The Tasting Panel magazine

November 2015

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/597666

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 80 of 136

80  /  the tasting panel  /  november 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 Moobuzz 2013 Pinot Noir, Monterey County ($20) Light hearted, violets melt on the tongue and scent the nose. On the palate, plums: the juicy insides and tart skin – are just the right ingredients, elegantly sewn together with baking spices, cherry tea and bitters. Acidity comes to life at the finish with balanced fruit covered with a velvet blanket. 92 THE OTHER GUYS Standing Sun 2013 Pinot Noir, Bent Rock Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills ($34) Lean and tart, there's a good time in this bottle nevertheless. Its edgy, youthful energy is alive with cranberry, graphite and white pepper. Fine acidity and just enough earthy mineral tones. Plenty of juiciness easily splashes across the palate. 91 Vinum Cellars 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($42) A dry-farmed, low-yielding vineyard with granite soil deposits results in a chocolate spearmint blackberry nose that trans- lates to the palate. The rich blueberry morphs into lavender spearmint and heather brush texture. A dose of melted chocolate lathers the tongue and is peppered to the long finish. 93 Bernardus 2013 Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands ($70) Gary Pisoni's "spirit" blesses this rich, spicy, blackberry-minted Pinot Noir. Just like its vine- yard's namesake, this wine is powerfully eccentric. Texturally, there's a slipperiness of anise and dark chocolate as well as that thread of spearmint throughout. Lavender and heather come in to play with black pepper and herbs. 93 The Oddity 2013 Royal Tokaji Furmint, Hungary ($15) A unique perfume of lime, lanolin and mint are sensually appealing while the palate's steely, salty nature squeezes the tart juice from lime and grapefruit. The zesty, cooling sensation on the tongue is a fitting finish. 89 WILSON DANIELS finish with balanced fruit covered with a velvet blanket. Standing Sun 2013 Pinot Noir, Bent Rock Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills ($34) and tart, there's a good time in this bottle nevertheless. Its edgy, youthful energy is alive with cranberry, graphite and white pepper. Fine acidity and just enough earthy mineral tones. Plenty of juiciness easily splashes across the palate.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Tasting Panel magazine - November 2015