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Cellar Favorite: 1986 Pape Clément
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Feb 2023
I don’t drink enough mature Pessac-Léognan. I’m not alone there. It’s one of Bordeaux’s overlooked genres of wine. You do not see bottles as often as their Pauillac or Saint-Julien counterparts, as Pessac-Léognan wines do not garner the same reverence, for whatever reason. Meeting up with a friend, newly liberated from Hong Kong, we tasted this little gem.
Cellar Favorite: 1895 Cossart Gordon Bual
Portugal, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jan 2023
Few wines are as indestructible as Madeira. Plenty of 19th-century wines continue to thrive. Following a recent exploration of Frédéric Mugnier’s Chambolle Les Amoureuses, we finished with this fine 128-year-old Madeira that affirmed its time-bending properties.
Vinous Table: Moor Hall, Lancashire, UK
Vinous Table, United Kingdom
, Jan 2023
Moor Hall completely blew me away; lofty expectations surpassed and then some. It takes the best parts of its peers and combines them into something greater.
Cleaning Out the Cupboard: Bordeaux 1943-2020
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jan 2023
This article cleans out my cupboard of miscellaneous Bordeaux tasting notes. It embraces legendary bottles and iconic vintages, minnows and seasons long-forgotten, even derided. Few pleasures in life surpass that of a bottle of wine with years under its belt.
Cellar Favorite: 1989 Domaine de Trévallon Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Les Baux
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France
, Jan 2023
In the early days of my career, I drank a lot of mature bottles from Domaine de Trévallon, including one memorable dinner in London with numerous vintages.
Cellar Favorite: 1974 Diamond Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California
, Jan 2023
I have always had a soft spot for Diamond Creek Vineyards, charmed by Al and Boots Brounstein, who would regularly pour their wines in London in the early days of my career.
Burgundy 2021: The Market
featured, France: Burgundy
, Jan 2023
This opinion piece was originally composed as part of my 2021 Burgundy report. Given the escalation of prices in recent years, here, I discuss what is fueling this inflation, its potential consequences and trends I have seen with respect to Burgundy’s distribution.
Cellar Favorite: 2001 Weingut Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Auslese *** Goldkapsel
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Germany
, Jan 2023
Klaus-Peter Keller’s wines have become collector catnip in recent years, with prices to match. It seems a long time since I made my only visit to the estate. In 2022, I was fortunate to taste several recent vintages and almost forgot this mature gem.
Servants of the Seasons: Burgundy 2021
featured, France: Burgundy
, Jan 2023
Apart from devastating black frost, snow, stunted vine growth, mud, mildew, oïdium, rot, localised hail, difficulties recruiting pickers, erroneous weather forecasts, tiny yields and problems filling vats, the 2021 growing season went swimmingly well in the Côte d’Or. Welcome to the most frustrating, convoluted, brilliant, disappointing, vexing, motley, inspiring, distasteful, delicious, remarkable vintage in recent years.
Review of 2022
General Interest, featured
, Dec 2022
My aim, every year, is to get to the end in one piece. Mission accomplished. The 2022 vintage is definitely one of the best in recent years. I recount the last 12 months month-by-month, at least the publishable aspects, and as has been tradition for almost 20 years, offer a selection of the best wines and finest music.