Wine & Spirits - August 2019 - 80

US NEW RELEASES
Our blind panels tasted 264 new-release US wines for this issue. Our critics rated 76 as exceptional (90+) and 16 as Best Buys.
Joshua Greene covers California's North Coast; Patrick J. Comiskey covers the rest of the US. Their initials follow their reviews.
Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

A RI Z O N A RE D

516670

93 | Newton

516985

90 | Aridus

$37

2016 Arizona Syrah ^ Channeling syrah's
feral, savory side, this dark red wine smells of
smoke, olives and licorice, with plenty of oak.
There's a light-bending core of dark fruit, and
an intensity that will have you looking for a
hole in the ozone. Pair it with a charry slab
of ribs off the barbecue. (155 cases) -P.J.C.

CA LI FO RN I A W HIT E
CHARDONNAY

$55

2016 Napa Valley Unfiltered Chardonnay ^
This vintage is the first at Newton for Alberto
Bianchi, who had made wine at other Moët
Hennessy properties in Margaret River,
Marlborough and Mendoza after starting out
in Italy. He focused this chardonnay on fruit
from Carneros, with a contribution from
Rutherford; it fermented spontaneously in
French oak barrels (24 percent new) where it
aged as well. It's refreshing, firm and juicy, a
sleek chardonnay that feels carefully crafted.
Time in oak adds a salted caramel note to the
brisk and earthy finish. -J.G.

90 | Apriori

$50

90 | Eberle

$26

2016 Napa Valley Antica Vineyard Chardonnay ^ Patrice Breton and Georges Sabongui left the tech industry to start Apriori,
bringing on Philippe Melka to consult with
them on winemaking. They purchase fruit
for this wine from the Antinori property in
Napa Valley's eastern hills, where the elevation sustains a crunchy yellow-apple flavor in
the grapes. It's mellowed by oak into creamy
butterscotch notes, even as the wine remains
savory, with hints of green olive to cut its
richness. Decant it for chicken piccata with
butter, lemon and capers. (218 cases) -J.G.
517243
2018 Paso Robles Eberle Estate Vineyard
Chardonnay ^ Bright and leesy, this has a
pleasant briskness to what ought to be a
warm-climate wine, simple and salty, with a
lively green-apple texture that's framed by a
dusty, windswept phenolic grip. (1,280 cases)
-P.J.C.

516903
517238

93 | Calera

$50

2017 Mt. Harlan Chardonnay ^ Calera has
about ten acres of chardonnay planted in
Mt. Harlan's limestone soils; two-thirds of it
was planted in 1984. This vintage is posh and
stylish: It had the tasters at our table sitting
up in their chairs. "Oh," said one, "this wine
has some stuffing to unstuff." It leads with a
powerful oak spice, from 30 percent new and
10 percent second-use French-oak barrels;
then it turns rich and beautifully structured,
the fruit round, with notes of toasted lees,
hazelnuts and golden apple. It needs time or
a decanter before you serve it with a roast
chicken, Zuni style. (1,900 cases) -P.J.C.

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2019

517310

91 | Massican

$45

2018 Napa Valley Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay ^ Larry Hyde grows this chardonnay's
fruit for Dan Petroski, who selected a block
planted in 1992, where the musqué clone
lends this wine its floral perfume. It starts
out lean, with shishito pepper notes, then the
wine gains depth as it opens with air, turning
toward spicy pink-grapefruit flavor. Decant
this if you open it now, or let it fill out with a
year or two of bottle age. -J.G.
517127

90 | Marimar Estate

$32

88 | Baileyana

$20

2017 Russian River Valley Acero Don
Miguel Vineyard Chardonnay ^ This chardonnay, made without oak, gains its richness
from concentrated white fruit and the creaminess of malolactic conversion. Its mild notes
of lemon curd and tahini make it a smoky,
salty white for roast veal. (1,210 cases) -J.G.
516813
2017 Edna Valley Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^
Scents of nuts and caramel corn give way to
a golden-apple breadth of nutty flavor, that
classic, broad Central Coast savor that would
pair with braised chicken thighs on jasmine
rice. (2,632 cases) -P.J.C.
516883

http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com http://www.newtonvineyard.com/product/2016-unfiltered-chardonnay/ https://www.ariduswineco.com https://www.marimarestate.com/product/Acero-Chardonnay-2017?pageID=0D5E675B-EE68-5438-BCF2-CCA22653AEDE&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=12& https://www.calerawine.com/product/2017-calera-mt-harlan-chardonnay?pageID=7228DB39-EC08-9879-9E48-BCBDDE9A5CE9&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=36&&productListName=Mt.%20Harlan%20Chardonnay&position=1 https://www.massican.com/product/2018-hyde/

Wine & Spirits - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2019