vintages
NEW WINES TO CONSIDER AS WE RAPIDLY APPROACH THE END OF THE YEAR
I am always looking for new and different wines. These range from obscure “Under the Radar” wines to the latest Burgundy vintage and other wines tasted from barrel. Around the year end holidays is always a time to relax and enjoy life. That includes time with family and friends and food and wine. So as […]
Click here to read entire article »BE THE MASTER OF YOUR DOMAIN!
I once read that a famous singer said that the only wine he drank was Romanée Conti. Now, I have no idea if he meant the vineyard or the Domaine. And, there is a difference. One is the top-rated vineyard in Burgundy that produces only about 400 cases in an average year. Romanée Conti has produced great wines over a very long period of time and sells at a great premium to other Burgundies (currently about $3-5,000 a bottle for recent vintages).
Click here to read entire article »ALONG THE BURGUNDY TRAIL – OCTOBER 2011
I just returned from Burgundy where I tasted 2010 wines from barrel as well as some 2009s and older wines from bottle. I was accompanied by my friends and contributing editors, Geoffrey Troy and John Brincko. Geoffrey has been with me on the trip since our first visit in 1981 along with my friend and […]
Click here to read entire article »GERMANY 2010 – A SPECTACULAR VINTAGE
Imagine if Philippine Rothschild had said that today’s supermarket Mouton Cadet was the equal of the 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, the estate’s flagship wine from a famed vintage. Hanno Zilliken, owner/winemaker of the famed German Saar estate Forstmeister Zilliken, made a similar statement, comparing his 2010 wines to a cellar aged 1983 gold capsule Auslese, a prized late harvest wine from a highly praised vintage.
Click here to read entire article »THE AHWAHNEE ANNOUNCES ITS 30TH ANNUAL VINTNERS’ HOLIDAYS STELLAR LINEUP WITH 33 WORLD-CLASS CALIFORNIA WINERIES
The Ahwahnee, AAA Four-Diamond Hotel, located in beautiful Yosemite Valley, will welcome 33 of California’s leading vintners for its 30th annual Vintners’ Holidays event series, kicking off November 6. Celebrating three decades of excellence in winemaking in the gorgeous setting of Yosemite National Park, Vintners’ Holidays will be held over a series of eight sessions from November 6 to December 8, 2011.
Click here to read entire article »WHAT IS WINE?
Simple question? Well, maybe it is not so simple as you think. Fermented grape juice? Hmmm…………….??? I guess I don’t know. I used to think that I did know. But, things have changed and now I am not so sure. What about you? How would you answer this question? But, before you do, please let […]
Click here to read entire article »Retrospective Review: Volume II, Number 2 (October-November, 1980)
We are currently reproducing a copy of Volume II, Number 2 of The Underground Wineletter. Below you’ll find an updated review of each article, where I will go over what we got right and what we got wrong. We will follow this format with each successive issue. So Volume II, Number 3 will be coming […]
Click here to read entire article »THE BORDEAUX ROAD AHEAD – A BUBBLE, A SPEED BUMP, OR BLISS?
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Let the word be spread into every nook and cranny of the world and beyond. All rejoice and give praise. The day has arrived. By royal decree of the big numbers gods, the new Bordeaux vintage has been declared “Vintage Of The Century.”
Click here to read entire article »ALONG THE BURGUNDY TRAIL – VINTAGE 2009
Background And Table Of Contents I started going to Burgundy in 1981. In the early days, I was accompanied by Geoffrey Troy and Edward Lazarus and occasionally John Brincko. Later Geoffrey and I continued to visit Burgundy and we were joined by Ted Swinnerton. In recent years, John Brincko rejoined Geoffrey and me. Our most […]
Click here to read entire article »Is “Sanity” Returning To The Market?
Is “Sanity” is returning to the market? Recently I have received offers on 2006 Petrus and Ausone that are down about two-thirds from the peak. These are wines that received scores “only” in the low to mid-90s. So far four figure pricing only holds in Robert Parker-anointed, best of the century (frequently twice, thrice a decade) vintages.
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