Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 95

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES
scented fruit. It's full, rich, chocolatey and a
little tough by the time you get to the tannins
in the end. Give this cellar time to evolve. §
Pacific Highway Wines, Greensboro, NC -J.G.
124672

through, extending and deepening the flavor, setting the wine up for crispy roast duck. §
Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA -J.G.
124689

$20

2018 Yarra Valley Sexton Vineyard Pinot
Noir ^ This comes from Phil Sexton's 75-acre
vineyard on a north-facing hillside in
Gruyere planted in 1997 (neighboring Yarra
Yering and Coldstream Hills). The vines gave
a clean, spicy, transparent red in 2018, with
intriguing scents of peonies and Rainier
cherries. The tannins carry some bitterness,
of cherry pits and skins, suggesting a match
with duck confit if you open it now. Better to
cellar it for a few years to gentle the tannins. §
Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA -J.G.

88 | Penley Estate

2017 Coonawarra Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ Oak scents lead in this
peppery and minty Coonawarra red, its
dried-cranberry flavors lasting with a sweet
spice-cake note. Serve it cool, with grilled
lamb. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA -J.G.

GRENACHE
124526

94 | Yalumba

$55

2013 Barossa The Tri-Centenary Grenache ^
This wine grows at a block of bush vines
planted in 1889, bridging three centuries on
two acres of sand over clay. Their deep roots
are on display in the wine's cool stamina. A
black and saturated grenache that feels tense
with airy spice, its strawberry scents darken
to plum and sassafras while the spice continues to last. Still young, this feels like it will
last for decades. § Negociants USA/Winebow
Imports, NY -J.G.
124753

90 | John Duval

$42

SHIRAZ

PINOT NOIR

124688

$42

2018 Yarra Valley Primavera Vineyard
Pinot Noir ^ Lou Primavera planted this vineyard in 2001; it's a northeast-facing site in
Woori Yallock. As the vines have matured,
the Giant Steps team has begun to hold the
fruit separately for a single-vineyard bottling.
Cherry-blossom notes carry through this
wine's light, transparent flavors, grounded
by gaminess and gentle minerality. The
cherry flavors allow the soil character to show

$55

2017 Barossa Valley The Struie ^ This is
cool and concentrated up front, with juicy
flavors of tart plums and blueberries, along
with dark notes of licorice. Then it finishes
heady and long, with some warmth in the
end. For dark-meat game. § Delicato Family
Wines, Napa, CA -J.G.

AUSTRIA
ROSÉ
273332

87 | Stefan Pratsch

$13

2018 Niederosterreich Rosé (Best Buy) ^
Made from zweigelt, this wine has savory
flavors that counter its bright-pink hue. It's
vegetal and stony, with pink-grapefruit acidity and white-cherry notes. Give it some air to
move past the green-onion reductive scents,
and serve it with eggplant charred on the
grill. § Winesellers, Niles, IL -T.Q.T.

DESSERT
273296

$60

2017 Barossa Annexus Grenache ^ Peppery
and warm, this wine's sunny strawberry-jam
sweetness turns savory in the end, when it
meets firm, spicy tannins and some mineral
cut. It's a gangly adolescent at the moment,
but the structure should knit after a year or
two in bottle. Then serve it with grilled game. §
Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA -J.G.

92 | Giant Steps

91 | Giant Steps

90 | Torbreck

124681

92 | Innocent Bystander

$20

91 | Lambert Estate

$33

2016 Yarra Valley Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Beautifully fragrant, harmonious in its notes of
green peppercorn, green olive and chorizo,
this is a meaty syrah with cranberry and porcini flavors. It offers a bright and brisk line of
fruit-an earthy pleasure, not full, but complete. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA -J.G.
124746
2017 Barossa Valley The Commitment
Shiraz (Best Buy) ^ Eucalyptus and chocolate
might dominate this wine if it weren't for the
bright mineral spark of the black currant and
strawberry flavors. The texture is a little syrupy, but the structure is tight and firm, built
for slow-smoked barbecue. § AUSA Pacific, Las
Vegas, NV -J.G.
124638

91 | Torbreck

$135

2016 Barossa Valley The Factor ^ A blend
of vineyards in Gomersal, Krondorf and
Marananga, this is a tight, young shiraz with
fragrant rose scents. It's bright, full and rich,
even as the spicy tannins give a light touch
to the finish. Oak lends it some fine-grained
sweetness, to match long-braised meats. § Delicato Family Wines, Napa, CA -J.G.
124633

96 | Kracher

$40/375ml

95 | Kracher

$110/375ml

2017 Burgenland Cuvée Beerenauslese ^
The 2017 vintage was so short that Gerard
Kracher included wines in this BA that are
usually destined for his higher-level "Collection" range. The botrytis was also especially
good, he says, and he moved quickly to pick
the grapes while the acidity was still high. The
result is honey-smooth and concentrated, a
blend of chardonnay's green-apple flavors
and welschriesling's bright herbal notes preserved with clarity and precision. The sweetness acts like amber, capturing a moment of
perfect ripeness in perpetuity. § Terlato Wines
Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL -T.Q.T.
273295
2015 Burgenland Grande Cuvée Nouvelle
Vague Nummer 6 Trockenbeerenauslese ^
Ripeness came easily in 2015, a hot year,
and the botrytis was abundant and clean.
Kracher made a dozen sweet wines that
vintage, including his flagship, Nummer 6.
It's a blend of chardonnay and welschriesling, two varieties that have been growing in
the region since the 12th century. And it's
insanely sweet, with 238.8 grams per liter
of residual sugar. But once the sugar-shock
wears off, a calm warmth floods the palate, a
plush, humid texture carrying notes of pineapple, orange and sweet pumpkin preserves.
It feels like sunshine in liquid form, a radiant
wine to serve alone or with an apricot tart. §
Terlato Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL -T.Q.T.
273293

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

http://www.obcwines.com/wineries/innocent-bystander/ http://www.obcwines.com/wineries/giant-steps/

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

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