Cellar Favorite: 2008 Mvemve Raats MR de Compostella
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, South Africa
, May 2021
On my bucket list of wine-related things to do, apart from tasting the 1947 Romanée-Conti and climbing K2 with Lalou Bize-Leroy in order to overcome my debilitating vertigo, is to conduct an unabridged vertical of Mvemve Raats MR de Compostella.
Cellar Favorite: 2011 Cupano Brunello di Montalcino
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Tuscany
, Apr 2021
After the tragic passing of proprietor Lionel Cousin, I found myself digging through my cellar for past vintages of his lovely creation, the Cupano Brunello di Montalcino.
Cellar Favorite: 2004 Poggio Il Castellare Brunello di Montalcino
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Tuscany
, Apr 2021
Having just celebrated its fifteenth birthday, I thought it was about time to check in on the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Poggio Il Castellare, an estate from the southeast that I associate with suave character and dark ripe fruits.
Cellar Favorite: 2018 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Célébration
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Apr 2021
A few years ago, I was fortunate to attend an evening tasting of ancient vintages from Louis Jadot reserves, a cornucopia of rare bottles stretching back to the 1860s.
Cellar Favorite: 1980 Domaine Hudelot-Nöellat Vosne-Romanée Les Petits-Monts 1er Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Apr 2021
Invited to supper at a fellow wine scribe’s abode in Beaune last October, our host served this little gem from one of Burgundy’s less heralded vintages.
Cellar Favorite: 2014 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Santo Spirito Cuvée delle Vigne Niche
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Center & South
, Apr 2021
I remember quite well the first time I tasted the 2014 Santo Spirito Cuvée delle Vigne Niche Bianco. My eyes lit up the second I put my nose to the glass.
Cellar Favorite: The Fives at Château d’Issan
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Mar 2021
Following the vertical that I conducted at the estate back in 2018, I recently joined Emmanuel Cruse via Zoom for a small tasting of recent vintages of “The Fives”, including the 2000 d’Issan that was not included in my The Marital Margaux: d’Issan 1945-2015 article.
Cellar Favorite: Château Latour: 2021 New Releases
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Mar 2021
In this week's Cellar Favorite column, we offer two completely separate and independent views on the 2021 releases from Château Latour.
Cellar Favorite: 2019 Minimalist Wines Stars In The Dark
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, South Africa
, Mar 2021
“It smells and tastes of the sea,” my wife remarks after handing her a glass of wine, completely blind. She had no clue that the Syrah vines that contributed fruit to the 2019 Stars In The Dark are rooted on the wild and windswept Agulhas coast at the very southern tip of the African continent. That’s translating terroir straight into a glass of wine in all its unfettered glory.
Cellar Favorite: 2006 Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: North
, Mar 2021
This bottle of Quintarelli’s 2006 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico made me feel like I was back in the cellar, tasting with the man himself, as I was lucky to do a few times before his passing.