Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/581407
70 / the tasting panel / october 2015 PICKS In each issue THE TASTING PANEL's Publisher and Editorial Director, 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. Publisher's WINES Toi Toi 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand ($15) Crisp pear and honey blossoms on the nose play a different drum from the fresh grass, green peas and hint of herbs (tarragon) on the palate. A svelte white grapefruit middle and exacting acidity makes for a lemon-refined palate cleanser. 92 Unfiltered Blonde 2013 Chardonnay, Sonoma County ($15) Sweet vanilla-line and apple pie lure you with irresistible aromatics. The silky entry offers up crisp Delicious apples, summer melon and creamy vanilla pudding. The toasted oak finish is balanced with just the right amount of acidity to make this a fine food wine. 90 VINTAGE POINT Moobuzz 2014 Chardonnay, Monterey ($16.99) Salted lime and chamomile are copacetic partners on the nose—a real treat that leads to flavors of spiced apple pie on first sip. She's a lean one at first and then, by the second, rounds out with pleasurable toast and toffee. It's the prickly pear on the finish that's amusing and seals the deal as a fine food friend. 91 THE OTHER GUYS BEST VALUE! Prodigo 2013 Nero d'Avola, Sicily IGT, Italy ($11) Peppered berries enhance each sip. Lush, intense plums enable a pleasurable mouth feel. Nicely balanced and juicy. 89 WINESELLERS LTD. Ménage à Trois 2013 "Silk," California ($14) Unusual bedfellows are blended together for a distinct bouquet of brandied cherries, plums and chocolate. The combina- tion of Pinot Noir, Malbec, Petite Sirah and Syrah add dimensions of texture and taste. This is a modern- ist wine, not dry and not sweet, but dense, dusky, ripe and luxurious. The inherent juiciness has power and a gliding grace. Devil's food cake, wild cherry and charred cedar (sweet, spicy American oak and luxe French oak) round out this dark purple-red fruit compote effect. 90 TRINCHERO FAMILY ESTATES Campus Oaks 2012 Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi ($15) From Gnekow Family Winery, this ultra-luxe Zinfandel is grown on vines that are up to 80 years old. Starting with scents and flavors of brambly raspberry bushes, the lushly silky red is enveloped in a vanilla cherry wrap. With bone structure akin to a super model, from its perfumed richness of fruit to its graceful balanced nature and bright acidity, Campus Oaks Zin is a testimonial to a great winemaker who knows how to put Lodi in the best possible light. 92