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White-on-White: Porseleinberg 2010-2020
featured, Verticals & Retrospectives, South Africa
, Nov 2023
Among South Africa’s clutch of world-class Syrah, Porseleinberg is regarded as the best. So what better than a vertical of every vintage to date tutored by winemaker Callie Louw?
Ten Years On: Burgundy 2013
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2023
Ten years on, how are the 2013 Burgundies shaping up? Revisiting a random set of wines born in a challenging season, as always, shows there are gems to be found if you know where to look.
Making History: 21 Vintages of Leonetti’s Red Wine Reserve
United States: Washington, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2023
Leonetti remains one of the leading producers of Bordeaux blends, not just in Washington State, but worldwide. Gary and Chris Figgins joined me for a tasting of twenty-one vintages of their Red Wine Reserve for this vertical.
Margaux Focus 3: Château Margaux
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Sep 2023
Château Margaux is blessed with one of the most iconic facades in Bordeaux, one befitting a First Growth. After spending a day with the team earlier this year, this article examines the estate from vine to wine and revisits vintages throughout the years.
Margaux Focus 2: Château Palmer
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Aug 2023
Palmer is one of Bordeaux’s leading estates. It is a fulcrum of innovation that perhaps it is not given due credit for. This in-depth article unearths its storied history, vineyard and winemaking minutiae gleaned from spending a day with CEO Thomas Duroux, plus the obligatory slew of tasting notes from both illustrious and esoteric vintages.
Cellar Favorite: San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti Classico: 2001-1990
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, Verticals & Retrospectives, 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.
Margaux Focus 1: Château Durfort-Vivens
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Aug 2023
Durfort-Vivens is a Margaux estate with a lower profile than others, yet it is one château that has furrowed its own path and perhaps has discovered its identity. This article looks at its elliptical history and innovations implemented by proprietor Gonzague Lurton.
Bruno Giacosa Dinner at Legacy Records
featured, Verticals & Retrospectives, Italy: Piedmont
, Aug 2023
This Bruno Giacosa retrospective and dinner, part of our ten-year anniversary celebration, was a great opportunity to go back and visit a wide range of benchmark wines from one of Piedmont’s most illustrious producers. To be honest, I had a hard time narrowing the selection down to a reasonable number of wines for a single evening. I chose to focus on vintages from Giacosa’s prime, wines that remain the reference points for the estate.
Passing the Baton: Lynch-Bages 1945-2018
France: Bordeaux, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Jul 2023
This article looks at the father-to-son ownership of Lynch-Bages over the last century. Jean-Michel Cazes’s recent passing marked the end of an era. But as we shall see, he had the foresight to ensure the next generation, not least his son Jean-Charles, would continue to build on his immense achievements.
Bartolo Mascarello 1955 to…from Magnum
featured, Verticals & Retrospectives, Italy: Piedmont
, Jul 2023
When it came time to decide on the Rare Wine Dinner for La Festa del Barolo in 2023, the year of our tenth anniversary, there was only one choice. Bartolo Mascarello was the first grower I met in Piedmont. Mascarello spent several hours with me that afternoon in a wide-ranging discussion that touched on politics, culture and, eventually, wine. It was an important moment, a moment in which I began to understand that the wines I loved so much were deeply shaped by the people who crafted them.