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Cellar Favorite: 2016 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Vin de Pays de L'Herault
France, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Apr 2024
It must have been a decade ago when I attended a vertical of Domaine de la Grange des Pères in London. Then, it was revered as arguably Languedoc’s only true cult wine and, combined with its price tag, I was rather put off.
Cellar Favorite: 1993 Domaine de Chevalier
France: Bordeaux, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Apr 2024
Last October, I was in Bordeaux during the autumn Porte Ouverte days, when locals can tour châteaux and attend evening dinners, many of which are inexpensive to take part in. I was tasting the 2021s on the same day as Domaine de Chevalier’s soirées, and proprietor Olivier Bernard invited me, along with around 200 other guests. With so many people, you need a large bottle!
Cellar Favorite: 1990 Latour à Pomerol
France: Bordeaux, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Apr 2024
The 1990 Latour à Pomerol epitomizes everything one could wish for in a mature Pomerol, but without paying a king’s ransom. Despite the highly regarded growing season, I approach this with modest expectations because these were not halcyon days for the estate.
Cellar Favorite: 2014 M & C Lapierre Morgon Marcel Lapierre Cuvée MMXIV
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Rhône & Beaujolais
, Apr 2024
The 2014 Morgon Marcel Lapierre Cuvée MMXIV comes from 2.5 hectares planted in 1907-1910, just after phylloxera. The vines are located in the Le Douby climat, towards Fleurie, which the legendary Marcel Lapierre has intermittently bottled separately since 1999. Authorities refused the maiden vintage since it did not adhere to the typical Morgon style for reasons only known to them. To circumvent demotion into Vin de France, Marcel Lapierre’s son, the then teenage Mathieu, who is recounting this story in the sunny courtyard outside the winery in Villié-Morgon, suggested his father print the vintage in Roman numerals.
Cellar Favorite: 2017 Domaine Samuel Billaud Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Burgundy
, Mar 2024
I have praised Samuel Billaud’s wines for around a decade now, going so far as to suggest that they rank amongst Chablis’ premier tier of producers, alongside Raveneau and Dauvissat. A recent dinner at the splendid Lorne restaurant, the same that saw the 1973 La Fleur-Pétrus opened, also witnessed a bottle that ‘sizzled’ with potential.
Cellar Favorite: 1991 René Balthazar Cornas
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Rhône & Beaujolais
, Mar 2024
The Northern Rhône is a region that I would like to know better. There is too little time with Burgundy and Bordeaux under my charge, so I look forward to future reports from my colleague, Nicolas Greinacher. A recent Riesling/Syrah-themed dinner was bejeweled with exquisite bottles and fodder for several Cellar Favorites. This one caught my eye.
Cellar Favorite: 1971 Staatsweingut Eltville Rauenthaler Langenstück Riesling Spätlese
Germany, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Mar 2024
My adoration for any bottle of wine born the same year as myself is well-known. I sound like a broken record proselytizing the 1971 vintage. But then a bottle sashays along and vindicates my opinion, reconfirming that this is such a trove of outstanding bottles, arguably none more so than Germany.
Cellar Favorite: 1948 Coufran
France: Bordeaux, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Mar 2024
I do not wish to sound like a broken record, but allow me to reiterate the most sage advice I will ever dispense on old bottles of wine. Provenance is key. Perhaps even more than producer or vineyard, how that bottle has lived its life determines how it will show once released from incarceration.
Cellar Favorite: 1973 La Fleur-Pétrus
France: Bordeaux, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Feb 2024
The latest in the series of “Don’t dismiss a poor vintage ‘til you’ve tasted it first” is a bottle of 1973 La Fleur-Pétrus that was poured blind at the excellent Lorne restaurant in London in January. Several years earlier, at the inaugural “Grouse Club”, Lord Bruce had left us dumbfounded by a 1973 La Fleur-Pétrus from his legendary cellar. This bottle left us equally lost for words.
Cellar Favorite: Château Latour: 2024 New Releases
France: Bordeaux, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Feb 2024
For more than a decade now, Château Latour has released their wines in bottle only after several years, when the team feels they are ready to start drinking. This year’s releases provide an opportunity to revisit wines from three very different vintages, each with something to offer. I tasted the wines with Technical Director Hélène Genin during a visit to the château in December 2023.