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Cellar Favorite: 1945 Troplong Mondot
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Nov 2024
Best vintage of the 20th century? 1945. Few will argue against that. A one-off historical nexus of victory against evil with victory in the vineyard.
Cellar Favorite: 1973 Californian Cabernets
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California
, Oct 2024
A recent discussion about 1970s California wine on the Vinous forum prompted me to cleave away a couple of tasting notes from my round-up of mature wines.
Cellar Favorite: 1990 Henschke Lenswood Abbotts Prayer Vineyard
Australia, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2024
The 1990 Lenswood Abbotts Prayer Vineyard from Henschke is a rare old bird. I found little information on this wine, even from Henschke’s website, except that the vineyard was a majority Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder Merlot.
Cellar Favorite: 1924 Gruaud Larose
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2024
A rare century-old bottle of 1924 Gruaud Larose was a late addition to a mouth-watering line-up of fermented grape juice poured at Ming Court restaurant on my final night in Hong Kong.
Cellar Favorite: Castello dei Rampolla: Library Releases
Italy: Tuscany, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2024
These library releases from Castello dei Rampolla offer fascinating insights into one of Italy’s most innovative estates and wines.
Cellar Favorite: 1984 Ridge Zinfandel Geyserville Trentadue
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California
, Sep 2024
The 1984 Zinfandel Geyserville Trentadue is one of Ridge’s more obscure single-vineyard bottlings. This cuvée is a blend of 95% Zinfandel and 5% Petit Sirah that came from a vineyard established by Evelyn and Leo Trentadue.
Cellar Favorite: 1985 Cheval Blanc
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2024
It has been several years since I last tasted the 1985 Cheval Blanc. When this was poured, a guest enquired whether I liked it, to which I replied: “It’s Cheval Blanc…It’s 1985…Of course!”
Cellar Favorite: 2017 Kanonkop Paul Sauer
South Africa, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2024
In South Africa, there is a debate about whether the 2015 Paul Sauer is better than the 2017 or vice versa. They are both great vintages of one of the Cape’s icons.
Cellar Favorite: 2008 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2024
I know, I know, I know. With all the discussion about the unaffordability of Burgundy, why this 2008 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru? Simply because this bottle was not scurried away in some dusty cellar. It was not used to make a profit. It was not brandished about to show off someone’s wealth. It had one reason and one reason only–to be drunk for what it is, something as banal and wondrous as wine.
Cellar Favorite: 1985 Lisini Prefillossero
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy
, Aug 2024
Vines planted in their own roots is a subject that has intrigued me for a while, not least after my now infamous article on Liber Pater. The topic arose again recently with Eric Guido’s excellent piece on Tiberio’s Fonte Canale. Addressing ungrafted vines, one must not conflate recent plantings on vines’ own roots and the plots of surviving vines that predate the phylloxera louse in the late 19th century. This story is about the latter.