The Tasting Panel magazine

April 2015

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White Hart 2012 Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County ($25) Unusually light and airy for this region. Raspberry puffs and linear lines of cinnamon mint and nutmeg make it memorable. Fresh, juicy-wet and clean with elegant Burgundian leanings in style. 90 Poggio Maestrino 2011 Morellino di Scansano Riserva DOCG, Italy ($28) Earthy, rustic and jammy with spiced rhubarb, sweet and sour cherries and iron. Tart, edgy, smacking tannins are translated to "beg for food." Morellino di Scansano is the local name for Sangiovese in the Maremma region of Tuscany. 93 WINERIES OF ITALY CONSORTIUM Soaring Hawk Vineyards 2013 Zinfandel, Paso Robles ($28) Tiny production but not a small-minded wine. Gobby fruit: a spread of plum and molasses with mocha undertones and a seamless soil-earth lushness. 15.8% alcohol; under 200 cases produced. 92 Sebastiani 2012 Cherry Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley ($90) Opulent, tightly wound rope of cherry, plum, soy, graphite and brioche. What an icon! Black coffee bean tannins tease the tongue with a stream of cherry chocolate. As it opens, the juice flows regally. Tell your customers to allow it to age. 95 FOLEY FAMILY WINES Imagery Estate Winery 2012 Lagrein, Upper Ridge Vineyard, Pine Mountain–Cloverdale Peak AVA, Sonoma County ($45) While Trentino– Alto Adige is this grape's indigenous home, the high-elevation vineyard showcases a wild blueberry, grape-y sensation to its full-bodied domestic iteration here from winemaker Joe Benziger. Luscious and palatable pleasures of vanilla wafers and white pepper play with plum juiciness. An ideal food wine with defined acidity. This is one of the first wines to be bottled from this relatively new AVA (November 2011) with elevations from 1,600 to 3,000 feet. 93 SPIRITS BOTECO Lime Vodka, Brazil ($29) Key lime pie—including the crust—is the dessert you get, along with some fun zing, on the nose. Tart and zesty, this rich yet wonderfully dry premium spirit is grounded with a slate-like finish. The lime is vivacious and authentic tasting. 91 AMBRABEV SKYY Infusions Pacific Blueberry, USA ($18.50) It fills the air with floral perfume but the clay, minerally tones bring it back to earth. Pungent summer blueberry and marsh- mallow sweeten the palate and the texture is almost "bouncy." A wonderful spring/summer sipper. 90 CAMPARI AMERICA Bacardi Black Rum, Puerto Rico ($12) Rich cola and molasses sneak up with sinewy, complex aromas. Orange peel sets the stage for its opening number on the palate and a curtain of black tea tannins, black pepper and a fringe of oatmeal lines the mouth. The finish is grainy, stony and coats the mouth with that beloved molasses. 91 BACARDI USA Puerto Rich cola and molasses sneak up with sinewy, complex aromas. Orange peel sets the stage for its opening number on the palate and a curtain of black tea tannins, black pepper and a fringe of oatmeal lines the mouth. The finish is grainy, stony and coats the mouth with that beloved BACARDI USA

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