Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.6

Meg had this a year ago

with William and Cathy

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.0

Made from 100 percent Nebbiolo grown in Barbaresco at 280 m elevation, it’s limpid, sharp, and juicy, a blade of acid slicing through succulent red and black fruits. Plum and cherry, cranberry, and tart raspberry dazzle the tongue, while a wafting blue-black smoke of herbs and seeds and woodsy spice filters across the top. The finish fizzes into a juicy goodbye. Great for weeknight pasta, pizza, chicken, sear-roasted whatever. 13.5% abv | $22 (sample) | Imported by Dalla Terra — 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.1

Conventional wisdom says to treat nonvintage sparkling wine as a fresh product, but when the wine is well made with long lees contact, it can continue to evolve and deepen. Past experience has proven that this wine can age beautifully for five or more years after disgorgement, becoming rounder and toastier. Made from 100 percent Chardonnay, hand-picked, which spent two years sur lattes. This bottle, disgorged in 2014, is indeed fresh right now, with glistering acidity and notes of green citrus and lime peel. For the price, it’s a terrific wine for anytime-celebrations, and pairs beautifully with fish, sushi, poultry, fresh cheese, and salads. In two to three years it’ll be ready for charcuterie, lighter meats, hard cheeses, pasta—the works. 12.5% abv | $25 (sample) | Imported by Palm Bay — 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.4

Meg had this a year ago

with William and Cathy

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

8.9

The wine’s tender mousse yields a fragrance of pear, fresh dough, and wet stone, and the body is tingly, its delicate bubbles carrying piercing acidity and lemon-laurel essence. Made with certified organic Parellada, Macabeo, and Xarel·lo grown at high elevations in Catalunya; the winery is transitioning to biodynamics. I visited the winery in June and was impressed with the wines, the winemakers, and their philosophy. Pair this Brut with fresh cheeses, tapas, picnic sandwiches, and a sunny day. 11.5% abv | about $15 — 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.0

The smell of sweet late summer, with anise and fennel, ripe bramble fruit, and purple flowers. It’s juicy and black-brambly on the tongue, too, with that characteristic bitter Dolcetto snap. Made from hundred percent Dolcetto grown on on Monte Aribaldo in the commune of Treiso, in a vineyard with a south-facing exposure. It’s ripe and friendly, but the tannins are like corduroy or velour, very sensual but cottony, not too soft, and the acid really makes the wine. Drink now through 2020. 13.5% abv | $20 (sample) | Imported by Dalla Terra — 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

8.0

Admirably herbaceous, with a silky mid-body studded with crunchy minerals. It’s not a ripe wine, but not without (youthful) fruit. It’s cooling at the finish, almost minty. Sixty-five cases made; this vintage is sold out. 12.8% abv | $29 (sample; current vintage)
— 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

8.0

A dry sparkling wine from the country of Georgia, made from Chinebuli, Mtsvane, and Tsitska grapes. The fragrance has a faintly grapey fruitiness, suggesting musk melon and white flowers, and its active, crackly body feels green-citrusy but with a welcome bitter finish. This is a Charmat method wine so its complexity is modest, but the approach highlights the fruits’ freshness and pure flavors. More interesting than much Prosecco at this price level. Pair with fresh cheeses, crackers, snacks. 12% abv | $13 (sample) — 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.0

Made from 100 percent Chardonnay, grown at 400 to 700 m elevation on the mountain slopes of Trentino. The 2007 vintage was variable, with a warm spring followed by a cool, wet growing season. Harvest was early, with the fruit hand-picked while dodging thunderstorms, but the slow ripening and early harvest guaranteed good acidity. The wine was vinified with Ferrari’s selected yeast strain, then aged a minimum of five years sur lattes; this bottle was disgorged in 2015. Although nearly eight years old, it's incredibly precise and fresh, suggesting lime peel, bitter almond, Meyer lemon, and brioche. The texture is tingly and shimmering, with a finish that shivers across the tongue and leaves an impression of cooling sunlight. This wine is still a child but has an armature that can carry it ten or more years in bottle. It's a stunning deal; lay a case down. 12.5% abv | $38 (sample) | Imported by Palm Bay — 3 years ago

Meg Maker

Wine Writer, Maker's Table

9.0

I drink a lot of Ferrari’s 100 percent Chardonnay Brut, but this wine, the rosé equivalent, is quite different. It’s earthy, with an almost-iron core wound tight with minerals and crackling acid, and top-noted with pale berries, peach skin, and melon. But despite these subtle fruit notes and the anticipatory charms of its alluring, pearly salmon color, there is nothing fleshy about this wine. Instead it feels serious and grounded. It’s a traditional method rosé with a dignified structure and plenty of authority and weight, made from 60 percent Pinot Nero and 40 percent Chardonnay, hand-picked. The wine spent 24 months sur lattes and this bottle was disgorged in 2015. My best advice: Buy a case now, drink three bottles with holiday meals, drink another three next spring, and hold the rest for three years, minimum. 12.5% abv | $36 (sample) | Imported by Palm Bay
— 3 years ago