Cellar Favorite: 1964 Krug Private Cuvée & 1979 Collection
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2020
My experience with mature vintage Champagne is not as extensive as others’, although I have enjoyed more than my fair share.
Cellar Favorite: 1978 & 1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2020
Bruno Giacosa is no longer with us, but these Barolos from his prime remain riveting testaments to an extraordinary legacy.
Cellar Favorite: Blandy’s New Releases
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2020
I don’t need to tell you that I review the contents of a bottle, not its aesthetic virtues. However, hats off to the Madeira Wine Company, whose quartet of new releases in conveniently sized 5cl bottles came nestled in a wicker box lined with linen in traditional Madeira colors of green and red.
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Perrières 1er Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Aug 2020
Many of my most unforgettable moments in wine involve tasting fine, aged white Burgundy. There is just nothing like the thrill a perfectly stored bottle can deliver after 20, 30 or more years.
Cellar Favorite: 1989 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Hors Choix Vendanges Tardives
France: Alsace, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Aug 2020
Last November 2019 BC (Before COVID-19), Jean Trimbach himself proffered a fabulous bottle of 1989 Clos Ste. Hune Vendanges Tardives Hors Choix at a private La Paulée in Beaune.
Cellar Favorite: 1899 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Blanco
Spain, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Aug 2020
This half-bottle of 1899 Rioja Blanco from Marqués de Murrieta concluded a memorable supper at Oswald’s private club in London just after the New Year, when a friend was visiting from East Asia.
Cellar Favorite: 2015 Jean-François Ganevat Côtes de Jura Les Chalasses Vieilles Vignes
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Other
, Aug 2020
The Jura is both underground and hip at the moment. By that I mean its top producers are the stuff of sommeliers’ dreams, attracting a loyal, niche following of wine-lovers, without translating into huge sales or mainstream acceptance.
Cellar Favorite: 2007 Château de Pibarnon Bandol
France, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2020
The first official report I ever wrote for Robert Parker was neither Bordeaux nor Burgundy. In fact, it was Bandol. I instantly fell in love with this picture-postcard region: the mountainous backdrop that forms a protective amphitheatre and creates a benign climate; the quaint hilltop villages; the glistening Mediterranean Sea.
Cellar Favorite: Soldera: A Look at the 2013 & 2014
Italy: Tuscany, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2020
It is hard to believe Gianfranco Soldera is no longer with us, as he was such a force of nature. Long coveted by those in the know, Soldera’s wines remain incredibly singular expressions of Sangiovese and Montalcino. Over the years I have been fortunate to visit the estate many times and taste numerous wines from cask including the 2013 and 2014 reviewed here from bottle.
Cellar Favorite: 1949 Weingut Dr. von Basserman-Jordan Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling TBA
germany: Mosel, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jul 2020
This German Trockenbeerenauslese appeared at the end of a La Mission Haut-Brion dinner a few months ago, and to be honest, though it was love at first sip, at the time I did not truly appreciate its rarity.