I don’t have a favorite season. Each offers its particular joys. Mostly, I
love the parade of four distinct seasons, which makes me happy to be a
Northeasterner.
Seasonal moods and customs dictate the clothes we wear, the foods we
prefer and, perhaps in a more subtle way, the wines we select. More
subtle because wine choice extends beyond mere temperature in a way that
woolen sweaters do not. Even though rosés and gossamer whites are
ordinarily associated with summer, powerful reds still appear. Why?
Because thick steaks and the wines that love them are never more than a
grill away.
Spring is a transitional season for wines. In the end, weight, not color, is the crucial factor in selecting bottles.
I often make the case that the great intersection between price and
quality occurs in the range of $15 to $25 a bottle. Obviously, it’s
possible to find a great value for $10 a bottle, but those wines are few
and the odds of striking gold go up exponentially at a slightly higher
price. In the range of $15 to $20, many bottles not only offer great
pleasure simply because they are delicious, they also have something to
say about where they came from and the people who made them. These wines
appeal to the mind and heart as well as to the taste buds.
I’ve picked 20 great spring wines (listed here randomly) for $20 each.
This is an arbitrary figure, I know. I could just as easily have found
15 great bottles at $15 or used the entire $15 to $25 range. And to be
honest, many of these $20 bottles in fact cost $19.99, because, as has
been true since the first Stone Age merchant etched a come-on into rock,
retailers understand the power of pricing just below the big decimal
change.
With these 20 bottles, I feel as if I’ve only begun an exploration that
could yield dozens more great wines from all over the world. I made my
selections without repeating any of the
choices I made last summer or fall.
All of those wines remain superb choices, even if the vintage has
changed, or the season. Remember: it’s not the weather that dictates the
wine so much as the food.
20 Great Spring Wines
1. Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Pfalz Bürklin Estate Riesling Trocken 2011
If you’ve ever wondered what the wine description “mineral” implies, try
this dry riesling. It is pure mineral, rich but not heavy, tangy and
textured. Dr. Bürklin-Wolf has been making excellent dry rieslings for
years. The Bürklin Estate is its entry-level wine, offering a delicious
taste of the depth and complexity of the more expensive single-vineyard
wines. (Europvin U.S.A., Van Nuys, Calif.)
2. Céline et Laurent Tripoz Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Nature 2011
The no-dosage method of making sparkling wine is a difficult balancing
act. In ordinary sparkling wine, a sweet solution, or dosage, is added
at the end of the production process to offset the acidity of the wine.
Omitting it can sometimes produce a harshly austere wine, but when done
properly the wine can be exceptionally pure and precise. This is a
superb no-dosage sparkling wine, made entirely of chardonnay by a tiny
estate in the Mâconnais. It’s creamy yet light, dry, straightforward and
graceful. (Selection Massale, San Leandro, Calif.)
3. Domaine Agapé Crémant d’Alsace Émotion Brut NV
Alsace is often an excellent source for good sparkling wine values, and
here’s one. Émotion is made of a combination of pinot blanc and pinot
noir, which gives it a little more weight than a blanc de blancs. It’s
dry, savory and refreshing, with an intriguing saline note among the
flavors. (Savio Soares Selections, Manhasset, N.Y.)
4. Domaine Marcel Deiss Alsace 2010
Jean-Michel Deiss is always fascinating. He has long promoted the idea
that terroir is best expressed by blending multiple sorts of grapes
grown in a particular site. This entry-level wine, made with all 13
white varieties permitted in Alsace, offers a window into what can be
found in his high-end terroir wines. It’s golden, crisp and refreshing,
with succulent, lingering flavors of citrus, honey and minerals.
(Angel’s Share Wine Imports, Brooklyn, N.Y.)
5. Benanti Etna Bianco Biancodicaselle 2010
Mount Etna, an active volcano on Sicily, is
best known for its red wines.
But the white wines can be terrific as well, like this one from
Benanti, one of Etna’s old-timers. It’s made entirely from the
carricante grape, grown almost 3,000 feet up in the foothills, and it’s
simply delicious: dry, savory and lip-smacking. (Tradizione Imports, New
York)
6. Edmunds St. John Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir Rosé El Dorado County Witters Vineyard 2012
Why wait until summer for rosé? Steve Edmunds is one of the few American
producers to work with gamay, the grape of Beaujolais, which he gets
from a vineyard in California gold country. His red gamay is always
worth seeking out. This rosé is fragrant, with a light berry scent. It’s
dry, slightly herbal and seriously good.
7. Moraitis Santorini Assyrtiko 2011
One of today’s great pleasures is easy access to wines that 15 to 20
years ago were little more than a footnote to most of the world. Case in
point: assyrtiko from Santorini, an exquisitely tangy, lively wine that
is a joy to pair with seafood. The 2011 Moraitis is earthy and juicy,
with an anise edge to it. (VOS Selections, New York)
8. Filippi Soave Colli Scaligeri Vigne della Bra 2009
Although grapes have long been grown on what is now the Filippi estate,
the family began bottling its own wine only a decade or so ago. It is
now among the producers in the Veneto that are restoring the luster to
Soave. The ’09 Vigne della Bra, made entirely of garganega, the best
Soave grape, and grown on a special high-elevation parcel, is deep and
dry, with bright, tangy mineral flavors. (Polaner Selections, Mount
Kisco, N.Y.)
9. François Pinon Vouvray Les Trois Argiles 2010
If not the world’s single most underrated grape, chenin blanc is
certainly among the contenders. Pinon’s wines are among my favorite
Vouvrays, and the 2010 vintage was particularly good. Les Trois Argiles
is off-dry, with a bright spot of residual sugar, but the sweetness is
balanced out by lively acidity. Juicy, earthy, honey-touched with ripe
mineral flavors. (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)
10. Philippe Raimbault Sancerre Apud Sariacum 2011
Who doesn’t like Sancerre? You’d be surprised. Among certain wine geeks,
Sancerre symbolizes the unthinking populace who glaze over at the
restaurant wine list and simply ask for what’s familiar. No doubt
Sancerre appeals to that demographic, but it shouldn’t undercut the
notion that Sancerre accounts for many excellent sauvignon blancs, like
this lovely, restrained blend of tropical fruit and minerality.
Delicious. (T. Edward Wines, New York)
11. Louis Michel & Fils Petit Chablis 2010
Louis Michel makes pure, precise, focused Chablis. Petit Chablis is the
least of the Chablis appellations, and often signals a generic sort of
wine. But good producers have a way of coaxing out from it the essential
elements of the Chablis identity, the most distinctive of all
chardonnays. This 2010 is a tad fruitier than a typical Chablis, yet it
also has its beautiful saline, seashell character. (Vineyard Brands,
Birmingham, Ala.)
12. Heitz Cellar Napa Valley Chardonnay 2011
This is my kind of Napa chardonnay, not oaky or extravagant but bright
and vibrant, with savory, chalky, citrus flavors and a restrained touch
of oak. Heitz is one of Napa’s old guard, better known for its excellent
cabernets, but its chardonnay is also well worth seeking out.
13. Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2009
Chianti is a wine that I drink year round, and this is an excellent
rendition, made entirely of the sangiovese grape. It’s fresh, with
smoky, lively flavors of bitter cherry with a juicy, refreshing quality,
well structured and balanced. (Wilson Daniels, St. Helena, Calif.)
14. Cà de Noci Sottobosco I.G.T. 2009
This gently sparkling red wine from Emilia-Romagna is reminiscent of a
Lambrusco, but the producer, Cà de Noci, goes its own way, operating
outside the official appellation system, so it cannot be called
Lambrusco. Regardless, I loved this wine from my first taste. It’s
savory, meaty, funky, low in alcohol, discernibly tannic, resolutely dry
and superb. (Louis/Dressner Selections)
15. Mastroberardino Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio 2010
Mastroberardino is one of the historic wine producers in Campania, and
still one of the best. The poetically named Lacryma Christi (Tears of
Christ) is made of the piedirosso grape, indigenous to the volcanic
soils near Vesuvio. It’s light-bodied and graceful, dry and lightly
fruity, and will take well to a chill. (A Leonardo LoCascio
Selection/Winebow, New York)
16. Red Tail Ridge Finger Lakes Pinot Noir 2010
Not everybody agrees that the Finger Lakes are pinot noir territory, but
I’ve had enough good ones to see excellent potential there. These are
cool-climate pinot noirs, more reminiscent of German spätburgunders than
of American or French pinot noirs. Red Tail Ridge’s 2010 is pale ruby,
delicate, crisp and light-bodied, fragrant with flowers and red fruits.
17. Las Orcas Rioja Crianza Decenio 2006
Spring still has its cooler moments, and this intense Rioja is just
right for sweater-weight evenings. The Las Orcas Crianza is 100 percent
tempranillo, and, though it’s already seven years old, it’s still young
and slightly tannic. The wine is deep and rich with spicy, potent
flavors of red fruit and a lovely, herbal edge that lingers. (Zev Rovine
Selections/Bon Vivant Imports, Boise, Idaho)
18. Charles Helfenbein Côtes du Rhône Brézème 2011
Brézème is a long-neglected area on the southern end of the northern
Rhône Valley that has been resurrected in the last decade or so by
producers like Éric Texier and, more recently, Charles Helfenbein. This
is meaty and savory, 100 percent syrah, with an aroma of violets. It
wouldn’t hurt to decant this wine. (A Thomas Calder Selection/Moonlight
Wine, New York)
19. Domaine des Billards St.-Amour 2010
The 2010 vintage is superb for
cru Beaujolais,
wines from the 10 villages thought to be of sufficient quality that
their names are appellations. This complex, delicate, graceful
St.-Amour, from the northernmost of the crus, combines aromas of red
fruit with earthy, sturdy, lingering mineral flavors. (David Bowler
Wine, New York)
20. Château Milon St.-Émilion Cuvée Caprice 2010
You don’t often find Bordeaux from a brand-name appellation at this
price. This is a lovely St.-Émilion, with flavors of sweet red fruit
edged with minerals. It’s lightly tannic and not especially complex, but
deliciously straightforward and pleasing. (Polaner Selections)
