6 6 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t
Both wines from Murrieta's Well, The Whip and
The Spur, are highly blended. The Whip 2014, a lus-
cious and incandescent blend of mostly Semillon and
Chardonnay, is delicately layered with small percent-
ages of Sauvignon Blanc, Orange Muscat, Muscat
Canelli and Viognier. It offers up a pretty bouquet of
golden apple, dried pineapple, mango, lemon drop
and vanilla. There's just as much range of fruit on the
palate, with discernible glycerol adding perceptible
sweetness to the core and weight. Toasty notes of
pencil shavings linger on the finish.
Playing opposite The Whip is The Spur 2013, a
polished blend of 40% Petite Sirah and 26% Cabernet
with Petit Verdot, rendered more complex with Merlot,
Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. The wine sports an
opaque, purple-hued robe, and the aromatics are soft
PHOTO:
DOUG
YOUNG
PHOTO:
DOUG
YOUNG
Branzino ala
plancha—with
quinoa, spinach,
mushrooms,
and whole grain
mustard
citrus sauce.
Restaurateur and owner of
Chat American Grill, Mario
Fava, with Wine Buyer and
Sommelier Gregory Galli in
Scarsdale, New York.
