Wine & Spirits - December 2013 - (Page 101)

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES Our blind panels tasted 459 new-release imported wines for this issue. Our critics rated 47 as exceptional (90+) and 42 as Best Buys. Joshua Greene reviews the wines from Italy and Portugal; Tara Q. Thomas reviews those from Canada and Germany. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. CA N A DA W H I T E GE RMANY WHITE 111657 90 | Konzelmann Estate $18 2011 Niagara Peninsula Gewürztraminer (Best Buy) ^ The Konzelmann family was making wine for generations in Germany before they settled in Ontario in 1984; Herbert Konzelmann is the sixth generation to run a winery. He now works with his grandson, Fabian Reis, and produced a startlingly good gewürztraminer in 2011. It's round and ripe with apricot and lychee flavor; those fruit flavors expand as they last, working into wildflower honey, gentian and fennel spice. It ends clean and savory. § Specialty Cellars, Santa Fe Springs, CA 111625 87 | Cave Spring $13 2011 Niagara Peninsula Riesling (Best Buy) ^ This drinks like a Mosel QbA, a simple, savory riesling with lime zest flavors and mineral drive. § MGZ Associates, NY CA N A DA RE D 111853 92 | Norman Hardie $37 2011 Prince Edward County Pinot Noir ^ Former sommelier Norman Hardie began planting grapes on a clay-limestone hill in Prince Edward County in 2003. He now has about 30 acres, most given over to pinot noir and chardonnay. In 2011, his County Pinot Noir is savory and elegant, with sour cherry fruit held firm by sandy tannins. The wine is so light it feels gauzy, and yet it lasts with fragrant flavor, remaining fresh for days after opening. Try it with pork roasted with cherries. § Artisan Wines, Norwalk, CT CA N A DA D E S SE RT 111661 90 | Inniskillin $60 2011 Niagara Peninsula Icewine Vidal ^ Candied orange and mango flavors ride on a vibrant length of acidity and a slight burr of alcohol, which adds spice to the mix. It's balanced at the sweet end of the spectrum. § Constellation, San Francisco, CA GEWURZTRAMINER 192832 90 | Fitz-Ritter $27 2012 Pfalz Gewürztraminer Spätlese (Best Buy) ^ Spicy rose scents introduce this lively gewürz. It's bright and exotic without being over the top, the fruit holding to a lime zest line made mouthwatering by saline minerality. It would be delicious with a yellow coconut milk curry. § Winesellers, Niles, IL MUSKATELLER 191910 90 | Müller-Catoir $24 2012 Pfalz Haardt Muskateller QbA Trocken ^ This is one of the prettiest muskatellers ever, with light floral notes playing at the edges of a wine as crisp and snappy as a snap pea. Piercing, punchy acidity sends it into the ether, leaving a fine trail of greengrapey fragrance. It's not complex, but it's addictively dynamic. § Terry Theise Selections/ Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY PINOT BL ANC 192698 92 | Dr. Wehrheim $45 2011 Pfalz Muschelkalk S Weisser Burgunder Trocken ^ Karl-Heinz Wehrheim specializes in pinot blanc at the foot of the Hohenberg peak in the Haardt Mountains. This bottling, off the limestone-rich parcels of his 42-acre biodynamically farmed vineyard, grows more impressive with air. Its golden flavors have the intensity of roasted fruit yet with an acidity that keeps them fresh; it lasts with a meaty savor that recalls sautéed fennel, with a sea salt minerality. It's not a wine to rush; best to savor over the course of a few days. Try it with porchetta or other meaty fare. § A.I. Selections, Long Island City, NY 192696 90 | Dr. Wehrheim $18 2012 Pfalz Buntstück Weisser Burgunder QbA Trocken (Best Buy) ^ Off a vineyard of red sandstone, this is completely different than Wehrheim's Muschelkalk bottling, a lithe, nimble dancer compared to the Mus- chelkalk's brawny build. This one seems to sparkle, it's so lively in acidity, with crisp pear fruit and clean blanched-almond flavors. It remains fresh long into the finish, an elegant match for sole amandine. § A.I. Selections, Long Island City, NY 193130 89 | Okonomierat Rebholz $20 2012 Pfalz Pinot Blanc QbA (Best Buy) ^ This is ripe and dry, the combination giving rise to a bitter edge of alcohol. But the broad, pithy fruit quickly overcomes the heat, turning toward lemon and mineral flavors. It cuts a striking figure, needing something rich, like the lemon-eggplant risotto in the Ottolenghi cookbook to balance. § Rudi Wiest Selections, San Marcos, CA SCHEUREBE 192688 90 | Wechsler $18 2012 Rheinhessen Scheurebe QbA Trocken (Best Buy) ^ When Katharina Wechsler took over her father's 42-acre estate in 2009, she decided to bottle her own wine. This is her second vintage, and it's textbook scheurebe, all juicy pink grapefruit flavor. What makes it remarkable is the knife edge of acidity running through it, that, together with the wine's briney acidity, makes it mouthwatering and long. Pour it with anything from oysters to Thai papaya salad with fresh crab. § A.I. Selections, Long Island City, NY GERMANY RED PINOT NOIR 191442 93 | Bernhard Huber $138 2009 Baden Hecklinger Schlossberg R Grosses Gewächs Spätburgunder ^ Huber has become a renowned specialist in pinot noir since he took over his family's estate in 1988. This wine, from a steep, high-elevation vineyard of yellow muschelkalk, produced a dark and savory pinot noir in 2009-a standout for its persistent, lively energy. The acidity holds it taut, with flavors coming off that through-line in waves of floral, earthy and spicy scents. § Valckenberg Int'l., Tulsa, OK 191445 WINE & SPIRITS DECEMBER 2013 http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com

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

Wine & Spirits - December 2013
Editor’s Note
Happenings
Contents
Fined & Filtered
Acid Trips
The Great Whiskey Shortage of 2013
Spirits
Gadgets and Gi
New Destinations
Where to Eat & Drink in Seattle
Turning Champagne into Wine
Barolo & Formaggio
Douro, No Apologies
Walla Walla Cabernet
The Best for $10 or Less
Overview
Champagne
US Sparkling Wine
US Cabernet Sauvignon
Alsace
German Riesling
2011 Vintage Port
Barolo & Barbaresco
Rioja
US New Releases
International New Releases
Wine & Spirits Top 100

Wine & Spirits - December 2013