Wine & Spirits - February 2017 - 54


YEAR'S BEST RHONE WINES
from 30 to 90 years old. It's rich and lightly
nutty, the savory, stony flavor needing age to
fill in more details. § Vintus, Pleasantville, NY
218008

90 | Domaine JeanLouis Chave

$260

2013 L'Hermitage Blanc ^ From some of the
oldest plots of marsanne and roussanne on
the Hermitage hill, this is warm and rich in
its baked apple and quince flavors, chewy in
its concentration. The acidity holds those flavors long, as a slightly bitter spice accents its
autumnal feel. It's built for the cellar, and for
opulent, rich meals. § Grand Cru Selections, NY

LIRAC
217974

90 | Domaine Lafond

$16

2015 Lirac Roc-Epine Blanc (Best Buy) ^ A
touch of viognier adds floral delicacy to the
nutty savor of grenache blanc and roussanne,
while zesty acidity gives lift to the wine's rich,
creamy texture. It's full bodied yet balanced,
a white for pork or cream-sauced fish. § Wines
of France, Mountainside, NJ

planted just east of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
in 1995, this is pressed with its stems and
fermented in large oak casks. The result is
a white that competes handily with wines
from its more illustrious neighbors: It's satintextured and rich with spiced peach flavors,
the fruit well girded with firm minerality.
For crab cakes and vegetable risottos. § Kermit
Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA

R OSÉ
213624

92 | Dom. de la Patience

$14

2015 Costières de Nîmes Nemausa Rosé
(Best Buy) ^ With its rich, satiny texture and
mouthfilling flavor, this grenache-based rosé
is built like a red. The fruit, off 40-year-old
vines growing on old sandstone terraces, is as
intense in flavor as a wild strawberry, with a
similar faint herbal complexity, and it moves,
whisked along on a sea-salty, breezy acidity,
even while the stony flavors hold it firm. It's
elegant and lasting, ready for a lobster dinner
this summer. (W&S 8/16) § Jenny & François
Selections, NY

217557

93 | JL Chave Selection

$75

2014 St-Joseph Lieu-Dit ^ From the lieu-dit
that gave the St-Joseph appellation its name,
this is an opulent, showy white. It starts off
smoky and spicy, wearing a cloak of oak
after six months in barrels, half new. What's
impressive is how the fruit and minerality
emerge, lemon cream richness playing off
granite minerality with an electric insistence.
It lasts, the wine still very much alive after
five days open, suggesting that this will age
well in the cellar over the next decade. § Vintus,
Pleasantville, NY

V I N D E PA Y S
217632

$19

2015 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Le Pigeoulet
Blanc (Best Buy) ^ From a half-hectare of
clairette, grenache blanc and roussanne
54

WINE & SPIRITS

$20

85 | La Joie de Poulpe

$12

2015 Luberon Rosé ^ This is soft and spicy,
the waxy texture scented by herbs and lavender. Underneath, the wine feels firm and filigreed, salinity playing in tandem with acidity to whet the palate for another sip. (W&S
8/16) § Palm Bay Int'l, Boca Raton, FL
217752
2015 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse (Best Buy) ^
Light and silly, like the octopus (poulpe) on
the label, this is sweet-sour and tangy, an easy
quaff to wash down all manner of cephalopods, or anything else from the sea. § Terraneo
Merchants, Lincolnwood, IL

C H A T E A U N E U F - D U - PA P E

$35

2013 St-Joseph Circa ^ Jean-Louis Chave
makes Circa from a parcel of roussanne grown
on granite, an interesting counterpoint to the
roussanne he grows in Hermitage on clay and
limestone (also recommended here). While
it has roussanne's russetted flavors-roasted
almonds and pears, savory honey and spice-
it feels brisk and firm, energized by fresh,
cool acidity that tempers the wine's oily
richness and focuses the attention instead
on its delicacy. § Grand Cru Selections, NY
217823

90 | Famille Brunier

90 | Williams Chase

RED

ST-JOSEPH

93 | E. Guigal

estate just a few miles south of Châteauneufdu-Pape. It tastes like a rosé a king might
have drunk sometime in the distant past:
Regal in its peacock-like display of spice, florals and peppery herbs; old-fashioned in its
oxidized, orange-toned fruit, this is a rustic,
palate-whetting wine that's ready for smoked
duck or rillettes. (W&S 8/16) § Hand Picked
Selections, Warrenton, VA
212983

FEBRUARY 2017

211876

92 | Prieuré de
Montézargues

$24

91 | Mas Carlot

$15

90 | Laurence Féraud

$21

218388

2015 Tavel Rosé ^ While this is lighter in hue
than many Tavel wines, it's also more refined,
with lemony acidity tracing an elegant line
through the ripe strawberry flavors. Those
flavors feel grounded, an earthy richness
giving them breadth and length. (W&S 8/16) §
Pasternak Wine Imports, Harrison, NY
213676
2015 Costières de Nîmes Rosé (Best Buy) ^
Pithy, meaty, salty and herbaceous, this rosé
offers far more flavor than its orange-pink
hue lets on. A blend of grenache, syrah and
mourvèdre, it's a savory wine for steak salads.
(W&S 8/16) § Domaine Select Wine & Spirits/
Robert Kacher Selections, NY
212841
2015 Vin de France Pink Pégau ^ A blend of
mostly cinsault, with 30 percent grenache
and clairette, this grows at Château Pégau, an

95 | Clos des Papes

$95

2014 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Terroir Cas-
tel Papal ^ Paul-Vincent Avril makes just one
white and one red from his 80 acres in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. His parcels are scattered
throughout the region, on both sand and
clay, all farmed organically, the oldest vines
in their eighties. The fruit for this red is fully
destemmed, the parcels blended together
and vinified without any new oak, coming
together in a 2014 that's exceptionally vivid.
You might imagine that you can taste the cool
nights at the northern end of the appellation
in the briskness of the acidity and crisp tang
of the red-berried fruit; you might also perceive the warmth in other quarters, as well as
Avril's love for mourvèdre, in the bass notes
of earth and spice. Or you may just want to
let the wine wash over you in all its intoxicating scent and silky texture, and breathe in
its energy. § Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ
http://www.pasternakwine.com/product/prieure-de-montezargues-tavel-2015/ http://www.chateauneuf.dk/en/cdpen24.htm
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2017
