Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/776532
january/february 2017 / the tasting panel / 143 YEARBOOK So'Rus Vodka, Ukraine MK IMPORTS, LLC Somona County Distilling Company Cherrywood Rye Whiskey, USA St. Augustine Distillery Florida Double Cask Bourbon Aged 16 Months, USA t1 Tequila Sensacional Extra Añejo Tequila, Mexico T1 TEQUILA LLC, Tequila Honor del Castillo Reflexión Blanco Tequila, Mexico GLOBAL QUALITY IMPORTS Th. Kramers & Co. Aromatique, Germany HPS EPICUREAN The Revivalist Botanical Gin Summertide Expression, USA BRANDYWINE BRANCH DISTILLERS Toast Vodka Vodka with Coconut Water, USA TOAST SPIRITS INTERNATIONAL INC. Tommyrotter American Gin, USA ESPRIT DU VIN Tullamore D.E.W. 18 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Ireland WILLIAM GRANT & SONS Union Horse Distilling Reunion Straight Rye Whiskey, USA Usquaebach Old Rare Blended Scotch Whisky, Scotland COBALT BRANDS Usquaebach 15 Year Old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Scotland COBALT BRANDS Usquaebach Reserve Blended Scotch Whisky, Scotland COBALT BRANDS VDKA 6100 Vodka, New Zealand OPICI IMPORTS Wemyss Malts Whisky Kilm Embers Blended Malt Scotch, Scotland PALM BAY INTERNATIONAL Western Son Handcrafted Texas Vodka, USA BLUE RIDGE SPIRITS Wild Turkey Decades Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, USA CAMPARI AMERICA Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon, USA BROWN-FORMAN The Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 Single Malt Japenese Whisky, Japan BEAM SUNTORY Mercer 2012 Reserve Cavalie, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington State ($42) A Bordeaux blend from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, this rich wine's grapes are sourced mainly from Big Tee Pee Vineyard and Zephyr Ridge Vineyard. A blend of 52% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot, the grapes are fermented in tanks and racked to a mix of new and old French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, then aged for 26 months before blending. Merlots are generally more powerful than Cabs in this prestigious region, so it's no wonder that this blend of 52% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot is a work horse; chalky, astringent tannins are proof. The structure sets a fine path with violets, graphite and the blackest of fruits, which generate a textural wow—and it pairs beautifully with grilled meats. 93 — Meridith May, Publisher's Picks, March 2016 Pedroncelli Winery 2012 Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley Estate, Sonoma County ($36) A 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Malbec blend, this full-bodied wine's grapes are cold-soaked for 48 hours, then inoculated with a Bordeaux yeast strain and fermented in stainless steel. The wine is aged for 16 months in 30% new French oak barrels, plus an additional eight months in the bottle. It's a wine whose wisdom you can enjoy now, or in five to eight more years. The rich and intense estate Cab from this fourth-generation producer is classic Dry Creek. 92 — Anthony Dias Blue, Blue Reviews, March 2016 Arcudi Wines 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Sears Vineyard, Howell Mountain ($150) As if the prestigious high-altitude appel- lation of Howell Mountain in the Napa Valley wasn't unique enough, winemaker/owner Tony Arcudi makes this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a single organic, biodynamic site— Black Sears Vineyard—the highest vineyard on Howell Mountain. Arcudi, once a missile navigation engineer, apprenticed under wine- making superstar Heidi Barrett and at Maison M. Chapoutier, which explains why this is The Tasting Panel's "Most Extraordinary" wine for 2016. Exquisitely balanced mountain fruit shows rich blueberry fruit, smoke, spice and vanilla; it's big and complex but never overbearing—elegant, restrained and stylish; loaded with nuance and beautiful flavors. 96 —Anthony Dias Blue, Blue Reviews, May 2016 HARDEST WORKER MOST EXTRAORDINARY MOST WISE