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Vinous Table: The Merry Harriers, Surrey, UK
United Kingdom, Vinous Table
, Jul 2024
The Merry Harriers is a welcome addition to the rather jejune Surrey dining scene. All the best places tend to be tucked away in the middle of nowhere.
Chianti Classico: The Magnificent 2021s
featured, Italy: Tuscany
, Jul 2024
Two thousand twenty-one is the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop. The 2021s are majestic wines endowed with striking aromatics, layered fruit and all the energy that is such a signature of the appellation. Quality is consistently high across the region, while many wines hit breathtaking peaks of excellence. Last year, I wrote, “The 2021s, in particular, are some of the most exciting young wines I have tasted in more than 25 years of visiting the region.” The top bottlings, those being released this year, more than confirm that initial impression. This is a historic vintage Vinous readers will want to pay close attention to.
Variations on a Theme: Burgundy 2020 Whites
featured, France: Burgundy
, Jul 2024
There is justifiable handwringing about Burgundy losing its typicité because of warmer growing seasons. Is that being borne out in the wines? In the first of two blind tastings at the annual Burgfest, I tasted over 200 whites from the 2020 vintage and found reasons to be cheerful.
Cellar Favorite: 1971 Latour & 1971 Les Forts de Latour
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2024
Wine is often a moving target. The greatest tend to be shape-shifters in the glass. Just when you think you’ve got a wine pinned down, it mutates into something different, and you end up crossing out words in your carefully written note. It’s like a child toying with you, playing peek-a-boo. Now you see me…now you don’t.
The Chilean Coast: Where the Pacific Shapes Vibrant Reds and Whites
featured, Chile
, Jul 2024
A little-known strip of Chile is producing a rich seam of distinctive, characterful reds and whites, with Cabernet Sauvignon conspicuously absent. This report focuses on Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cinsault, País and more from the Chilean coastline, where a range of delicious wines are ready to be discovered.
Rockeries in Living Rooms: 1988 vs. 1989 Bordeaux
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Jul 2024
Bordeaux vintages are so fascinating that people have been known to write entire books about them! Here, I focus on two particularly intriguing but stylistically different vintages, 1988 and 1989. The former has never quite had the same reputation as the latter. Did that play out during these themed dinners?
Cellar Favorite: 1986 Domaine Jean-François Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru and 1989 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Jul 2024
In the fledgling days of my wine career, long before I put pen to paper, I used to visit a reputable merchant in deepest Suffolk. These were thoroughly enjoyable away days from the office. We would often repair to a local fish restaurant to imbibe the rest of the afternoon away, skivers that we were. I vividly recall one occasion when the merchant regaled a bottle drunk recently. He rhapsodized that wine so much that his words have always stayed with me. Unfortunately, even then, 20-plus years ago, this wine was so unfathomably rare that the chances of even finding a bottle, let alone drinking one, were remote. Of course, back then, I had not counted on munificent wine friends…
Vinous Table: Mustards Grill, Napa, CA
Vinous Table, United States: California
, Jun 2024
A Napa Valley institution, Mustards Grill remains a consistently fine spot to enjoy contemporary American comfort food at its finest. Chef/Owner Cindy Pawlcyn and her team, led by Managing Partner Sean Knight and Executive Chef Michael Foster, serve up a menu of what they call “Deluxe Truck Stop Classics.” I can’t say I have ever seen a truck stop with food like this, though. At a time when so many things change so fast, Mustards is one of my favorite places to eat when I am in Napa Valley.
Once Upon a Time – Soldera Retrospective: 1977-2017
Verticals & Retrospectives, featured, Italy: Tuscany
, Jun 2024
It remains one of the greatest tastings I have ever been a part of, either as an attendee or a host. Forty-six wines, all of them in superb shape. Even wines from smaller or less well-known vintages were sublime. Not a single bottle was corked or oxidized. The memories from this retrospective of Gianfranco Soldera’s wines will last forever.
Archive Away: Mature Burgundies 1919-2019
Verticals & Retrospectives, featured, France: Burgundy
, Jun 2024
Every year, I round up all the stray bottles of Burgundy and publish them in a single article. This year’s edition is the customary eclectic array of wines stretching back over decades, from feted recent vintages to others best forgotten, from legendary producers to “Who?”