Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/61075
La Fenêtre 2009 Pinot Noir, Le Bon Climat Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley ($50) Famer's market raspberry jam tops a porcini mushroom, outlined with a #2 pencil and delicately sprinkled with white pepper. She's an Earth Mother of a wine, Old World–spirited, entertaining minerals and dried fruits. 96 MONTEREY BAY WINE COMPANY Yorkville Cellars 2009 Carmenère, Yorkville Highlands ($32) This red gets extra smooches just for its sip-ability. A dreamy session of fruit- teasing weediness that was rather sexy in its alternate personality. 93 Inman Family Winery 2008 Pinot Noir, Olivet Grange Vineyard, Russian River Valley ($56) Feather-pillow plushness, delicately spiced. Essence of rose dust, jasmine and sencha green tea make this an exotic sip. The fruit is vibrant, red and juicy—from raspberry to rhubarb. 95 Domaine Boyar 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Bulgaria ($9)Old World acidity is accented by a fruity middle: plums, blackberry and melting cocoa are icing on the cake with a regal quality that brings the wine down to earth. 90 BULGARIAN MASTER VINTNERS Daou Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Paso Robles ($56) A snapshot of earthy white pepper with a raspberry core sets off this dense, intense violet muse. Its linear, extracted body is more structure than splash, but what zooms into focus is tremendous clarity of character. 93 Peter Lehmann 2009 Clancy's Red Shiraz Cabernet Merlot, Barossa Valley ($17) Big, bright and juicy—and scented with jasmine fl owers. A lingering treat of sweet plums (and their skins), raspberries and chocolate along with a dot of white pepper adds to the art of the slurp. 91 HESS COLLECTION Benessere 2009 Old Vines Zinfandel, Holystone-Collins Vineyard, Napa Valley ($32) A sensational Zinfandel: elegant, refi ned, holding up a trophy of perfectly ripened summer fruit—distinctly fl avorful rhubarb, blueberry and plums dusted with rose petals. Feminine, fl oral and lithe. 94 SPIRITS Vida Blanco Tequila, Mexico ($40) Clay and earth are far forward on the nose, with elements of cooked agave. A bit hot on the tongue—pepper and evergreen elements sizzle on the tongue through a tobacco-laden fi nish. 89 VIDA IMPORTS Luna Nueva 2012 Silver Tequila, Mexico ($39) Salty peanut brittle nose, with a side of sweet cooked agave. The fi rst sip is good, but every sub- sequent sip brings a greater passion of oatmeal, lime and toffee. The agave kicks in every nanosecond. 93 LCG INTERNATIONAL C by Courvoisier, France ($35) This double-barrel aged cognac has an opulent nose of orange meringue; perfumed, heady scents of bittersweet orange biscuits fresh from the oven play havoc on my appetite. The palate is nectar-textured: passion fruit, apricot and mandarin orange. 93 Strawberry Cloud: -Fill a glass with ice -Add 2oz Rock Saké Cloud -Add 2oz funkin Strawberry Daiquiri Mix -Stir and garnish with with strawberry You I Spirit I funkin I The Perfect Cocktail www.funkinusa.com april 2012 / the tasting panel / 47