Cellar Favorite: NV Mullineux Olerasay 2°
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, South Africa
, 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.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Haut-Bailly
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, 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.
Cellar Favorite: 2011 Le Pin
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, 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.
Cellar Favorite: 1997 Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Tuscany
, Jun 2020
The 1997 wines of Tuscany have become something of a question mark in the eyes of many consumers. At release, the press went wild for the wines. Some still see 1997 as one of Italy’s greatest modern-day vintages, and to this day, salespeople base their pitch on its prestige.
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Cellar Favorite: 1970 Taylor’s Single Harvest Port
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Portugal
, Jun 2020
Writing this on what is fast becoming the most glorious warm spring here in the UK, it feels slightly odd to be focusing upon a fortified wine associated with winter. Nevertheless, several Port houses have declared single-quinta 2018s that shall be reviewed soon on Vinous.
Cellar Favorite: 1947 Château Trotanoy
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Jun 2020
There is something magical about bottles of postwar Pomerol. I have been fortunate to taste a fair number, given their rarity, and always with a sense of understanding that you might never encounter it again. That is the case with the 1947 Trotanoy.
Cellar Favorite: 2001 Robert Ampeau et Fils Volnay Santenots 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, May 2020
As we look through the top Premier and Grand Crus of red Burgundy, the one appellation that I feel delivers a top-level experience at prices that remain reasonable is Volnay. When you couple this with the late-releasing house of Robert Ampeau, and their Premier Cru Santenots, we are really treated to something special.
Cellar Favorite: 1957 Penfolds St. Henri Claret
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Australia
, May 2020
Though Grange is Penfolds’ most famous label, that has not always been the case. Back in the late Fifties and early Sixties, their St. Henri was more popular, probably due to its being more approachable and elegant, while Max Schubert’s Grange demanded cellaring.
Cellar Favorite: 2004 Guastaferro Taurasi Primum
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Center & South
, May 2020
Knowing when to open a Taurasi is always tricky. We all hear that the wines can age on their balance of fruit, tannin, and elevated acidity but capturing a bottle in that magic moment is the challenge.
Cellar Favorite: 1985 Domaine Christophe Roumier Vosne-Romanée Les Beaumonts 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, May 2020
Our Cellar Favorite column is meant to bring readers’ attention towards either mature bottles currently drinking well or recent vintages worthy of laying down. This entry fits neither of those criteria.