Lifestyle Wine By Phillip Silverstone
an intensely dark and heady wine in Sicily where it flourishes. But remove the grape skins and turn it into a pink wine and this is a superior and serious wine lover’s escape into the world of blushing nectar; dark berry nose, yet fresh and mouth-appealing fruitiness. WHITE WINES Nikola and Zuva Nobilo bid their native Croatia farewell just before Germany’s Nazi bully boys began their vile destruction of Europe and they moved to New Zealand where they began their historic adventure in winemaking. We have Nikola to thank for developing the Marlborough region in the northernmost climes of South Island, which ultimately became the finest region for growing and producing Sauvignon Blanc on the planet. And Nobilo is the benchmark for all other NZ wineries to emulate. So here are two options when buying Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc. Nobilo ICON Sauvignon Blanc 2014, $16. Being the winery’s ICON tells you this is their premium bottling. The grapes are harvested in four of Nobilo’s best Sauvignon Blanc vineyard sites in New Zealand. The wine has a typical straw color with a perfume of gooseberries and summer garden flowers. The flavor is crisp, fresh, and full of a grassy, mineral gorgeous taste. Nobilo Regional Sauvignon Blanc 2014, $11. This wine comes from vineyards across the Marlborough region. The wine has the typical grapefruit nose, which I adore, and this carries through to the taste which is typical of the winery; a fresh, fruit forward and white ripe grapefruit taste. Fantabulous! Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc (South Africa) $18. A green bottle with a blue screw cap
and a strip label attached vertically, clearly and proudly stating the name of the winery, and punctuated by a red seal with the letter “M.” If you want to learn how to market your product, talk to the clever people at the reigns of this winery. Not as much grapefruit as I would expect from the New Zealand version of this grape variety, but very enjoyable, with notes of lemon peel and pepper and the welcome freshness of a spring Irish (via South Africa) morning. A wine that definitely leaves other wine producers green with envy. Giesen Riesling 2013 (from Vineyards in Waipara and Marlborough New Zealand) $15. Confession No 1: I believe Riesling is one of the greatest grapes grown on Planet Earth and I know that Germany is the unbeatable champion producer of all wines made from this grape. Confession No 2: This wine rocks, man! If any winery on our small floating orb can give the German winemakers a run for their moolah, it’s Giesen. But let’s be honest; Theo, Alex, and Marcel Giesen grew up in Germany, so Riesling automatically runs through their veins. Their Riesling nails the Germanic minerality with some citrus and a steely freshness that is welcome any time in my glass. Stemmari Baci Vivaci (Sicily, Italy) $14. The label is uninspired and unlikely to catch much attention on the shelf but when you pop open a bottle of this gentle fizz, the bottle is transformed into a Cinderellagoing-to-the-ball moment. Summer fruits dance in your mouth and the wine glides across the tongue as if it were a princess in glass slippers. The grape that produces this pretty little wine is called Grillo and if a Fairy Godmother exists, then Grillo is her name. Even a prince would enjoy this sweetheart of a wine.
RED WINES Château Haut-Logat 2009 (Medoc, France) $25. Located at the highest point of the village of Cissac, between Saint-Estèphe to the north-east and Pauillac to the southeast, the blend of 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc spends 15 months of barrel ageing to develop all the features of the traditional characteristics of a great Médoc wine. Very dark and intense, with gorgeously pronounced ripening fruit, this wine still has a couple of years aging potential to fully reach the peak of its maturity. Plummy, and full of rich red berries, it is a steal at the price. Château Magnol (Medoc, France) 2012 $25. This wine is again a classic blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc and imported by the famous French shippers Barton & Guestier (or B&G). The blended wine is aged in oak barrels for 12 months. You can taste the oakiness in the wine. And, the dark fruit flavors are very full, but still have a year or two to reach their ripest levels for full taste bud potential. Again, money very well spent. Bianchi Winery Pinot Noir (Paso Robles, CA) $22. From their Garey Ranch in Santa Maria Valley, this wine definitely has the red berry flavor I adore in a good Pinot and, with a 10 minute chill from the fridge or ice bucket, this would be a great marriage. It has the smoothness of velvet and a yummy aftertaste that sits on your tongue. Carmen Carmenère (Colchagua Valley, Chile) $20. The wine was aged in French Oak so there’s some cedar and lots of red berries in the perfume and a deliciously smooth and rich ripe berry flavor which has been helped by a little Carignan and Tempranillo blended into the wine. njlifestyleonline.com
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