A multitude of milestone celebrations produced a legion of guiltless permissions to pop corks on aged wines last month. Graduations, birthdays, and the annual Troquet summer cellar clearance converged. Birth year wines of graduating children, old bottles carried to my home by giddy parents on the precipices of new empty-nest lifestyles, Troquet wines on sale, and […]
Alessio Planeta, Sicily, and Frappato
Alessio Planeta is amiable, direct, and very Sicilian. That’s all immediately apparent. As his story unfolds, he bares an even more adventurous lining. He is one of Planeta Wines‘ family shepherds; opening wineries and tending vineyards like explorers criss-crossing Sicily’s southern slice of the Italian peninsula. Forget the easier approach of vineyard and fruit contracts […]
Bordeaux Wine Cellar ROI
Bordeaux dominates my cellar inventory of wines preceding the 1995 vintage. That is nothing more than a happy fact of life for collectors with the advantage of early access to these wines prior to mind numbing price escalation. Last week at a 2000 Bordeaux tasting dinner I attended, one of the younger participants who works in […]
1995 Domaine Marcoux Perfect at $15
There is a new patch of winemakers scattered around the globe revitalizing old vineyards and turning what we knew about varietals and regional character upside down with their experimental, natural, or biodynamic infused techniques. They are creating both welcome excitement and dubious distraction thanks to savvy importers and their global distribution channels. It’s understandably easy […]
Blind Tasting 2009 Bordeaux Value
The wines hidden inside brown paper bags came from Fronsac, Castillon, and the Haut Medoc. There were two token wines, one from St. Julien and the other St. Emilion. The most expensive bottle of 2009 Bordeaux in the lineup was $33 retail, insuring that the evening’s foundation would be poured and hardened sans pedigree. Besides […]
Rolf Binder’s 1996 Veritas Cabernet Sauvignon
How does Barossa cabernet sauvignon age? Here’s some insight based on only one example; $29.99 Rolf Binder’s 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon from his Veritas Winery. While the question deserves more exhaustive tasting with full sets of wines, this was a telling experiment using just one cabernet from a top Barossa winery. WINE BLOGGING WEDNESDAY 76: BAROSSA BOOMERANG […]
2010 Donkey and Goat Rosé vs. 1985 La Chapelle?
Just like clocks striking twelve, our cellar coughs up one bottle of 1985 wine every year on April 14. My wife and I were lucky to be married in this vintage year. The Bordeaux have aged gracefully despite the vintage’s early accessibility, northern Rhones are holding onto their fruit even now, 1985 Sassicaia made our evening […]
Some Old Wine Bottles
95% of wines are consumed within a week of purchase. It’s a fact, but is it vinous genocide? I had a conversation with a notable wine educator the other night who said he preferred young wines and can only recall tasting eight older wines that were worth the wait or more enjoyable to drink older […]
Oxidative Wine Styles: Zind Humbrecht and Rene & Agnes Mosse
I am trying to develop palate education around oxidative wine styles. There is plenty of available information about it, but distinguishing between one wine subjected to an oxidative wine making process and another wine that primarily oxidizes through bottle age, without any specific knowledge about the wine maker’s approach, is not always straight forward for […]
Top Three Wines of November
The “Top Three Wines” of November includes one remarkable New World Mourvedre from California’s Central Coast sandwiched in between two Old World Bordeaux and Rioja showcase wines. I was unfamiliar with the claret from Saint-Estephe and the Rhone Ranger from Paso Robles until tasting them last month; both excellent new discoveries. Unfortunately, the oddball auction […]