Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023 - 84

Imported New Releases
of the lot aged in old oak. Smooth, smoky,
firm in its undertones of button-mushroom
umami, this is a joyful white that lives up to
its name. Pour it with a rabbit braise, or a
chicken liver terrine. -J.G. § Old Bridge Cellars,
Napa, CA
91 | Petaluma
$25
2021 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay ^ This
earthy chardonnay gives an impression of
unseasoned oak when opened. The bakedapple
and white-cranberry flavors develop
depth over the course of a day, deepening to
white plum and Rainier cherry, fully inhabiting
the oak structure and lasting with grace.
-J.G. § Accolade Wines, San Francisco, CA
RIESLING
96 | Pewsey Vale
$50
2013 Eden Valley The Contours 10 Year
Museum Reserve Riesling ^ As Eden Valley
riesling ages, it can develop impressive richness
for a dry white, as this one, layered in
Bosc pear, mint julep and tangerine complexities.
That succulent depth of flavor
transitions into remarkable length. Louisa
Rose made this wine from vines planted in
1965 on a south-facing slope (a cool exposition),
where riesling grows in sandy, gravelly,
quartz-inflected soil. In 2008, she began
experimenting with ambient-yeast fermentations
for Contours and, since 2012, has gone
all in, comfortable with the health of the
microbial population in the vineyard. Still
fresh, this 10-Year Museum Release benefits
mightily from that careful farming. -J.G. §
Winebow, NY
94 | Pewsey Vale
$38
2016 Eden Valley The Contours Riesling ^
Completely dry and yet saturated with flavor,
this has a pretty rose scent and incipient flavors
held clean by the broad feel of its acidity.
Aussie collector David Hawkins believes
" this will last a long time. It's just starting to
show its development. " -J.G. § Winebow, NY
92 | Pewsey Vale
$30
2022 Eden Valley 1961 Block Riesling ^
Completely closed off behind its youthful
acidity, this wine's fruit feels gun-metal grey,
as if perceptible in texture only. Check on
it the next day, and you might find hints of
white roses and violet pastilles, the wine still
super tart. Forget it in the cellar six to eight
years. -J.G. § Winebow, NY
90 | Pewsey Vale
84
WINE & SPIR IT S
$20
2023 Eden Valley Estate Riesling (BEST BUY) ^
Constricted within its dense flavors, aromatic
with green herb, white tea and pithy lime,
96 | Yalumba
$386
2018 South Australia The Caley Cabernet
& Shiraz ^ That's luxurious wine. And, ironically,
its textural integration is expressed in
the gentle rusticity of an old-fashioned South
Australian wine, as if made for local collectors,
without international intentions of fuss
and polish. " It tastes like the blush on the
skins of purple grapes, " said Berkshire chef
Amy Loveless, while sommelier Michael
Kowalski found the flavors of " all different
kinds of cherries, from dried to Bing to blackcherry
skin. " Grown in black, clay-rich soils,
The Caley in 2018 feels saturated and complete,
an herbal, aromatic red with a high
level of deliciousness. Still youthful, cranberry-bright
and brisk, this is structured to
age for decades. -J.G. § Winebow, NY
95 | Penfolds
$80
2021 South Australia Bin 407 Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Consider this a harbinger of the
greatness to be found in 2021 South Australia
reds. Or, more specifically, just consider
the tart black-cherry fleshiness of this beautiful
cabernet, cradled by iron-rich tannins
and luxuriously oaked. Gracious in its lean
profile, the sense of pure cabernet ripeness
sustains its herbal nuance within plump redcurrant
flavors that hold their fragrance until
you're compelled to take another sip. This
is the kind of structured, balanced Penfolds
wine that defines the house style, rich but
not ostentatious, ready to develop through
a comfortable, long and satisfying life. -J.G. §
Treasury Wine Estates, Napa, CA
93 | Cullen
W INTER 2023
$40
2020 Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot ^ Tart and tight, centered around sage
and rosemary notes and smoky chile flavors,
this is powerful young riesling. All burled up
for now, it's a great value for an ageworthy
white. -J.G. § Winebow, NY
AUSTRALIA RED
this biodynamically farmed wine from the far
coast is rich without weight. There's a sweet,
fruity guajillo pepper spice up front, and a
salty, herbal note to the dark fruit, lasting on
the fresh edge of parsley. Give this a year or
two in the cellar for the fruit to fill out all the
complex aromatics. -J.G. § Old Bridge Cellars,
Napa, CA
93 | Penfolds
$450
2021 South Australia Bin 707 Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ After a hiatus in 2020, one of
just a dozen missed vintages for 707 since its
launch in 1964, the 2021 comes roaring back
with a powerful young wine, its tannic structure
built on the terra rossa soils of Coonawarra
along with Penfolds' ancient vines in
Barossa. The wine comes on with a wallop
of fresh herb, balsamic notes and blueberryblack
fruit, now in an adolescent moment
of wrestling with its own tannins. The plum
and grenadine flavors relax over the course
of several days, edged with oak spice, turning
sleek, perfumed, with a lead on the elegance
this will attain as it ages. -J.G. § Treasury Wine
Estates, Napa, CA
93 | Penfolds
$40
2021 Barossa Valley Bin 138 Grenache Shiraz
Mataro ^ Rich, toasty, bold and juicy, this
feels a bit exotic in its ripeness, along with
a sweet strawberry and orange-rind note
perking it up. There's a lush undertone and,
yes, it's a little blunt compared to the pricier
selections from Penfolds. But that's quibbling:
This holds up well over the course of
several days, with an persistent freshness that
brings up the strawberry of grenache, while
enhancing mataro's thyme-and-sage coolness.
Decant it for lamb grilled over herbs in
the fire. Or cellar a case. -J.G. § Treasury Wine
Estates, Napa, CA
91 | Yalumba
$68
2018 Coonawarra The Menzies Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ A black-currant cabernet
from the terra rossa soils of Coonawarra,
this is black and blue and short at first, until
the fruit power builds and tannins sweep
through the finish. The ample tannins show
some restraint in their vegetal savor, staying
cool and sappy. A steak-and-potatoes wine.
-J.G. § Winebow, NY
88 | Hardys
$21
2019 McLaren Vale Tintara Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon (BEST BUY) ^ Minty-green in
scent, black-cherry cola in flavors, this wine's
silk and velvet textures give it a clean and
easy feel. Oak gets in the way of the fruit in
the end, needing a burger to bring it in line.
-J.G. § Accolade Wines, San Francisco, CA
https://www.yalumba.com/
Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023

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