Pic(k) of the Week: 2nd rosé of spring

What:
A cornucopia cépage of Mendocino and Sonoma Coast fruit: Pinot Noir, Barbera, Grenache, Grenache Gris, Syrah.

Who:
Banshee Winery: its 2016 rosé.

How (did it taste):
Light touch of nectarines and raspberries. Dry finish with a nice smack of acidity.

Why
Rosé: so much a sign of spring.

Where:
Front porch: Atlanta, Georgia.

When:
The second rosé: The first glass, I had poured earlier in the evening. 24 March 2017.

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Wine zen (and beer lessons?)

Bill St. John has written his final column on wine for the Chicago Tribune. And, it's a doozy. In a valediction, he distills (wrong verb?) his experiences and what he's gained from them. Beer-makers and beer-drinkers and beer 'experts' and, ahem, beer-writers might see their reflections.

The most important thing that I learned is that wine is no big deal, that it's a part of the everyday life of millions of people — a condiment on their table, equal to salt or salsa.

By and large, we take wine and especially winemaking way too seriously. We've made of winemakers what we've made of chefs — superstars and entertainers. As Julia Child once told me, "We've let cooking get in the way of our food." We've let winemaking and so much folderol about wine — buying, storing, collecting and bloviating — get in the way of our wine.

I've learned that too many winemakers — American, French, Italian, it doesn't matter — can't keep their egos out of the bottle. They tinker with it, putting their stamp on it — too much wood, say, or a lot of phenolic extraction — because they want to make a statement with their wine about their prowess, such as it is.

Contrariwise, I've also learned that the best wines, the great wines of the world, speak of their place of origin. They have what wine writer Matt Kramer calls "somewhereness."

I've learned that, all over the globe (and in many new wild and woolly winemaking places), grape growers and winemakers have learned, to great effect, new ways of growing in the vineyard and working in the cellar. More good wine flows today than has ever before in our history as drinkers of it.

I've learned that wine is less an alcoholic beverage and more a food, and that its proper, perhaps indispensable, place is at the table with other foods. Even a little bit of it enhances a meal in a manner disproportionate to its volume.

— Chicago Tribune
21 July 2015.

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The top 100 Wines of 2014, according to the Wine Spectator.

For better or for worse, beer has crowd-judging; wine has experts-judging. Two of wine's more prominent 'expert' groups are the Wine Spectator magazine —whose most renowned writer, until recently, was James Suckling— and the Wine Advocate newsletter, published by wine critic Robert Parker (who lives north of Baltimore, Maryland).

For better or for worse, Parker popularized the 100-point rating scale, twenty years ago or so. Folk publicly pooh-pooh it, but privately use it.

This time of year, every year, the Wine Spectator releases its choices for the top 100 wines of the year. For 2014, a port, Dow 2011 vintage, took top honors, receiving 99 points.

Powerful, refined, and luscious, with a surplus of dark plum, kirsch and cassis flavors that are unctuous and long. Shows plenty of grip, presenting a long full finish, filled with Asian spice and raspberry tart accents. Rich and chocolaty. One for the ages. Best from 2030 through 2060. 5,00 cases made.

With that best-by, I don't know if I'll be sufficiently chronologically blessed to taste all those "unctuous and long" flavors at their best. The magazine says that the average retail cost is $82 per bottle. I'd expect something a bit (!) higher, now, if you can find a bottle.

At the 100th spot is Saint Clair Pinot Noir Marlborough Pioneer Block 16 Awatere, from Australia, assigned 92 points, retailing for $31.

This offers a good mix of fresh, ripe raspberry and cherry flavors, with details of forest floor, black tea, cigar box and nutmeg, finishing with nuances of warm baking spices and a touch of firmness. Drink now through 2025. 1,000 cases made.

Looking at all one-hundred wines, the suggested retail price ranges from $240 for Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore, a 'Super-Tuscan' from Italy at the 65th position, to $10 for Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Viña Cumbrero Crianza, a Spanish Tempranillo, at the the 62nd spot. And, in confusing fashion, some wines with lower scores finish higher in the ranking than those with greater scores, and vice versa, although all are scored in the 90s. Must be those je ne sais quoi intangibles.

Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines reviewed over the previous 12 months and select our Top 100, based on quality [based on score], value [based on price], availability [based on the volume of cases either made or imported], and excitement. These criteria were applied to determine the Top 100 from among the more than 5,400 wines that rated outstanding (90 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale) this year. Overall, the average score of the wines in this year’s list is 93 points and the average price $47—an excellent quality/price ratio and a slightly lower average price than the 2013 list.

Here's the entire list. For all the scores, tasting notes, and retail pricing, go to the Wine Spectator website itself.

1	Dow Vintage Port +	2011	99	$82
2	Mollydooker Shiraz McLaren Vale Carnival of Love +	2012	95	$75
3	Prats & Symington Douro Chryseia +	2011	97	$55
4	Quinta do Vale Meão Douro +	2011	97	$76
5	Leeuwin Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series +	2011	96	$89
6	Castello di Ama Chianti Classico San Lorenzo Gran Selezione +	2010	95	$52
7	Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape +	2012	97	$135
8	Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills +	2012	94	$40
9	Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Don Melchor +	2010	95	$125
10	Château Léoville Las Cases St.-Julien +	2011	95	$165
11	Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains +	2011	95	$60
12	Château Guiraud Sauternes +	2011	97	$50
13	Fonseca Vintage Port +	2011	98	$116
14	Fontodi Colli della Toscana Centrale Flaccianello +	2011	95	$120
15	Bedrock The Bedrock Heritage Sonoma Valley +	2012	95	$42
16	Two Hands Shiraz Barossa Valley Bella's Garden +	2012	95	$69
17	Soter Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton District Mineral Springs Ranch +	2012	95	$60
18	Château Doisy-Védrines Barsac +	2011	95	$35 / 375ml
19	Luca Malbec Uco Valley +	2012	93	$32
20	Peter Michael Chardonnay Knights Valley Ma Belle-Fille +	2012	95	$90
21	Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva +	2010	93	$29
22	Podere Sapaio Bolgheri Volpolo +	2011	93	$35
23	St.-Cosme Châteauneuf-du-Pape +	2010	96	$59
24	Massolino Barolo +	2009	95	$60
25	Bodegas y Viñedos O. Fournier Malbec Uco Valley Alfa Crux +	2010	94	$54
26	Emeritus Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Hallberg Ranch +	2011	93	$42
27	Quinta do Portal Douro Colheita +	2011	92	$15
28	Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape +	2011	94	$97
29	Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir Hemel-en-Aarde Valley +	2012	93	$46
30	DuMOL Syrah Russian River Valley +	2012	94	$55
31	Tommasi Sangiovese-Cabernet Sauvignon Toscana Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo +	2011	92	$18
32	Hidden Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 55% Slope +	2009	93	$45
33	Orin Swift Machete California +	2012	93	$48
34	La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva +	2005	92	$30
35	Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley +	2011	92	$29
36	Marcassin Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Marcassin Vineyard +	2009	97	$125
37	Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco Rabajà +	2010	94	$55
38	Aubert Chardonnay Russian River Valley Eastside +	2012	95	$80
39	Oddero Barolo +	2010	93	$49
40	Loosen Bros. Riesling QbA Mosel Dr. L +	2012	91	$12
41	Rombauer Chardonnay Carneros +	2012	92	$34
42	Lapostolle Clos Apalta Limited Release Colchagua Valley +	2010	94	$89
43	Charles Smith Riesling Columbia Valley Kung Fu Girl Evergreen +	2013	91	$12
44	Viña Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon-Carmenère Colchagua Valley +	2011	91	$14
45	Tikal Patriota Mendoza +	2012	91	$23
46	Turley Zinfandel California Juvenile +	2012	91	$20
47	Luce della Vite Toscana Luce +	2011	95	$105
48	Fincas Patagonicas Malbec Mendoza Zolo Reserve +	2012	91	$19
49	Trimbach Riesling Alsace +	2012	91	$25
50	Abadia Retuerta Viño de la Tierra de Castilla y León Sardon de Duero Selección Especial +	2010	92	$35
51	Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate +	2010	97	$129
52	Herman Story Grenache California On the Road +	2011	93	$42
53	Ponzi Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Tavola +	2012	91	$25
54	Mumm Napa Brut Napa Valley Prestige +	NV	91	$22
55	Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley El Caballero +	2011	90	$12
56	João Portugal Ramos Alentejo Ramos Reserva +	2012	90	$13
57	Viña Bisquertt Syrah Colchagua Valley La Joya Gran Reserva +	2012	90	$13
58	TwentyFour Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley +	2010	93	$112
59	Peter Lehmann Clancy's Barossa +	2011	90	$15
60	St.-Urbans-Hof Riesling QbA Mosel Old Vines +	2012	90	$16
61	De Martino Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley Legado Reserva +	2011	92	$17
62	Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Viña Cumbrero Crianza +	2010	90	$10
63	Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc Constantia Bayten +	2013	90	$15
64	Cune Rioja White Monopole +	2013	90	$15
65	Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore +	2011	96	$240
66	Fowles Shiraz Victoria Are You Game? +	2012	91	$17
67	Tohu Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough Single Vineyard +	2013	90	$13
68	Godelia Mencía Bierzo +	2010	92	$21
69	Feudo di Santa Croce Primitivo di Manduria LXXIV +	2010	91	$22
70	D. Kourtakis Assyrtiko Santorini Greek Wine Cellars +	2012	90	$13
71	Roar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vineyard +	2012	93	$52
72	Château Lilian Ladouys St.-Estèphe +	2011	90	$19
73	Gérard Bertrand Syrah-Grenache Languedoc +	2011	90	$19
74	di Majo Norante Molise Ramitello +	2011	90	$18
75	Disznókó´ Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos +	2006	94	$49 / 500ml
76	Vietti Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne +	2012	90	$17
77	E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis +	2010	97	$206
78	Acrobat Pinot Noir Oregon +	2012	90	$20
79	Marqués de Griñon Cabernet Sauvignon Dominio de Valdepusa +	2010	93	$40
80	Nino Negri Valtellina Superiore Quadrio +	2010	90	$20
81	Domaine de Triennes Vin de Pays du Var St.-Auguste +	2010	90	$20
82	Mulderbosch Faithful Hound Stellenbosch +	2011	91	$25
83	Round Pond Estate Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford +	2013	90	$24
84	Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial +	2005	94	$89
85	Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Marina Cveti S. Martino Rosso +	2010	91	$25
86	Pali Wine Co. Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County Huntington +	2012	90	$23
87	Firriato Sicilia Santagostino Baglio Soria Red +	2011	91	$23
88	Christian Moreau Père & Fils Chablis +	2012	91	$31
89	Carol Shelton Zinfandel Mendocino County Wild Thing Old Vine +	2011	90	$19
90	Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Trocken Wachau Terrassen +	2012	90	$14
91	Domaine La Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pure +	2012	95	$78
92	Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Incanto +	2010	90	$15
93	Recanati Cabernet Sauvignon Galilee +	2012	90	$17
94	Château Lamartine Cahors +	2011	90	$19
95	Antonio Barbadillo Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda Solear +	NV	90	$15
96	Domaine Gerovassiliou Epanomi White +	2013	90	$22
97	Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna +	2012	90	$22
98	Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier Shiraz-Viognier Victoria +	2012	90	$19
99	Loimer Grüner Veltliner Qualitätswein Trocken Kamptal +	2012	91	$22
100	Saint Clair Pinot Noir Marlborough Pioneer Block 16 Awatere +	2012	92	$31

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