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Washington: Neither Smoke Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Frost of Night…
United States: Washington, featured
, Dec 2020
Since enduring record heat in 2015, Washington’s growers and winemakers have enjoyed an unprecedented string of very good to exceptional vintages. Even 2020, so tricky in Oregon and parts of California owing to massive wildfires up and down the West Coast, appears to have been very successful in Washington. This year’s report features mostly red wines from 2018 and 2017 and whites from 2019 and 2018. All three of these growing seasons were capable of yielding outstanding wines.
Vintage Retrospective: The 2001 Napa Valley Cabernets
United States: California, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Jun 2020
Sandwiched between three cool years and three growing seasons affected by late-season heat spikes, 2001 has proven to be a Napa Valley classic for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. The better wines are in fine form today.
Vintage Retrospective: The 2010 Napa Valley Cabernets
United States: California, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, May 2020
The Vinous vintage chart rates 2010 as the top vintage for Napa Valley Cabernet between 1991 and 2013. As my recent retrospective tasting showed, the 2010s are overdelivering on their early promise.
Winemaking and Wine Marketing in a Plague Year
United States: California, Argentina, featured, Australia, Italy, United States: Oregon, General Interest, New Zealand, France
, May 2020
In just the past couple of months, the novel coronavirus has profoundly changed the production and sale of wine around the globe. In this roundtable interview, 35 producers get specific about the challenges they are facing.
DeLille Cellars Chaleur Blanc: 1995-2016
United States: Washington, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Jan 2020
DeLille Cellars’ Chaleur Blanc has been Washington State’s most consistently brilliant white wine since the mid-2000s. It has achieved an exceptional track record for longevity over a quarter-century of production, as this vertical back to 1995 showed.
Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Perrières 1984-2014
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Dec 2019
The finest vintages made by Dominique Lafon at his family domaine clearly demonstrate that Meursault’s mineral-driven premier cru Les Perrières is capable of producing wines with grand cru mineral intensity, precision, nuance and longevity.
New Releases from Washington: A Bonanza for Consumers
United States: Washington, featured
, Dec 2019
A trio of superb vintages and a glut of grapes have combined to give wine lovers the best chance yet to enjoy outstanding values from Washington.
Dauvissat Chablis Les Clos: 1983-2015
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Nov 2019
Vincent Dauvissat’s stunningly consistent grand cru Les Clos is a textbook example of the complexity, minerality and longevity Chardonnay can achieve in the exceptional terroirs and cool northerly climate of Chablis. This vertical encompassed a remarkable range of wines all the way back to 1983.
Marquis d’Angerville’s Volnay Clos des Ducs: 1920-2017
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2019
Guillaume d’Angerville makes one of the Côte de Beaune’s true icon wines from an ideally situated walled vineyard whose borders have not changed for at least 500 years. His methods are uncomplicated: fanatical attention to detail in the vineyard and in the winery. This vertical tasting made it clear that the Clos des Ducs is frequently a wine of grand cru intensity, aromatic complexity and staying power.
Mugneret-Gibourg’s Clos Vougeot 1984 - 2015
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2019
An extensive tasting of their top Grand Cru this spring demonstrated that sisters Marie-Christine and Marie-Andrée Mugneret have quietly and methodically taken their famous father’s estate to greater heights through steady improvements in the vineyards and in the winery.