Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 143

IMPORTED NEW RELEASES
that seems to keep the wine under wraps.
That structure focuses each taste on the velvet richness of the texture, the intensity of
the schist and the brisk red-fruited length of
flavor. Built to last for decades. -J.G. § MundoVino/Winebow Imports, NY
275504

93 | Wine & Soul

$115

2017 Douro Pintas ^ Sandra Tavares and Jorge
Serôdio Borges grow the fruit for this wine at
a vineyard in Vale Mendiz, an 89-year-old,
mixed-vine planting that has built a legend
for the wine they've made in a ripe, extracted,
ambitiously oaked style. So this 2017 comes
as a surprise, no less luscious than a great Vale
Mendiz wine might be, but distinctly elegant
in its cool evocation of Douro schist. It feels
brisk in its black-cherry flavors, super spicy
as it tumbles into a crushed-rose fragrance at
the end. There's tension and motion in the
wine, a great vintage of Pintas that should
age for a decade or more. -J.G. § MundoVino/
Winebow Imports, NY

eral days of exposure to air to refresh. At first,
it's all apricots and almonds, mushrooms and
some sweet volatility. Then slowly it turns
savory: The almond notes take on a pleasant tree-bark bitterness, and the mushroom
notes turn minerally, hinting at crushed oyster shells, with the apricot fruit sweetness
backing it up. An intriguing view into Portugal's past. -J.G. § Haus Alpenz, Edina, MN

R OMA NIA WHITE

275939

90 | Son Mayol

276738

86 | Cramele Recas

2019 Romania Legendary Estate Series
Pinot Grigio (Best Buy) ^ This has a lot
more character than most pinot grigio at the
price, with green-pear flavor shaped by lemony acidity. It's clean and easy, for aperitifs.
-T.Q.T. § Tri-Vin Imports, New Rochelle, NY

$26

2016 Lisboa Confidencial Reserva ^ This
wine's tart cherry flavors feel cool and oceanic. Some green notes of peppercorn and
cherry leaf hold its concentrated flavors
tight, embedded in clay-like tannins. What's
confidential about this wine is the blend of
more than ten varieties, grown in clay-limestone soils, and the names of ten unfamiliar varieties probably don't matter when the
wine is so fresh and bright. -J.G. § Tri-Vin
Imports, New Rochelle, NY

275935

93 | Raventós i Blanc

$44

$36/500ml

2013 Conca del Riu Anoia Textures de
Pedra Blanc de Negres Vinya Més Alta ^
Manuel and Pepe Raventós focus this sparkler on the red- and pink-skinned xarel-lo vermell, bastard negre and sumoll-all grown in
stony soils at Més Alta, their vineyard rising
to 820 feet in altitude. That elevation lends
the wine a lively lemon freshness to brighten
rich undertones of mango and papaya. After
42 months of aging on lees, the texture has
developed enough silky roundness to fill out
the dry Brut Nature style. -R.D.T. § Skurnik
Wines & Spirits, NY
275936

1996 Carcavelos Quinta Dos Pesos ^ Carcavelos as a wine region is virtually extinct,
with 62 acres of vines remaining, protected
by the government from the pressure of Lisbon's western expansion. This wine comes
from stocks Manoel Boullosa had built up at
his Quinta dos Pesos before his death in 2005.
It's a rarity, blended and bottled in 2018, one
of a range of vintages being meted out into
the market (we recommended the 1991 in the
February 2020 issue). This 1996 needs sev-

2014 Conca del Riu Anoia Textures de
Pedra Blanc de Negres Vinya Més Alta ^ As
charming in its honeyed texture and its passion fruit and mango flavor as the 2013 (also
recommended), this wine has a pithy lemony
acidity that carries it toward notes of hazelnut and almond skin, with a lift of springtime herbs. Splash it in a decanter to allow
the fruit to show, then serve with a cheese
plate. -R.D.T. § Skurnik Wines & Spirits, NY

P O RT U G A L D E SS E RT
275444

91 | Manoel Boullosa

$68

2016 Mallorca Grand Vin ^ The herbal coolness of this wine's aroma-full of eucalyptus,
pine and juniper-is intoxicating. It's a blend
of cabernet sauvignon and merlot grown on
the island of Mallorca, where Son Mayol
farms 60 acres of vines spread over 35 parcels. Patrick Léon, an acclaimed winemaker
from Bordeaux, made these wines until his
passing in 2018, when his son, Bertrand, took
over. Underneath the herbal aromas, there's
ripe blackberry fruit with slight mineral and
fatty game flavors, finishing with grippy tannins. -R.D.T. § Misa Imports, Dallas, TX

S PA IN SPARKLING

275904

90 | Casa Santos Lima

SPAIN RED

92 | Raventós i Blanc

$44

275831

90 | Viños de Arganza

$27

2016 Bierzo Século Mencía ^ Husband-andwife team Víctor Robla and Angeles Varela
focus on the local mencía and godello. This
is a brooding and fruit-forward expression of
mencía, with flavors of plum, lingonberry,
raspberry and dried strawberry. It finishes
with broad and dusty tannins, to serve with
a flank steak. -R.D.T. § W.Direct, Lawrence, KS

URUGUAY RED
125233

91 | Bodegas Garzón

$30

2018 Garzón Single Vineyard Tannat ^ A
supple, Atlantic red, this is a generous take
on tannat with its bright flavors of cranberries and thyme. The tannins have the succulence of ripe plum skins, with a dark rose
scent that lasts. Delicious with thick-cut lamb
chops off the grill. -J.G. § Pacific Highway
Wines & Spirits, Greensboro, NC n
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

143

https://www.bodegasonmayol.es/en/ https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/cramele+recas+legendary+estate+series+pinot+grigio+romania/2019 https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/casa+santo+lima+confidentiel+rsrv+tinto+regional+lisbon+estremadura+portugal https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/de+arganza+seculo+mencia+roble+bierzo+castilla+y+leon+spain

Wine & Spirits - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2020