Cellar Favorite: 1906 Château d’Arche Crème de Tête
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Bordeaux
, Aug 2018
It seems difficult to believe now given the current state of the market, but Sauternes was the most sought-after and most expensive Bordeaux at the turn of the 20th century. This Cellar Favorite hails from that era, testament to the greatness and unerring longevity of Sauternes...and it does not have to begin with the 25th letter of the alphabet.
Cellar Favorites: Château Lanzerac: 1961 – 1968
South Africa, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Aug 2018
During my recent visit to the Cape, I planned a lunch with Merchant Roland Peens. To my surprise, he munificently poured four bottles of Lanzerac Cabernet from the 1960s that he had recently acquired from a private cellar.
Cellar Favorite: 1998 Fontodi Chianti Classico
Italy: Tuscany, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Aug 2018
Fontodi’s 1998 Chianti Classico reminds me of why I love these wines so much. At age twenty, the 1998 is simply glorious, with plenty of dried cherry, tobacco, saddle leather, licorice, dried cedar and smoke overtones wrapped into a classic, mid-weight frame.
Cellar Favorite: 1985 Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin
France: Burgundy, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Jul 2018
Recently, my friend Dan Keeling, co-owner of “Noble Rot” restaurant in London, called to ask whether he should take a punt on a bottle of Rousseau’s 1985 Gevrey-Chambertin that had been perfectly stored since release. He told me the price. No denying it was extortion for a village wine...but not insulting. In the back of mind, I contemplated how well some of those villages performed at Tour d’Argent back in January. Why not give it a go? A few weeks later I met up with Dan and he generously popped open that very bottle. Thankfully it confirmed my view that grower and in particular, provenance, can transcend vineyard site and thereby save you a lot of wallet heartache. It was so divine that we both agreed that it cast doubt on the benefits of trading up to a Premier or Grand Cru.
Cellar Favorite: 1900 Château Margaux Deuxième Vin
France: Bordeaux, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Jul 2018
The wine was astonishing in so many ways, not least, in prosaic terms, how damn delicious it remains. Tasting it blind, nobody had any inkling of its age until the bottle was revealed with its slightly torn Pillet-Will label, owners at the time. My mind began imagining what the Grand Vin must taste like. One day, I hope, one day...
Cellar Favorite: 1995 Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Monvigliero
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, Italy: Piedmont
, Jul 2018
Fratelli Alessandria’s 1995 Barolo Monvigliero provides a fascinating look into an early wine from an estate that has joined the ranks of the elite in recent years. Nineteen ninety-five is also a vintage that is really peaking today, with a number of wines showing better than they ever have.
Cellar Favorite: 1988 Domaine Gentaz-Dervieux Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Rhône & Beaujolais
, Jul 2018
The Rhône is not my specialty, but that does not preclude me from enjoying its wines. Indeed, some of the greatest bottles I have ever drunk have hailed not from Bordeaux or Burgundy, but the Rhône. This Cellar Favorite focuses on a bygone producer shrouded in mystique, a producer whose wines are now some of the most sought after in the world and with prices to match: Domaine Gentaz-Dervieux.
Cellar Favorites: Laville Haut-Brion
Verticals & Retrospectives, Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Bordeaux
, Jul 2018
Most wine-lovers suffer a sense of loss and enter a period of mourning, whenever a producer such as Gentaz-Dervieux ceases to exist. Even a change in name can bring out the black armbands and black veils. Perhaps the most well known are Château La Tour Haut-Brion and its white counterpart, Laville Haut-Brion. Prompted by a recent thread on Your Say, the Vinous subscriber forum, this Cellar Favorite takes a brief look at a dozen or so mature vintages of Laville Haut-Brion, mostly from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Cellar Favorite: 1955 Château Latour
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite, France: Bordeaux
, Jun 2018
From the moment it is opened and served, the 1955 Latour is simply regal. Floral and remarkably bright for a wine of its age, the 1955 offers a level of pure seduction that is hard to capture with words.
Cellar Favorite: 1937 Château Coutet
Cellar Favorites, cellar favorite
, Jun 2018
There are few elixirs that equal mature Sauternes or Barsac. The 1937 Château Coutet made a huge impression when it completed a bibulous dinner in Bordeaux.