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2023 Bordeaux: Signed, Sealed, Delivered
featured, France: Bordeaux
, Mar 2026
Bordeaux’s bottled 2023s enter the world during an especially volatile time. I say “enter” because over the last decade or so, the market for Bordeaux wines has changed radically. En primeur is relevant only for a few dozen wines that might appreciate significantly from the time they are first offered from barrel. That applies to fewer and fewer wines with each passing vintage. For all other properties, which means the overwhelming majority, the real market is the market for bottled, finished wines.
2023 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: Through the Dark
France: Burgundy, featured
, Mar 2026
The annual tasting of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s new releases provided a terrific opportunity to taste the domaine’s complete range and check in on a few older wines as well. Co-Managers Bertrand de Villaine and Perrine Fenal presented the vintage and wines, continuing a tradition that goes back several decades.
Northern Mendoza: The Old and New Terroirs of Luján de Cuyo
featured, Argentina
, Mar 2026
Luján de Cuyo boasts an important concentration of vineyards just a short drive from central Mendoza, the capital city of the eponymous Argentine province. The region has absorbed countless new movements throughout its 150-year history and is now implementing a new zoning process that exalts the subtle variations of the sites and styles on offer.
Burgundy 2024: The State of Play
France: Burgundy, featured
, Mar 2026
There is much handwringing about the escalation of Burgundy prices. In this opinion piece, I disentangle the interrelated factors that have upheld that gravity-defying escalation, its consequences and how it all might play out.
Curse of the Fours: Bouchard Père 1861-2014
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Mar 2026
The word for “four” might be unlucky in Japan, but it certainly was not unlucky with regard to a stunning tasting of wines from Bouchard Père’s cellar back to the 19th century. If that’s not enough, a second Bouchard Père dinner held without a numerical theme was just as enthralling. Together, they form an unrepeatable vinous journey through time.
Rocca di Montegrossi: Act Two
featured, Verticals & Retrospectives, Italy: Tuscany
, Feb 2026
This recent vertical was a terrific opportunity to revisit a number of older wines, essentially picking up where my 2018 article, “Rocca di Montegrossi: Chianti Classico Vigneto San Marcellino 1995–2013,” left off. From his first vintage in 1995, Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi has crafted powerful yet elegant wines that capture the truest essence of this very special part of Chianti Classico.
2025 New Zealand White Wines: Pump Up the Volume
New Zealand, featured
, Feb 2026
New Zealand turned the volume knob to the right in 2025. Crops were large, tanks were filled up, and the season spoke loudly from the outset. Yet the cool opening notes of summer set a slower tempo, and not every vineyard kept pace as the year unfolded. As ever, it was those who adjusted the dial that got it right, managing yields and nutrition based on nature’s bounty.
The Landmark Vintage: 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Retrospective
featured, Italy: Tuscany
, Feb 2026
From one of the most heralded vintages in three decades, the 2006 Brunellos have now turned 20 years old. Do they live up to the initial lofty expectations?
The Fantastic Four: Alto Piemonte, Canavese, Valtellina & Valle d’Aosta
Italy: Piedmont, featured
, Feb 2026
My annual trip through northern Italy once again highlighted the extraordinary diversity of the stretch of tiny appellations often marked by heroic viticulture and rugged landscapes. Here at the foothills and lower slopes of the Alps, readers will find some of the most fascinating, complex wines in the world. This report focuses on Alto Piemonte and also looks at Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo-based wines in nearby appellations, including Canavese and Valtellina. For the first time, I also include wines from a handful of estates in Valle d’Aosta, which shares a border with Carema.
Bordeaux 2023 in Bottle: Coming Around Again
featured, France: Bordeaux
, Feb 2026
Though Bordeaux has its travails, the vintages continue to roll. The bottled 2023s have much to offer those seeking a less concentrated style of claret than the previous vintage provided. As usual, 2023 is not a season without caveats, and as always, it is important to choose wisely. Those who do could be handsomely rewarded.