Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/430172
december 2014 / the tasting panel / 133 Botran Reserva Ron Añejo Solera Reserva, Guatemala B SPIRITS INC Breaker Small Batch Bourbon, USA ASCENDANT SPIRITS Brugal Papá Andrés, Dominican Republic EDRINGTON AMERICAS Calumet Farm Bourbon Whiskey, USA WESTERN SPIRITS Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Scotland DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA Caorunn Gin Small batch, Scotland INTERNATIONAL BEVERAGE USA Chai Rum Rum, West Indies SMAKS LUXURY GROUP Charles Goodnight Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey, USA FOLEY FAMILY SPIRITS Clément French Caribbean Rum Select Barrel, France RHUM CLÉMENT USA Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey, USA FOLEY FAMILY SPIRITS Convalmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky Diageo Special Releases 2014, Scotland DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA Damoiseau VSOP Rhum Vieux, Guadeloupe RHUM DEMOISEAU Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka, USA DEEP EDDY VODKA Demetrio Tequila Añejo, Mexico 1010 INTERNATIONAL Dirty Cinnamon & Pineapple Infused Tequila, Mexico DIRTY IMPORTS, LLC Don Fermín Plata Tequila, Mexico GLASS BOTTOM DISTRIBUTORS El Silencio Mezcal Joven, Mexico EL SILENCIO HOLDINGS LLC Elijah Craig Single Barrel 23 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERY Gamle Ode Celebration Aquavit, USA 45TH PARALLEL SPIRITS George Dickel Barrel Select Tennessee Whisky, USA DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA Germain-Robin Anno Domini 2009 Made from Pinot Noir CRAFT DISTILLERS Glen Garioch Virgin Oak Single Malt Highland Scotch Whisky, Scotland MORRISON BOWMORE DISTILLERIES Glen Grant Five Decades Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Scotland CAMPARI AMERICA Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve 1974 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Scotland WILLIAM GRANT & SONS Glenfiddich 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Scotland WILLIAM GRANT & SONS MOST LIKELY TO BREAK THE MOLD GRIEVE FAMILY WINERY 2012 SAUVIGNON BLANC, NAPA VALLEY ($45) C ategories and labels help us organize this crazy world, but every once in a while something comes along that transcends expectations and shakes up everything you thought you knew. That's exactly what happens when you taste the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc from Grieve Family Winery—it may not fit in with the clique you would think after taking a glance at the label. "While many liken it to a white Bordeaux with a bigger body, almost everyone has the same reaction: 'Wow, I have never tasted anything like this before," explains Vance Rose, Winemaker for Grieve Family Winery. Made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc Clone 3, which was lost for 60 years and accounts for less than half a percent of vines planted in California, the wine's unique flavor profile consists of more stone fruit and lemon grass layers, and features fewer hay notes than your typical Sauvignon Blanc. Located in Lovall, a bowl-shaped valley that can only be reached through Sonoma, the vineyard is the coldest region (despite being at only 650 feet elevation) for growing grapes in Napa Valley. Due to the location and row orientation (east to west), they must double-harvest the vineyard—the first pick happens on the southern end and the second hits the northern end—which Rose notes "is an expensive way to make Sauvignon Blanc." As far as we are concerned, it's worth every extra penny. Perhaps the best Sauvignon produced in California; an amazing basket of lime, honeydew, spice and spring flowers; silky and crisp with mouth-watering juiciness and bright acidity; generous and complex with a seamless, elegant, extremely long finish. 95 —Anthony Dias Blue, Blue Reviews, September 2014 www.grievewinery.com BEST ( OC ) CULT WINE DEVIL PROOF 2012 MALBEC, ALEXANDER VALLEY ($95) T alk about working some magic: Sonoma County's Jesse Katz is already renowned for crafting some of California's finest estate Bordeaux varietals and blends for multiple well- known labels. But this year—the same year he was named as one of Forbes magazine's "30 under 30" for food and wine's brightest stars, the only winemaker on the list—he debuted his own label, Devil Proof Vineyards. This single-vineyard, hillside dry-farmed 100% Malbec was inspired by the harvests he worked in Argentina at some of the country's cult wineries. Instead of doing what many thought he might have done given his pedigree at some of the top Cabernet houses in the world, including time at Screaming Eagle—that is, dive into cult Cab territory—Katz dreamed of doing what no one had done before: create a world class Malbec from Sonoma's Alexander Valley. "My goal is for Devil Proof to rival the best wines of the world," says Katz, "no matter what varietal." The name itself was inspired by a memorable time he and his father had in Cuba. "It was like the saying goes, 'Live well, drink well and the devil can't get ya,'" he explains. Right out of the bottle, Katz got a double thumbs-up from Robert Parker, with the praise, "This may be the finest Malbec I have ever tasted from California." Ponderous, an old soul that is leatherbound and exhibits notes of Worcestershire, spiced plums and espresso. Just when you think its massive side is too moody, in comes a gentler demon. Sweet molasses and blackberry jam uncrowds the denseness and unveils the lushness defined by Alexander Valley's noted ability for ripeness. 95 —Meridith May, Publisher's Picks, November 2014 www.devilproofvineyards.com