Wine & Spirits - August 2013 - (Page 65)

Year’s Best GREECE 90 | Santo Wines 190376 92 | Santo Wines $24 2010 Santorini Reserve Assyrtiko (Best Buy) ^ For this reserve, the Santo co-op culls the best grapes from its 1,200 members and sends the fermented juice to barrels for half a year. The oak falls into place after a few hours open, harmonizing with the wine’s broad texture and adding depth to its lemony fruit. It’s still quite fresh, with notes of chamomile and lavender augmenting the chalk, a sign that this has years of life ahead. Give it time in a decanter if opening tonight. § Fantis Imports, Carlstadt, NJ $20 2012 Santorini Nykteri ^ Peach and mango tones make this a positively exotic Santorini—at least, until the acidity kicks in, rounding up the fruit and carrying it off to let the soil take center stage. Rather than chalk, this tastes more like black volcanic soil in its gravelly feel and smoky, earthy tones. It radiates warmth, a lush Santorini for a rosemary-scented pork chop. § River Horse Imports, Hicksville, NY Central GreeCe 189970 91 | Santo Wines $35 2010 Santorini Grande Reserve Assyrtiko ^ Pulled from old vines in Akrotiri, left on the skins for a morning and fermented and aged in oak, this is an oxidative assyrtiko, dandelion yellow and marzipan nutty. The flavors grow fresher with air, moving toward horchata and peach, feeling sunny and vibrant despite the wine’s hefty size. For grilled sardines. § Fantis Imports, Carlstadt, NJ 190262 90 | Canava Roussos $18 2008 Santorini Nykteri ^ This has the coolness of the summer of 2008, with crisp, fresh acidity and herbal tones. Its age and ripeness come through only in its subtle nutty tones, a honeyed almond quality that lasts. It feels youthful and quietly expansive, a Santorini to drink now or over the next ten years. § Stellar Importing Co., Astoria, NY 190259 90 | Gavalas $17 2012 Santorini ^ A significant portion of aidani (10 percent) makes this a particularly pretty Santorini, adding floral, peachy fruit over assyrtiko’s chalky minerality. But make no mistake: It’s still tight and firm, a softer but no less serious variation on Santorini. § Dionysos Imports, Manassas, VA 190258 $24 87 | Avantis 190377 92 | Boutari hours on the skins contributes to its complex aromatics, from green grass to lovage and Kaffir lime; time spent on the lees with regular stirring expands its flinty mineral tones, the wine taking on a mouth-filling, savory density. § Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL 184222 93 | Dom. Gerovassiliou $23 2011 Epanomi Single Vyd. Malagousia ^ Evangelos Gerovassiliou has worked with malagousia longer than anyone in the country, and it shows. His 2011 is perfectly poised, an opulent blend of floral notes and peach fruit that manages to be lush without being showy. Its lasts long, feeling fresh, the wine’s cool, salty note recalling the breeze off the ocean that you can feel at the top of Gerovassiliou’s estate. It’s slow to open, so have a glass while you’re preparing dinner (maybe a roast fish) but be sure to save some for the main course—and tomorrow’s dinner as well. (W&S 10/12) § Cava Spiliadis, Astoria, NY $12 2012 Pallini Matsa Malagouzia ^ The heat of the 2012 vintage is evident in this wine’s deep golden hue, about two shades darker than usual. And then there’s the scent—pineapple and toasted almonds, chamomile and kumquats. It handles the vintage well, the cashmere texture carrying the flavor effortlessly, the combination of briney minerality and acidity adding succulence. It’s a powerful white for pork tenderloin basted with oranges and honey. § Terlato Wines Int’l., Lake Bluff, IL 190230 2012 Evia (Best Buy) ^ This is an intriguing blend of violet-scented viognier, cool, acidic assyrtiko and a fillip of muscat (5 percent). Peach jam flavors fill in the middle. The contrast of floral and austere components is a little jarring, but it’s worth checking out with sea bass. § Mani Imports, West Sacramento, CA 190229 86 | Avantis $13 2012 Evia M Malagousia (Best Buy) ^ Silky and broad, this is muscat-y in aroma, with lots of floral notes joining sweet orange flavors. It’s a little heady for malagousia, but will make a pleasant aperitif. § Mani Imports, West Sacramento, CA 190278 86 | Kourtaki 190196 92 | Dom. Gerovassiliou $23 2012 Epanomi Single Vineyard Malagousia (Best Buy) ^ Gerovassiliou’s 2012 is more restrained than the 2011 at the moment, with a satin richness and honeysuckle-scented fruit that runs more green plum than peach. It feels balanced and elegant, ready for a grilled fish. § Cava Spiliadis, Astoria, NY $8 Attica Retsina (Best Buy) ^ A crowd-pleasing Retsina, this is restrained in its resin, with a minty edge that’s refreshing and a lightness that allows the broad, waxy flavors of the savatiano grape to come through. For mezes on hot days. § Nestor Imports, NY MaCedonia 189454 93 | Alpha Estate $23 2012 Florina Ktima Alpha Sauvignon Blanc ^ Arguably Angelos Iatridis’s best sauvignon blanc to date, this is as elegant as it is monumental. He grows it at his estate in Amyndeon, a vast monopole on cool, sandy soils at about 2,000 feet in elevation. Sixteen 190198 92 | Dom. Gerovassiliou $22 2012 Epanomi (Best Buy) ^ Elegant, rich and silky-smooth, this blend of malagousia and assyrtiko offers flavors similar to the straight malagousia (reviewed above), only WINE & SPIRITS AUGUST 2013 65 http://www.santowines.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83:assyrtiko-grand-reserve-white-dry-wine&catid=29&Itemid=62&lang=en http://www.santowines.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:assyrtiko-reserve-white-dry-wine&catid=29&Itemid=62&lang=en http://cavaspiliadis.com/

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

Wine & Spirits - August 2013
Editor's Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Spirits: Rum & Ginger Beer
Athens Wine Bars
The New Naoussa
California's Heritage Whites
Insider's Guide to Sonoma
Local Snacks, Local Bubbles
Extreme Values
Introduction
Summer Sparklers
US Pinot Gris
Alto Adige/Friuli
Vinho Verde/Albariño
US Riesling
Rosés
Greece
US New Releases
Imported New Releases
Last Sip

Wine & Spirits - August 2013