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
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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.
Cellar Favorite: 1998 Fontodi Chianti Classico
Italy: Tuscany, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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
cellar favorite, France: Burgundy, Cellar Favorites
, 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
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux
, 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 favorite, Cellar Favorites, 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
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, 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.