BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

BUYING I GUIDE
86
Smoking Loon 2008 Viognier (California);
$8. Refreshingly crisp in acidity,
with a clean mouthfeel and pleasantly rich
peach, honeysuckle and vanilla flavors. There’s
even a diesel-like petrol note, like Riesling. Great
value in a stylish white wine. Best Buy. —S.H.
85
Clautiere 2009 Estate Viognier
(Paso Robles); $18. Shows classically
exotic, rich Viognier flavors ranging from ripe citrus
fruits through peaches and pears to tropical
papayas, wildflowers and spices. The trick is to
tame this explosion with dryness and structure.
Clautiere’s ’09 partially succeeds, but lacks
acidity, and finishes sugary sweet, which makes it
cloying. —S.H.
84
Silver 2007 Viognier (Santa Barbara
County); $25. Made with some
Grenache Blanc, this is a rather sweet, oaky wine
with jammy pineapple, apricot and buttered popcorn
flavors. —S.H.
83
Curtis 2009 Viognier (Santa Barbara
County); $22. Tastes like a sugary
peach, pear, mango and orange juice fruit
drink you buy at the supermarket. Make it drier,
and it would be a terrific Viognier. —S.H.
OTHER WHITE WINES
93
Foxen 2009 Ernesto Wickenden
Vineyard Old Vines Chenin Blanc
(Santa Maria Valley); $22. For years, Foxen
has been producing one of the best Chenin
Blancs in California, and with this 2009, they have
outdone themselves. It’s so rich in orange, honeydew
and pineapple flavors, it might almost be
Chardonnay, except it’s drier and more minerally,
and there’s a wonderful note of dried herbs.
Although production was only 575 cases, this
wine is worth a special search, especially for sommeliers.
—S.H.
91
Tangent 2009 Paragon Vineyard
Grenache Blanc (Edna Valley); $17.
Made with no oak, this pretty wine stars fresh
fruit and clean acidity. With orange, honeysuckle,
melon, mineral and vanilla flavors, it has a mouthfeel
midway between a crisp Sauvignon Blanc
and a creamy Chardonnay. Production was low,
only 559 cases, but worth a search. Editors’
Choice. —S.H.
90
Birichino 2009 Malvasia Bianca
(Monterey); $15. Malvasia is an aro-
matic variety, like Riesling or Muscat. This wine is
bone dry and brims with mouth-cleansing acidity.
Flavorwise, it’s all oranges and tangerines, with
hints of honeysuckle and white pepper. There’s
something tangy and layered that makes it terrifically
interesting. Try as a refreshing alternative to
tart wines, like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
Editors’ Choice. —S.H.
89
Tercero 2009 The Outlier Gewürztraminer
(Santa Barbara County);
$20. A lovely, fragrant wine that shows the spices
and exotic floral and tropical fruit notes of this
variety. Crisp in acidity, it finishes just a little offdry.
Editors’ Choice. —S.H.
87
Farrier 2008 Andiron Sémillon-
Sauvignon Blanc (Alexander Val-
ley); $20. Made from 70% Sémillon and 30%
Sauvignon Blanc, this softly appealing wine has
rich flavors of mangoes and guavas, with a cashew
nut butteriness. It’s smooth in the mouth, and a
little honey sweet in the finish. A nice cocktail
sipper. —S.H.
87
Foursight 2009 Gewürztraminer
(Anderson Valley); $20. This is a
brisk, dry and zesty Gewürztraminer that shows
how well the variety performs in Mendocino’s
Anderson Valley. It shows the super-spiciness of
Gewürz, with tropical fruit and honeysuckle flavors
balanced with crisp acidity. —S.H.
87
Tercero 2009 Camp 4 Grenache
Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley); $20.
Good acidity on this clean, vibrant wine, with
interesting pineapple, orange, pear and honeysuckle
flavors. If you like your wines a little sweet,
try it as an interesting alternative to Sauvignon
Blanc or Pinot Gris. —S.H.
87
Valley of the Moon 2009 Pinot
Blanc (Sonoma County); $16. Feels
like Chardonnay, with full-bodied vanilla cream,
pineapple and buttered toast flavors, but veers in
its own direction with a strong note of tangerines.
Delicious now with seared scallops. —S.H.
86
Curtis 2009 Heritage Blanc (Santa
Barbara County); $18. This is a
Rhône-style blend of Viognier, Roussanne and
Marsanne. It’s fruity in pineapple, peach, apple,
mango and Meyer lemon flavors, with a honeysuckle
richness, and finishes dry and crisp. A nice
6 0 | W I N E E N T H U S I A S T | D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 1 0
wine for drinking now with smoked meats, especially
ham. —S.H.
84
Long Gamma 2009 White
(Sonoma County); $10. If this blend
of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Gewürztraminer
were drier, it would earn a much higher
score. It’s clean and crisp in acidity, and very rich
in tropical fruit, flower and spice flavors. But it’s
just too sweet in the finish, almost like a dessert
wine. —S.H.
CALIFORNIA
SPARKLING WINE
BRUT
94
Schramsberg 2003 J. Schram
(North Coast); $100. A beautiful, rich,
elegant, fancy sparkling wine. Feels so fine in the
mouth, all silk and satin, with deep, dry raspberry,
strawberry, vanilla, toast, yeasty lees, brioche and
honey flavors. Superb, but young. Needs time.
Give it until 2011, if you can keep your hands off,
and should develop until 2015, if not longer. Cellar
Selection. —S.H.
94
Schramsberg 2007 Blanc de Noirs
Brut (North Coast); $38. Mainly
Pinot Noir, with some Chardonnay for brightness
and citrusy zest, this brilliantly clean wine
has an incredibly fierce mousse. It seems to boil
in the glass, and the followup mouthfeel is as
creamy and refined as any California sparkler in
memory. The Pinot asserts itself in delicate
touches of raspberries and strawberries. Delicious
and compelling now. Try with sushi. Editors’
Choice. —S.H.
90
Scharffenberger NV Brut (Mendocino
County); $19. Great price for a
brut this classically structured. Made from Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay, it’s dry and crisp, with a
fine mousse that gives it a creamy smooth mouthfeel.
The pineapple, raspberry and vanilla flavors
are delicious. Editors’ Choice. —S.H.
88
Roederer Estate NV Brut (Anderson
Valley); $23. Dry and elegant, in
the Roederer style, with crisp acidity brightening
lime, pink grapefruit and brioche flavors that
have richer notes of strawberries and honey. The
bubbles are a little rough, but it sure is a nice
bubbly to drink now. —S.H.