Equal Parts Story and Substance
Fellowship, featured
, Sep 2019
Brenna Ritchey is the recipient of the 2018 Vinous Young Writer Fellowship. In her winning essay, Brenna reflects on the "supposed generational gap between older wine-drinkers and young people", while considering how millennials are "rewriting the rules of the game, dismantling the very structures that have schooled us in how to drink and appreciate wine, and rebuilding them from the vineyard up."
Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet: 1981-2012
France: Burgundy, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Sep 2019
An extensive vertical tasting of Domaine Leflaive’s Chevalier-Montrachet encompassing wines from four decades demonstrated the remarkable longevity of an exalted white Burgundy terroir in the right hands.
Piedmont's Finest Eating Destinations: 2019 Edition
Italy: Piedmont, featured, Vinous Table
, Sep 2019
One of the biggest challenges readers visiting Piedmont face is deciding where to eat. It's a good problem to have. I can’t think of any wine region – or indeed anywhere in the world – that has such a concentration of phenomenal dining destinations all within a 30-40 minute drive from pretty much any point. Readers visiting Piedmont will find a mind-boggling array of dining choices, ranging from simple wine bars to more elegant dining rooms, including many places that are bit farther afield. These are some of my personal favorites.
Abruzzo and Molise: Another Brick in the Wall
featured, Italy: Center & South
, Sep 2019
Estates in Abruzzo and Molise continue to slowly claw their way to the top, although a big gap still exists between the region’s best wineries and all the others. That said, the better 2018 whites and 2017 reds show that Abruzzo and Molise are (mostly) on the right track.
A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Sep 2019
The follow-up to last year’s “A Century of Eights”, ingeniously titled “A Century of Nines”, examines Bordeaux vintages ending in that number to see how the wines are performing, with a focus on 1999 and 1989. As usual, there are surprises along the way.
Argentina Reaches New Heights
Argentina, featured
, Sep 2019
Despite economic tumult, Argentina is making better wines today than ever before, thanks to a recent string of very good to outstanding vintages, increasing vineyard plantings in cooler, higher-altitude sites, and winemaking techniques designed to produce fresher, better-balanced wines with clear site character.
A Revolution of Place: Argentina Classifies Its Terroirs
Argentina, featured
, Sep 2019
Until quite recently, one might have been forgiven for describing Argentina’s wine industry as a vast enterprise that made little distinction between different styles and terroirs. That is no longer the case. Producers in Argentina are going through their terroirs with a fine-tooth comb, hoping to discover outstanding sites that are capable of world-class wines.
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Northern Rhône: 2016 and 2017 Reds
France: Rhône & Beaujolais, featured
, Sep 2019
The two most recent vintages of bottled reds from the northern Rhône present two quite different faces of Syrah: 2017 full of dark fruit character, power and even opulence, and 2016 with bright, well-defined fruit qualities, distinct freshness and harmonious tannins.
Larkmead’s Solari Cabernet and LMV Salon: 2001-2015
Verticals & Retrospectives, featured, United States: California
, Aug 2019
My recent tasting of Larkmead’s Solari Cabernet and LMV Salon blend showcased the comprehensive renewal that has taken place at this venerable property over the past 20 years in both the vineyards and the winery under the tenure of Cam and Kate Solari Baker.
Songs Full of Light - Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1906-2018
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Aug 2019
Continuing the series of Sauternes articles, a truly remarkable and certainly unrepeatable vertical of no less than 60 vintages of Lafaurie-Peyraguey from 2018 back to 1906. Everything you need to know about this outstanding estate is here.