Cellar Favorite: 1998 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Center & South
, Dec 2020
As soon as it feels like winter, when sweaters start to be worn indoors and the meals turn meatier and richer, all I want to drink is mature Barolo and Taurasi. It’s at this time of year that I pull a mixed case of the two from my storage, and stand the wines up so that all I need to do is choose, pull, decant and indulge.
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Cellar Favorite: 2019 Paulus Wine Co. Chenin Blanc Bosberaad
South Africa, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Dec 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed Joaquin Hildago’s recent article on collectible Argentinean wines, and it got me thinking about parallels with South Africa’s own collectibles. It’s not just Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Cellar Favorite: 2012 Vietti Barbera d'Asti La Crena
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Piedmont
, Dec 2020
We don’t often think of Barbera as a wine that requires a decade or more to reach peak maturity; but then again, most Barberas don’t possess the potential to even last that long. However, when they can and they do, it’s a very special thing.
Cellar Favorite: 2001 Domaine Yvon Clerget Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Nov 2020
Following our lengthy tasting of 2018s and 2019s, Clerget opened and served blind three older bottles made by his father, Yvon.
Cellar Favorite: 2017 Domaine Didier Montchovet Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Nov 2020
Why a piddling Bourgogne Hautes-Côte de Whatever? What numbskull chooses to cellar such low ranking Burgundy? And who the hell is Didier Montchovet? Pull up a chair and let me explain why I chose this particular wine.
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Cellar Favorite: 1999 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
United States: California, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Nov 2020
The 1999 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon has earned a highly respected place in the cellars of collectors in the know, and we’re not talking about the more popular Howell Mountain bottling.
Cellar Favorite: 2015 Domaine des Comtes-Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Nov 2020
Why is there a photo depicting mackerel in this Cellar Favorite? Well, let me explain.
Cellar Favorite: 2006 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Tuscany
, Nov 2020
The fact is, the 2016 Riserva became one of my favorite wines to pull from my cellar year after year. Now, at fourteen years old, the 2006 appears to have fully peaked, but is holding strong.
Cellar Favorite: 1966 Dow’s Vintage Port
Portugal, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2020
The vintage Ports of 1966, despite their extremely high quality, have and probably always will live in the shade of the monumental 1963s, which is great news for consumers.
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Cellar Favorite: 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin Grande Cuvée
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Rhône & Beaujolais
, Oct 2020
Two thousand and one is, without a doubt, one of this generation’s greatest vintages for France’s southern Rhône valley, producing an abundance of rich but balanced and ageworthy wines that are now either in their prime or entering it.