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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.
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.
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.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Forêt
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
Jan 2023
,What a treat it is to drink the 2010 Chablis 1er Cru Forêt from Raveneau. I can’t remember the last time I tasted this, it could very well have been when I reviewed it from bottle ten years ago! Back then, I wrote that “The 2010 isn't the most complex Forêt, but it is likely to drink better earlier than some of the other wines in this lineup because of its round, immediate personality.” That’s actually turned out to be pretty accurate. Thank God.
Cellar Favorite: 2002 & 2004 Dom Pérignon
France: Champagne, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
Dec 2022
,A recent family gathering provided a great opportunity to check in on two of my favorite Dom Pérignons.
Cellar Favorite: 2004, 2006 & 2009 Boekenhoutskloof Semillon
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, South Africa
Dec 2022
,The inspiration for this Cellar Favourite was a sublime bottle of 2006 Semillon from Boekenhoutskloof, Franschhoek’s leading producer. Current winemaker Gottfried Mocke poured it after our tasting of recent releases, acting as evidence of how rewarding the Cape’s wines can be with age.
Cellar Favorite: 2008 Domaine Jean-François Coche-Dury Meursault Les Rougeots
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
Dec 2022
,The 2008 Meursault Les Rougeous from Coche-Dury is fabulous.
Cellar Favorite: 1943 Petrus
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
Nov 2022
,In my continuing and futile attempt to drink every Petrus of the 20th century, I ticked off one of the lesser-known war vintages this summer. Incidentally, it was served blind, and though I identified the château, I was quite a few years out on the vintage. Maybe even decades!