Wine & Spirits - June 2020 - 38

TOP 100 VALUES
Plaimont

$13

2017 Saint Mont Témoignage (92 points,
France) ^ Succulent fruit and salty, nutty tones
meet in this rich white, a blend of gros manseng, petit courbu and arrufiac. It's sweetly
ripe but not at all cloying, the fruit tightened
up by vivacious acidity. Youthful and open,
it's inviting now, a sunny white for rich fish
dishes. -T.Q.T. (W&S 10/19) ¤ Wine Wine Situation, Los Angeles, CA
123953

Matetic

$15

2017 San Antonio Valley Corralillo Sauvignon Blanc (92 points, Chile) ^ The Matetic
family farms their vineyards in San Antonio
and Casablanca under biodynamics. They
use fruit from both sites in this rich, concentrated sauvignon. Its perfumed notes of
agave and herbs weave into ripe fruit flavors
of cherimoya and orange zest. This is a tight,
spicy coastal white for pan-roasted sole.
-J.G. (W&S 8/19) ¤ Quintessential, Napa, CA
274495

Georg Albrecht
Schneider

$16

2018 Rheinhessen Niersteiner Paterberg
Riesling Kabinett (92 points, Germany) ^
Ursula Schneider is the ninth generation
to run this 200-year-old estate, farming 37
acres with her husband, Steffen Müller. This
bottling, from a limestone-based vineyard
in the southern end of Nierstein, is racy and
elegant, driven by a lovely, sparkling acidity.
As brisk as it is, the limey fruit feels plump
and juicy, lasting for minutes after each sip.
-T.Q.T. ¤ Winesellers, Niles, IL
272080

Nerantzi

$18

2018 Serres Assyrtiko (92 points, Greece) ^
Evanthia Mitropoulou grows this assyrtiko
on the hills above the Strymonas River,
northeast of Thessaloniki. Planted on loam
over limestone, the vines have been producing some of the best mainland assyrtiko
we've tasted in the past few years, including
this rich, ripe wine that retains the variety's
hallmark acidity. Farmed without inputs,
fermented in stainless steel and bottled
with minimal sulfur, it's firm and savory,
with pleasantly abrasive acidity driving the
pithy grapefruit flavors forward. Splash this
in a decanter before serving with something
meaty, like braised octopus; or tuck it away
in the cellar for a couple of years. -T.Q.T.
(W&S 8/19) ¤ Dionysi Grevenitis Selections/
DNS Wines, San Francisco, CA
271896

Quinta da Lixa

$10

2018 Vinho Verde Terras do Minho Loureiro Trajadura Arinto (91 points, Portugal) ^ Clean and fresh, with crisp green-pear
38

WINE & SPIRITS

JUNE 2020

flavors, this has an oceanic acidity that keeps
it taut. It's savory, with a white-grapefruit
note that will add zest to any roast fish. -J.G.
(W&S 8/19) ¤ Grape2Glass, Newark, NJ
272355

Aveleda

$12

2018 Vinho Verde Alvarinho (91 points,
Portugal) ^ This youthful alvarinho feels supple and round, fattened up by the fruit richness of cantaloupe and kumquats. Granitic
acidity tightens it up, lifting the fragrant fruit
through a clean finish. This wine's drinking
window will begin to open in the summer
of 2020, or sooner, if you decant it. -J.G.
(W&S 8/19) ¤ Aveleda, Pawtucket, RI
520400

Sokol Blosser

$13

Knapp

$15

Lakewood Vineyards

$15

Lamoreaux Landing

$15

2018 Columbia Valley Evolution Riesling (91 points) ^ Remarkably complex and
generous for the price, this delicious white
leads with exotic scents of passion fruit and
white peach. Its flavors are focused on bright,
mouthwatering apple, smooth and sunny,
with a light weight and lingering sweetness.
-P.J.C. (3,000 cases) ¤
517291
2017 Finger Lakes Chardonnay (91
points) ^ Bright and limey, with a salty edge,
this has the texture of a crisp pear spritzed
with lemon, broad yet zippy. -P.J.C. (W&S
10/19) ¤
520164
2018 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling (91 points) ^
Scents of celery and apple skin give this wine
a savory first impression. It's bright and racy,
its apple juiciness spiked with lemony acidity.
Lean and mouthwatering, it makes a refreshing aperitif. -P.J.C. (810 cases) ¤
520227
2018 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling (91 points) ^
Another great FLX value, this is lean and racy,
jagged with minerality when first poured.
With air, a limey core of flavor inhabits its
middle, tense but with a modest breadth, to
cut against mildly spicy dishes, like chow fun.
-P.J.C. (1,809 cases) ¤
123993

Cono Sur

$16

2018 Casablanca Valley Reserva Especial
Sauvignon Blanc (91 points, Chile) ^ The initial scents may remind you of cracked green
peppercorns, and then, if you stay with the
wine a while, the spiciness of turmeric. It's
a rooty character, like freshly turned earth,
that adds depth to this wine's yellow fruit.
Pour it with lightly poached bay scallops
tossed over pea shoots. -J.G. (W&S 8/19) ¤
Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, CA
124678

Brokenwood

$20

Yalumba

$20

2018 Hunter Valley Semillon (91 points,
Australia) ^ Think lemongrass cream puff,
then take away the richness, and you might
have something like this rainwater-fresh,
vibrant white. Its floral notes of white tea
hint at the wine's leesy tannins, suggesting
the complexity to come after a few years of
bottle age. -J.G. (W&S 10/19) ¤ Old Bridge
Cellars, Napa, CA
124528
2017 Eden Valley Samuel's Collection
Viognier (91 points, Australia) ^ If you're
looking for something to pour with your
veal chop, this wine's ripe peach and pearlike juiciness would be a refreshing match.
There's some tannic structure to take on the
meat, and a clean spice that lasts, ready to
meld with food. It's firm, juicy and rich, an
example of Louisa Rose's talent and expertise with viognier. -J.G. (W&S 10/19) ¤ Negociants USA/Winebow Imports, NY

273880

Nik Weis

$13

Tabalí

$13

Ovum

$15

2018 Mosel Urban Riesling (90 points,
Germany) ^ For this négociant bottling, Nik
Weis sources the fruit from his neighbors in
Mehring, where the slopes are steep and covered in blue slate. He gives the fruit a short
soak before pressing, hoping to extract extra
aroma and flavor, then vinifies the wine
entirely in stainless steel. In 2018, that process yielded a pretty riesling, full in texture
yet brisk and fresh, with a crystalline clarity
to its stony lime flavors. At $13, this is one
to buy by the case. -T.Q.T. (W&S 2/20) ¤ HB
Wine Merchants, Hartly, DE
123960
2017 Limarí Valley Pedregoso Gran
Reserva Viognier (90 points, Chile) ^ Spicy
rather than overtly floral, this is a luscious,
creamy white with kumquat flavors and delicate hints of orange blossom. It's gentle and
bright, a viognier to serve with pork roasted
with peaches. -J.G. (W&S 8/19) ¤ Biagio Cru
& Estate Wines, New Hyde Park, NY
516890
2017 Oregon Big Salt (90 points) ^ This is
mostly riesling and gewurztraminer, cofer-

https://www.nikweis.com/en/classification-of-our-wines-with-black-white-labels/

Wine & Spirits - June 2020

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