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Cellar Favorite: 1952 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru
France: Burgundy, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, featured
, Jun 2025
1952 was a significant vintage: it marked the return of the Romanée-Conti cuvée after the monopole’s ungrafted vines were pulled out following the 1945 harvest. It was a complete privilege to drink this extraordinarily rare piece of history.
Paso Robles 2022 and 2023: Polar Opposites
United States: California, featured
, Jun 2025
Paso Robles is carving out its place as a premier wine region, proving its adaptability in the face of recent vintages. While the 2022 growing season presented unique challenges that are reflected in the wines, the exceptionally promising 2023s highlight Paso’s flexibility and diversity.
Duero: From Ribera to Toro via Rueda (And a Few Other Detours)
featured, Spain
, Jun 2025
The wines of the Duero region—a diverse area shaped by a harsh climate—have earned a reputation as some of Spain’s finest. Journeying through the 600-plus wines reviewed in this report, I tour the region and share my interpretation of Ribera del Duero, the beating heart of Castilla y León.
Maule: The Magic of Old Vines and a Stylistic Reinvention in Chile
featured, Chile
, Jun 2025
Chile is renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo, but many other grapes and terroirs broaden the country’s stylistic range. Among them, the southern region of Maule presents a unique mosaic of vineyards. In this report, I review nearly 700 wines from across the country with a focus on Maule, highlighting new discoveries and revisiting key trends.
One Night in Taipei: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg 1995-2017
France: Burgundy, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Jun 2025
This was an invaluable overview of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Richebourg—an opportunity to really examine a single cuvée, to observe how it interacts with the heterogeneity of growing seasons that leads to differing results in the bottle. It was also a timely reminder that despite this domaine’s lofty reputation, no bottle is beyond criticism.
A Century of...Fives
France: Bordeaux, France: Bordeaux featured Verticals and Retrospectives, France: Bordeaux Verticals and Retrospectives featured, featured
, Jun 2025
My annual "Century of..." article revisits vintages on their decennial anniversaries. This year, we dive into Fives.
Cellar Favorite: 1990 Hennebelle
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jun 2025
The 1990 Hennebelle is a pertinent reminder of the glories of Bordeaux, how a modest quarter-century-old Haut-Médoc could deliver such pleasure.
Vinous Table: L’Ardente, Washington, D.C., United States
featured, Vinous Table
, Jun 2025
Located just a few blocks from Capitol Hill, L’Ardente offers unpretentious, straight-down-the-line Italian fare that has earned a reputation for quality. The atmosphere is lively and the sommelier team is impressive.
2024 Wachau and Lower Austria: Calamities and Coups de Coeur
Austria, featured
, Jun 2025
Frost, hail, heat and high water—nature threw everything at winegrowers in Lower Austria in 2024. A warm March led to some of the earliest budbursts ever, making vines vulnerable to late spring frosts in April. Heat and drought posed a challenge in summer, while torrential rains in mid-September caused widespread flooding. Some estates had dramatically lower yields, some were lucky to escape relatively unscathed, but all were worried about what the rain would do to their fruit. Quality is thus more mixed in 2024, yet there are highlights and coups de coeur nonetheless.
The Second Coming of Australian Chardonnay
Australia, chardonnay, featured
, Jun 2025
Australian Chardonnay is now well and truly in the premier league. The best wines show genuine sophistication thanks to intuitive, thoughtful winemaking and the investment in locating and developing optimal sites. This is not confined to a single place—each region, from Tasmania and Adelaide Hills to Margaret River and Victoria’s cool-climate pockets, brings its own take on the modern style, driven by clones, climate and terroir. The only question now is how high Australian Chardonnay will go and whether it will claim its place as a genuine international leader.