay Area and back in the late ’70s a friend of mine and I took our dates to Napa to check out the beauty and wines in the valley (we were actually heading on to Sonoma to seek out Zinfandel via the few small wineries there at the time). So, we stopped at this little winery in Napa that had a house next to the gravel/dirt driveway with a little building behind it that turned out to be the “tasting” room. We met this older gentleman [Charlie Wagner] who poured their wines and talked to us about the wine…

Fresh off his Wine Spectator video contest win in 2022, Steve Jacobson has earned the grand prize again this year for his video Love the Wine You’re With. “I started working on this literally the weekend I got back from the New York Wine Experience last year,” admitted Jacobson. For this 2023 entry, he wanted to move away from the Broadway sound that cemented Cabernet Tonight as the 2022 winner and shift to the folk-rock of the 1970s, parodying the famous Stephen Stills good-times song about loving whoever—or in this case, whatever wine—is right in front of you. Jacobson worked with his son to write and rewrite the song dozens of times, then passed it off to his nephew to belt it out. Over the next months, he rallied the…

Over the past year I had the chance to taste dozens of maturing and mature reds from several Tuscan producers. Aside from the fact that it’s fascinating to experience how wines evolve over time, it’s also an opportunity to follow the development of a winery. Tolaini is a perfect example. Founded by the late Per Luigi Tolaini in 1998 and now run by his daughter Lia, in 2013, Tolaini converted to organic farming; in 2014 an optical sorting table was added. The winemaking has embraced less extraction, larger casks for aging the Sangiovese and longer maceration but with more gentle infusion. Twenty vintages of select wines illustrated the changes. The Al Passo 2002 and Duesanti 2002 were pleasant, however, the more recent wines showed greater depth and complexity. The Vigna…

The deeply studied culinary mastermind behind this quintessential destination establishment is chef Patrick O’Connell, who coveted French-style cheese service during annual pilgrimages to Europe, starting in 1979. “I was inspired by what I saw at the two- and three-Michelin star restaurants, in particular Frédy Girardet’s in Switzerland,” says O’Connell. “He had this three-tiered cheese cart that was wildly impressive but at the same time intimidating.” To take some of the stuffiness out of it, O’Connell for his own restaurant commissioned a ⅓-scale, lifelike cow sculpture and had it fashioned into a cheese gueridon. Then, in 2007, O’Connell designated a young waiter, Cameron Smith, as his house Cheese Whiz, and Smith can now be counted among America’s most knowledgeable maître fromagers. When Smith wheels the cart, laden with a rotating selection…

AUSTRALIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 96 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra Bin 169 2021 $350 Perfumed up front, with notes of dried violet, white pepper, luscious cream soda and milk chocolate, plus aromatics of chai tea, tarragon, toasted cedar and green olive. The tannins are dense but fine-grained, and there’s an epic finish where all the flavors fit together in harmony. Drink now through 2044. 50 cases imported.—M.W. 96 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia Bin 707 2021 $450 Stylish, aromatic and flashy, this offers mocha, peppermint, blackberry, currant and Kalamata olive notes up front, giving way to details of palo santo, sandalwood, dark chocolate–covered espresso bean and savory herbs, followed by a plush, creamy finish. Drink now through 2043. 63 cases imported.—M.W. 94 John Duval Cabernet Sauvignon Barossa Integro 2018 $150 There’s plenty…