The 2015 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino is being heralded as a 5-star vintage (the top rating) by the notoriously easy-grading Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, the trade group that represents producers in Montalcino. Retailers around the country have jumped onto the bandwagon with enthusiastic praise for the 2015 vintage. … Read more
During the annual press conference in November, 2018 at which various Burgundy luminaries discussed the recent vintage, Françoise Labet, President of the organization that represents Burgundy wine, proclaimed that the recently completed vintage was, “Close to 1947,” which was a legendary year. … Read more
The obvious choice for gifts for your wine loving friends this holiday season is a bottle—or two—of wine. Sadly, too many are intimidated to give wine to a so-called wine expert. We’ve all heard the excuses: I don’t know anything about wine; I don’t want to embarrass myself by giving an ordinary wine; I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a prestigious one. … Read more
BEAUNE, Burgundy, November 19, 2019: First the good news. The 2018 vintage produced large quantities of high-quality wines, both red and white. It’s unusual to see good yields of high-quality wines in Burgundy, but that’s what happened in 2018. Unlike the 2015 vintage, which I characterized as a “point and shot” vintage for the reds because the quality was so consistently 
high that you practically couldn’t miss picking a fine wine, there is considerable variability among the 2018s that I’ve tasted. … Read more
Despite being home to Ornellaia, Sassicaia, Grattamacco, and Masseto, some of Italy’s most expensive and sought-after wines, the Maremma remains obscure to most wine lovers. Though none of the above-mentioned wines carry the word Maremma on their labels, geographically their home is in that region. … Read more
Winegrowers around the world speak lovingly of old vines. Though the definition is never official, nor even clear, many bottles still carry the moniker, Vieilles Vignes, Vecchie Viti or Viñas Viejas, depending on whether you’re talking about French, Italian or Spanish wines. … Read more
Recently, I happened to mention to my friend, Howard Goldberg, the longtime The New York Times wine writer, that I was writing a column about Loire wines made from Chenin Blanc. Howard suggested that I visit Paumanok on Long Island’s North Fork because, he said, they made great Chenin Blanc. … Read more
Mosmieri (Kakheti, Georgia) “Kakhuri” 2017 ($20, Corus Imports): Georgian wines seem to be the rage these days, and there are plenty of possible reasons for that. Consumers are intrigued that archeologists have figured out that wine has been made in that Caucasus-region country for 8,000 years, putting it among the oldest wine producing areas in the world. … Read more
The Chenin Blanc grape can be transformed into fabulous wine. It makes sensationally riveting dry wines and lusciously sweet ones. In this column, I want to focus on the dry ones. They are exceptionally versatile, equally well suited to stand-alone as an aperitif or with a meal, especially with those foods that can pose a challenge for matching with wine, such as sushi, spicy Asian fare or roast pork. … Read more
One of the many things I love about Beaujolais is its variety and versatility. There’s Beaujolais Nouveau, a beverage that’s almost closer to alcoholic grape juice than to wine, and which many in the American wine press deride regularly. Released on the third Thursday of November, it can be a refreshing, all-purpose wine for the Thanksgiving table. … Read more
Record-breaking temperatures hit France and elsewhere in Europe recently with Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy, recording temperatures of over 100 degrees. While those kinds of 
temperatures are common in California wine country, they are rare in Burgundy and immediately raise the question: How the vines and grapes faring?… Read more
Ruffino, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (Tuscany, Italy) “Riserva Ducale Oro” 2014 ($41): Gran Selezione is a new category of Chianti Classico that is supposed to represent the pinnacle of a producer’s bottling. Whether it does is a matter of debate because some producers’ top wine
from Chianti Classico region is not a Gran Selezione.… Read more
Part of my enthusiasm for wine, and I’m sure other’s as well, is that the character of the wine is, or at least should be, a reflection of where the grapes were grown. For me, this is a fabulous expression of Nature and an almost magical one at that. … Read more
It’s rare for a winery to go from nothing to the top in its category quickly. Bordeaux’s premier châteaux, such as Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour, and Château Haut-Brion, to name just three, were founded centuries ago. Similarly, in Burgundy, leading producers such as Maison Louis Jadot, Maison Louis Latour, and Maison Joseph Drouhin, date back to the 19th century. … Read more
Despite the sour mood in Montalcino caused by the “difficult” 2014 vintage for Brunello (vintages are never poor, they’re just difficult), it is definitely a vintage that consumers should investigate closely because some producers made very good wine. To be sure, the talk is all gloom and doom regarding the 2014 vintage in Tuscany, including Montalcino. … Read more
By Michael Apstein – Globe correspondent | February 25, 2019
When I taught the introductory wine course at The Boston Center for Adult Education, I suggested, as “homework,” for the students that they drink one type of wine exclusively for a month.… Read more
A vertical tasting of 15 vintages of Château Léoville Poyferré paired with food at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. earlier this month was proof that this venerable St. Julien property is on the rise. And while Cru Classé Bordeaux is never inexpensive, recent vintages of Léoville Poyferré are well-priced, especially compared to neighboring Château Léoville Las Cases.… Read more
The newly established Gambal-Work partnership in the Sta. Rita Hills of California has just released their first wines, a pair of exquisitely exciting Chardonnays–some of the best I’ve had from California. The enterprise draws on Alex Gambal’s 25 years of experience in Burgundy, where he is still making wines under the Alex Gambal label and that of Peter Work, a Dane who has considerable experience with vineyards in the Sta.… Read more
All hospitals have a Director. But only one–Les Hospices de Beaune–has a Director of Winemaking. (As a physician, I am especially interested in seeing that organizational chart.) The hospital needs a director of winemaking because it owns vineyards–over 150 acres of them, 85 percent of which are classified as Premier and Grand Cru, making it one of the largest vineyard owners in Burgundy. … Read more
With apologies to Bob Dylan, “The Times They are A-Changing” in Chianti Classico. Three decades ago, producers were embracing the use of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and other so-called “international varieties,” to bolster Sangiovese. But now, with dramatic improvements in the vineyards, growers have shown the heights that Sangiovese can achieve in Chianti Classico. … Read more
“He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” quipped Hannes Myburgh, the 8th generation of the family that owns Meerlust, in response to a potential conflict with Francis Ford Coppola over names. Coppola and his wife own the legendary Napa Valley Winery, Inglenook, whose flagship red wine is also labeled Rubicon. … Read more
Maison Louis Latour’s 2015 Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir (IGP Var, $14) epitomizes the difficulty of assessing wines by assigning a number to them. Do you judge them among their peers or on an absolute scale? And how does value–ratio of enjoyment to price–figure in the final number?… Read more
Lamberto Frescobaldi, tieless in a casual sports jacket, has a down-to-earth demeanor and a twinkle in his eye that belies his nobleman status. He is the 30th generation of that famed winemaking family, which in the past traded wine for paintings with Renaissance artists. … Read more
With apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson, rosé to the left of us, rosé to the right of us, rosé in front of us, and there we were, drinking white wine in the heart of Provence. The sommelier at La Presque’îe, a spectacularly situated restaurant–with food to match–on the outskirts of Cassis overlooking the Mediterranean coast, told me that they sell a lot of rosé, but that, like us, many diners order white wine.… Read more
Geantet-Pansiot, Bourgogne Rouge, “Pinot Fin,” 2015 ($30 – 45):
Pinot Fin is a clone of Pinot Noir that produces smaller berries and thicker skin, according to the internationally acclaimed wine expert, Jancis Robinson. It’s rarely grown in Burgundy today, because it’s a finicky grape to grown, even more troublesome than Pinot Noir, susceptible to many diseases that result in lower yields–meaning, more expensive wine. … Read more
At the end of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, which was held this year in Beijing, I sat amazed at how extraordinarily efficient and smoothly run this wine competition was: A dedicated sommelier for each panel of judges, perfectly timed pouring, not a drop spilled or a glass broken, a bevy of technical support assistants for the tablets judges used to record their scores, even robots transporting bottled water to be delivered to the judges’ tables. … Read more
The cru system–as in Grand or Premier Cru Burgundy or the cru of Beaujolais–has reached Muscadet. The growers there are doing what producers throughout the world are doing: They are defining and identifying specific areas within the broader region that are capable of producing distinctive wines. … Read more
Having tasted the 2015 Burgundies now that they have been bottled and are on retailers’ shelves, I can confirm my initial impression of the vintage –sensational for both reds and whites. Importantly, though, the character of the wines is very different depending on the color. … Read more
Northeast Italy’s classic dry white has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few decades. Michael Apstein gets to the heart of this hilly region, highlighting six of his favourite producers and selecting 12 of the best wines to try.… Read more
Usually it is perfect weather during the growing season that results in exceptional wines. Think 2005, 2009 or 2015 in Burgundy. Those “ideal weather” vintages produced excellent wines almost across the board. In 2016, the capriciousness of Nature was apparent: Hail ravaged some vineyards, destroying the entire crop, but leaving a neighboring vineyard untouched. … Read more
If there was ever any doubt,–and, of course, there shouldn’t be–that Brunello di Montalcino is one of the world’s great wines, a sad event last month should dispel it. Thieves stole about 1,000 bottles of Brunello, including some prized single-vineyard Riserva, Poggio al Vento, worth about $125,000, from Col d’Orcia, one of the region’s top producers. … Read more
The wines from Bordeaux are definitely not the darlings of the breed of new-wave sommeliers whose wine lists are heavy with “natural” wines, orange wines, or selections from obscure areas–which all too often turn out to be obscure for good reason. … Read more
Readers might reasonably ask why I am writing about wines not available in the U.S. market from one the last places on earth you’d expect to find fine wine–Morocco, a Muslim country where alcohol is forbidden. Why? Because it is a fantastic story about problem solving, a learning curve, and perhaps a little bit of following your heart.… Read more
The Napa Valley Wine Auction (officially known as Auction Napa Valley), which started in 1981, bills itself as “the world’s most celebrated charity wine event.” To its credit, it raises a lot of money–roughly $10 million last year. Bidders at Auction Napa Valley and other charity wine auctions pay thousands of dollars to attend high-end dinners and mingle with winemakers, winery owners and other “personalities.” … Read more
I never gave much thought to Grignolino, an obscure grape from Piedmont, until Marchesi Cattaneo Adorno Giustiniani poured one, a 1971, from his winery, Castello di Gabiano, at dinner last month. It was show-stopping. One of the qualities that determines greatness for a wine, at least for me, is its ability to develop over time. … Read more
The history of the official alphabet of stratification of Italian wines–VdT, IGT, DOC, or DOCG (Vino da Tavola, Indicazione Geografica Tipica, Denominazione di Origine Controllata, and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita)–does not inspire confidence. When Sassicaia, now an iconic Italian wine, was first released, it barely registered on the official scale, being relegated to a lowly VdT designation. … Read more
Our exceptional bus driver and guide, Matt Wentzell, assured us that he could make it up the steep twisty and bumpy dirt road. I remained unconvinced as the road became more twisted and bumpy. Halfway up, we stopped, carefully disembarked and stepped onto a plateau overlooking the narrow, mountain-lined valley. … Read more
The spray from the tsunami of rosé hitting our shores just soaked me. I know rosé is popular, but the latest evidence of its popularity floored me: An offering of the 2016 Le Rosé de Chevalier. Bordeaux’s Domaine de Chevalier making a rosé?… Read more
Soave, one of Italy’s great white wines, has an image problem, and, as a result, it gets no respect. Although I’m sure that must be frustrating for the producers, it’s a boon for consumers: The wines can be excellent but their prices fail to reflect their quality. … Read more
