The Tasting Panel magazine

December 2013

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Most Likely To Reincarnate Liparita Cellars 2010 "V" Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville ($60) If we told you that this wine—a second label by Spencer Hoopes— won a Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900 and took Grand Prize at the St. Louis Fair in 1904, would you think we were pulling the cork over your eyes? In fact, that very "Grand Prize" award graces the label of Liparita, but only in homage to the original wine that originated in the 1880s on Howell Mountain. Liparita has been resurrected as an appellation-specific brand boasting vineyard-designates from Stags Leap, Oakville and Yountville AVAs. The original stone cellar still stands up on the mountain, built by W. F. Keyes in 1880, the son of General Erasmus Darwin Keyes who lead the IV Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War and who later moved to San Francisco, eventually becoming the Vice President of the California Vine-Culture Society. Hoopes needed a winemaker with strong ties to the valley and sound winemaking skills—someone who could craft a proper reincarnation of this born-again history-rich label. He pegged Jason Fisher, whose experience spams three staple Napa wineries: Paradigm, Grace Family Vineyards and Cosentino Winery. The result is a hauntingly gorgeous wine, perfect for drinking now— and even better for cellaring. From its dense nose of dark chocolate and even darker berry to its mélange of blue and red fruit that at once peppers the tongue and then layers it in velvet licorice, there's no doubt about an elegant sensation. Tannins exist with the most tender touch: feminine, but more femme fatale than Earth Mother. WINES 10SPAN Vineyards 2012 Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County THE WINE GROUP Adelaida Cellars 2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Viking Vineyard, Paso Robles Adelsheim Vineyard 2010 Pinot Noir, Bryan Creek Vineyard, Chehalem Moutains Altvs 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Anaba 2010 Chardonnay, Gap's Crown Vineyard, Sonoma Coast HOLLYWOOD & WINE Baiocchi 2011 gb "G minor" FAMILY WINE PARTNERS Beaucanon Estate 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Longwood, Napa Valley REGENCY WINES Bellingham 2011 The Bernard Series Smal Barrel GSV, Paarl, South Africa PACIFIC HIGHWAY Beni di Batasiolo 2009 Barbaresco, Italy BOISSET FAMILY ESTATES Benziger Family Winery 2011 de Coelo Pinot Noir, Quintus Vineyard, Sonoma Coast KOBRAND CORP. Bergstrom Wines 2011 Pinot Noir, Bergström Vineyard, Dundee Hills Beringer Vineyards 2010 Quantum, Napa Valley TREASURY WINE ESTATES Black Kite Cellars 2010 Pinot Noir, Soberanes Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands Breggo Cellars 2010 Pinot Noir, Savoy Vineyard, Anderson Valley Brella 2011 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley ADVENTURES IN WINE Browne Family Vineyards 2011 Tribute, Estate, Columbia Valley PRECEPT WINE 15.4% ALC. BY VOL. Buccella 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2010 Buoncristiani 2009 O.P.C., Napa Valley Buty Winery 2009 Rediviva of the Stones, Walla Walla Valley TREASURY WINE ESTATES Cadaretta 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley MIDDLETON FAMILY WINES Cantine Intorcia NV S.O.M. Semi-Dry Marsala Superiore, Sicilia, Italy UN PO' PAZZO SELECTIONS 132  /  the tasting panel  /  december 2013 TP1213_104-148.indd 132 11/23/13 8:38 PM

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