Alcohol levels are on the rise in just about every region in France. More heat means riper grapes, and more sugar means higher levels of alcohol. Growers are experimenting with canopy management to increase shade, adjusting plowing schedules, earlier harvesting, and other techniques to avoid overripeness, but the trend is clearly in one direction.
Most wines are drunk too early. Nearly every wine, in particular reds, will benefit from some time in the bottle. For higher end wines, cellaring is required to realize their potential. But a few extra years of patience can improve even humble wines.
There are wines from Bordeaux full of subtlety and finesse -- but Chateau Destieux is not one of them. Destieux is the marriage of superb, ancient terroir with sleek, modern winemaking: old-school flavor in a bold, unsubtle package.
Sauvignon blanc is among the world’s most widely planted grapes, but its origin is the Loire Valley. In the Loire, Sauvignon takes on a floral, mineral style, juicy grapefruit notes with a lively minerality, often notes of flint, and pleasant herbal finish.
Watch our 2 minute video overview of our five new Left Bank Red Bordeaux ranging from $22 to $39, and 2014 to 2018.
Watch our 90 second video review of our three new Sancerres from the Domaine de la Garenne.
Watch our 2 minute video tasting review of our 2021 Rosés.
Amid Champagne’s glitz and glamour, winemaker Pascal Bardoux stands out. His cuvées are quietly exceptional -- his tasting room is his small untidy office, where we taste slowly and thoughtfully from an old beat-up leather sofa. “Le marketing” is nowhere to be seen.
New winemakers in Burgundy are hard to come by. It’s a tiny region, and between small harvests, ever increasing demand, and well-established importers, it can seem there’s nothing new to discover. Which makes us even gladder of our most recent Burgundian find: the Domaine Boursot in Chambolle-Musigny. Neal Martin of Vinous writes of a “foundation for […]
The Salomon-Undhof estate dates to 1792, and is currently on its 7th and 8th generation winemakers, father and son Bert and Bert Salomon. Their terraced vines overlooking the Danube have long been an excellent source, with the country’s preeminent wine guide calling them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.”
White Burgundy is an easy wine to pair with food. At the high end, an ageworthy bottle Meursault or Puligny can exceed the subtlety and depth of a red Burgundy. Paired with a lobster risotto or veal in cream, it’s a marriage of opulence and charm.
Sofie Borhmann is a bit of an anomaly in Burgundy. She’s not French (she’s from Belgium), not well known, and exports very little to the US. In a tiny region with exploding demand and skyrocketing prices, her wines are quiet, well priced, and relatively unknown. We found them on a restaurant list in Beaune, and after some persistence managed to…
We’re not sure where you’re reading this from, but we hope it has air conditioning. Everywhere from Beaune to Boston to Bordeaux has been baking this week. When it’s warm out we like to drink Chablis and cooled Beaujolais; but when it’s this brutally hot, there’s just one answer: Muscadet.
Syrah grown in most of the world is bold, rich, smooth and voluminous. In the Northern Rhône the grape takes on a different style: lower alcohol, less mouthfilling, more spice, more energy. Recent scorching summers have blurred this style a bit, but 2020 was a welcome return to normal. Decanter writes of “A reliably fresh, balanced and approachable vintage –…
Bordeaux is best known for its expensive, ageworthy red wines that are among the most famous and collectible in the world. But this tier represents only a fraction of what the region produces, and if you know where to look, there’s accessible value to be found.