In Good Taste: Branaire-Ducru 1928-2013
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Mar 2020
Continuing my series of profiles in Saint-Julien, it’s time to take a look at Branaire-Ducru, including history, winemaking practices, tasting notes and its connection with one of Roald Dahl’s most famous short stories.
The Many Different Chiles of Chile
featured, Chile
, Mar 2020
This is a turbulent period in the history of Chile. The entire country is debating the prospect of a new constitution, which would represent an inflection point between one era and another. These changing times affect the wine industry as much as any other, since, like all cultural products, wine is a reflection of its political, social and economic context. The Chilean wine industry is also undergoing a transformation. But here, unlike the political situation, it’s nothing but good news. That was my first reflection after tasting over 700 wines on a two-week trip across the country...
Venica & Venica Friulano Collio Ronco delle Cime 1990–2017
featured, Italy: North
, Mar 2020
Venica’s Ronco delle Cime is one of Italy’s benchmark Friulanos. Sleek and refined, it ages well, never losing its crisp, juicy character and food-friendly personality.
2017 Bordeaux – Mirror, Mirror on The Wall…
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Mar 2020
The bottled 2017 Bordeaux capture all ups and downs that were characteristic of a growing season marked by dramatic frost and uneven weather throughout the rest of the year. Although 2017 is not a great vintage across the board, it is a vintage with many great wines, as readers will discover in these paragraphs and reviews.
Schiopetto Friulano: 1992-2017
featured, Italy: North
, Mar 2020
Mario Schiopetto is considered the father of modern Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) wines. Before his arrival, FVG wines garnered mostly local interest and were consumed fairly quickly after the harvest. But Schiopetto’s wines were clean, precise, mineral and ageworthy, and they rapidly gained an international following, literally putting FVG on the map. Schiopetto’s Friulano, first made in 1965, has long been one of the region’s gold standards for this iconic indigenous variety.
Vacqueyras: The Southern Rhône’s Stealth Appellation
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, Feb 2020
While its more famous neighbors have long been on the radar of wine lovers and collectors, Vacqueyras and its wines continue to fly under the radar. That is likely to soon change, especially given the consistently fine value these wines offer and the uniformly high quality of recent and upcoming vintages.
Latest Releases: Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia and Sardinia
Italy: Center & South, featured
, Feb 2020
Southern Italy offers many excellent and often inexpensive wines for those willing to venture outside their comfort zone. Although there are underachievers, if you stick to the producers I recommend here, you won’t be disappointed, for there are a myriad of wine grapes, styles and estates worth discovering.
Complex, Not Complicated: 2017 DRC in Bottle
France: Burgundy, featured
, Feb 2020
Tasting the newly released wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is never an ordinary day. The 2017s were in the spotlight this year. Here’s how the day unfolded hour by hour…
Gigondas Maintains Its Tempo
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, Feb 2020
Gigondas, like the rest of the southern Rhône Valley, experienced lows and highs, in that order, in 2017. The low points came at the beginning of the year, when warm weather set off early flowering, and in May, when shatter severely affected Grenache, resulting in significant crop loss across the region. Fortunately, the remainder of the season was picture perfect, if warm, while the quality of the crop was very high.
Alto Adige: On a Roll
featured, Italy: North
, Feb 2020
Readers will find some of Italy’s best wines in Alto Adige, the northerly mountain region that borders Austria. It is here that the country’s top white wines are made, while there are increasingly more compelling reds to choose from as well. Readers won’t want to miss out on the latest vintages. Overall quality has never been higher.