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Cellar Favorite: 1970 E. Pira & Figli Barolo
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Piedmont
, Oct 2023
The 1970 Pira Barolo is a wine I have never had before, at least that I can recall. Sweet, perfumed and ethereal, the 1970 takes us back to another generation, a time when Piedmont was far more agrarian and artisan than it is today. Crushed rose petals, mint, licorice, dried flowers, sweet dried cherry fruit, pipe tobacco and old chest drawer waft from the glass. Fine, silky, mature Nebbiolo tannins pull it all together beautifully. The 1970 is fully mature and past its prime, but well-stored bottles will drink well for another few years.
Cellar Favorite: 1981 Petrus
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2023
Given my rather desultory score for the 1981 Petrus, a bottle that had a tincture of TCA, I was able to order a pristine bottle in London that had been acquired directly from the château, thereby giving me a chance to re-evaluate.
Cellar Favorite: 2003 Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
United States: California, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Oct 2023
The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, a library release from the winery this year, is in great shape. Rich, racy and super-expressive, the 2003 offers up an exotic mélange of ripe dark plum, hard candy, tea leaves, spice, mocha, leather and menthol. Sweet floral top notes add character to the distinctly ripe flavor profile.
Cellar Favorite: 2005 Domaine Jean-Marc Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet Les Vergers 1er Cru
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Sep 2023
At an evening meal in Tokyo, I had the pleasure of tasting the excellent 2005 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Vergers 1er Cru from Jean-Marc Pillot. This was poured from magnum.
Cellar Favorite: 2011 Domaine d'Auvenay Bourgogne Aligoté Sous Chatelet
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Sep 2023
Let’s get the elephant out of the room. The secondary market price for this “humble” Aligoté is around £3,000 per bottle. That is absurd. That is unbelievable. But that is reality. Someone out there is prepared to pay that amount of money for this wine, motivated by the fact that it was crafted by Lalou Bize-Leroy or perhaps motivated by pecuniary gains.
Cellar Favorite: 1997 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah
South Africa, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2023
Rewind to the mid-nineties, South Africa is basking in the afterglow of the dissolution of apartheid dissolution and Nelson Mandela’s election as President. After decades of selling wine domestically, South Africa’s wine industry is suddenly exposed to a competitive, global market, often under governmental control. Among a vast ocean of turbo-charged Bordeaux blends, the 1997 Syrah from Boekenhoutskloof is sui generis and becomes one of the Cape’s most iconic, mythical wines.
Cellar Favorite: 2016 Royal Tokaji Essencia
Hungary, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Aug 2023
Royal Tokaji has released only eight vintages of Essencia in the last three decades: 1993, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2009. A fallow period ensued until the imminent release of the 2016 in September/October, limited to 2,300 half-bottles in individual red lacquer boxes with hand-crafted crystal spoons.
Cellar Favorite: San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti Classico: 2001-1990
Verticals & Retrospectives, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Italy: Tuscany
, Aug 2023
When was the last time a grower presented a vertical of their entry-level wine where the youngest vintage was more than twenty years old? Never, in my experience. That’s exactly what Luca Martini di Cigala did during my most recent visit to San Giusto a Rentennano. It was a remarkable tasting and a fitting continuation of themes I explored last year in my report on vintages 2002 through 2010.
Cellar Favorite: Domaine Jean-Marie Guffens Mature Pouilly-Fuissé
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Burgundy
, Aug 2023
I have been drinking and enjoying Jean-Marie Guffens’ wines for a quarter-century now. With his larger-than-life personality and tendency to utter the utterable, Guffens might not be everyone’s cup of tea. What cannot be denied is that he has the magic touch when it comes to making wine, and over the last two or three years, the demand for back vintages has dramatically increased.
Cellar Favorite: Chartreuse Yellow Label - Distilled 1935
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France
, Aug 2023
Spirits are big business these days. We are not talking bottles you buy off supermarket shelves, but ancient bottles that might be covered in thick dust in rural bistros or perhaps lying in your grandparents’ drinks cabinet. Demand has risen exponentially as more and more connoisseurs have a newfound appreciation of their quality and rarity. Basically, the hunt is on.