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Oregon Pinot Noir: The Winning Streak Continues
featured, United States: Oregon
, Jul 2020
Oregon’s unprecedented run of outstanding vintages which began in 2014, has been extended yet again with 2018. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2011 and 2007 to find years that were truly challenging, and both of those vintages actually produced a large number of outstanding wines.
2020 Rosé-a-Rama
France, featured, Rest of the World
, Jun 2020
The Rosé season has started, but definitely not at the frenetic pace of the last several years. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has put a damper on demand for all wines. Even the ever-popular pink versions aren’t immune to market realities. That said, the best 2019 Rosés are generous, soft and versatile at the dinner table.
Exploring Northern Rhône Whites
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, May 2020
The hot growing conditions that defined the 2017, 2018 and 2019 vintages in the Northern Rhône show in the white wines, but the best examples also offer a good bit of energy to counterbalance their richness and ripeness. Simply put, the whites here have never been better, while the top bottlings are easily some of the world’s finest wines.
Northern Rhône: A First Look at the 2019s
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, May 2020
While my late-winter visit to the northern Rhône focused primarily on tasting the 2017s and bottled 2018s, I also had a chance to try a good number of 2019s. Like 2018, 2019 was a hot and dry year, but the wines look extremely promising and show an uncanny blend of depth and vivacity.
Power and Energy: The 2018 and 2017 Northern Rhônes
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, Apr 2020
Northern Rhône wine lovers whose tastes run to richness and power are going to have a field day with the 2018 and 2017 vintages. While most of the wines tend toward dark fruit character, the best examples also have quite a bit of freshness and energy. That is especially true of the 2018s, which will appeal to readers who prefer a more classic style.
San Luis Obispo: Solidifying an Identity
United States: California, featured
, Apr 2020
The best-known region within San Luis Obispo County is, of course, Paso Robles. However, most wines that carry the San Luis Obispo designation bear little resemblance to those from that AVA, emphasizing elegance and energy over ripeness and strength.
Vacqueyras: The Southern Rhône’s Stealth Appellation
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, Feb 2020
While its more famous neighbors have long been on the radar of wine lovers and collectors, Vacqueyras and its wines continue to fly under the radar. That is likely to soon change, especially given the consistently fine value these wines offer and the uniformly high quality of recent and upcoming vintages.
Gigondas Maintains Its Tempo
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, Feb 2020
Gigondas, like the rest of the southern Rhône Valley, experienced lows and highs, in that order, in 2017. The low points came at the beginning of the year, when warm weather set off early flowering, and in May, when shatter severely affected Grenache, resulting in significant crop loss across the region. Fortunately, the remainder of the season was picture perfect, if warm, while the quality of the crop was very high.
Paso Robles Can’t Stop Winning
United States: California, featured
, Feb 2020
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, 2017 yielded yet another exceptional harvest for Paso Robles. It’s the latest in a stretch of outstanding vintages that extends, unbroken, back to 2011, which was by no means a truly bad year. The best wines deftly combine richness and energy, with a balance of fruit and structure that is compelling.
Cellar Favorite: 1966 Dow’s Vintage Port
Portugal, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jan 2020
Nineteen sixty-six has long been an undervalued year for Port, especially given the across-the-board quality of the wines, many of which can stand toe-to-toe with their 1963 siblings.