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64 / the tasting panel / december 2016 PUBLISHER'S PICKS Willamette Valley Vineyards 2012 Pinot Noir, Tualatin Estate, Willamette Valley ($55) From one of the oldest Pinot Noir plantings in Oregon, this single vineyard is certified sustainable and Salmon Safe. Grown on Laurelwood soil and aged ten months in French oak, this extremely small production red possesses a nose of mocha and earth, along with beets and black olive. The palate comes across much brighter, with an edgy acidity and tart cherry, raspberry and pomegranate tones. Tannins are "quietly" gritty. 92 Grgich Hills Estate 2013 Miljenko's Selection Petit Verdot, Yountville, Napa Valley ($65) From certified Organic grapes grown on gravel, clay and loam without pesticides or herbicides, the wine is aged for two years in French oak and only 649 cases are produced. Bittersweet violets adhere to the tongue, enveloped by aromas and flavors of blackberries and tarry leather. Tannins are omnipresent, punctuated by chocolate and toasted oak. 93 SPIRITS Sonoma County Distilling Company Cherrywood Rye Whiskey, USA ($55) Cherry and orange peel are prominent aromas that immediately had us jonesing for a Manhattan. This 95.6-proof small batch rye (with additions of wheat and cherrywood-smoked barley) is aged in new charred American oak barrels for a year. Sweet figs, dates, banana, brandied cherries and a divine finish leave your mouth with a fond memory. 94 Royal Elite Gold Ultra-Premium Vodka, Uzbekistan ($24.99) Seven-times-distilled and quartz- filtered, this white spirit is produced by the Tashkentvino distillery, praised throughout Russia and Central Asia for its fine cognacs, wines and vodkas. The aromas of ice melting off pristine white-capped mountains come through first—crisp, clean and clear. The vanilla bean flavor that begins with the first sip carries a top note of black pepper. From there, the liquid spreads in glossy waves across the mouth. 93 CLASSIC LIQUOR IMPORTERS LTD. Royal Elite Purple Supreme Vodka, Uzbekistan ($29.99) When you think of royal robes, you see the color purple, and this statuesque bottle, with its purple trim, exudes luxury. The liquid, eight-times-distilled from wheat and the fabled healing waters of Uzbekistan, exhibits a nose of plum candy and lilac. On the palate, the twists and turns of floral and sweet oats, cocoa and white pepper meld together with finesse. 93 CLASSIC LIQUOR IMPORTERS LTD. Edinburgh Seaside Gin, Scotland ($38) Produced in the heart of Edinburgh, this 86-proof expression features botanicals forged from and inspired by the Scottish coastline. Ground ivy, scurvy grass and bladderwrack are some of the local finds, in addition to coriander, juniper berries, citrus and cardamom. It's a saline-driven, sweet oyster shell minerality that comes forth. The texture is round with notes of white pepper and salt water taffy. 92 FREDERICK WILDMAN AND SONS Etrog Liqueur, USA ($28) An enticingly exotic, perfumed gem that cleverly imparts floral tones into lemon meringue, spices it up with increasingly complex notes of jasmine, white peach and sandalwood. The 76-proof liqueur comes from citrons—or etrogs, the symbol of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot—grown in the Sequoia Foothills. 93 SUKKAH HILL SPIRITS Ultra-Premium ($24.99) quartz- produced praised and melting mountains clean flavor carries From glossy Supreme ($29.99) robes, this purple wheat of plum the sweet meld IMPORTERS LTD.