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Slideshow
Top 10 wines in the US press
CapRock Tempranillo 2012, Texas High Plains, Texas
Rebecca Murphy, writing in The Dallas News, recommended this Texan Tempranillo made by CapRock, which is owned by the Oregon-based Vineyard Agent.
She said: “This 2012 Tempranillo is certainly a fine example. It has spicy, dark cherry and cranberry fruit with shades of sweet tobacco buoyed with tangy acidity, tightly wrapped in a medium body with dusty tannins. Enjoy it with a marinated and grilled flank steak.
“The spectacular winery that is now CapRock had its grand opening in late 1988 as Teysha Cellars. The winery building, which would be at home in an Italian or French wine region, was a grand, ambitious project for the time. Perhaps the founders should have put as much money in marketing as they did in the facility, because a few years later the project was bankrupt, a fate it has suffered several times since. ”
Price: $11.99
2012 Cline Cool Climate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Valley, US
Colette Bancroft, writing in The Tampa Bay Times, picked this “lush and sprightly” Pinot Noir from California’s Sonoma Valley.
She said: “Sonoma’s Cline Cellars is another of those California wineries that made its bones producing a line of superior Zinfandels. Over the years it has branched out into other varietals, of which the 2012 Cline Cool Climate Pinot Noir (about $15 at wine-savvy markets) is a good example.
“This is a lush and sprightly red, bursting with red fruits and lightly accented with spearmint. Aging 11 months in oak lends a hint of vanilla. Raspberry is dominant on the nose but other red fruits add their scents, as do bramble and warm spice. Ripe red raspberry leads on the tongue, too, followed by strawberry and accented with judicious squirts of chocolate cherry and cassis. The finish is long and, like the body at mid palate, full and velvety. This Pinot is a fine food wine and will pair well with fare as diverse as cedar-planked salmon, a traditional Tampa Cuban sandwich or a lusty mushroom risotto.”
Price: $15
2012 Arbe Garbe Malvasie Russian River Valley Malvasia Bianca, California
Jon Bonné picked 10 “great, green wines for spring” writing in The San Francisco Chronicle this week with the Malvasia grape, found in Solvenia, Croatia and Madeira to name a few, just one variety highlighted.
He said: “Enrico Bertoz and Letizia Pauletto, natives of Friuli now in Rutherford, remain on a roll with their powerful whites. This mixes the soapstone and peach blossom aspects of Malvasia with a distinct, exotic creaminess and a mandarin orange aspect. Spring flourishes with basso profundo flavors, a great California choice.”
Price: $28
2012 Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica
The Italian-born Verdicchio grape was another of Bonné’s spring-time wine selections recommending this 2012 vintage from Bisci.
He said: “Of Verdicchio’s two appellations – Castelli di Jesi is the other – Matelica is higher and farther inland from the Adriatic, capable of a more powerful, ripe wine. Still, this is about fresh, seaside flavors: fresh lime, sea salt and sorrel, and shows no end of ripe fruit.”
Price: $20
Billette Bouquet de Provence Cuvée Tradition 2013, Côtes de Provence, France
Dave McIntyre, writing in The Washington Post, picked five rosés from this year’s 2013 vintage, a variety which he said has seen a “surge” in popularity in recent years.
Of this Billette rosé from the Côtes de Provence he said: “Francophilic oeno-nerds (and, yes, there are some oeno-nerds who are not Francophilic) tend to idealize Provence for its food, its wine, its lifestyle. Well, at least I do. This wine, in an unusual bottle that looks like Mrs. Butterworth’s on a diet, captures that fantasy.”
Price: $15
Le Petit Balthazar Cinsault 2013, Languedoc, France
Staying in France, McIntyre picked this Cinsault which he gave 2.5 stars out of three, half a star off an “exceptional rating”.
He said: “This pale beauty hearkens back to the days not so long ago when good rosé was a wine lover’s secret and much of the enjoyment was in thinking about how cheap it was. Worth stocking up on for the summer.”
Price: $8
Braganini Reserve Albariño Lake Michigan Shore 2013
Sandra Silfven, writing in The Detroit News, chose to highlight this Albariño made at the St Julien Winery in Michigan, which she said had a minerality and long “herbal finish” which was “reminiscent of Marlborough.”
She said: “St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw, Mich., has released its second bottling of Braganini Reserve Albariño, the dry, crisp white wine made from the signature grape of the Rías Baixas area of Galicia in northwestern Spain, and it’s every bit as good as the 2012, if not better. The 2012 took a gold medal at the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. The aromas, the firm acidity, the balance — surely you would associate this crisp dry white with Spain, Portugal or cooler areas of Australia, but hardly Michigan. It’s tart-dry-crisp with aromas of grapefruit, lime, honeysuckle and mandarin orange. The midpalate is white-stone fruit and minerality followed by a long, herbal finish — reminiscent of Marlborough.”
Price: $19.99
Elizabeth Chambers Cellar Winemaker’s Cuvee Pinot Noir 2011, Oregon, US
Dennis Sodomka, writing in The Augusta Chronicle, recommended this “medium-bodied” Pinot Noir from Oregon which he said was reminiscent of the “great French Burgundies”.
He said: “Oregon Pinot Noirs have become legendary for their bright fruit flavors and elegant balance. They are hard to come by in our part of the country, and when Pinot lovers find one, they savor it. Elizabeth Chambers Cellar hopes to ease the Pinot drought by starting national distribution of its gorgeous wines.
“The Winemaker’s Cuvée Pinot Noir 2011 is a great example of the delicate flavors and restrained style that typifies Oregon Pinot. To me it is an Old World style with New World fruit. It is reminiscent of the great French Burgundies that started the Pinot craze in America 40 years ago. It is a ruby color in the glass, with aromas of raspberry and strawberry. A medium-bodied wine, it features subtle red fruit flavors, such as raspberry and cherry, as well as some plum. Soft and supple tannins lead to a long finish.”
Price: $31-33
Windy Oaks 2011 Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, Terra Narro
Another Pinot Noir recommendation came from Stacey Vreeken, writing in The Santa Cruz Sentinel, who praised this this Windy Oaks Pinot, grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains, for its “”light-mouth feel” and “cherry notes”.
She said: “Winemaker Jim Schultze of Windy Oaks Estate in Corralitos uses classic Burgundian techniques in making his Pinot Noir, including French oak barrels, long aging and the use of a gravity-fed line from tank to bottle, which results in minimal handling.
She added: “Windy Oaks wines often sell out, are a little pricey and hard to come by, so the Terra Narro is a good start. It’s a little lighter than some Santa Cruz Pinots, showing the range the varietal can produce. This wine shows how restraint can be its own best reward. Light in mouth feel, but concentrated in flavor, the Pinot Noir opens with signature cherry notes, followed by plum, cranberry and a hint of earth, while acids and tannins stay in the background adding structure. It’s a great introduction to Windy Oaks Pinot Noirs.
Price: $29
2012 One Hope Cabernet Sauvignon, California
Finally Gil Lempert-Schwarz, writing in the Las Vegas Review Journal, recommended this “soft and lingering” Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from One Hope, a portfolio of wines founded by Rob Mondavi Jr., the grandson of Robert Mondavi, which donates half of its profits to worthy causes.
He said: “In the glass: One Hope Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep and nearly opaque ruby-red color with a dense core going out into a fine violet-red rim definition and medium-high viscosity.
“On the nose: It is a brooding wine full of dark fruits including black currants, then cherry juice, blueberry pie, huckleberry sauce and crushed marionberries. There are subtle hints of oak, spice box, sweet tobacco and ground chocolate as well, underlying the attractive aromatics emanating from the bowl of the glass.
“On the palate: We find that the wine is indeed a rich and quite concentrated palate-pleaser with crushed Morello cherries, creme de cassis, bramble fruit and a lovely balance. The midpalate is based on this nice harmony among the dark fruit, the timid acidity and the supple tannins and gives the wine a certain mouth-feel of elegance that is for me always a sign of great winemaking. The finish is soft and lingering.”
He added: “I would encourage readers to check out the whole lineup and visit the company’s website at www.onehope.com, because I can’t think of a better way to help raise money for a good cause than by drinking great wine. The company has donated more than $1.2 million so far.”
Price: $9.99