th 30 Annual &S& pirits BUYING GUIDE SPECIAL ISSUE 100 Best 100 Best Buys TOP

100Wineries of 2016

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th 30 Annual Copyright 2016 Wine & Spirits Magazine; this article may not be sold, Wine&S& pirits BUYING GUIDE SPECIAL ISSUE 100 altered in any way, or circulated without this statement. Best Wines 100 Best Buys Wine & Spirits presents the best of more than 14,500 wines TOP tasted annually, along with James Beard Award-winning coverage of Five of our Top 100: 100 top wine and food destinations, perspectives and news. of 2016 Fleury, Blandy’s, C. von Schubert,

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Five of our Top 100: Fleury, Blandy’s, C. von Schubert, Dominus and Ochota Barrels wineandspiritsmagazine.com or call 888-695-4660. 30th Annual Buying Guide Wine&Spirits PREMIER CRU: The wineries that have earned the most Top 100 awards.

If there were a way to game the system, making great wine year after year, perhaps Penfolds has fi gured it out. Tend your own cabernet and vines dating back more than a century. Build teams of growers to compete and win as they climb the quality scale. Nurture your wine- makers from within and keep them on for decades: Only two chief winemakers—John Duval and Peter Gago—are responsible for the array of exceptional South Australian wines that earned Penfolds more W&S Top 100 honors than any in the world. Though the rare Special Bin releases may reach the pinnacles at Penfolds, Grange sets 25 Awards Penfolds (2016) the bar for syrah-based wines worldwide: The wine earned an excep- Block 42 at Penfolds’ Kalimna in Barossa, planted in the tional score in 18 from 1991 to 2010, including 97 points for 1880s, may be the oldest vines in the world. the 1991 and 1996. Benchmarks: Grange, RWT Shiraz, Bin 707 Cabernet, St. Henri Shiraz 22 Awards Concha y Toro (2017) Concha y Toro may be best known in the Loosen’s experience with late- wines. (The 2005 is the highest-scoring Monte Bello US for its value-priced Frontera and Casil- The extremely rare 2008 Single Berry Select to date, at 97 points.) Ridge has also made lero del Diablo wines, largely produced from earned a 96-point score this year. The Eroica ageworthy since the 1960s, so if fruit their team purchases throughout Chile. program has been a boon for their other, you fi nd a Lytton Springs or Geyserville from But around the time we started our Buy- more widely available as well: The the 1990s, snap it up. ing Guide, Concha y Toro started buying 2014 Columbia Valley Dry , a $9 Look for: Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Moun- up some of the most prized vineyard land wine, was recently awarded 90 points. tains Estate Cabernet, Monte Bello Chardon- in Chile, adding to their Puente Alto Vine- Benchmarks: Eroica, Eroica Gold, Eroica nay, Lytton Springs yard—where Enrique Tirado makes Don Single Berry Select Melchor —with Peumo, likely the greatest 17 Awards site in Chile for carmenère. That site grows 19 Awards Shafer (2015) the Terrunyo Carmenère (95 points, 2007 Marchesi Antinori (2017) When John Shafer made his fi rst caber- and 2011) and the Carmín de Peumo Carme- Seven centuries of puts 30 years net from his hillsides under the Stags Leap nère (96 points, 2005 and 2010), reds that of scorekeeping into perspective, but it’s Escarpment in 1978, the tannins were so soft earned Concha y Toro its rarifi ed place in the been quite a 30-year run for Antinori: It has and luxurious people thought it was blended pantheon of . earned more Top 100 awards than any other with . Hillside Select became a cult Benchmarks: Terrunyo Carmenère, Carmín Italian winery, particularly for its work with wine when his son, Doug, and winemaker, de Peumo Carmenère, Don Melchor, Terru- Bordeaux planted on some of ’s best Elias Fernandez, released the 1991. More nyo Pirque Viejo Cabernet vineyard land. Some of the greatest hits: recently their vineyard expansion in the Stags Solaia 1990 (96 points), 1992 (94 Leap District has helped them create One 22 Awards points) and, most recently, the 2011 Guado al Point Five, a cabernet with all the depth of Chateau Ste. Michelle (2017) Tasso (95 points). Hillside Select at less than half the price. Chateau Ste. Michelle, our most awarded US Benchmarks: Solaia, Tignanello, Guado al Benchmarks: Hillside Select, One Point Five winery, put Washington State on the world Tasso cabernets wine map. It excels with Columbia Valley merlot, cabernet, and, particu- 18 Awards 17 Awards larly, riesling. The riesling program reached Ridge (2017) Boutari (2014) new heights after 1999, when Ste. Michelle When Paul Draper retired earlier this year, he Boutari is a leader in the contemporary partnered with Ernst Loosen, best known capped o a winemaking career that earned Greek wine revolution, a 137-year-old com- for his coveted rieslings from ancient, own- him respect not only in the US, but around pany that fi rst landed in our Top 100 in 1989. rooted vines on vertiginous slopes of the the world—it’s not surprising that, under his At the time, the company was launching a Mosel. Their joint Eroica project has consis- watch, Ridge has earned more Top 100 nods winery in Santorini; it has since become the tently resulted in Washington’s top dry ries- than any other California winery. Monte standard-bearer for Santorini wines—both ling, which regularly earns 93 and 94-point Bello, the winery’s fl agship from the begin- the bright, clean stainless steel–fermented scores. More recently, they’ve capitalized on ning, never seems to have an o . style and the richer barrel-fermented style.

24 WINE & SPIRITS BUYING GUIDE 2017 REGIONAL TOP 100 WINERIES 2016 TOP

Bob Bertheau

Founded: 1934 Winemakers: Bob Bertheau and Ernst Loosen Viticulturist: Kevin Corliss Acres owned: 3,500 Annual production: 3,000,000 cases Estate grown: 40% Owner: Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Location: Woodinville, WA Chateau Ste. Michelle Website: smwe.com

Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington State’s oldest and largest winery, Riesling For All: The other Eroica rieslings are much more has earned 22 Top 100 awards, the most of any producer in the United widely available. One recent addition is Gold, a semi-dry, States. But its most impressive achievement may be in its extensive Auslese-style bottling that also benefi ts from the concen- work with riesling. trating e ects of botrytis, taking on a delicious tropical richness, the distinctions of which a guy like Loosen can Another Rendezvous with Riesling: In 2016, Chateau Ste. Michelle appreciate immensely. “There is usually a very nice apri- hosted the fi fth Riesling Rendezvous, an event that brings together cot character in the aroma,” says Loosen, “which we sel- riesling producers from all over the world to compare notes, share dom see in the Mosel.” experiences and wines, and consider what “dry” means in Canada, Overall, Loosen has always been thrilled with the Germany, Austria, France, Australia, New Zealand, Oregon and, not levels of botrytis that he encounters in Washington, as least, Washington State. Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the driving well as its quality. “Botrytis in Germany is much more forces behind riesling’s global renaissance and is, in fact, the world’s risky because of the wet climate,” explains Loosen. largest riesling producer. Most of this volume consists of a ordable, “We often have to do a lot of negative selection to reliable wines—dry and o -dry versions. The team saves remove bad botrytis before we can harvest the good their best for Eroica, a partnership with Mosel superstar Ernst Loosen fruit. But what we get in Washington is usually very that began in 1999 and has become the hallmark of their production. good, with clean, dry, shriveled berries that are extremely concentrated.” The Latest (Greatest) Harvest: Each year, Ste. Michelle and Eroica set up Meanwhile, the original Eroica continues to set a late-harvest riesling program on a scale that few wineries can match. the standard for dry American riesling. And this year, Loosen and Ste. Michelle winemaker Bob Bertheau let as much as we were astonished by the crisp, pure fl avors of Chateau ten acres of riesling hang late into the season, most of it in the dips Ste. Michelle’s 2014 Columbia Valley Dry Riesling, priced at $9. It’s and draws of their Horse Heaven Hills vineyard, waiting for botrytis one of our 100 Best Buys of the Year. —P.J.C. and, sometimes, freezing weather. Botrytis is almost inevitable here, where fog from the Columbia River creeps in at night and hangs until morning. Clusters and berries with 100 percent botrytis—“not a speck of green,” says Bertheau—go into the Single Berry Select, with sugar levels approaching 55 degrees Brix. The result, in certain sea- TOP-SCORING WINES sons, is spectacular, like the wine from 2008 (a miniscule 21 cases of half-bottles were made in the vintage). It’s an irrepressibly immense, 96 ’08 HH Hills Eroica Single Berry Select Riesling $200 (12/15) wildly powerful late-harvest wine seemingly crammed with fl avor and 93 ’13 Columbia Valley Eroica Gold Riesling $30 (12/15) an electric, mouthwatering jolt of acidity, a thrill-ride of weight and momentum. 90 ’14 Columbia Valley Dry Riesling $9 (4/16)

36 WINE & SPIRITS BUYING GUIDE 2017 100BEST WINES OF THE YEAR scents of olive, smoke and dried beef, while of black-peppercorn spice and manzanita. the brightness of pomegranate seeds through shades of mocha and clove come up from This is a beautiful Napa Valley red that hap- anise and cassis to the earthy savor of a damp behind. There’s fruit too, but it remains pens to speak with an accent of zin. (W&S forest floor littered with black trumpet mush- quiet, in deference to the savory notes, the 8/16) § Frog’s Leap, Rutherford, CA rooms. It feels like a great vineyard capturing flavors delivered in a generous, luxurious tex- 442031 a great California vintage. Age it for another ture that’s mouthwatering, fresh and harmo- 94 | Green & Red $30 five years at least. (W&S 2/16; 4,032 cases) § nious. (W&S 8/16; 280 cases) § Reynvaan Fam- 2013 Napa Valley Tip Top Vineyard Zin- Ravenswood, Sonoma, CA ily Vyds., Walla Walla, WA fandel (Best Buy) ^ Jay Heminway got his start in Bordeaux as a college student in the BEST 1960s, working a summer with Alexis Lichine. 443626 He founded Green & Red in Napa Valley’s 96 | Joseph Jewell $34 eastern hills in the ’70s, focused on zinfan- 2012 Dry Creek Valley Grist Vineyard Zin- del. This wine grows at the highest vineyard fandel ^ This wine could be exhibit one in an on the estate, rising to 1,800 feet, where he argument that site matters as much as vine planted a northeast-facing slope in the late age when it comes to growing great zinfan- ’90s. It’s a fruit-driven zin, the freshness and del. The vines aren’t particularly old in the sunny aspects pointed up by his team’s work context of California zin. They were planted at the sorting table installed in 2013. All that in 1974 on a hilltop that looks down on the fruit seems to glow from within, surrounded Dry Creek Valley on one side and toward the by scents of bay and wild mushrooms. It 445056 rugged, often impassable ridges of the Coast tastes of plums and strawberries, while tan- 94 | Storybook Mountain $38 Range on the other. In 2012, the vineyard’s nins grip the fruit with a fine earthen rasp, 2013 Napa Valley Mayacamas Range Zin- red volcanic soils nourished a wine with adding complex notes of cracked green pep- fandel ^ If you were to come back as a vine, unmistakable purity: vivid and tart, with percorn and black olive skin. This is a glori- Jerry Seps’s steep hillside vineyard would be lifted hibiscus and sumac aromas drawn out ous Napa Valley wine, delicious to drink right a pretty tempting place to put down roots. by the delicate touch of winemakers Micah now and one to brighten holiday meals in the His vineyard faces north toward Mount St. Wirth and Adrian Manspeaker. Tasted over years to come. (W&S 2/16; 720 cases) § Green Helena and east toward the Palisades—not four days, this wine continued to evolve with- & Red Vyd., St. Helena, CA a house or a road in sight, only trees, mead- out flagging in the least. It builds toward a ows and craggy rocks left by the volcano. woodsy red-berry flavor that’s silken yet firm. Ideally, you’d come back as a zinfandel vine. This is the genius of great California zinfan- The vineyard’s cool morning sun and volca- del: that it can feel simultaneously striking nic soils grow zin with racy energy, a sensa- and simple, its pleasure more immediate tion that’s captured beautifully in this 2013. than intellectual, irresistibly compelling. You With air, the wine transforms all of its blue- could decant this now, or better yet, buy a berry flavor, peachy red fruit and youthful case and watch it evolve over the next decade into something finer, opening over the or more. (W&S 6/16; 200 cases) § Joseph Jewell course of several days toward mouthwatering Wines, Cloverdale, CA flavors of fresh-picked black raspberries and bright, rustic mineral notes that seem pat- terned after the volcanic rock. (W&S 10/16) § Storybook Mountain , Calistoga, CA

441660 BEST DESSERT 94 | Ravenswood $37 2013 Dry Creek Valley Teldeschi Vineyard Zinfandel ^ Joel Peterson has been making wine from the Teldeschi family’s vineyard on the Dry Creek Bench since 1982. This comes from vines planted between 1900 and 1910 444356 on red, iron-rich gravelly loam; it’s mostly 94 | Frog’s Leap $32 zinfandel, though it gains tannic depth and 2014 Napa Valley Zinfandel ^ John Williams dark color from petite sirah (12 percent) and is on a roll, following his exceptional 2013 alicante bouchet (seven percent) and, per- Zinfandel with an equally delicious 2014. haps, a little spicy complexity from He dry-farms his 40-year-old vines, harvest- (two percent). There’s delicious suppleness ing them at the same time as his petite sirah to the fruit, yet its stony tannins hold a cool- 440610 so he can co-ferment the fruit. That brings ing mintiness underneath—a sensation that 96 | Chateau Ste. Michelle & the tannins together in a refreshing, gentle made our panel think about mountain cab- Dr. Loosen $200/375ml structure that lifts the fruit flavors, present- ernet as much as zin. The astonishing thing 2008 Horse Heaven Hills Eroica Single ing them as perfectly ripe forest berries. The about this wine, aside from its structural Berry Select Riesling ^ This wine isn’t so tannins feel plush, even as they carry a note integrity, is its sheer range of aromas, from much poured as unleashed. It’s ludicrously

WINE & SPIRITS BUYING GUIDE 2017 97 100BEST WINES OF THE YEAR over the top, crammed with flavor complex- venture between the Catena family of Men- hand-harvest the fruit from 66-year-old vines ity, as concentrated as a multi-puttonyos doza and Lafite from Bordeaux. Half of the in Blewitt Springs, allowing it a seven-day Tokaji Aszú, but for all that, true to form as wine is cabernet sauvignon from Altamira, cold soak before it starts fermenting with- a TBA riesling, with heady botrytis scents in the heights of Uco Valley, providing a firm out added yeasts. They then leave the juice of saffron and marmalade, and flavors of structure, the other half is from old on the skins for 82 days before aging it in treacle and apricot syrup. All of that mad- vines in Las Compuertas, adding all the notes old oak barrels. In the end, they’ve captured dening power is carried with aplomb by bril- of violets and sour cherries that one can find a joyous , a bright, floral red with liant, driving acidity, like a linebacker in a in the best Luján de Cuyo malbec. The red fresh scents of roses and rosemary. The struc- tutu. (W&S 12/15; 21 cases) § Michelle Loosen, fruit and floral notes outline the contours of ture is more powerful than the scent might Woodinville, WA a wine that seems athletic and tight, rather lead you to believe, sneaking up as the straw- than fat. Cellar this for five years or more; it berry fruit races by, leaving a roar of tan- ARGENTINA will continue to gain in complexity. (W&S nins in its wake. Delicious now, especially if 6/16) § Pasternak Wine Imports, Harrison, NY you splash it around a , this wine’s BEST CABERNET FRANC structure and energy suggest it will only gain AUSTRALIA with time in bottle. (W&S 2/16) § Vine Street Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ BEST RIESLING 116708 BEST SHIRAZ 94 | Wakefield $40 117502 2014 Clare Valley St. Andrews Riesling ^ A 94 | Henschke $813 selection from the St. Andrews vineyards, 2010 Eden Valley Hill of Grace ^ An elegant this is pressed immediately after harvest, vintage from the Henschke’s historic vine- then allowed to settle for a day before rack- yard, this shiraz blends fruit from genera- ing into a cool fermentation in stainless steel. tions of vines. The oldest date to the 1860s, It’s precisely focused and completely dry, the with subsequent plantings propagated from structure tight up front, then gently expan- those original vines. This 2010 has the depth 117645 sive as fruit washes up underneath the acid- and layered complexity that great old-vine 94 | El Enemigo $120 ity like the undertow of a wave. That acidity fruit can give. One taster compared it to the 2012 Gualtallary Gran Enemigo Single is as malic as red apple skin, as puckering as long, slow concentration of flavor in a braise. Vineyard Cabernet Franc ^ Although there grapefruit (the pH is 2.98). But then the fla- The fruit flavors that rise out of those umami are barely 1,700 acres planted to cabernet vors are more relaxed, opening from earthy depths add tension and vibrancy to the wine, franc in Argentina (compared to 260,000 talc toward fresh apple, pear and mace. Pow- a sour cherry note of restraint to match acres of malbec), the community of good erful in its intensity, elegant and refined in its the tannic refinement. The long, juicy red examples is growing. This Gran Enemigo is delivery, this is a grand riesling that will age fruit flavors have power without any excess one of the best. A selection from the Adri- for a decade or more. (W&S 2/16) § AW Direct/ weight. Built to evolve for decades. (W&S anna Vineyard, planted by the Catena winery Wine Trees Portfolio, Novato, CA; Seaview 2/16) § Negociants USA, Napa, CA at 4,757 feet in the Uco Valley, it’s luscious Imports, NY and fleshy, the flavors of red fruits piqued by 117813 herbal notes that offer a sense of freshness. 93 | Grosset $45 The grainy grip of the tannins is a Gualtallary 2015 Clare Valley Springvale Riesling ^ signature, calling for steak au poivre. (W&S Grown at an elevation of 1,500 feet in Water- 4/16) § Mundovino/The Winebow Group, NY vale, the vines at Springvale benefit from the water-holding capacity of limestone under BEST CABERNET BLEND the red loam soils. They produce a generous riesling, round and juicy, smoky with brisk 118626 mineral leesiness. The chalky feel of the acid- 94 | Giant Steps $60 ity closes off the flavors, but after each sip, 2014 Yarra Valley Innocent Bystander the fruit seems to pull through that chalk Mea Culpa Syrah ^ Phil Sexton and Steve wall, lengthening the finish with lemon zest, Flamsteed produced this wine from a clone lemongrass and tarragon. Decant this if you of unknown origin, what they call Red Dog open it now; best to cellar for eight years or 67, growing at their Tarraford Vineyard. It’s more, to allow the wine to open. (W&S 2/16) § fermented as whole clusters in large oak Hudson Wine Brokers, Los Angeles, CA vats, then aged in oak of varied sizes. And it’s consistently been one of the most com- BEST GRENACHE pelling coming out of Australia. Yes, 117725 I’m in love with the cracked peppercorn scent 118332 95 | Ochota Barrels $80 of this wine and the raspy red-berry flavors. 94 | Caro $63 2014 McLaren Vale The Fugazi Vineyard And I’m fascinated by the way the alcohol 2013 Mendoza Domaines Barons de Roth- Grenache ^ Taras and Amber Ochota focus comes through as a structural element, com- schild (Lafite) and Nicolas Catena ^ This is on single-site grenache from McLaren Vale pletely integrated with the oak and grape- one of the best vintages of Caro, the joint and syrah from Barossa. For this wine, they skin tannins. Still youthful, this needs time

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