Cellar Favorites: 1945, 1966 & 1982 Gruaud Larose
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Dec 2018
I recently participated in two tastings connected with one of the most famous dynasties in Bordeaux: the Cordier family. Désiré Cordier embarked on a shopping spree for Bordeaux estates in that era, when real estate prices were depressed by a run of poor vintages and World War I. Amongst Cordier’s acquisitions, the other famous property purchased is Gruaud Larose, which came into their hands in 1917 and 1935, since back then, the estate was divided.
Cellar Favorite: 1970 Château de Fieuzal Rouge
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Dec 2018
Old bottles of Graves have been regrettably few and far between. When I do encounter mature Graves from the 1940s and the 1970s, they always remind me how well they age, how their qualities are overlooked vis-à-vis other Bordeaux appellations.
Cellar Favorite: 1990 Gaja Barbaresco Costa Russi
Italy: Piedmont, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Piedmont
, Nov 2018
The 1990 Barbaresco Costa Russi brings back a rush of memories from a tasting that feels like it happened just yesterday. Time has been exceedingly kind to the 1990.
Cellar Favorite: 2002 Luciano Sandrone Nebbiolo d’Alba Valmaggiore
Italy: Piedmont, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Piedmont
, Nov 2018
Through severe cropping and selection, Sandrone made a Valmaggiore in 2002 that is truly eye opening.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis Blanchot Grand Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Nov 2018
The 2010 Valmur and Clos were magnificent at a recent charity dinner. A few days later I opened the Blanchot for a dear friend who lamented the scarcity and pricing that has, sadly, become the norm for Raveneau. Two thousand ten is a vintage I tasted chez Raveneau from barrel and bottle, but I hadn’t tasted any wines from the vintage since then.
Cellar Favorite: 1955 Cantina Mascarello Barolo
Italy: Piedmont, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2018
What a thrill it is to taste Cantina Mascarello’s 1955 Barolo from a perfectly stored and cared for bottiglione, a traditional Piedmontese large format that is no longer used.
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Cellar Favorite: 2005 & 1995 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California, featured
, Oct 2018
Mayacamas continues to make striking wines under its new ownership. In addition to a host of current and upcoming releases (covered in my forthcoming Napa Valley report) I also had a chance to revisit two Cabernets from the estate’s library.
Cellar Favorite: Domaine Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Oct 2018
It is now almost impossible to separate myth from reality with respect to Henri Jayer. It has almost become an existential domaine, as if Jayer never made mortal fermented grape juice. Prices are irrational, and yet the wealthiest wave blank chequebooks in the air at auction, feverish demand fuelled by the fact that fewer and fewer bottles will come onto market as time goes by. Domaine Henri Jayer is rarely seen. It is even more rarely consumed.
Cellar Favorite: 1979 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2018
In 1979, the flagship Rubicon was just in its second vintage. Tasted recently just shy of its 40th birthday, the 1979 is fabulous, with scents of dried cherry, iron, underbrush, mint, tobacco and menthol gracing a lithe, mid-weight frame. Absolutely impeccable in its balance, the 1979 has aged beautifully.
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Cellar Favorite: 1955 Domaine Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2018
Amongst the constellation of rare bottles that I have tasted over the years, few approach the 1955 Réserve des Célestins from the late Henri Bonneau in terms of an unrepeatable experience at the hands of fermented grape juice. It is a wine that lies on the edge of existence: I have never seen another bottle at auction and have never seen a tasting note. But this bottle appeared without warning at an extraordinary Sunday lunch in West Hampstead, London.