Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/133302
Publisher's PHOTO: MICHAEL KRESS PICKS Kenny Chesney (left) hosted the launch party of his new spirit brand, Blue Chair Bay Rum, at the WSWA convention in Orlando. Joining him here with our Publisher Meridith May is Glazer's President and CEO Shelly Stein (in back); Glazer's Executive VP Sales and Marketing Mike McLaughlin; and Bob Battipaglia, Sr. VP Sales for Fishbowl Spirits. In each issue THE TASTING PANEL's Publisher and Executive Editor, Meridith May, selects her favorite wines and spirits of the month. Check here for the latest arrivals in our offices, the hottest new brands on the market and an occasional revisited classic. Worthy of a smooch. French-style double bizou. Wildly infatuated. Seriously smitten. Head over heels in love. WINES Honig 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley ($17) A blend of 97% Sauvignon Blanc, 2% Semillon and 1% Muscat, this zings with fresh cucumber, kiwi and just-juiced red grapefruit. Delicious and mineral-light refreshingly clean—I have retained fond palate memory of this from tasting it weeks ago. Aged on light lees and 10% in neutral oak tanks with 90% in stainless steel tanks. 91 Sorelle Winery 2011 "Bellezza Fra" Barbera, Lodi ($25) Bellezza Fra translates as "beauty from within," and this wine, from a Lodi winery located at the historic Dodge House, was truly named for its inner light. From its rhubarb and cinnamon nose to its rain shower of exotic herbs and ripe red fruit (cherry, white peppered raspberry and cranberry) this finely crafted red showcases that Old World acidity with grace. Delicious! 93 J. Wilkes 2012 Pinot Blanc, Santa Maria Valley ($15) Summer's juiciest fruits banded together in the sunshine, surrounded by gardenias. Quince, apricot, peaches and pears help create a wine that is toned and sculpted with a minerality that races through its inner creaminess. 92 Bodegas Regina Viarum 2009 "Expresión," Ribeira Sacra D.O., Spain ($28) With its 2,000-year history of growing grapes, Galicia—in northeast Spain—was where the Roman emperors' wines were once produced, and the Ribeira Sacra D.O. is scattered with monasteries and churches. This wine is 100% Mencía, grown on dramatically steep terraced slopes, angled at 45 degrees and overlooking the Atlantic coast. At once creamy, luscious and unexpectedly dreamy, the wine, aged for nine months in French oak, melds with sweet tobacco and fleshy blueberry mocha on a bed of violets. 94 WINE FROM GALICIA Ferrari-Carano 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Mountain Vineyards, Alexander Valley ($46) Opulence, in the form of tannins, delivers the message of sage-y black fruit and dusty lilacs. The wine becomes creamier by the minute, the silkiness leading to a gouache of blackberry peppered cream. 94 76 / the tasting panel / june 2013 TP0613_042-79.indd 76 5/23/13 4:34 PM