Wine & Spirits - April 2013 - (Page 123)

by toffee notes from oak. It would make a good foil for brisket. (660 cases) § Maryhill Winery, Goldendale, WA IMPORTED NEW RELEASES Our blind panels tasted 268 new-release imported wines for this issue. Joshua Greene, our critic for Burgundy, Italy and Portugal, rated 45 as exceptional (90+) and 24 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. ChamBertinCloS de Bèze Fr a n C e reD 187962 96 | Chanson Père & Fils Burgundy: Beaune 186538 94 | Domaine Chanson Père & Fils 420545 88 | Waterbrook $15 2010 Columbia Valley Mélange (Best Buy) ^ Scents of mocha and plum build on this wine’s succulent core of black cherry. It has the richness and weight to match grilled beef. § Waterbrook Winery, Walla Walla, WA Syrah 420197 91 | Sparkman Cellars $62 2010 Yakima Valley Darkness Syrah ^ A dark, peppery syrah, this has a tightness and freshness driven by the cool vintage and the wine’s youthful exuberance. The flavors are framed around dark plum, with a burst of Sichuan pepper spice giving the texture some tension. (221 cases) § Sparkman Cellars, Woodinville, WA 420623 90 | Dusted Valley $39 2010 Walla Walla Valley Tall Tales Syrah (Best Buy) ^ With its scents of mocha and espresso, this seems heavy until cherry-jam scents lift the roasted flavors, creating tension and adding length to the finish. (150 cases) § Dusted Valley, Walla Walla, WA 420418 87 | Boomtown $15 2010 Washington Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Dark and espresso-toned, with fig and chocolate flavors, this may be dense, but it’s surprisingly juicy. A value for barbecue. (2,130 cases) § Dusted Valley, Walla Walla, WA n $107 2010 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches ^ Balancing intensity and grace, this is a classical Burgundy, a baroque, silken brocade of raspy raspberry, allspice and earthy blackness. Its complex layers run deep, the tastes transitioning and turning through the finish, from walnut to clove and cranberry in a grand and luxurious close. Substantial and built to last. § Terlato Wines Int’l., Lake Bluff, IL 186765 91 | Domaine Jessiaume $54 2010 Beaune 1er Cru Cent Vignes ^ Scents of cherry skins and mushrooms give this wine an intriguing aroma. It follows through with a clean, bright middle and tannins packed with juiciness. The satin texture carries the traditional weight and gentleness of Beaune pinot noir, finishing firm and brisk. This will provide a lot of pleasure over the next three or four years. § USA Wine West, Portland, ME 187913 90 | Jaffelin $57 2009 Beaune 1er Cru Sur Les Grèves-Clos Ste-Anne ^ Ethereal sour cherry scents add to this wine’s refinement, the hard edges of its tannins softened by hints of lavender and fragrant ripe fruit. Tightly built for the vintage, this shows a little warmth in the finish, suggesting dinner with braised game birds a year or two down the line. § Epic Wines, Aptos, CA Bourgogne 186816 88 | Maison roche de Bellene $22 2010 Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes Pinot Noir (Best Buy) ^ This comes from the “Haute Couture negociant” project Nicolas Potel launched in 2008; it’s a wine that takes its Bourgogne appellation seriously and can use a few years of aging. Air brings out the scents of tart Morello cherries set into the sweet spice of tannins, gentle and rich. § Loosen Bros. USA, Salem, OR $300 2010 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru ^ There’s a glow to this wine, a transparency to the tannins that illuminates the soil character the way mica reflects light. It tastes like the earth in motion, the wine’s energy rolling around in the mouth, all the elements integrated with precision so that it feels like an orb, powerful, pure and glowing for minutes after each sip. The grandeur of the wine goes far beyond flavor descriptions of game and dark cherry complexities. It’s more about the wine’s presence, brilliant company to be around. § Terlato Wines Int’l., Lake Bluff, IL ChamBolle-muSigny 186760 93 | Maison Jessiaume $126 2010 Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Aux Echanges ^ This small premier cru at the center of Chambolle’s vineyards produced a wine as transparent in its color as it is delicate in flavor. The fragrance seems to grow out of limestone, the perfume of red berry fruit lasting with nobility, elegance and earthy spice. It feels cool and tight, a wine you can breathe. § USA Wine West, Portland, ME 187901 92 | Jean-Claude Boisset $90 90 | Jean-Claude Boisset $140 2010 Chambolle-Musigny Les Chardannes ^ Completely seductive when first poured, this is still going strong two days later, a bright, spicy, lovely Chambolle that offers deep satisfaction. It has the coolness of an earthen well, the dark fruit clean and pure. The scent has a shape, a sense of uplift, like a porcini pushing up through the underbrush. From a vineyard close to the RN74, on the northern (Morey-St-Denis) side of the village. § Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA 187902 2010 Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Charmes ^ Cherry-rich and cushioned with full, meaty fruit, this feels round and complete. The floral notes suggest some of the complexity that may develop with bottle age. § Boisset Family Estates, St. Helena, CA 186933 WINE & SPIRITS FEBRUARY 2013 123 http://www.waterbrook.com/ http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2013

Wine & Spirits - April 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered The Digital List
Cognac: The New Wave
The Funky Bits: Alice Feiring on terroir expression in Comté
Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru
Pinot Noir’s Nerve Center
Where Tuscany Meets Liguria
Insider Chianti
Where to Eat & Drink in New York
24th Annual Restaurant Poll
Introduction
US Pinot Noir
Austria
Portugul Reds
White Burgundy
Loire
Tuscan Reds
US New Releases
Imported New Releases
Extreme Values

Wine & Spirits - April 2013