Cellar Favorite: 2007 Château de Pibarnon Bandol
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France
, 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.
Cellar Favorite: 2001 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese #9
Germany, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Cellar Favorite: 1997 Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino
Italy: Tuscany, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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.