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News
Top 10 wines in the US press
Mumm Napa Brut Rosé, California
“What does romance taste like?” asks Michele Parente in her San Diego Union Tribune wine column this Valentine’s week.
“To me, it’s like sparkling rosé. Pretty in pink, with flavors ranging from ripe strawberries to toasty brioche and nose-tickling bubbles, a glass of sparkling rosé is like liquid love.
“I recently opened a bottle of non-vintage Mumm Napa Brut Rosé and marvelled over the rose gold colour and black cherry nose, which it gets primarily from pinot noir grapes”, she writes.
“A small percentage of chardonnay lends some zest to the blend. There’s also some captivating vanilla and strawberry undertones, making this elegant, dry sparkling wine both complex and oh-so-easy to drink.”
Cappelletti, Vino Aperitivo, Americano Rosso, Il Specialino, Italy
“While it doesn’t look like wine, it does start out as a white wine made primarily from Trebbiano grapes,” writes Rebecca Murphy of the Dallas Morning News about this Cappelletti.
“It is infused with herbs, spices and citrus peel, sweetened with sugar, and its brilliant ruby colour comes from carmine. It is similar to amaro, a type of Italian bittersweet aperitif beverage that has become very popular in the US”, she says.
“The big difference is that amaros are made from a base of grape brandy rather than wine. Cappelletti is indeed deliciously bittersweet with bright cherry, caramel, orange and cinnamon aromas and flavors. It’s perfect served over ice topped with soda and garnished with a twist of orange peel.”
Pedroncelli Merlot Dry Creek Valley Bench Vineyards 2013, Sonoma, California
Next, Sandra Silven of the Detroit Morning News tells her readers: “Strap yourself in for this Merlot.”
“It has fine-grained tannins, flavors that explode like a rocket, alcohol that is not shy, oak that’s beautifully infused and acidity for structure,” she writes.
“Flavours are dark cherry, dark plum, dark chocolate. It has an earthy quality to it. The 2013 vintage was super and these vines certainly produced awesome fruit.”
Pedroncelli Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley 2012, Sonoma, California
“Experience intense flavours of dark berries, cherries, ripe plum, warm spice, vanilla,” Silfven continues.
“Tannins are dusty and delicious, it has alcohol for body and acidity for structure. It’s a pure, concentrated Cabernet. So focused. So intense. It has 10% Merlot blended in to round out the purple fruit flavours.”
Pedroncelli Mother Clone Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County 2013, Sonoma, California
“This baby is bold, packed with black fruits and spice with a nice kick of alcohol and firm tannins,” she writes. “It has 6% Petite Sirah added to deepen the colour and add depth to the flavours.
“It was aged 13 months in American oak. Mother Clone vineyard still has some of the original hundred-year-old Zinfandel vines, but most of it was replanted in the 1970s with budwood from the original vines. Look to Pedroncelli for flavour-packed Zins.”
Champagne Moutard Cuvée des 6 Cépages Brut 2007, France
Next, Dave McIntyre at the Washington Post takes his readers through his recommended Valentine’s Day wine list, beginning with this multi-faceted Champagne.
“Most Champagne is made with three grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and pinot Meunier. But regulations allow seven varieties in the blend. This one uses six, the extras being Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc,” he writes.
“They give the wine complexity, and the age in the bottle adds roundness and body. This wine tastes more expensive than it is.”
Schloss Saarstein Serrig Schloss Saarsteiner Riesling Spätlese 2013, Germany
“Spätlese means late harvest, which in Germany describes the ripeness of the grapes when picked,” McIntyre says. “This wine is sweet but not unctuously so, nicely balanced by acidity.
“Riesling fans will revel in its creamy texture and rich coconut flavors. Serve this with spicy dishes, semi-soft cheese or a simple dessert.”
Shaw + Smith Shiraz 2013, Adelaide Hills, Australia
“This is a savoury Shiraz, not the overtly fruity, jammy style that came to characterise Australian wine a decade ago,” McIntyre continues.
“Serve it with rich, hearty stews or roasts,” he recommends.
Dirupi Valtellina Superiore 2011
“Great depth, richness and finesse, with flavours of tar, flowers, herbs and minerals” is how the New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov describes this Italian drop.
Mamete Prevostini Valtellina Superiore Sassella Sommarovina 2011
And finally, this “lean yet pure and pretty” wine sums up Asimov’s picks, boasting “seductive flavours of herbs and earth.”