My friends say that I hate rosé. I don’t. I just think there are many far more interesting alternatives. (Here, we’re talking about still wine, not rosé Champagne, which is heavenly.) Most rosé is innocuous. “I’ll have a glass of rosé,” has replaced “I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay” as shorthand for “I want a glass of wine—I don’t need to know anything else about it.” … Read more
Category Archives: Articles
Terroir in Barolo: Poderi Gianni Gagliardo
There’s no question that terroir—the concept that wines reflect the individual and unique site where the grapes grow—exists in Barolo. How could it not? With myriad growing plots differing by soil, exposure, and elevation, the Barolo DOCG produces hundreds of different wines, all from the same grape, Nebbiolo. … Read more
From Decanter Magazine: Capezzana’s Trefiano: Quintessential Carmignano
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Trefiano – Tenuta di Capezzana’s stunning take on Carmignano Riserva – a vertical tasting of a handful of vintages ranging from 1988 to 2019 (the current release) was held in Florence this February.
In preparation for the tasting, I opened a bottle of the 2015 from my own cellar, so I have included my impression of that below, along with the wines from the tasting.… Read more
Chianti Classico: A Perennial Favorite
Tasting through hundreds of Chianti Classico wines from the 2020, 2021, 
and 2022 vintages over two days reminded me why Chianti Classico is, justifiably, so popular around the world. The setting for the tastings was the venerable — and quite enormous — train station in Florence where every year the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico (the organization that represents producers) presents some 700-plus samples of Chianti Classico spanning several recent vintages and all quality levels.
… Read more and 2022 vintages over two days reminded me why Chianti Classico is, justifiably, so popular around the world. The setting for the tastings was the venerable — and quite enormous — train station in Florence where every year the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico (the organization that represents producers) presents some 700-plus samples of Chianti Classico spanning several recent vintages and all quality levels. Do Not Miss the 2019 Brunellos!
Let me get straight to the point. The 2019 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino is fabulous! I make this assessment after tasting 35-plus examples of the recently bottled and released wines in New York City in November. There wasn’t a loser in the bunch. … Read more
Wine of the Week: Duckhorn Vineyards
Duckhorn Vineyards 1978 Merlot Three Palms Vineyard Napa Valley California 97
Duckhorn Vineyards, founded in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn, released its first wines two years later, from the 1978 vintage: 6,000 bottles each of a Cabernet Sauvignon and this Merlot.… Read more
From Decanter Magazine: Domaine Parent: A benchmark Pommard domaine
Long-regarded as one of Burgundy’s more muscular appellations, the 2022 vintage from Domaine Parent reveal Pommard’s more refined and sensuous side.
The wines of Pommard have long suffered from a less-exalted reputation compared to the more delicate wines of neighbouring Volnay, just to the south.… Read more
The Amazing 2022 Burgundies
Let me cut directly to the chase, or rather, the bottom line: Buy as much of the 2022 Burgundies—both red and white—as your budget allows. I give this advice after having been astonished by the results of my annual tasting trip to Burgundy in November. … Read more
Gravity Exists in Burgundy
In recent memory, prices for Burgundy have seemed to defy gravity—they always rise. The prices at this year’s recently completed Hospices de Beaune auction, the 163rd, actually fell, demonstrating that gravity does exist there. The average price per barrel was €30,839 ($33,642), down 14 percent compared to 2022, but consumers may not notice any difference anytime soon because of the complexity of the market.… Read more
Remembering Mike Grgich: The Man Who Put California Wines on the Map
The wine world lost a giant last month. Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, the man who thrust California wine onto the world’s stage, died at age 100 at his home in Calistoga in the Napa Valley.
Grgich, more than anyone, is responsible for California’s reputation as a place that could make great wine when his 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay took first place at a wine competition that pitted France’s best white Burgundies against upstarts from California. … Read more
My Year in Review: 2023
Choosing the best of 2023 is easy for me—the marriage of both our daughters to men we like and admire. Of course, wine played a role in the numerous celebrations that accompanied the weddings. We uncorked and drank many birth year wines, 1988 and 1992, that I had purchased soon after the kids were born, which reminded me of important lessons that I’d like to pass on.… Read more
Château Lagrange : From A Diamond in the Rough to A Sparkling Gem
It’s amazing what money and dedication to a goal can do. Suntory, the Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company, purchased the neglected and run-down Château Lagrange (an estate classified as a Third Growth in the famed Médoc Classification of 1855) in 1983 for a reported 10 million U.S.… Read more
From Decanter Magazine: Domaine des Baumard’s Quarts de Chaume: World-class sweet wines
You can be forgiven if you are unfamiliar with the Quarts de Chaume appellation. After all, when I mentioned to a well-known wine-writer colleague based in San Francisco that I was writing about it, he said, ‘What’s that?’
The appellation should be on every wine lover ’s radar, because it’s home to one of the world’s greatest sweet wines.… Read more
Terroir is Alive and Well on Mount Etna
One of things I adore about wine is how it expresses Mother Nature. The same grape grown in adjacent vineyards and turned into wine by the same winemaking team can taste very different. Winemakers attribute the differences to the composition of the soil (limestone, clay, or sand) exposure to the sun (do the grapes benefit from the gentler warming of the morning sun or the more intense afternoon sun?),
… Read more Object Lesson in Excellence: E. Guigal’s Côte-Rôtie “Château d’Ampuis” 2019
The Guigal family, the elder Marcel and his wife Bernadette, and their son Philippe and his wife Eve, have always focused on site specificity in the great Northern Rhône appellation of Côte-Rôtie. It started in 1966 when they bottled wine separately from La Mouline, a 2.5-acre vineyard planted with both Syrah and Viognier, in an amphitheater on the Côte Blonde slope of the appellation. … Read more
Three Takes on Second Wines
No one wants to be second. Nobody strives to come in second. Second place is just not built-in to our DNA. For example, my daughter, a NCAA Gold Medal winner coxswain during college, referred to a Silver Medal winner—2nd place—as “the first loser.” … Read more
Oregon: The Latest French Invasion
The French have always played an important role in the American wine industry. Burgundy-born Paul Masson started making wine in California in the late 19th century, followed by Georges de la Tour, founder of Beaulieu Vineyards, in 1900. The second wave started in 1973 when Moët et Chandon established Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley. … Read more
The Wines of Laudun: Under the Radar Now, but Not for Long
The French wine authorities, Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO), are notoriously rigid and immoveable. However, they are poised to change the pecking order in the Rhône, putting the wines from Laudun on a level, administratively, at least, with Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. … Read more
A Greek White Instead of Rosé
Memorial Day means summer, which, of course to some people means rosé. But for me it means light to mid-weight white wines with energy, verve, and most of all, character. There are lots of French whites that fit that category, from zippy Muscadet to flinty village Chablis, to simple Bourgogne Blanc, to racy Sancerre. … Read more
Bordeaux’s Domaine de Chevalier and Its Outstanding White Wine
Bordeaux‘s image and reputation comes from its red wines, which, after all, account for about ninety percent of its production. Rating the overall quality of the vintage is always based on how the red wines fared, without regard to the whites.… Read more
From Canada’s Quench Magazine – Burgundy: A Look Back at the Last 50 Years and Forward to the Next
Tenuta di Capezzana’s Ghiaie della Furba
In 1979, Ugo Conti Bonacossi, owner of Tenuta di Capezzana, the leading estate in Carmignano, created a unique Super Tuscan wine, Ghiaie della Furba (literally, pebbles along the Furba stream). It should come as no surprise that a grower in Carmignano should make a Super Tuscan because, after all, Carmignano, not Bolgheri, was the birthplace of the concept. … Read more
Four Decades of Guigal’s “Classic” Hermitage
E. Guigal’s consistently stunning “classic” Hermitage, as Philippe Guigal refers to it, as distinct from their Ex Voto-bottling, dispels several wine myths. First, it shows that a négociant bottling can be superb. Secondly, and more surprisingly perhaps, is that Guigal buys, get this, wine, not grapes, for much of their 45,000-bottle annual production.… Read more
Don’t Miss Maison Latour’s 2020 Burgundies
Founded in 1797 and still family owned and operated, Maison Louis Latour is one of Burgundy’s top producers. In addition to their own 120 acres of vineyards (over half of which are Grand Cru, making them the largest owner of Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy) they are one of Burgundy’s best négociants as well. … Read more
An Awesome Aligoté
Let me get right to the point. The 2020 Aligoté from Domaine du Cellier aux Moines is the best Bourgogne Aligoté I’ve ever had, and I’ve had one from Coche-Dury. Why is it so stunning? Firstly, this Aligoté, labelled “Sous les Roches,” comes from a vineyard in Montagny planted in 1945.… Read more
Finger Lakes Riesling: Paul Hobbs Has Landed
Will Paul Hobbs be the Rocket that launches New York’s Finger Lakes region?
Every under-recognized fine wine region needs a high-profile producer to be a locomotive to pull it onto the world’s stage. With his new venture, Hillick and Hobbs, named after his parents, Joan Hillick and Edward Hobbs, Paul Hobbs just might do it for New York’s Finger Lakes.… Read more
Burgundy Buying Blueprint for the 99-Percenters
Even a brief glance at on-line ads from wine retailers shows that Côte d’Or Burgundy has become prohibitively expensive for everyone except the so called “one-percenters” at the very peak of the wealth pyramid. And I’ve seen even some of them balk at the prices. … Read more
Another addition to the Chianti quality pyramid: tasting Rùfina’s Terraelectae wines
Federico Giuntini Masseti, president of the Chianti Rùfina Consorzio, says that the purpose of Terraelectae – Chianti Rùfina’s new top-tier category- is to highlight the special character of the Sangiovese-based wines from Rùfina’s unique terroir. The producers hope the category will allow Chianti Rùfina to emerge from Chianti Classico’s shadow and be considered a top Tuscan DOCG, like Brunello.… Read more
Maison Louis Latour Made Outstanding 2020s
The 2020 vintage in Burgundy, currently on the market, is the third hot—temperature wise—vintage in a row. It’s also a “hot” vintage judging from some critics’ reviews and retailers’ enthusiasm. Hot vintages are tricky, especially in Burgundy. The good news about growing seasons with hot, sun-drenched days is that the wines have ripe flavors and lack green, unripe ones and the accompanying palate-searing acidity. … Read more
From Decanter Magazine: Chianti Rùfina ups its game with Terraelectae
The wines from Chianti Rùfina, a unique, high-quality sub-region of the greater Chianti area, are overshadowed by those of its larger brother, Chianti Classico. Now, Rùfina producers are striving to change that with Terraelectae, a category of wines that will sit at the pinnacle of the Chianti Rùfina quality pyramid.… Read more
Beaujolais Nouveau Day: May it Rest in Peace
On the third Thursday of November the streets here in Beaune are getting ready to accommodate the crowds that will descend on this charming village to take part in the activities leading up to the annual Hospices de Beaune wine auction, which always occurs the following Sunday.
… Read more Maison Louis Jadot’s Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St. Jacques: A Study in Terroir Spanning Three Decades
Changes in Chianti: A Boon or TMI?
ou’d think that a region like Chianti, with world-famous name recognition, would just adopt the motto, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Not so. Changes today abound in the area, specifically the sub-regions of Chianti Classico and Chianti Rùfina, that might well lift the wines to new quality levels.
… Read more Red Wines of Provence and Notable Rosés
Rosé naturally comes to mind when thinking of the wines from Provence. But I’m here to tell you that at least one appellation in the region, Les Baux de Provence, makes terrific reds. They also make excellent rosés. Yes, you read that correctly. … Read more
From Canada’s Quench Magazine: Rosé: Wines of Substance or Simply Pool Juice
Wines from Spain’s Ravishing Rueda are Perfect for Summer
The hot and muggy days of summer call for zippy refreshing wines. While many people reach for rosés at this time of the year, I find most of them to be innocuous, lacking character. Instead, I suggest trying Spanish whites from Rueda. … Read more
Aligoté: Burgundy’s Other White Grape
White Burgundy is made from Chardonnay, right? Well, mostly. There’s another white grape in Bourgogne, Aligoté, that makes zippy, energetic wines perfect for summertime, and ones that are — I might add — are mostly affordable. Not an afterthought, Bourgogne Aligoté is treated with respect by top end producers, such as Coche-Dury, whose $300+ per bottle rendition is definitely not in the “affordable wine” category. … Read more
A Bullseye for Bichot
The house of Albert Bichot made an outstanding line-up of both red and white Burgundies in 2020, no mean feat since the growing conditions made success with both colors difficult because of the heat. Many critics, myself included, have raved about the overall success of the 2020 vintage for white Burgundies. … Read more
Don’t Overlook Village Burgundies
I’m just back from a week in Burgundy where I attended a spectacular week-long series of tastings, Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne, which turned out to be one of my best tasting experiences ever. Held biannually, visitors move from Chablis in the north to Mercurey in the Côte Chalonnaise, tasting wines from a group of villages each day. … Read more
Bells Up: A Tiny New Oregon Estate
With only a 600-case annual total production, Bells Up is tiny, but their wines tell me their imprint will be huge. Bells Up is a musical term, and since I know little about music, I will quote from their website: “‘Bells Up’ refers to a dramatic moment in classical music where the composer instructs French horn players to lift the bells of the 
instruments up and project sound with maximum intensity. … Read more
The 2017 Brunellos: Like Wagner’s Music-Not as Bad as It Sounds
In the two years of this pandemic, I’ve been reluctant to attend public tastings. I’ve been to exactly two. A group of maskless people—spitting—seems like a very high-risk activity. The two tastings, assessing the 2016 and 2017 vintages of Brunello di Montalcino, indicate of the importance I attach to the wines of that tiny Tuscan town.
… Read more Irancy: regional profile plus 20 wines to try
The AVAs and Wines of The Willamette Valley
An Early Look at the Excellent 2020 Vintage in Burgundy
The 2020 Burgundies, both reds and whites, are, in short, excellent, making it the the best vintage from that area since 2015. It’s been over a decade—2010—since a vintage has excelled in both colors. Offers for these 2020s as futures are just starting to appear. … Read more
Profile: Mazzei Castello di Fonterutoli, Toscana IGT “Siepi” 2019
Siepi, a single vineyard blend of roughly equal amounts of Sangiovese and Merlot, is a true Super Tuscan wine. The vineyard, believed to be one of the oldest in Italy, dates from the 15th century if not earlier, its existence having been noted in a document from 1435. … Read more
Michael Apstein’s Top Five Wines of 2021
Not all of these five wines qualify as the best –however you define “best”—wine I had in 2021. Instead, each of them taught me something. As a doctor—the word comes from the Latin docere, to teach—I do teach. I teach patients, students, and young physicians.… Read more
2016 Brunello di Montalcino: Don’t Miss Them
The great success of the 2016 vintage throughout Tuscany suggested that the just-released 2016 Brunello would be memorable. Is it ever! To my mind, it is, by far, the best vintage since 2010. I certainly prefer the 2016s in general to the more powerful and overdone Brunello from the much-hyped 2015 vintage. … Read more
Boston Sunday Globe: What better place to learn about Greek wines?
2019 Burgundies: A Mixed Bag
While consistency is rarely a word used when describing Burgundies, the 2019 Burgundies present the consumer with an even greater-than-usual stylistic variation. The usual suspects explain the diversity of the wines: Frost, poor flowering, and heat. Frost, which affected areas almost capriciously—some vineyards lost 40 percent of their grapes, while adjacent ones were spared—reduced the crop in many appellations. … Read more
From Decanter Magazine: Wine and Digestion
From the December 2021 issue of Decanter Magazine:
