Cellar Favorite: 2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #9
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Germany
, Jul 2020
I rue the fact that I have not or rather cannot keep up with German Riesling. Anyone who doesn’t like German Riesling either doesn’t like wine or is no longer alive.
Albion Gets Serious: English Sparkling Wine
United Kingdom, featured
, Jul 2020
I used to groan when an ordinary English sparkling wine was heaped with praise. My palate has not changed; what has changed is the quality of English fizz – a category that now needs to be taken seriously on the world stage. It’s time to discover the leading producers.
Delivering Where It Counts: Meyney 1971–2017
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Jul 2020
Continuing my focus on Bordeaux wines that offer both quality and value, my final château visit before lockdown was to Meyney in Saint-Estèphe. How has their wine improved so much in recent years?
Cellar Favorite: NV Mullineux Olerasay 2°
South Africa, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2020
Readers that saw last month’s Vinous Live with Chris and Andrea Mullineux will have noticed that both interviewer and interviewee in Surrey and Swartland respectively, were drinking a sweet wine, the Olerasay 2°. Having received the bottle a few weeks earlier I kept it back for that interview. My expectations were high since the maiden release had received my highest ever score for a South African wine. Until now.
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Beyond Wine: Crate Digging: 10,000 Maniacs by In My Tribe (1987)
Beyond Wine
, Jul 2020
In My Tribe remains an important album for me. It brings back a lot of memories of growing up in my hometown. My social life might have revolved around clubbing and the exciting new sounds of techno, but when I got home, it was music like 10,000 Maniacs that I listened to.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Haut-Bailly
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jun 2020
In my write-up of the 2010 Bordeaux vintage earlier this year, it was unfortunate that one bottle in the blind tasting was so hideously corked that it rendered every participant’s glass unusable. (Hopefully, the injured stemware has recovered by now.) The culprit turned out to be Haut-Bailly, and unfortunately we did not have a backup at hand.
2018 Single Quinta Ports
featured, Portugal
, Jun 2020
A third general declaration in a row is unthinkable for Port, however 2018 has seen the release of some exceptional Single Quintas, which gives the Port-lover an opportunity to taste a number of intriguing site-specific fortified Douro wines.
Cellar Favorite: 2011 Le Pin
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jun 2020
When I recently conducted a Vinous Live with Jacques Thienpont and his wife Fiona Morrison MW, two days before transmission, the latter suggested that I should be drinking a bottle of Le Pin during the interview. Unfortunately, the Martin cellar does not maintain a reserve of Le Pin for whenever I fancy a cheeky iconic Pomerol.
Uncertain Smile: Bordeaux 2019
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jun 2020
Born into an uncertain world, how certain are we that the 2019 Bordeaux vintage belongs amongst true greats? Several weeks ago I assumed lockdown would make it impossible to find out. Then 900 samples landed at my door...
Château Siran 1918-2008
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Jun 2020
The Margaux appellation is home to several châteaux that are upping their game. This article focuses on one of those, Château Siran, with a vertical tasting that looks back over a century.