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Cellar Favorites: 2005 & 1995 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, United States: California, featured
, Oct 2018
Mayacamas continues to make striking wines under its new ownership. In addition to a host of current and upcoming releases (covered in my forthcoming Napa Valley report) I also had a chance to revisit two Cabernets from the estate’s library.
Cellar Favorites: Domaine Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée Cros-Parantoux 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, Oct 2018
It is now almost impossible to separate myth from reality with respect to Henri Jayer. It has almost become an existential domaine, as if Jayer never made mortal fermented grape juice. Prices are irrational, and yet the wealthiest wave blank chequebooks in the air at auction, feverish demand fuelled by the fact that fewer and fewer bottles will come onto market as time goes by. Domaine Henri Jayer is rarely seen. It is even more rarely consumed.
Cellar Favorite: 1979 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2018
In 1979, the flagship Rubicon was just in its second vintage. Tasted recently just shy of its 40th birthday, the 1979 is fabulous, with scents of dried cherry, iron, underbrush, mint, tobacco and menthol gracing a lithe, mid-weight frame. Absolutely impeccable in its balance, the 1979 has aged beautifully.
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Cellar Favorite: 1955 Domaine Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Rhône & Beaujolais
, Sep 2018
Amongst the constellation of rare bottles that I have tasted over the years, few approach the 1955 Réserve des Célestins from the late Henri Bonneau in terms of an unrepeatable experience at the hands of fermented grape juice. It is a wine that lies on the edge of existence: I have never seen another bottle at auction and have never seen a tasting note. But this bottle appeared without warning at an extraordinary Sunday lunch in West Hampstead, London.
Cellar Favorite: 1991 Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Sep 2018
Without a shadow of doubt, the 1991 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru will be one of the white wines of the year, epitomising everything wondrous about mature white Burgundy.
Cellar Favorite: 1971 Cantina Mascarello Barolo
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Piedmont, Italy: Piedmont
, Sep 2018
The 1971 Barolo from Cantina Mascarello is a relic from a time when Piedmont was a very different place than it is today, in many more ways than one.
Cellar Favorite: 1985 Domaine Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Rhône & Beaujolais
, Sep 2018
Alain Voge’s star is rising, as is demand. Prices have not quite attained the eye-watering amounts demanded for Verset or Clos Rougeard, but it is just a matter of time. So perhaps it is an opportune moment to look at a mature vintage of the Les Vieilles Vignes, which comes from the oldest Syrah vines, between 25 and 80 years, spread across five lieux-dits, usually with partial whole bunch in the vat and seeing a modest 20% new oak. Alain Voge took over the domaine after the sudden passing of his father, Louis, in 1965 and introduced this cuvée in the 1970s, while current co-owner and winemaker Albéric Mazoyer has been in charge since 2004.
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Cellar Favorite: 1971 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Piedmont, Italy: Piedmont
, Aug 2018
The essence of old-school Barolo. That pretty much sums up the Barolo Battista Rinaldi crafted in 1971. From the moment it is opened, the 1971 is special.
Cellar Favorite: 1906 Château d’Arche Crème de Tête
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, 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 favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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.