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A Century of...Fives
France: Bordeaux, France: Bordeaux featured Verticals and Retrospectives, France: Bordeaux Verticals and Retrospectives featured, featured
, Jun 2025
My annual "Century of..." article revisits vintages on their decennial anniversaries. This year, we dive into Fives.
Cellar Favorite: 1990 Hennebelle
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jun 2025
The 1990 Hennebelle is a pertinent reminder of the glories of Bordeaux, how a modest quarter-century-old Haut-Médoc could deliver such pleasure.
Vinous Table: L’Ardente, Washington, D.C., United States
Vinous Table, featured
, Jun 2025
Located just a few blocks from Capitol Hill, L’Ardente offers unpretentious, straight-down-the-line Italian fare that has earned a reputation for quality. The atmosphere is lively and the sommelier team is impressive.
2024 Wachau and Lower Austria: Calamities and Coups de Coeur
Austria, featured
, Jun 2025
Frost, hail, heat and high water—nature threw everything at winegrowers in Lower Austria in 2024. A warm March led to some of the earliest budbursts ever, making vines vulnerable to late spring frosts in April. Heat and drought posed a challenge in summer, while torrential rains in mid-September caused widespread flooding. Some estates had dramatically lower yields, some were lucky to escape relatively unscathed, but all were worried about what the rain would do to their fruit. Quality is thus more mixed in 2024, yet there are highlights and coups de coeur nonetheless.
The Second Coming of Australian Chardonnay
Australia, chardonnay, featured
, Jun 2025
Australian Chardonnay is now well and truly in the premier league. The best wines show genuine sophistication thanks to intuitive, thoughtful winemaking and the investment in locating and developing optimal sites. This is not confined to a single place—each region, from Tasmania and Adelaide Hills to Margaret River and Victoria’s cool-climate pockets, brings its own take on the modern style, driven by clones, climate and terroir. The only question now is how high Australian Chardonnay will go and whether it will claim its place as a genuine international leader.
Roederer Estate L’Ermitage: A Complete Retrospective
United States: California, featured
, Jun 2025
This complete retrospective of Roederer Estate’s L’Ermitage, the first of its kind, was illuminating on so many fronts. Most importantly, it proved that Anderson Valley is exceptionally well suited to the production of fine, world-class sparkling wine. I was also deeply impressed with how well the wines age. I had tasted L’Ermitage from time to time but not on a consistent basis; many of these vintages were new to me. I tasted this vertical with longtime Winemaker Arnaud Weyrich and President Nicole Carter during a visit to the property in January 2025.
Bordeaux: The Crisis Laid Bare
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jun 2025
Bordeaux is facing its biggest crisis since the 1930s. After speaking candidly to people in and outside of Bordeaux, I felt a duty to depict the sheer scale of the calamity the Bordeaux wine industry is up against.
Bordeaux 2015 At Age Ten
France: Bordeaux, France: Bordeaux featured Verticals and Retrospectives, France: Bordeaux Verticals and Retrospectives featured, featured
, Jun 2025
The 2015 vintage in Bordeaux was warmly received on release, but 2016 stole the limelight just 12 months later. How is the vintage faring now that the wines have reached age ten? Blindfolds on.
An Eruption of Fine Wine on Mount Etna
Italy: Center & South, featured
, May 2025
Mount Etna has arrived. Long anticipated to join the ranks of Piedmont, Montalcino and Burgundy, Etna has established itself as a world-class viticultural zone. The region’s intricate array of contrade, distinctive vineyards and diverse terroirs yields site-transparent wines of incredible complexity. Mount Etna and its winemakers are poised to finally receive the attention they deserve.
The Innings Continues: 1948 to 1995 Yquem
France: Bordeaux, France: Bordeaux featured Verticals and Retrospectives, France: Bordeaux Verticals and Retrospectives featured, featured
, May 2025
I have tasted a great deal of mature Bordeaux wine, including Sauternes, but I have not yet achieved the magic number of 100 different vintages from a single estate. I mentioned my goal to Lorenzo Pasquini, Yquem’s head winemaker, when visiting in April, and he promised to do his best to help, cracking open a selection of mainly off-vintages that filled some of the gaps.