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The Minnow: Sigalas Rabaud 1975-2019
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Jul 2024
Continuing my coverage of Sauternes, big and small, this look at Sigalas Rabaud falls into the latter category as one of the appellation’s smallest First Growths. This vertical, held at the property, covers vintages from 1975 to 2019.
Cellar Favorite: 1995 Domaine J.L. Chave L’Hermitage Blanc
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2024
I don’t drink enough white Rhône wines. But when I do, it might as well be amongst the very best.
The Cocochine, London, UK
United Kingdom, Vinous Table
, Jul 2024
There are many aspects of The Cocochine that I enjoyed, not least the quality of ingredients and execution. Perhaps the menu plays it safer than I was anticipating. Maybe that was because of my own choices - an observation rather than a criticism. There was something comforting about the dishes encountered at the test kitchen, and this translated onto the menu in terms of failsafe combinations, but that precluded a knockout dish where I wanted to jump up onto my chair and praise the epicurean gods above. I won’t find a better scallop or lamb this year.
A Burgundy Intermezzo
featured, France: Burgundy
, Jul 2024
This brief Burgundy report looks at new releases from an established producer, Domaine Leflaive, a brand new grower, Arnaud Boué and a welcome return for the Chassagne-Montrachets of Domaine Michel Niellon, with an early look at their 2023s.
Cellar Favorite: 2015 Envínate Lousas Parcela Camiño Novo
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Jul 2024
During the Burgfest tasting, we tend to diversify our drinking habits at dinners as members proffer bottles from their cellars. One of the best was the 2015 Lousas Parcela Camiño Novo from Envínate, which translates as “wine yourself”.
Vinous Table: The Merry Harriers, Surrey, UK
United Kingdom, Vinous Table
, Jul 2024
The Merry Harriers is a welcome addition to the rather jejune Surrey dining scene. All the best places tend to be tucked away in the middle of nowhere.
Variations on a Theme: Burgundy 2020 Whites
featured, France: Burgundy
, Jul 2024
There is justifiable handwringing about Burgundy losing its typicité because of warmer growing seasons. Is that being borne out in the wines? In the first of two blind tastings at the annual Burgfest, I tasted over 200 whites from the 2020 vintage and found reasons to be cheerful.
Cellar Favorite: 1971 Latour & 1971 Les Forts de Latour
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2024
Wine is often a moving target. The greatest tend to be shape-shifters in the glass. Just when you think you’ve got a wine pinned down, it mutates into something different, and you end up crossing out words in your carefully written note. It’s like a child toying with you, playing peek-a-boo. Now you see me…now you don’t.
Rockeries in Living Rooms: 1988 vs. 1989 Bordeaux
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Jul 2024
Bordeaux vintages are so fascinating that people have been known to write entire books about them! Here, I focus on two particularly intriguing but stylistically different vintages, 1988 and 1989. The former has never quite had the same reputation as the latter. Did that play out during these themed dinners?
Cellar Favorite: 1986 Domaine Jean-François Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru and 1989 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Jul 2024
In the fledgling days of my wine career, long before I put pen to paper, I used to visit a reputable merchant in deepest Suffolk. These were thoroughly enjoyable away days from the office. We would often repair to a local fish restaurant to imbibe the rest of the afternoon away, skivers that we were. I vividly recall one occasion when the merchant regaled a bottle drunk recently. He rhapsodized that wine so much that his words have always stayed with me. Unfortunately, even then, 20-plus years ago, this wine was so unfathomably rare that the chances of even finding a bottle, let alone drinking one, were remote. Of course, back then, I had not counted on munificent wine friends…