Understanding wine is not only a matter of good taste but is also an essential business tool, be it for entertaining, closing a deal over dinner or gifting a prized client. This month’s installment of “Savoring Your Success” looks at some standout selections suitable for the accomplished connoisseur and those who aspire to be.
The list below was curated by Jonathan Looney, certified sommelier and owner of O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor in Little Rock, a definitive authority for wine in central Arkansas. It contains solid to decadent selections at multiple price points to match any budget or occasion.
Mastering this list is the first step toward certifying one’s good taste, upward mobility and status as a true aficionado.
Cheers.
Wonderful Whites
2016 Gaja & Rey Langhe
Chardonnay • Italy
Boasting flavors of citrus, honeydew melon and salty mineral nuances derived from limestone-rich soils, this selection has wowed wine experts around the world, Looney among them.
“This wine comfortably fits into the top five wines that I would consume whilst stranded on a desert island,” he said. “I ‘endured’ this under duress with oysters, viewing a pastoral sunset with close friends over 10 years ago, marveling at how its racy acidity and sublime fruitiness hinted at its nuanced nature. Features a persistent finish that goes on for what seems like hours.”
Pair to perfection with shellfish, lean fish, pasta, mature and hard cheeses, and cured meat; the Gaja holds its own yet enhances the other flavors beautifully.
“This wine will dazzle even the most discerning palate,” Looney said, “and definitely impress the boss.”
94/100 (Wine Advocate) • $330
2020 Kosta Browne One Sixteen Russian River Valley
Chardonnay • California
A wonderful example of Sonoma Valley grape magic, One Sixteen Russian Valley demonstrates the best of the American winemaker’s art. Offering bright citrus notes of lemon and lime zest, as well as pear, fresh honeysuckle and custard creme brulee, the selection balances against brilliant minerality.
“Ridiculous balance of French oak, apple, pear, lime and almond biscotti,” said Looney. “Definitely California liquid sunshine. A cult wine, it’s impressive to show.”
Versatile at table, serve this beauty with confidence alongside pork, vegetarian and poultry dishes.
92/100 (Wine Spectator) • $117
2017 Trimbach Reserve
Pinot Gris • France
True art is at once profound and profane, something that rests in the mind long after it has entered the senses. Such can be said about the 2017 Trimbach Reserve, the lone pinot gris in the top three. Hailing from the Alsace region of France, this edgy selection has been aged to perfection pre-release and the result is an austere concoction that punches well above its weight, sassy enough to stand up to pork and spicy dishes yet sophisticated enough to complement cured meat and mushrooms.
“Pinot gris from Alsace? 2017 current vintage? Yes times two,” Looney said. “This isn’t your patio pounder Solo Cup quaffer but a serious wine for decidedly unserious folks, guaranteed to inspire even the most laid-back wine enthusiasts to a raucous, passionate discourse on the state of wine today.”
93/100 (Wine Enthusiast) • $47
BEST OF THE REST
Round out any collection with the bright whites described here by Jonathan Looney:
2017 Domaine de Villaine Rully
1st Cru Les Margotes
France • 90/100 (Inside Burgundy) • $120
“Chalky minerality. Depth of fruit. Impeccable pedigree. Enjoy with chargrilled, lime-drizzled shrimp.”
2017 Pott Twenty Meters 3 Viognier,
Mt Veeder CNP Vineyard
California • 92/100 (Vinous) • $74
“Viognier from Napa? Yes. Made by Aaron Pott from his mountainside eponymous vineyard, this is a rare bird indeed.”
2018 DuMol Wester Reach Russian River Chardonnay
California • 94/100 (Wine Advocate) • $70
“I waited more than a decade to sell this wine in Arkansas — bright, bold, nuanced with just a little razzle-dazzle. Assuredly amazing.”
REFINED REDS
2016 Quintarelli Giuseppe Ca’ del Merlo Rosso Veneto
Red blend • Italy
A once-in-a-lifetime drinking experience, this spectacular selection combines 50 percent grape juice pressed at harvest with 50 percent juice from grapes that have been dried for two months, intensifying flavors. After fermentation, the wine is racked into large Slavonian oak barrels for seven years to produce a transcendent elixir.
“Only read about this delicious unicorn until a casual
run-in with an master sommelier at SPQR in San Francisco a few years ago,” Looney said. “Only 12 bottles allocated to Arkansas; this is the wine that personifies liquified perfection.”
93/100 (James Suckling) • $569.99
2015 Quilceda Creek
Columbia Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon • Washington State
“Graceful”, “expressive” and “impeccable” are just some of the terms lavished on this full-bodied lush stunner out of the Pacific Northwest. Pronounced notes of dark berry, black olive and Chambord combine to deliver an intense richness and juicy tannins.
Difficult to find in Arkansas, Looney said this is one wine that is quest-worthy.
“A highly rated masterpiece that will blow you away with its big bold layers of flavor,” he said, “one of the best producers in Washington has certainly produced a showstopper.”
96/100 (Wine Enthusiast) • $200
2016 Lamborn Family Vineyards Howell Mountain
Zinfandel • California • $70
Leveraging the near-perfect 2016 growing season to its fullest, this affordable wine offers a rich blackberry color with open aromas of layered cherry and ripe raspberry atop layers of spice and minerals. Mouthfeel is complex and complements the ideal marriage of toast and vanilla buttressed against black pepper and spicy undertones that lead to a silky and lingering finish.
Winemaker Heidi Barrett, who brought this sumptuous selection to life, calls it “an exceptional example of mountaintop zinfandel … definitely in a league of its own,” and Looney simply stated, “I couldn’t agree more.”
BEST OF THE REST
Treat the senses to these sumptuous selections hand-picked by Looney:
2019 Kapcsandy Family
Winery Roberta’s Reserve Merlot
California • 98/100 (Jeb Dunnuck) • $480
“Only 220 cases were made of this merlot, which is 100 percent Napa Valley perfection. All the wine critics confirm what anyone catching a small whiff of this beauty knows immediately in their bones.”
2017 Shafer Hillside Select
Cabernet Sauvignon
California • 97/100
(International Wine Cellar) • $370
“Devastatingly delicious, the purest form of the bounty of Napa cabernet sauvignon. Stag’s Leap District shows what attention to detail in winemaking and brilliant careful stewardship of the grape itself means.”
2018 Sea Smoke Southing
Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
California • 95
(Wine Enthusiast) • $180
“We waited over 15 years for the opportunity to share this amazing pinot from the storied Sea Smoke vineyard — berry-busting brilliance combined with layer after layer of evocative fruit.”
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