Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023 - 102

Imported New Releases
Our blind panels tasted 427 newly released
imported wines for this issue. Our critics recommended
87 as exceptional, and 37 as Best
Buys. Joshua Greene covers Chile, northern
France, Portugal and Spain; Stephanie Johnson
covers Italy; Corey Warren covers Argentina
and southern France. Find a complete
list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.
ARGENTINA
WHITE
95 | El Enemigo
$29
2020 Mendoza Chardonnay ^ This wine
showed its pedigree in our blind tasting,
where its rich, layered orchard-fruit fl avors
were buttressed by well-integrated acidity.
Pour a glass, put the rest into a decanter and
enjoy the slow reveal of its white-mineral
savor and golden wheat-fi eld complexity.
Winemaker Alejandro Virgil fermented the
fruit-from Gualtallary and Tupungato-
in 500-liter French oak barrels (35 percent
new), allowing a partial veil of yeasts to form.
With its elegant balance of complexity and
power, this off ers the satisfaction of a compelling
white Burgundy on its own terms-a
conversation starter and driver. Pretty stellar
stuff . -C.W. § Winebow, NY
fruit operates on two levels-heady, clean
honeyed Anjou pear over a green-papayasalad
textural chew. The layers of fl avor will
hold your attention over the course of a few
hours-or days. -C.W. § Winebow, NY
94 | Catena Zapata
$136
2020 Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard White
Bones Chardonnay ^ I've not had another
chardonnay that tastes quite like White
Bones, named for the fossilized animal
bones that make up a portion of the vineyard's
limestone alluvium. Its deep herbal
complexity perfumes the entire length of the
wine, approaching with tarragon and mint
then ending with toasted-peppercorn spice
in the fi nish. The draw of this wine is not its
fruit character, but it's there if you look-a
Meyer lemon freshness that could be credited
for this wine's kinetic energy. That drive
informs the surety of its gait, elegantly presenting
itself even in its youth, suggesting it
would become even more interesting with
age. -C.W. § Winebow, NY
91 | Viña Cobos
$22
2021 Mendoza Felino Chardonnay ^ This
wine balances almond-tart richness with an
apple-skin bite. There's something happy
about the wine-one panelist said it felt like
sunshine-and it fi nishes fresh, suggesting
another year or two will further integrate the
oak and nutty lees. -C.W. § Paul Hobbs Selections,
Sebastopol, CA
90 | Anko
$15
2022 Salta Torrontés ^ A fi rm minerality and
mouthwatering acidity bring brightness to
this wine's complete orange profi le-juice,
membrane and blossom. It's toothsome,
enough to stand up to pork chops seared
with their fat cap. -C.W. § Vino del Sol, Ft.
Worth, TX
90 | Zolo
$11
92 | Luigi Bosca
$30
94 | Catena Zapata
$23
2021 Mendoza Catena High Mountain
Vines Chardonnay ^ With complexity in
spades, this chardonnay instantly caught our
panel's attention with its deeply savory driedtobacco
aromas-one taster went to handrolled
cigarettes, another to pipe tobacco.
A blend from four of Catena's vineyards, its
10 2
WINE & SPIR IT S
2022 Uco Valley De Sangre White Blend ^
Half of this blend is chardonnay, the balance
semillon and sauvignon blanc, combining
with racy acidity, beeswax texture
and green-herbal accents in the fi nish. The
chardonnay fermented and aged on its fi ne
lees for eight months in French oak, adding
a faint touch of richness that will structure
the wine for the next half-decade. A day of air
almost completely integrates that oak infl uence
into orange fl orals through the wine's
long fi nish. -C.W. § Pacifi c Highway Wines,
Greensboro, NC
2022 Mendoza Unoaked Chardonnay
(BEST BUY) ^ This wine has a springtime buzz, its
crisp pear fl avors calling to mind an orchard
in bloom. I wasn't looking for persistence in
an $11 bottle, but this wine insisted upon it,
those orchard-fruit fl avors lasting and lasting,
only making me happier the longer I sat
with it. -C.W. § Vino del Sol, Ft. Worth, TX
SUMMER 2023
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