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Chablis 2022-2023: Here Comes the Sun King
France: Burgundy, featured
, Aug 2024
Chablis was bearing the brunt of a challenging growing season when I visited in 2024, but at least the previous two vintages refilled cellars. What are the differences between 2022 and 2023, and what should you look to buy?
Tiberio's Fonte Canale: Redefining Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Italy: Center & South, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Aug 2024
In only 12 years, Fonte Canale has become one of Italy's iconic white wines. Tiberio’s Fonte Canale is made from the hard-to-find Trebbiano Abruzzese grape. This vertical, spanning the first official release in 2012 up to a preview of the yet-to-be-released 2022, will give readers a good idea of how the wines develop over time.
Cellar Favorite: 2001 Rustenberg Peter Barlow
South Africa, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Aug 2024
The 2001 Peter Barlow from Rustenberg was poured blind at a comparative tasting of South African Cabernets against Bordeaux during this year’s visit. The Peter Barlow acquitted itself admirably, even here, pitted against an impressive 2001 Léoville Las-Cases. The Peter Barlow is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate’s oldest vines, named after the man who bought the property back in 1941. This vintage was made by his son, Simon Barlow, while his grandson, Murray, has been the winemaker since 2012.
Vinous Table: Hitching Post II, Buellton, CA
United States: California, Vinous Table
, Aug 2024
Frank and Natalie Ostini bought the Casmalia Hitching Post in 1952 near what today is Vandenberg Air Force Base (then Camp Cooke). Frank Ostini was a carpenter by trade looking for a new career. He spent three months with the former owner learning how to cook over an open flame, and that was that. The Ostini family ran the original Hitching Post with their children for several decades before opening Hitching Post II in Buellton in 1986. A few years later, in 1993, the brothers dissolved their partnership. Son Frank Ostini kept the Buellton restaurant. “I wanted to be closer to wine country and offer a slightly more varied, contemporary menu,” Ostini told me.
Santa Barbara: California's Undiscovered Jewel
United States: California, featured
, Aug 2024
My tastings this year further confirmed what I have believed for a long time. Santa Barbara County is one of the most exciting and dynamic regions in the world. Despite dealing with the ups and downs of 2022, inspired winemakers found a way to deliver compelling wines that rank among the world’s finest. Readers who appreciate nuanced, cool-climate wines of place will find so much to discover in Santa Barbara.
Barossa 2022: Run, Don’t Walk
Australia, featured
, Aug 2024
The 2022 Barossa vintage will long be etched in the memories of local winemakers for both triumph and tragedy. For the vast majority, 2022 is a triumph, with plentiful winter rainfall and a long, mild growing season that shaped a vintage for the ages, the best in years. Only sporadic hail intervened, breaking the hearts of some grape growers and winemakers with what could have been.
Cellar Favorite: 1928-1998 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Aug 2024
When visiting this Pauillac Second Growth earlier this year, Nicolas Glumineau poured several vintages blind. The theme turned out to be years ending in eight, though when he invited me to choose another, I headed for one of the more disparaged of the 20th century, not without sound reason…
Vinous Table: Cloth, London, UK
Vinous Table, United Kingdom
, Aug 2024
Cloth is doing nearly everything right. Clearly, it has hit the ground running. Despite its central location, it has a cozy ambiance, and Butterworth, gadding about the restaurant, is a lively and pleasing presence. Its wine list will be a strong draw for oenophiles, while the food is not a secondary consideration. There’s no pretension, and everything is refreshingly straightforward in the best way.
Oregon 2022: The Rollercoaster Vintage
United States: Oregon, featured
, Aug 2024
From a decimating frost to a hot and dry summer, uneven ripening and a rushed harvest, Oregon growers and winemakers faced many challenges in 2022. Readers will need to be selective based on producer, but in many cases, perseverance yielded fascinating wines.
Sancerre: Combat Fatigue
France: Loire, featured
, Aug 2024
Nature can be a fickle beast, giving just as quickly as it takes away. The rollercoaster ride that elements have put on in recent years has left the grape growers of Sancerre and surrounding appellations exhausted. Their hopes rise as steeply as the Mont Damné slopes before being dashed over and over again. And yet the sun rises each morning, bringing the possibility that this might be the day when their luck changes.