Wine & Spirits August 2021
Reviews by Joshua Greene – August 2021
Please click links for the full and highly descriptive reviews.
Our blind panels tasted 83 Bierzo wines over the last 12 months. Joshua Greene rated 29 as exceptional (90+) and 17 as Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com. ~Wine & Spirits
FINCA LUNA BEBERIDE 2018
"Alejandro Luna farms 60-year-old mencía vines at altitudes rising to 2,600 feet. He uses no pesticides on the vines or herbicides in the calcareous clay and slate soils, so he can allow the fruit to ferment spontaneously and develop the purity, intensity and stored energy this wine shows when you open the bottle. It tastes of game fresh from the hunt, astonishingly red, sunny, savory and spicy. The fruit recalls dark sour cherries and rose petals, with a beautiful bitterness that feels directly tied to the slate in the soil. Exciting to drink, especially with grilled game sausages"
95 points Wine & Spirits; August 2021
1+1=3 CYGNUS CAVA BRUT NV
"A selection of organically farmed parellada, xarel-lo and macabeo from four estate parcels in Penedès, this delivers the creamy richness of those classical Cava varieties bottle-aged on the lees, upping the ante with refreshing pink grapefruit flavors. Those flavors volatilize into citrus scents that last, deliciously savory.”
92 points Wine & Spirits; August 2021 – (BEST BUY)
CONDE DE SUBIRATS ROSÉ NV
"The Subirats family own 49 acres of vines in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, below the castle that bears the family name. Winemaker Damia Deas i Gual buys in fruit from another 250 for the winery’s Cavas, including this blend of trepat with 10 percent pinot noir. It’s a rich wine with notes of Cara Cara oranges, wild mushrooms and rooty scents, a lovely pink for roast quail."
90 points Wine & Spirits; August 2021 – (BEST BUY)
ESENCIA DIVIÑA 2020
"Pale tangelo yellow in its flavors, this is a salty, yeasty white that packs cool fruit into a brisk citrus finish. Pour it with oysters or clams on the half shell."
91 points Wine & Spirits; August 2021 – (BEST BUY)
