Are wines that enthusiasts buy, drink, and derive pleasure from somehow linked to what they know about their origin, craftsmanship, and history? According to Yale Professor Paul Bloom’s TED talk, while it should be just as possible to enjoy a wine of unknown source and origin, it simply isn’t. The following is a really enjoyable and fascinating […]
Blind Tasting 2010 French Wine Values
Six bottles of 2010 southern French red wines told the story. With the low yield, long hang time, high quality vintage examples selling for $17 and under at retail, the story wanted to be good. All of the wines were without flaw, dark purple, full of fruit, round, rich, and without any hard edges to make them […]
Blind Tasting 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape
Early critical accounts pegged the 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape vintage as monumental. Grenache and Syrah flourished under favorable growing conditions. Yet, decade old tasting memories bulged from powerful, tight, and stubborn bottles expressing convincing cellar potential. Could a dozen year term of lingering dark, cool rest unveil beauty beneath youthful armor? With this in mind, […]
Wine Cellar Celebration at AKA Bistro
Bordeaux improves through cellaring; nothing new about that. A long time ago I joined a group dinner to taste claret with Clive Coates and he drew something like this to explain a cultural gap in patience, along wines’ life trajectories, between British and American wine enthusiasts: At a very recent dinner I hosted for a group of business […]
Pairing 2010 Brun Fleurie Beaujolais With Oysters
Opening red wine with oysters stirs cries of insubordination similar to the ones Beijing party leaders might attach to Tiananmen political dissenters. Champagne, Muscadet, Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner, Chenin Blanc, Picpoul and a smattering of other crispy acidic white wines make the cleared list while reds take cover in their brackish shadows. Give me oysters bathed 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 […]
Domaine Serene and Chardonnay Tales
Chardonnay remains a tale of two worlds. One way to consider that proposition is by pondering the polarized old and new world style profiles. But even setting continental divides aside, the two tales of Chardonnay remain conflicted inside the US. I was reminded of this when the folks at Harvest PR & Marketing got in […]
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 […]
Languedoc Scope Maps Value and Challenge
Like so many older European winemaking regions, the Languedoc has instigated its own transformation during the last decade as more informed and new generations of winemakers introduced state of the art winemaking technique to showcase local terroir. The development can not be taken casually since the Languedoc, combined with its southwest neighboring sister region Roussillon, represents more […]
2009 Pinot Noir Blind Tasting
Blind tasting seventeen different examples of 2009 pinot noir in one sitting was repeated evidence, inside twenty five years of steady reminders, that side-by-side peer group blind tasting is the most legitimate format to learn about wine and your personal palate. In Robert Dwyer’s opening paragraphs of his detailed Wellesley Wine Press tasting note post on […]
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