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2+2=5: Bordeaux 2021 In Bottle
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Feb 2024
Bordeaux winemakers endured a tumultuous season in 2021. It is easy to say that the wines are inferior as a result. But years of experience have taught me that is not necessarily true. Wine can defy logic, as if two plus two equals five. Keep an open mind, and you’ll find pleasant surprises.
Cellar Favorite: Château Latour: 2024 New Releases
Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux, 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.
Come On Aline: Château Coutet 1943-2017
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Feb 2024
Château Coutet has been revered as one of Sauternes/Barsac’s most prestigious sweet wines for decades. This article delves into its long history, but as we discover, under the indefatigable Aline Baly, Coutet is an estate that constantly looks to the future.
Survive Us All: Latour 1858-2018
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Feb 2024
A First Growth vertical that spans 160 years and took over three years to complete? This epic tasting of Château Latour is virtually unique in scope. But instead of simply glorifying ancient vintages, this article painstakingly examines the backdrop to the wines, winemaking practices, those involved in their creation, critics’ reception, market prices and the ups and the downs of this storied estate.
Cellar Favorite: 1981 & 1992 Le Pin
Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite
, Jan 2024
I have been fortunate to taste every vintage, though it is over a decade since I encountered one of the early ones. Visiting the estate in December, Thienpont served a bottle blind, a bottle that drew gasps from the audience…even from his better half.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Château Canon
Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite
, Jan 2024
The 2010 Château Canon is interesting to revisit today, especially considering the vintages that have come after it, some of which will take their place among the greatest ever made here.
The Quiet One: 1962 Burgundy & Bordeaux
France: Bordeaux, featured, France: Burgundy
, Dec 2023
The 1962 vintage is revered for both Burgundy and, to a lesser extent, Bordeaux, though its reputation is a recent phenomenon. This unique dinner put a host of iconic 1962s under the spotlight and found that even after six decades, the best represent the apotheosis of wine.
Cellar Favorite: 1899, 1947 & 1970 Yquem
Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Dec 2023
This Cellar Favorite comes from a private dinner held at Château Yquem last April. In-house chef Olivier Brulard, who worked with Michel Guérard at his fabled restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains for many years, cooked a sublime array of dishes to accompany the wines. I understand some who say that an evening devoted to Sauternes is too much. I guess it depends on the Sauternes.
Written in the Stars: Bordeaux 1865-2020
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Dec 2023
In order to promote my Complete Vintage Guide book, together with notable wine merchants and friends, I organized a series of dinners festooned with mature claret. What a privilege. I’ve always thought my career was a combination of happenstance and hard graft. But maybe it was written in the stars?
Cellar Favorite: 1890, 1990, 2005 & 2015 Branaire-Ducru
Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite
, Nov 2023
Proprietor François-Xavier Maroteaux whipped out a quartet of vintages on a recent visit to Branaire-Ducru. Nothing new there. However, this quartet spanned 125 years. I recall Maroteaux mentioning in passing about a handful of ancient bottles from a collector. So, to clarify, the bottle of 1890 had not laid undisturbed in the château’s cellars since birth. Instead, it resided in a private cellar until “coming home”.