Innholdsfortegnelse for March 31, 2025 i Wine Spectator

Bordeaux Excels According to senior editor and Bordeaux taster James Molesworth, the 2022 vintage marks the warmest year since the torrid 2003, but much has changed since then, primarily in the vineyards. While the reds show the warmth of the year, they also maintain a sense of freshness and purity. This group here offers great value from this excellent vintage. CHÂTEAU SIRAN Margaux 2022 (94, $40) Fleshy; mulberry, blackberry puree, hibiscus, iris, black tea, sweet cedar CHÂTEAU DALEM Fronsac 2022 (92, $29) Plum, cassis, warm earth, sweet tobacco, violet, sanguine; saturated, focused CHÂTEAU DE LA HUSTE Fronsac 2022 (92, $22) Solidly built, muscular; dark currant, plum, charcoal, warm earth, dark tobacco, chalk CHÂTEAU DU TERTRE Margaux Les Hauts du Tertre 2022 (92, $25) Cherry, plum, red currant, iron, violet, hibiscus; sleek, lively CHÂTEAU…

Of all categories in wine, none seem to be on as ascendant a trajectory as California Pinot Noir. The varietal is grown successfully from the reaches of the Northern California coast down through Santa Barbara. Inland sites, both mountain and valley, also provide compelling wines. The vineyard base features both old vines, which serve as an example of how important healthy old vineyards are to quality, and newly developed sites that exploit the best of modern viticultural techniques to result in great wines nearly right out of the gate. While Cabernet Sauvignon still commands the marketplace spotlight, Pinot Noir has nearly caught up. The best wines are consistently at Burgundy’s premier cru level at a fraction of the price. A small handful of bottlings now flirt with grand cru quality…

Washington’s Columbia Valley is a vast winegrowing region encompassing many diverse terroirs, making the state second only to California as the largest wine producer in the United States. While the climate is cool and wet in Seattle, it’s different east of the Cascades, where Columbia Valley lies. There the conditions are sunny and dry, the land made bountiful by the waters of the mighty Columbia River. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot are consistently among the leading grape varieties, although an array of wines—from Cabernet Franc to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling—thrive as well. The 2021 and 2022 reds are now on the market, and while the growing seasons were remarkably dissimilar, each produced a number of outstanding wines. That’s my takeaway after reviewing nearly 350 wines in blind tastings at…

ELEVEN Madison Park has award-winning cuisine and a Grand Award–winning wine list, but its spirits program has also been gaining attention. This is thanks in large part to beverage director Sebastian Tollius, who has been working at the restaurant since 2019. Two years after Tollius’ arrival, chef and owner Daniel Humm surprised many restaurant-goers by announcing that they would be shifting to an entirely plantbased menu. Tollius reimagined their cocktail list with innovative plant-based techniques and ingredients. Their seasonally changing cocktail menu features unpredictable combinations and unique flavors, but the growth of the spirits list itself is also worthy of recognition. “Cocktails are the biggest seller for us,” Tollius admits. “But I think there’s been a shift in the mentality of how people are enjoying spirits nowadays.” The list is broad,…

SPAGO has held onto pole position among restaurants in one of the world’s flashiest cities since it opened in Los Angeles in 1982. Today, it remains the flagship of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant group, which includes more than 20 restaurants around the globe. Though Spago has iconic status, it has also adapted over time. Adam Fournier was brought on as bar director in 2022 to oversee a massive overhaul of the bar program. What’s more, significant investment has been made to remodel the space. The ambition is to create a top-tier bar that, rather than acting as a staging area for guests en route to a table, offers a destination experience of its own. The foundation of any ambitious spirits program is its bottles, and Spago’s inventory is well rounded and curated…

This Buying Guide contains ratings of new releases from around the world. Complete tasting notes are provided for new releases scoring 85 or more points (on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale, explained below). Hundreds of additional reviews appear each month on our website, www.winespectator.com. Each review carries the initials of the Wine Spectator editor who blind-tasted and scored the wine and wrote the review, based on the regional specializations indicated below. Bruce Sanderson Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany James Molesworth California Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, Port MaryAnn Worobiec California Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Australia, New Zealand Alison Napjus Spain, Italy, Champagne, South Africa Tim Fish California Zinfandel and Merlot, Oregon, Washington, U.S. sparkling wines Aaron Romano Argentina, Chile Kristen Bieler Rhône Valley and other France, Germany, Austria How We Do…

Sometimes you just want the very best. Our annual Top 100 (Dec. 31 issue) is an exercise in thoughtful balance, a list of 100 wines that considers availability and price along with quality. But if you wish to experience the pinnacle of the wine world, you will want to refer to this issue’s exciting cover story: “Best of the Best.” Of the myriad winegrowing regions that our editors are charged with covering each year, a select few stand out as destinations for excellence. In our blind tastings, the superlative scores that fly close to the 100-point ideal of perfection are concentrated among these terroirs and their most dedicated producers. For this special package, we profile eight of these benchmark wine regions, spanning Old World and New. Our editors have compiled…

Vivek Murthy could have chosen a lot of ways to spend his final weeks as U.S. Surgeon General. Six in 10 Americans suffer from a chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes or Alzheimer’s or heart disease. Mental health issues have been rising. A form of avian flu killed an elderly man in Louisiana in January. But Murthy chose to focus his final health advisory on alcohol, calling for beverages to carry warnings stating that alcohol is a cancer risk. He also called for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to revisit the alcohol consumption recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It’s a curious move, because Murthy’s advisory was largely symbolic; only Congress can mandate warning labels. What’s more, Murthy undercut his own medical colleagues in the…

The combination of great producers and great terroir always rises to the top, in both strong vintages and weak ones. No combination exemplifies that axiom better than Bordeaux’s top gun in the 2021 vintage. The past editorial year saw the 2021s enter the marketplace, and for the first time since the 2013 vintage, no wines from France’s most prominent wine region achieved a classic rating of 95 points or higher. The 2021 vintage experienced one of the coolest and wettest growing seasons in the past two decades. The number of growing degree days (a measure of heat accumulation) was also extremely low for the same period. No single AOC stood out among the most heterogeneous set of wines for Bordeaux since 2000. The top-scoring reds from 2021 offer finesse, depth…

Chris Gorman never tasted wine until he was 22, but after graduating with a marketing degree from Western Washington University in Bellingham in 1991, he soon found himself working for a small wine distributor in Seattle. Gorman wanted to be a rock star guitarist with his college band, Crawdaddy, and band members took whatever jobs they could find to support their music. At the distributor, Gorman found his passion for wine, and in 2002 he founded Gorman Winery, which produces some of Washington’s most distinctive Bordeaux- and Rhône-style blends. But Gorman never gave up on his rock dreams—today there are 50 guitars on display in his winery and he plays them frequently. Senior editor Tim Fish recently sat down with Gorman to talk about his life and career. WINE SPECTATOR:…

IT would be sacrilegious for Commander’s Palace—a true New Orleans institution—to not have great drinks. The city boasts one of the most recognized cocktail scenes in the Western Hemisphere, from Ramos Gin Fizzes that float out of the glass to rum-soaked Hurricanes. Co-proprietors and cousins Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan grew up traveling with their culinary-minded parents, visiting places where “cocktails mattered,” according to Commander’s chief “wine guy,” Dan Davis. “By the late ’90s, nine out of 10 people traveling around the U.S. had never had a serious classic cocktail,” says Davis. “We’ve come a long way, and I’m proud of the fact that our restaurant was a leader of that effort. They identified what was missing.” In fact, in 2007, the duo (who call themselves “the cocktail chicks”) published…

ANDY CHABOT, senior vice president of food and beverage at the acclaimed resort in Walland, Tennessee, doesn’t just spend his days serving wines from their Grand Award–winning cellar. A big part of the job is overseeing the veritable library of wine and spirits in reserve for the future: “One of the challenges here is maintaining and stewarding the collection.” That collection includes perhaps the greatest assortment of American whiskey on earth. That includes not only the leading lights of Kentucky and Tennessee—Pappy Van Winkle, for example—but also newer producers such as High West in Utah and Tuthilltown in New York. It’s the happy result of being in the right place at the right time, during what Chabot calls a “heyday” in the early 2000s. “You could see the boom about…

CHILE 95 Viña Montes Alpha M Apalta 2021 $130 This medium-bodied red deftly balances finesse and flare, offering layers of tobacco, cedar and spices around a suavetextured core of chocolate-covered cherry and plum tart flavors. Generous acidity enlivens the midpalate and finish, revealing cigar box and crème de cassis details around silky and precise tannins. The finish harmoniously layers the core flavors and lingers effortlessly. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. Drink now through 2035. 70 cases imported.—A.R. 93 Concha y Toro Carmenère Peumo Terrunyo Peumo Vineyard 2022 $55 Displays alluring aromas of dried lavender, cocoa nib and pink peppercorn that join a rich and generously textured core packed with black cherry and berry flavors. Plenty of fresh acidity knives through and lifts the core flavors as they…

Dolly Parton belongs to a small group of celebrities who are on a first-name basis with fans. For over half a century, the singer and songwriter has helped define modern music, from the Grand Ole Opry (where she debuted at the age of 13) to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which she joined in 2022. She’s also become a formidable entrepreneur, philanthropist and cultural icon whose influence extends far beyond the world of music. Now she’s a vintner, too, launching Dolly Wines, a collaboration with Parton Family Cellars and Australia-based Accolade Wines. The company’s first release, now widely available in the United States, is a California Chardonnay. More wines are planned for the U.S., U.K. and beyond. Parton spoke with assistant editor Kenny Martin about getting into the…

Champagne Education My compliments to Alison Napjus for bringing a much needed sense of clarity and informed understanding of the state of the Champagne region today (Columns, Dec. 31, 2024 – Jan. 15, 2025). I spend at least 10 days a year in the region meeting both RMs (récoltants-manipulants) and NMs (négociants-manipulants) and what is apparent is that the quality of wines produced has never been higher. That the contributions of RMs over the past 25 years have brought a certain dynamism to the region is obvious. However, too little light is shown on NMs and their efforts to consistently improve their practices and their wines across the board. Napjus skillfully highlights the very fortunate state of Champagne production today for the enthusiast, and to do so in a single…

After a two-year investigation, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in December against the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States, Southern Glazer’s, alleging that its pricing practices violate the 1936 Robinson-Patman Act. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, with FTC commissioners voting 3-2 in favor of the action. The complaint alleges that Southern has undermined competition by selling to small, independent businesses at prices “drastically higher than what Southern charges large chains.” The suit seeks an injunction prohibiting the alleged price discrimination to create a more level playing field among retailers of various sizes. The FTC began investigating anticompetitive practices at the wholesaler in early 2023 as part of a widescale inquiry into alcohol sales by distributors…

After covering 36 grape harvests in Sonoma County, I’ve been thinking a lot about Gravenstein apples. That’s not the non sequitur it may sound like. Grapes and Gravensteins share a long history in Sonoma and both have been vital agricultural crops to the county over the years, their fortunes rising and receding along the way. Times aren’t so good for either these days. You’ve heard, no doubt, that wine consumption has been decreasing in the United States since 2021. Last year, sales volume dipped 2.8% to 319.2 million 9-liter cases, a more than 9-million-case decline, according to Impact Databank, a sibling publication to Wine Spectator. In California, this has led to a glut of unsold grapes after the 2024 harvest. In some cases, grapes were dropped on the ground or…

Though wine has a storied past in Tuscany, the modern excitement began in the 1960s, specifically in Chianti Classico. That’s when innovative producers stepped outside the local regulations to focus on quality, essentially creating a new category of wines and spurring a renaissance of viticulture and winemaking. Visionaries such as Piero Antinori, Enzo Morgante, Sergio Manetti of Montevertine and Paolo Panerai of Castellare di Castellina decided either to rely solely on the local Sangiovese grape or look to Bordeaux, boosting Sangiovese with that region’s stalwarts, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The subsequent wines were dubbed “super Tuscans” and quickly rose to become some of the best wines of the world. Sangiovese, planted widely in Italy but most at home in Tuscany, is the workhorse variety. It thrives in the…

It’s likely that no wine collector saw it coming: the arrival of an unconventional new Syrah that blends Jaboulet’s La Chapelle, from the famed Hermitage hill in France’s Northern Rhône, with Penfolds Grange, Australia’s most prized red. These two Syrahs—among the world’s most sought-after expressions of the grape—have been brought together in equal parts in the debut 2021 cuvée, which is simply labeled La Chapelle Grange. The project seems to fly in the face of the most sacred quality we ascribe to fine wine: a singular expression of origin and a unique stamp of terroir. Skeptical collectors will question the merits of such an experiment: Doesn’t this mash-up blot out the nuances of what makes each wine so special, resulting in a homogenized red that may be delicious but could…

Wine lists of staggering depth and breadth are a given among Wine Spectator Grand Award winners, as are signature cuisines, luxurious dining rooms and attentive service. And in recent years, our judges have noticed the emergence of another alluring feature: These days, more and more of these restaurants have serious spirits programs, often with both thoughtful, inventive cocktails and superrare pours served neat. We’re shining a light on five exemplars that have all these qualities and also a particular spirit-category focus. That focus might be from geography—proximity to Mexico inspiring a serious agave program, for example—or perhaps kismet, as in the case of a singular Scotch program bolstered by the owners’ brother’s tenure as a priest in Scotland. Ultimately, the rule now is that lovers of great wine and food…

CALIFORNIA Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends 95 Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 $550 This is ripe, but with subtle refinement, as the gently mulled plum, currant and black cherry fruit glides along, with a structure that is both silky and loamy in feel. Hints of warm paving stone, alder and sweet tobacco check in, with a sanguine echo at the tail end of the finish. A seductive Cabernet. Best from 2026 through 2040. 1,180 cases made.—J.M. 94 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley 2021 $365 Singed alder and sweet tobacco lead off, backed by waves of lush warmed cassis and plum reduction. Notes of chestnut and warm earth help drive the finish. Burly and muscular now, but the core of fruit shows inner purity. This will need some time. Cabernet Sauvignon,…