This year’s Reserve Tasting, the event that rolls out the ultra premium wines and spirits (priced over $50 retail), took place Saturday evening at the new Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. The wines were mostly from the U.S., but there were representatives from France, Spain, and Argentina as well. I tasted as many as I could and give you my top five, in order of discovery:
- Krug Grande Cuvée, Reims, Champagne, France, MV. This classic Champagne lived up to its reputation
- Clos Apalta, Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2008. Virtually opaque in the glass. Huge fruit. Needs a decade to sort itself out. We recommend this one for cellaring.
- Wrath Chardonnay San Saba Vineyard, Monterey, 2008. Poor, locally owned Wrath was threatened with being buried by all the big names at this show. Only their refined Chardonnay, made in a big California style, could save them. It did, in spades.
- Beaulieu Vineyards Private Reserve Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2008. A California classic looks like it is on the way back.
- Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Lot 1, Napa Valley, 2008. So limited, it did not even appear in the Savor Dallas program. Don’t be fooled by the minimalist label, this is a maximalist wine. It will age for a long time.
