Innholdsfortegnelse for November 30, 2016 i Wine Spectator

Visit www.winespectator.com/113016 to find links to all of the following resources. Free resources for all our WineSpectator.com readers: TOP 100 COUNTDOWN On Nov. 28, we begin unveiling the Top 10 wines of 2016—with videos, tasting notes and more— culminating with the Wine of the Year on Dec. 2 and the complete Top 100 list on Dec. 5. Don’t miss the year’s most exciting wines! Visit www.winespectator.com/top100. NEW YORK WINE EXPERIENCE Relive your favorite moments or catch up on what you missed at this year’s great lineup of tastings and seminars. Our full coverage of the event, held Oct. 20–22, brings the world’s best winemakers and chefs to you with photos, articles and videos. BREAKING NEWS To find out what wine lovers are talking about, head to www.winespectator.com/news. From the latest…

In a surprising turn for a onetime rising star in the wine industry, Charles Banks walked into a federal courthouse in San Antonio wearing handcuffs on Sept. 9 after surrendering to authorities. Two days earlier, a federal grand jury had indicted the financial advisor and founder of Terroir Capital—which owns or manages more than a dozen wineries in California, New Zealand, South Africa and Burgundy—on two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The case stems from allegations made by former NBA star Tim Duncan, a longtime Banks client, who says he was duped out of millions of dollars in investments Banks made on his behalf. Banks first met Duncan in 1998 while working as a financial advisor for pro athletes…

The wine stars must have aligned over California in May 2012. On May 2, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim catcher Chris Iannetta was behind the plate for pitcher Jered Weaver’s no-hitter, but Iannetta sustained a wrist injury in the process that required surgery. A few weeks later, fellow Angel and center fielder Vernon Wells injured his thumb sliding into second base, also requiring surgery. While rehabbing together, the two discovered a shared affinity for Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon, and soon they made the decision to take a swing at winemaking together. Wells and Iannetta have released their first two wines under the Jack winery label (the name is taken from the first initials of their respective children, Jayce, Ashlyn, Christian and Kylie): a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (2013: 88…

For lovers of Cabernet Sauvignon from California, the hope is that the category’s typically powerful tannins will soften over time and result in wines of harmony and finesse. These are the attributes that make these wines special and worthy of cellaring. At age 10, many of the Golden State’s 2006 Cabernets fit that scenario quite well. These are rich, generous, fleshy and expressive wines that are simply fun to drink. There are many exceptional bottlings from the vintage, especially from Napa Valley, that merit your attention, and the best still have room—in some cases a decade or more—to develop. For this retrospective report, I reviewed 74 2006 Cabernets in blind-tastings at our Napa office, the majority of them from Napa Valley. It’s part of an important annual exercise to…

Joe Wagner has been thinking big since he was small. Just ask his father. One day about 20 years ago, Chuck Wagner, owner of Napa Valley’s Caymus Vineyards, was having breakfast before heading to the vineyards and was surprised to see his 12-year-old son, Joey, wander into the kitchen. It was 4:30 in the morning. “What are you doing?” asked Chuck. “I just went to the bathroom,” Joey replied, wandering back out. Chuck knew something was up—his son was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, not pajamas. “At 7 a.m., I get a call from another parent, asking, ‘Is Joey home?’ ” Some high school kids threw a party in the woods near Calistoga, and someone had called the cops. Joey had been spotted driving off down Silverado Trail on a…

California is in the midst of another run of strong vintages for Cabernet Sauvignon. The two current vintages to sustain the hot streak are 2012 and 2013. Both offer a high level of quality across the board, which makes them as good as it gets for Cabernet lovers, delivering plenty of enjoyment and appreciation in the coming years. They’re like fraternal twins, sharing the same fundamental qualities yet different enough from each other to provide fodder for comparison as they age. Peeking ahead, the hits continue with 2014, which looks to be an early-drinking charmer. The 2015 vintage presents more uncertainty due to the year’s challenging weather, while the 2016 harvest is getting underway as of press time, with a promising outlook. My previous report on California Cabernet (“Return to…

Eleven years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws preventing wineries from shipping directly to consumers, wine retailers are mounting their own challenge. Lawyers filed a complaint in a Chicago federal court on Sept. 1, arguing that an Illinois prohibition on retailer-to-consumer direct wine shipping is unconstitutional. The same firm is pursuing a similar complaint in Missouri. The Illinois suit, Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc. et al v. Rauner et al, states that Irwin Berkley, a Chicago-area resident, wants to buy “wines that are sold out in Illinois but are still available from retail stores in other states, older vintage wines and limited-production allocated wines” and have them shipped to his home from Cap n’ Cork, a chain of Indiana stores owned by fellow plaintiff Lebamoff Enterprises, but cannot. “We think…

In Argentina, Malbec is king, but the country is luring travelers to explore beyond the rim of a wineglass. A luxury resort in Mendoza raises up an international culinary icon, while a homegrown restaurant pays homage to the Pampas grassland in November’s warm, dry weather. SIETE FUEGOS IN MENDOZA Website www.vinesresortandspa.com/wine-dine/siete-fuegos-restaurant Francis Mallmann has taken the idea of Argentine fire cuisine with both hands and turned it into an international calling card. The chef’s latest restaurant, Siete Fuegos, features seven trademark fires (the restaurant’s namesake) as the heart of the Experience Dinner. Twice a week, this Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence–winning restaurant hosts a four-course meal ($150 per person, including wine) at the enormous outdoor chef’s table, with wine pairings from the property’s vineyards. The seven styles of cooking…

Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction, held Sept. 4 at Chateau St. Jean in Kenwood, Calif., danced with color thanks to a lavish Moroccan theme and extravagant spending to match. The live auction raised a record $4.6 million, exceeding last year’s take of $4.5 million. With its “From Sonoma to Marrakesh” theme, replete with belly dancers, a camel and a Moroccanstyle market, the auction was the highlight of the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. The three-day celebration raised $5.7 million to benefit local charities. Wine experiences drew the largest bids, with vintners keeping the lots lively. Masks bearing honorary chairman Dan Kosta’s face were handed to the crowd (to the surprise of Kosta) as he presented one of the top lots, sponsored by his winery, Kosta Browne. Bidding was so frenzied—couples paid $5,000…

Joe Wagner founded Copper Cane & Provisions in 2014, breaking away from his family to run his own business. It’s been a rapid start: He’s on target to bottle more than 180,000 cases of wine this year and projects he’ll pro-duce 300,000 cases from the 2016 harvest. His goal is to produce 1 million cases annually by 2020. But even though he is on his own, he has modeled much of his approach on Wagner Family of Wines. Both firms offer a portfolio of roughly half a dozen brands, each focused on a variety or region. Among Copper Cane’s 60 employees are several Wagner veterans. The two also share consultants, such as packaging guru Rick Roese, who says the son’s ap-proach to business is exactly like his father’s. “They’re like…

NINE SUNS A balancing act on Pritchard Hill Wai Chang was in the right place at the right time when he purchased a vineyard on Napa’s Pritchard Hill in 2010. Five years later, the asking price for a neighboring vineyard skyrocketed to nearly $1 million per acre, up more than 30 percent from what he had paid. Realizing the site’s potential, Wai decided to start a winery, turning to his three children to develop it. “The idea of creating something from scratch was what made it so exciting,” says Wai’s 34-year-old son, Jason. Nine Suns is named after a popular Chinese fable about ten suns (often represented as birds) that each took turns flying around the earth. Bored of their routine the suns flew together, scorching the land, until an…

98 Krug Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Clos du Mesnil 2002 $800 FRANCE A lovely, lacy Champagne, with ripe apricot, fennel seed and espresso aromas. This caresses the palate with a finely detailed mousse and expansive flavors of pineapple pâte de fruit, toasted brioche, fleur de sel and grated ginger. Long and chalky on the finish, this is a prima ballerina, showing power cloaked in grace. Disgorged winter 2015. Drink now through 2032.—A.N. 96 Moet & Chandon Brut Champagne Dom Perignon Plenitude P2 1998 $350 FRANCE This vibrant Champagne is tightly knit up front, with a dense core of smoky minerality and ripe dried apricot and white cherry flavors. Expands on the satiny palate, revealing accents of pastry cream, toast, singed orange peel and toasted coconut that echo on the…

The 29th annual Auction of Washington Wines raised more than $3 million, including $1.9 million in live bids, during the weekend cel-ebration Aug. 18–20 in Woodinville, Wash. At least 50 percent of pro-ceeds will benefit the Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Viticulture and Enology program at Washington State University. The event has raised more than $37.5 million since Allen Shoup, onetime CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, helped create it in 1988. Sherri Swingle, the auction’s executive director, credits the weekend’s success to bolstered event planning, a greater selection of live lots and a heavier focus on bidder development. “And of course,” she added, “our wine region is one of the best in the world.” To kick off the weekend, Chateau Ste. Michelle hosted the Picnic and Barrel Auction, followed…

Chuck Wagner makes sure to say he’s very proud of his son Joe. That said, he points out that Wagner Family of Wines operates differently than Joe’s company, Copper Cane. “We believe in moving slowly, growing our brands gradually,” he says. Chuck officially created the company in 2010 to formalize what he had been doing since 1992—expanding his portfolio while offering his children an entry into the business. Cur-rently, it includes five brands, and altogether, production is just over 500,000 cases a year. Of course, one reason for this measured approach is that after 44 years in the business, Wagner has the luxury of building at his own pace. Caymus, founded by Chuck and his father in 1972, has evolved into one of the most distinctive and successful wineries in…

OLIVEWOOD DREIDELS AVAILABLE AT WWW.THEJEWISHMUSEUM.ORG For well-traveled cookbook author Joan Nathan, deciding on a Hanukkah menu is simple: It harks back to her childhood and to what experience has shown guests like best. “When I was growing up, we had my mother’s great brisket, which is my favorite brisket, and actually, the recipe I’m sending is a riff on that one because it’s so good,” she says. “It was not sweet. A lot of briskets today have all kinds of sweetness in them. It was savory. You can make recipes so modern that they don’t have any semblance of tradition. To me, that doesn’t work.” And wine was always on the table. Her father, a Germany-born business executive, was an early Zionist who helped develop Israeli wine. “He went to…