Cellar Notes
OLDER CHANIN WINE COMPANY WINES
Recently Gavin Chanin brought some of his old wines for me to taste with a few other friends. As expected the wines were superb. Without question Gavin is making some of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in California after learning the trade from the late pioneer Santa Barbara wine maker Jim Clendenen (to […]
Click here to read entire article »AN UNUSUAL TASTING EXPERIENCE
Sometimes things happen in a very unusual way. Such was the case with a magnum of 1970 Latour which had been in my cellar since the original release. In moving wines around last fall the magnum was removed from the rack and stood up. However, while standing only just a short time, the cork […]
Click here to read entire article »OLD RIDGE VINEYARDS MONTE BELLO CABERNETS
In my most recent Ridge Vineyards article (click here to read the article on Spring releases and links to all other Ridge Vineyards articles) I said that I would soon be writing about some recent tastings of old Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignons. And, as I have mentioned many times over the years, the […]
Click here to read entire article »THE OLD BURGUNDIANS
In late November I returned from Burgundy where with my friends I tasted many 2014 Burgundies from barrel and some 2013s from bottle. I will have a detailed article out soon, but for now I can say that I find the 2014 Burgundies to have a lot of charm and there should be many wonderful […]
Click here to read entire article »A GREAT OLD WINE THAT VIRTUALLY NO ONE KNOWS
As I have said many times, there is nothing better than a great old wine. But, the exception might be if it is a wine that virtually no one knows, and one that you chose and cellared for yourself and friends from the very beginning. It is exactly the latter that this story is about. […]
Click here to read entire article »MOUNT EDEN VINEYARDS CHARDONNAY AND PINOT NOIR
GREAT HISTORIC MAGNUMS OF MOUNT EDEN VINEYARDS CHARDONNAY AND PINOT NOIR A few years ago I was able to buy 2 pristine magnums of 1972 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir from a couple who were original investors in Mount Eden Vineyards. They had owned the bottles since release and the bottles were in […]
Click here to read entire article »OLDER UNDER THE RADAR WHITE BURGUNDY
WHO SAYS WHITE BURGUNDY HAS TO HAVE A THREE DIGIT PRICE TAG? White Burgundy has long been my favorite white wine. White Burgundy can come from five areas: • Chablis (100% White Wine) • Côte de Nuits (5% White Wine) • Côte de Beaune (30% White Wine) • Côte Chalonnaise (40% White Wine) • Mâconnais […]
Click here to read entire article »WHO SAYS FRENCH ROSÉS DON’T AGE?
Well, I think the answer to this question is most people. And, guess what? Most people are wrong. Please let me explain. Some people think that rosés do not age because they never keep them. In fact, some people even think that rosés are inexpensive sweet wines. These are the so called blush wines which […]
Click here to read entire article »OLD WHITE BURGUNDY
A Complex Tale of Two Wines With a Window Into Premox Recently I had an opportunity to drink 2 older White Burgundies. The wines were: 1992 Joseph Drouhin Corton Charlemagne and 1999 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet. They offered an interesting paradox into the current state of White Burgundy. 1992 Joseph Drouhin Corton Charlemagne Oxidized […]
Click here to read entire article »1990 RED BURGUNDY
TWO GREAT BOTTLES OF 1990 RED BURGUNDY When I first tasted the 1990 Red Burgundies from barrel over 20 years ago (Underground Wineletter Volume XIII, Numbers 1 & 2, August-September 1991), I thought it was the greatest Burgundy vintage I had ever tasted from barrel. Today I would also include 2005 and 2009 on […]
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