Browse using the new Vinous website now. Launch →
Cavallotto: Raiding the Cellar
featured, Italy: Piedmont, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2025
The first edition of Vinous Icons: Italy, held in May 2025, got off to a serious bang with this vertical tasting and dinner of Cavallotto Barolos dating back to the 1960s. It was a special evening of superb wine, food and the kind of camaraderie that the best wines inspire. We surveyed Barolos across six decades, a great opportunity to examine how these wines have developed over several generations.
Vinous Table: La Pagode de Cos & Restaurant Le Gabriel, Paris, France
Vinous Table
, Dec 2025
Tucked away in the 8th Arrondissement, not too far away from some of the most famous shopping areas in Paris, Michel Reybier’s La Réserve is home to several restaurants. The three-Michelin-star Le Gabriel is the hotel’s signature destination restaurant, while La Pagode de Cos offers a more informal environment within the context of high-end Paris hotels. I recently enjoyed exceptional meals at both.
Giacomo Conterno: Seven Decades of Barolo Riserva Monfortino
featured, Italy: Piedmont, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2025
La Festa del Barolo 2024 was full of highlights. Our vertical tasting and dinner featuring Conterno’s flagship Barolo Riserva Monfortino was one of the most highly anticipated events of the weekend. It was a magical night. The wines spoke with tremendous eloquence, while our guests brought energy and enthusiasm to match.
Piedmont Icons Dinner
featured, Italy: Piedmont, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2025
Reference points. That’s one of the key themes we think about when we develop events, tastings and seminars. This recent dinner showcased five benchmark grower estates, each with their best wines and vintages. It was a magical evening that once again showed how powerful wine can be as a catalyst for conversation and friendship.
Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda Vertical Tasting & Lunch at La Festa del Barolo
featured, Italy: Piedmont, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2025
Vigna Rionda holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Barolo lovers. It’s an evocative vineyard, a magical site that has given birth to extraordinary Barolos for the last several decades. The Massolino family have long been stewards of Rionda and all the history that lies within its slopes. This lunch, featuring ten vintages of Massolino’s Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda with Franco Massolino, offered a unique opportunity to explore the nuances of this historic vineyard as seen through the lens of one of its greatest interpreters.
Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio: Barolo Monprivato and Riserva Cà d’Morissio in Magnum
Piedmont, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2025
Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio is one of Piedmont’s most historic estates. This rare vertical tasting of Mascarello’s iconic Barolo Monprivato and Barolo Riserva Cà d’Morissio, all from magnum, provided an extraordinary opportunity to trace the evolution of the wines across three decades that include many of the estate’s most legendary vintages.
The Year in Review: 2025
General Interest, featured
, Dec 2025
The end of the year is always a time of reflection. Two thousand twenty-five has been a truly spectacular year, both personally and professionally. I have been blessed to have so many unforgettable experiences. I traveled more and worked harder than any year I can remember. Nevertheless, the balance of the scale in 2025 very much tips towards the positive. When I stop to take it all in, I can only summarize 2025 with one word: Gratitude.
Cellar Favorite: 1970 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet Grand Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Dec 2025
I have been fortunate to taste many vintages of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Montrachet Grand Cru over the years, but the 1970 was a vintage that had eluded me. This is a very special bottle, both for what is in the glass and for the rich history it unlocks.
Vinous Table: Gramercy Tavern, New York, USA
Vinous Table
, Dec 2025
More than 30 years after opening, Gramercy Tavern remains a benchmark for fine dining in New York City. That’s saying a lot in a town where restaurants come and go practically every day. I first dined at Gramercy Tavern in 2005, shortly after I moved to New York City. It quickly became a favorite. While most articles in our Vinous Table column are about a special meal, this article is a departure, mostly because I have been to Gramercy so many times over the years that I find it challenging to reduce my experiences to a meal or two.
Cellar Favorite: Champagne Louis Roederer – Inflection Points
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Champagne
, Dec 2025
Longtime Roederer Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon pulled out a stunning series of wines at the conclusion of my annual tasting of vins clairs and new releases earlier this year. Of course, it’s always interesting to taste older vintages, but these bottles represent something more than just rare wines from the past. Most of them represent inflection points in Lécaillon’s thinking.