Spring is a time when wine and spirits producers and importers show their newest bottlings, including the release of vintage wines held back for aging. Here are some I’ve been enjoying recently.
MAGNUS HIGHLAND PARK SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY ($39)—This Highland Park whisky’s label calls it “unapologetically bold” and “bears the soul of our Viking ancestors.” Perhaps, but to me it was simply a delicious, smoke-rich, very peaty sipping Scotch that for a single malt is amazingly well priced. Very good for these cool spring nights and baying at the moon.
LA CREMA SONOMA COAST CHARDONNAY 2016 ($23)—La Crema makes a lot of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from California and Oregon vineyards, and this is their basic bottling from Sonoma, with 13.5% alcohol. It is a very creamy Chardonnay without the cloying caramel and bitter oakiness so many others have. La Crema makes others more site specific, but at $23 this one is at least as flavorful as Chards twice the price.
1000 STORIES ZINFANDEL SMALL BATCH 42 1026 ($19)–At 15.5% alcohol this Zin is quite a mouthful, which made it a perfect match with an Asian-spiced braised lamb dish with aromatic rice. It complements the chile heat and gives a tannic balance to the richness of such dishes, and at $19 this is an amazingly good example of a big California varietal that gets wonderful flavor notes from being aged in a charred bourbon barrel.
CHÂTEAU FONBADET PAUILLAC 2012 ($50)—Pauillac in Bordeaux’s Haut-Médoc region is justly famous for its Premier Crus like Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and Latour, which sell for hundreds of dollars. But you’ll get an entry-level taste of what makes the region such a superb terroir in this charming blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and a touch of Malbec. It has a long life in it, too.
UPSHOT RED WINE BLEND ($28)—Winemaker Justin Seidenfeld explains on the label at some length and all caps: “UPSHOT (NOUN): THE FINAL OR EVENTUAL POSITIVE OUTCOME OR CONCLUSION OF A DISCUSSION, ACTION, OR SERIES OF EVENTS,” meaning this wine is the end result of a unique experimental blend from Sonoma County, with 44% Zinfandel for body and fruit, 29% Merlot for softness, 15% Malbec for complexity, 7% Petit Verdot for fruity intensity and, “for the fun,” 5% Riesling to provide a floral note. It really works, and shows that California need not be bound by wholly traditional assemblages.
HILLOCK ESTATE DISTILLERY SOLERA AGED BOURBON ($103)— To be a stickler, many would insist that bourbon can be made only in Bourbon County, Kentucky, but as the makers of Hillock Estate indicate, New York State has been a barley and rye producer since the 1800s, so why not put some of it into a bottle of whiskey? Prohibition shut down the distilleries in the Hudson Valley, but Hillock has revived the industry and done so with an impressive and layered bourbon with a little bite but not the sweetness of some of its competitors’ to the South.
TRIVENTO GOLDEN RESERVE MALBEC 2015 ($21)—While it’s rare that I ever drink the same wine night after night, were I forced to live far from a wineshop, I’d happily repeatedly quaff this rich Malbec from Mendoza made by a young group of vignerons. Winemaker Gérman Di Cesare ages this Merlot for 12 months in French oak, then in bottles for another year. At 14.5% alcohol it has body, structure and plenty of complexity at a good piece. This I could drink many nights in a row.
