I tasted some excellent and – I must admit – what many would consider rather expensive wines in 2015… but also some very reasonably priced vintages as well. Of the nearly thirty (30) wines noted throughout the year, the nine (9) listed below – five (5) red/four (4) white – are my personal favorites.
Please note that prices quoted are approximate, depending upon where the wines are purchased; and, of course, all are subject to change. I should also add that prices can vary significantly from retailer to retailer… so it would certainly be well worth your while to spend some time surfing online for the best deals.
FAVORITE RED WINES:
2012 Camus 40th Anniversary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (California): This is a wine of incredible depth and breadth. And like all Caymus’ Cabernets, it’s a tour de force: deep ruby color; intense spicy & exotic aromas; and enticingly rich, velvety, voluptuous, and perfectly balanced on the palate. This is an amazing wine that is totally approachable and enjoyable at the present moment and will be even better after five to ten years in the cellar. Just one hitch… once wine guru Robert Parker bestowed a whopping ninety-six (96) points on this seductive beauty, it became increasingly difficult to find – now, I’m afraid, it will be almost impossible. There is hope, however. The 2013 Camus Cabernet Sauvignon has also garnered extremely high marks, and I’ve heard rumors that it is even better than the 2012. It retails around the $70.00 mark and is available at Total Wine and various sources online.
2010 Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile): I can say without equivocation that the 2010 Don Melchor is nothing short of phenomenal. All aspects of this wine – fruit intensity, alcohol (14.5%), tannins, oak infusion, aroma, color, taste, consistency – are in complete and utter harmony. As one wine writer put it: “The texture is like having your tongue massaged with a velvet swatch and the finish is just, well, perfect.” Unlike many of those lethally alcoholic California “fruit bombs,” this is a sophisticated, sumptuous Cabernet that gently finesses rather than assaults the palate. It is an ultra-premium world-class wine; and it is Chilean to the core. Retails for one hundred dollars ($100.00) plus; but I’ve seen it going for ninety ($90.00) online. And, trust me, it’s worth every penny!
2007 Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva (Spain): The Montecillo Gran Reserva, a tempranillo blend that is produced from 50-year-old vines, is only made in years when vintages warrant the prestige and sense of place that best represents the Rioja Alta region. And the Montecillo Winery will even skip vintages of Reserva and Gran Reserva if the season’s grapes are not up to par with winemaker Maria Martinez-Sierra’s exacting standards. The 2007 Gran Reserva, already eight years old at this juncture, isn’t even breathing hard. It does show a bit of maturity in the glass, fading from deep ruby at the center to a touch of clear garnet at the rim… but it still has miles to go before it sleeps. Its aromas – herbs, wood smoke, raspberry & cherry – are classic Rioja. On the palate, it is smooth and silky, finessing a fine earthy finish and subtle tangy bitterness that is the perfect match for a variety of foods. Normally retailing around the thirty dollar ($30.00) mark, I’ve seen it on sale for as low as twenty ($20.00).
2012 King Estate Acrobat Pinot Noir (Oregon): King Estate’s Acrobat label, launched in 2009, was specifically designed to offer wine lovers quality wines at reasonable prices. And the 2012 Acrobat Pinot Noir, which will set you back around twenty dollars ($20.00), achieves an all-too-rare goal in an age of exorbitant oenological inflation: It delivers a high quality Oregon Pinot Noir at an eminently affordable price. In the glass, it dazzles with its deep garnet color and aromas of strawberry, black cherry, and sweet spices. Since it is aged for six months in 18% new French oak barrels, the palate detects hints of wood and vanilla along with bright fruit flavors and earthy notes. Light-bodied but beautifully balanced, this is a marvelous food-friendly wine that is ready to be enjoyed.
2011 Greywacke Pinot Noir (New Zealand): After twenty-five (25) years as the winemaker at Cloudy Bay Vineyards, Kevin Judd departed to make wines under his own brand name, Greywacke (pronounced grey-wacky). Mr. Judd’s 2011 Pinot Noir is a tremendously attractive wine. So much so that the Wine Spectator bestowed 93 points and rated it 48th on their “Top 100 Wines of 2013.” This is an elegant wine – fresh, lively, supple – with a long, lingering finish. There’s plenty of fruit here… but it’s the wine’s irresistibly velvety texture, so desirable in a Pinot Noir, that sets Grewacke’s 2011 apart. Pair it with grilled salmon or roast pork and you have a marriage made in heaven. Retails in the thirty-five dollar ($35.00) range. If you can’t lay your hands on the 2011, the 2012 & 2013 vintages are also quite excellent.
FAVORITE WHITE WINES:
2014 Ponzi Pinot Gris (Oregon): Although Pinot Noir is Ponzi’s claim to fame, winemaker Luisa Ponzi has produced some marvelous white wines as well. And her 2014 Pinot Gris is a stunning case in point. Italian Pinot Grigio (very same grape) is known primarily for its rather innocuous, nondescript nature. The version from France’s Alsace region, on the other hand, tends to be richer, fuller-bodied, and packed with flavor. Ponzi, it should be noted, is decidedly Alsatian in its approach. Ponzi’s 2014 Pinot Gris, for example, beguiles the palate with its lovely creamy consistency and complex concentration of fresh citrus flavors. This is a food-friendly – and price friendly ($17.00) – wine that is impossible to resist.
2011 Concha y Toro Marqués de Casa Concha Chardonnay (Chile): The Marqués de Casa Concha is one of Concha y Toro’s medium-priced brands and is well-represented – and highly rated – among United States’ wine lovers and critics alike. The 2011 teases the nose with its toasty aromas and stimulates the palate with flavors of oak-infused spice. This is a chardonnay, to be sure, but it’s a far cry from those over-oaked (and overpriced) preposterously ponderous ultra-alcoholic California Chards that have been known to paralyze the taste buds at the drop of a cork. There’s 14% alcohol here, but it’s well integrated with plenty of fruit, a distinct minerality, and a crisp, racy acidity that hangs on through the memorably long finish. A marvelous food-friendly wine, it also possesses enough refreshing character for unaccompanied quaffing. A steal around the twenty dollar ($20.00) mark, I’ve seen it on sale for as low as fifteen ($15.00).
2012 Trimbach Riesling (Alsace, France): With vineyards surrounding the picturesque hamlet of Ribeauvillé, the Trimbach family has been promoting the history, exceptional terroirs, and wines of Alsace since 1626. The family produces outstanding wines from all the classic Alsace varieties, but their two greatest wines are made from just one variety: Riesling. In point of fact, Trimbach’s Clos Ste. Hune and Cuvée Frédéric Emile are not only Alsace’s two greatest dry Rieslings, they may also be the finest examples made anywhere. The former goes for well over $200.00 a bottle (if you manage to lay your hands on one); the latter is more modestly priced in the $75.00 range… But don’t sell the 2012 Trimbach Riesling short. This lovely vintage garnered 91 points from the Wine Spectator, which also positioned it at #49 in its “Top 100 of 2014.” In the glass, it exhibits a beautiful straw color with green tinges at the periphery… On the nose, the characteristic petrol-mineral combo is unmistakably present and account for… And it assaults the palate with a bone-dry bracing acidity that continues on through the long, lingering, mouthwatering finish. It is also, I might add, indisputable proof that an excellent wine need not cost a fortune. This little beauty retails around the twenty dollar ($20.00) mark, but I’ve seen it on sale for significantly less… so you might want to shop around online for the best deal.
Cheers!
TAD
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