Wine
« Previous Entries2004 Haut Bergeron Sauternes
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Now that I have a couple of cases of this in the cellar I can share with you just how good it is!
I know that Sauternes is not everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, but it’s hard not to like this exquisite effort from Chateau Haut Bergeron. Haut Bergeron is owned by one of […]
More Reignac: 1998
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008I have a good selection of Reignac in the cellar, from 1996 to 2005. I fell in love with Yves Vatelot’s story in William Echikson’s Noble Rot, how he invented a women’s razor after watching his girlfriend shave her legs, sold the business to Gillette, and bought a run-down patch of vineyard in Libourne on […]
2005 R Wines First Class Shiraz
Monday, February 11th, 2008I admit it, I was sucked in by the label, which looks exactly like an airline boarding pass. The capsule is fashioned like a luggage tag. It’s straight Shiraz from the 2005 vintage in South Australia.
All cuteness aside, the wine is a real powerhouse. I’d forgotten how in-your-face Australian Shy-Raz can be…First Class is a […]
1996 Reignac, Still Going Strong
Sunday, January 27th, 2008Bordeaux Superior typically isn’t designed to last more than a few years, but what a pleasant surprise it was to taste the 1996 Reignac, which continues to age like a more prestigious growth. I am a big fan of Yves and Stefanie Vatelot and what they’ve done with this small estate since buying it in […]
2003 Petit Bocq
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008Petit Bocq is a relative newcomer to Bordeaux. It is in the appellation of St. Estephe, near the Gironde, and the primary plot of Merlot is not too far from Cos d’Estournel and the ditch that separates St. Estephe from Paulliac. St. Estephe is pretty flat, and there just isn’t much gravel here…certainly not the […]
2004 Fleur Cardinale. Wow!
Saturday, January 5th, 2008I suppose that we should be used to ‘fruit bombs’ coming of St. Emilion by now, but wow! We opened a bottle of 2004 Fleur Cardinale last night for dinner, and it is simply remarkable. The wine is still a little young. Even though it is primarily Merlot, there’s enough Cabernet Sauvignon to give it […]
First 2005 Bordeaux: Presidial
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008I’ve enjoyed several vintages of Jean-Luc Thunevin’s Presidial over the years. If you don’t know Thunevin’s wines, you should. His Valendraud started the ‘garagiste’ movement back in 1989…for good or for not, depending on whether you prefer Bordeaux with lots of extraction and a full, jammy flavor. Some say that this is an American influence, […]
2001 Valmengaux Bordeaux Supérieur
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007Bordeaux Supérieur wines are always a gamble. In terms of classification, the label simply means that the wine comes from somewhere in the Gironde region and has met minimal requirements for wines that carry the AOC Bordeaux Supérieur name. It’s generally table wine, meant to be drunk within a few years of bottling.
The great thing […]
Manage Your Cellar
Friday, December 21st, 2007Once you have more than a few dozen bottle sof wine in the house you’ll probably start to develop some way of keeping track of them. Maybe a little Excel spreadsheet, or a database, or index cards in a box. I like Tellico a lot, which is a general-purpose collection tracker that has been around […]
2000 Clos les Lunelles
Monday, December 17th, 2007The 2000 was produced the year before before Gerard Perse and his wife purchased this 24-acre property. The 2000 Lunelles is about 80% Merlot, the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon and a bit of Cabernet Franc, as is more or less traditional for the Cotes de Castillon. It’s just now coming to its peak…the wine is […]
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