Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Wine Enthusiast Magazine

Most of the Sagrantino di Montefalco wines we enjoy today, known for their massive tannins, imposing structures and near necessity to be paired with red meat, are vastly different from their predecessors. Until modern techniques were introduced in the 1970s, Sagrantino was vinified in the passito style, air-drying the fruit on racks known as graticci to concentrate sugar before pressing. Similar techniques are used in Valpolicella for Amarone and Tuscany for Vin Santo. For those unfamiliar with sweet red wines or accustomed to cloying American versions, Sagrantino passito—still produced in Montefalco—is a revelation. While there’s deep, rich sweetness, it’s matched by brightness and a finish that cleanses and refreshes the palate. “Passito has even bigger structure than dry Sagrantino,” says Liù Pambuffetti of Scacciadiavoli, Montefalco’s oldest winery. “We harvest earlier,…

This month, countries around the world acknowledge Carnival, ostensibly the final fête prior to Lent, and a reason for people of all faiths to shake off winter’s gloom. Few parties are as freewheeling as the one in Limassol, Cyprus. The island nation comes together for 10 wild days of parades, feasts, wandering serenaders and masquerade balls. Revel like a Cypriot with this deeply flavored, winefriendly dish. PORK AFELIA (Pork Braised in Red Wine) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into 1½-inch cubes 1 onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed coarsely 3 bay leaves 2 cups dry red wine 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 cups cooked rice, orzo or bulgur wheat,…

Without a single vineyard in sight, Las Vegas is still one of the world’s top stops for wine lovers. In addition to one of the highest concentrations of Master Sommeliers outside of San Francisco, Vegas celebrates wine on its own exuberant terms: flashy trophy bottles, whimsical wine tastings and ultraluxurious pairings in some of the nation’s glitziest dining rooms. And while insiders buzz about downtown Las Vegas for its up-andcoming eateries, visits are still firmly centered on the neon-lit Strip, a veritable gold mine for wine lovers. LOCAL IN THE KNOW Master Sommelier Jason Smith, director of wine at the Bellagio, advises visitors to ditch the Strip one night and explore Las Vegas’s little-known Chinatown. “Chada Thai and its offshoot, Chada Street, offer incredible, Riesling-focused wine lists and excellent Thai…

The story of Oregon wine no longer begins and ends with Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, as many of the state’s most exciting new offerings hail from Southern Oregon. The region’s six American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) begin at the California border and extend north nearly to Eugene, with many of the 120 wineries clustered around the town of Ashland, famous for its annual Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Crater Lake, the Oregon Caves, Rogue River rafting and miles of pristine seashore are among southwest Oregon’s plentiful year-round attractions, rounding out a visit for any wine lover. LOCAL IN THE KNOW Marilyn Hawkins, president of public relations firm Hawkins & Company, lives and works in the Ashland area and is an unabashed wine lover. She recommends the Ashland Tuesday Market for everything from fresh…

MALBEC 93 Marchiori & Barraud 2013 Cuartel 2 Marchiori Vineyard Malbec ( Perdriel). This is not your average power-packed Malbec. Opening scents of meaty, wild berry fruits are feral and interesting, and also quite bold. A layered, deep palate shows purity, black-fruit flavors and oaky additions of chocolate, spice and pepper. A dark, minty, spicy finish is fiery, so drink cautiously through 2023. The Artisan Collection. Editors’ Choice. — M.S. abv: 15.2% Price: $42 93 Monteviejo 2009 Lindaflor La Violeta Malbec ( Uco Valley). For full review see page 74. abv: 15.5% Price: $111 92 Bodega Catena Zapata 2012 Catena Alta Historic Rows Malbec ( Mendoza). Immediately appealing, this trendsetting Malbec proudly cranks out blackberry and spice aromas that are on the spot. Full and tannic on the palate, but…

RED WINES RIOJA 94 Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia SA 2010 Macan ( Rioja ). Right away, this comes across as a wine that’s on the money. Pure concentrated aromas of blackberry, licorice and lemony oak introduce an intense palate with baked blackberry and cassis flavors. A toasty dark spicy finish exhibits notes of coffee and bitter chocolate as it slowly fades away. Drink through 2025. Europvin USA. Editors’ Choice. — M.S. abv: 14.5% Price: $85 93 Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia SA 2010 Macan Clasico ( Rioja ). Leather, dried cheese, wood grain, blackberry and cassis aromas make for a ripe attractive modern bouquet. This is mouthfilling, with full but controlled tannins. Baked blackberry, chocolate and mocha flavors come with bacon and hickory notes prior to a…

BARBARESCO 96 Sottimano 2010 Riserva ( Barbaresco ). This dazzling red is still in its infancy but promises to bloom into a stunning beauty. It opens with delicate aromas of red rose, perfumed berry, forest floor, exotic spice, aromatic herb and a light balsamic note. Energy abounds on the full-bodied, elegant palate, which delivers bright red cherry, strawberry, white pepper and licorice alongside a backbone of vibrant acidity and firm, refined tannins. Drink 2020–2040. Giuliana Imports. Cellar Selection. — K.O. abv: 14.5% Price: $79 95 Bruno Giacosa 2011 Albesani Vigna Santo Stefano ( Barbaresco ). Rose petal, perfumed berry, new leather, pressed powder and underbrush are just some of the enticing scents you’ll find on this stunning wine. The structured palate is loaded with finesse, offering crushed cherry, black raspberry…

After “what’s the difference between an ale and a lager,” one of the most common questions asked about beer is “what is the difference between a stout and a porter?” With such strong similarities between their aromas and flavors as well as their structures and balance, it’s difficult to get a grasp on what exactly the difference is between the two, if any. The answer is, there are no strict differences. Historically and presently the two styles are similar in overall profile and ingredients used. A stout was considered a stronger version of a porter or, if you prefer, a porter was originally perceived as a lighter stout. Porters can also vary widely, resulting in a bitter roasty beer or a sweeter chocolaty one and everything in between. But the…

On February 7, the NFLwill host the landmark Super Bowl 50 (minus the fancy Roman numerals this year). Dubbed the Golden Super Bowl because of the anniversary (you may have noticed the gold 50-yard-line numbers used this season), it’s also being played in the Golden State—Santa Clara, to be exact. It’s the perfect opportunity to invite some of your favorite friends over, pull together an assortment of California wines and throw a Super Bowl party that everyone will be talking about for the next 50 years. PREGAME WARM-UP Take a look at your guest list. Are your friends more charcuterie and crudité or happier with Buffalo wings and nachos? Once you’ve sorted that out, plan on making appetizers yourself or ordering them from a specialty supermarket or gourmet store. Pull…

Within the last five years, the chasm between Paso Robles’ award-winning wineries and the region’s lackluster hospitality options closed. Today, the former cowboy town is a buzzing hive of wine country tourism, with enough activities to entertain travelers for an entire week. Conveniently located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles and just a half-hour east of the Pacific Ocean, Paso Robles combines bucolic estate settings in the surrounding foothills with a vibrant tasting culture downtown. And the amenity upgrades show no signs of slowing. LOCAL IN THE KNOW Englishman Neil Collins started making wine in Paso Robles in 1991. Today, he oversees Tablas Creek Vineyard and his own label, Lone Madrone. He also crafts more than a dozen types of cider at Bristols Cider in Atascadero. “There’s such a…

Whether you like your liquor straight or mixed in trendy cocktails, these are the country’s hottest destinations. In each of these cities you can tour distilleries, raise your glass at notable bars and generally soak in the local spirit. CHICAGO The Windy City is home to one of the most progressive bar scenes in the country. If you have time and money to burn, settle upstairs at The Aviary or downstairs at The Office for a lineup of high-end drinks made with futuristic techniques and beautiful, jewel-like ice. Milk Room, a new eight-seat bar within the Chicago Athletic Association, features pours of rare and vintage spirits. Can’t get in? Try Paul McGee’s other venture, tiki lounge Lost Lake. Distilleries abound around Chicago (Koval Distillery, Letherbee Distillers, FEW Spirits), but CH…

Oregon’s modern winemaking era recently passed the half century mark, and it’s really just in the past two decades that its industry growth has accelerated. Such a young region might be expected to be more of a work in progress than one capable of attracting worldwide attention. But as the ratings and reviews here show, Oregon’s grape growers and vintners have accomplished near miracles in a very short time. Great wines begin in the vineyards, and ongoing improvements in clonal selection, rootstock and site selection, along with maturing vines in many locations, have all contributed. New AVAs—there are now 18 in the state, and more on the way—have proven to be much more than marketing gimmicks. When you taste Pinot Noir from McMinnville, for example, it’s distinctively different from Ribbon…

PINOT NOIR 93 Kooyong 2012 Estate Pinot Noir ( Mornington Peninsula ). Like many Mornington producers, Kooyong has a relatively short track record (founded 1996). For much of that time, winemaking was under the guidance of Sandro Mosele, including this stunning 2012. It shows Burgundian levels of complexity in its array of smoke, leather, root vegetable and black cherry notes, then backs that all up with a firm-yet-supple texture and tremendous length. Drink now through 2022. Negociants USA, Inc. Editors’ Choice. — J.C. abv: 13.5% Price: $55 93 Moorooduc 2012 Robinson Vineyard Pinot Noir ( Mornington Peninsula ). Worth the effort to find, this wine shows terrific balance in every respect. Subtle oak and spice frame ripe cherry fruit on the nose. Refreshing herb and spice elements add zest to…

WHITE WINES PREMIER CRU CHABLIS 92 Domaine Chenevieres 2014 Cote de Lechet Premier Cru ( Chablis ). This is a very pure wine, all fruit and tight acidity. It is classic Chablis with its tangy, steely edge that gives a lift and structure to the crisp apple fruit flavors. The acidity cuts right through the wine, leaving a refreshing, lively aftertaste. Saranty Imports. Editors’ Choice. — R.V. abv: 13% Price: $35 92 Domaine Chenevieres 2014 Fourchaume Premier Cru ( Chablis ). Full of fruit, this also expresses a tight and mineral sense of terroir. Tangy, packed with white fruit and green plums cut with lime juice, this ripe, full-bodied wine is going to be delicious. Drink from 2018. Saranty Imports. — R.V. abv: 13% Price: $40 92 Domaine Gerard Duplessis…

RIESLING GROSSES GEWÄCHS 95 S.A. Prum 2011 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Old Vines GG Erste Lage Dry Riesling ( Mosel ). For full review see page 72. abv: 12.5% Price: $50 94 S.A. Prum 2012 Graacher Dompropst GG Dry Riesling ( Mosel). Zesty white grapefruit, green apple and lime form the core of this lithe, racy Riesling. Dry in style, it’s feather light on the palate yet penetrating, honed by an edge of steel and minerality. The finish lingers long, yet refreshes thrillingly. Palm Bay International. — A.I. abv: 12% Price: $75 93 S.A. Prum 2013 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Old Vines GG Dry Riesling ( Mosel). Bright sunkissed yellow peach and melon flavors permeate throughout this fresh and fruity, yet richly concentrated dry Riesling. It’s buoyantly youthful still, but tinged by a mineral…

The air conditioning was on in the Food Science and Technology lab at the National University of Singapore when Yuyun Lu, a tall, thin doctoral student from China, met us at the door. Sweaty after the hot, humid walk across campus, I shivered. I was also eager to taste my first sample of durian wine. Lu left to get the wine. Overhead, industrial lights hummed. He returned carrying a tray with three sparkling wine glasses and two translucent plastic bottles filled with a pale, yellow liquid. In the sterile lab setting, the glasses looked so out of place that a smile stole across my face. While Westerners often object to the scent of durian, a Southeast Asian fruit that regularly sends security personnel searching for gas leaks (a Melbourne hospital…

1 THE SCENARIO FIRST DATE THE BOTTLE ARGYLE 2013 RESERVE PINOT NOIR (Willamette Valley); 91 points, $40 Oh, the pressure. You want to impress, but not overwhelm. So, seek a wine that’s (ahem) approachable, but not too eager. Plus, there’s the mystery—will your date order fish or meat? This Pinot Noir covers all the bases, offering strawberry fruit that sails above a light layer of milk chocolate. Give this wine breathing time for extra depth and flavor. 2 THE SCENARIO COULD THEY BE “THE ONE” THE BOTTLE RUST EN VREDE 2013 CABERNET SAUVIGNON (Stellenbosch); 91 points, $29 Your first date lasted through the weekend, and keeps on going. Even though you feel like you’ve known each other for years, you keep discovering new allure. Consider a wine that conveys…

Mead may have been humanity’s first alcoholic experience. Hunter-gatherers of the African savannah could’ve happened upon pools of water in hollowed-out trees that contained the fermented remains of honey-soaked beehives. Honey wine remains the most popular alcoholic beverage in Ethiopia, one of the planet’s oldest cultures, and mead fills the pages of antiquity. The writings of both Greek philosopher Aristotle and Pliny the Elder of Rome include references to the fermented drink. However, when cane sugar overtook honey as a popular, less expensive sweetener, honey harvests declined, prices went up, and the byproducts once used to make honey wine all but disappeared. Mead melted into the shadows behind wine, beer and spirits. Today the beverage is largely associated with Middle Age marauders and Game of Thrones. But mead producers across…

In Florida, they know how to keep cool. Before electric refrigeration, ice was a valued commodity, harvested in vast blocks from frozen bodies of water. In hot, thirsty climates like Florida, those chunks of ice were even more valuable. They were railed south and kept in cool, concrete-lined buildings like the structure that’s now St. Augustine’s Ice Plant, built in 1927. These days, the space has been transformed into a spacious bar and restaurant that serves up cocktails like the citrusy cooler below. But in homage to the Ice Plant’s frosty roots, they still carve ice from enormous 300-pound blocks to chill drinks. DAY TRIPPER Created by Anthony Auger for The Ice Plant, St. Augustine, Florida 1½ ounces Fords Gin ¾ ounce lemon juice ¾ ounce lavender syrup* ½ ounce…

CABERNETS & BLENDS 94 Diamond Creek 2012 Fortieth Anniversary Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon ( Diamond Mountain District ). A waft of leather saddle opens this release from an historic Diamond Mountain site celebrating 40 years of wines with this vintage. Soft and refined, it’s a complex expression of cassis, black currant and mountain tannins, well integrated and age-worthy. The finish is lengthy in a touch of coffee. Drink now through 2022. Cellar Selection. — V.B. abv: 14.1% Price: $200 94 Happy Canyon Vineyard 2011 Barrack Family Estate X Ten-Goal ( Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara). For full review see page 72. abv: 14.1% Price: $78 94 Leto 2012 The Hidden One Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon ( St. Helena). For full review see page 72. abv: 14.5% Price: $65 94 Spring…

RED WINES ALENTEJO 95 Mouchao 2010 Alentejo. The estate wine of Mouchão is serious, dense and complex. It is a wine that’s made for the long haul, still with its youthful tannins that are balanced by juicy black fruits. There is a leathery texture that is developing alongside the fruit. It is dark and solid, likely to age for many years. Drink from 2020. Wine In-Motion. Cellar Selection. — R.V. abv: 14% Price: $46 94 Cartuxa 2012 Reserva Tinto ( Alentejo ). This is an impressive wine that is rich and generous while also being firm and structured. It has a sense of concentration and power that doesn’t take away from its elegance. A fresh black currant tone is balanced by tannins and a lingering flavor of oak. Already showing…

RED WINES MADIRAN 93 Chateau Peyros 2011 Vieilles Vignes ( Madiran ). This blend of 80% Tannat and 20% Cabernet Franc has given a wine that is both dense and smoothly ripe. Rich black fruits dominate, supported by a dry, solid structure from the Tannat. It is a wine to age, so drink from 2019. Baron Francois Ltd. Cellar Selection. — R.V. abv: 14% Price: $16 92 Chateau Peyros 2012 Cuvee Greenwich ( Madiran ). Still so young, this is a dense, hugely concentrated black-colored wine, dark with tannins and rich with powerful black plum and damson fruits. Powered and very ageworthy, it will be best drunk from 2020. The wine takes its name from the Zero Longitude Greenwich meridian that passes through the vineyard. Baron Francois Ltd. — R.V.…

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we present a selection of sweet treats: chocolate liqueurs. Ranging from traditional crème de cacao to a creamy cocoa-and-hazelnut number that sips like liquid Nutella, to a fiery chile pepper-spiked bottling, there’s a flavor profile to fit every taste—not unlike finding your ideal bonbon within a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates. It may be tempting to skip dessert altogether in favor of one of these liqueurs—and there’s plenty to recommend these cordials as digestifs. However, bartenders also are using these bottlings to sweeten or flavor cocktails that are meant to be enjoyed at any point—not just as after-dinner treats. For example, chocolate plays particularly well with the rich brown sugar notes of aged rum, which may be why crème de cacao makes multiple appearances…