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In the March 31, 2008 Issue:




Previous issue: Jan. 31 - Feb. 29, 2008

 

Cover Story

2005 Bordeaux Delivers With complex reds and impressive whites, the 2005 vintage will go into the history books alongside great modern classics such as 1982

Top-Scoring Wines

Bordeaux to Buy   Fifty estates that deserve special attention

Alphabetical Guide to All 2005 Bordeaux Tasted

Features

Tasting Reports

California Syrah Stays Strong The versatile grape continues to lead the way among the Golden State's Rhône-style reds, with a surge of quality in the Central Coast

Promising New Producers   Ten newcomers sweeten the pot with successful bottlings from around the state

Travel

On the Trail of Chenin Blanc   An underappreciated white provides the perfect focus for an adventure in the heart of the Loire Valley

  • WineSpectator.com:  Traveling to wine country? Our Hotel Search contains reviews and photos of great places to stay in wine-and-food destinations. And our Winery Search helps you plan tasting visits with interactive maps and details on hours, tours and tasting fees.

Wine

Spotlight on Cornas   Long overshadowed by its neighbors Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, this picturesque French village is now ready to show off its quality wines

Cornas Standouts   Meet some of the top producers from the region, from the old guard to the new wave

Dining

Haute Hudson   Three new restaurants provide stellar wining and dining to match the glorious views of the valley

Departments

This Issue

This Issue Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront

  

Wine.com runs a sting operation on other retailers; Ed Sbragia leaves Beringer; study finds wine could keep legs healthy; European Union agrees to wine industry reform; San Francisco's Presidio gets a winery; WineSpectator.com launches new online cellar management tool; grapevine

  • WineSpectator.com  Keep up with breaking news as well as the people, places and happenings that wine lovers are talking about.

Tastes

  

Melting pot gumbo; judging a brownie bake-off; a lesson in liqueurs; Miami Hot Spot: Michael's Genuine Food & Drink; drinking and drying; home delivery

  • WineSpectator.com  Find a list of recently rated Alsatian whites to pair with your gumbo.

Dining Out

Dining Out   San Jose

  • WineSpectator.com:  Get information on nearly 4,000 restaurants with award-winning wine lists. Our complete 2007 Dining Guide listings are online in our redesigned Restaurant Search database—now with photos and more information.

Columns

James Laube Age appropriate

Matt Kramer   Fear of austerity

Collecting

Collecting  

1997 Cabernets are a mixed bag; global wine auctions break the $300 million mark in 2007; top 10 charity wine auctions of 2007

  • WineSpectator.com:  Get the complete tasting notes for all the wines in the 1997 California Cabernet retrospective.

  • WineSpectator.com:  NEW! Organize your purchases with our upgraded Personal Wine List. Make a shopping list. Track the contents of your cellar. Create sets of shelf tags. The Personal Wine List allows you to create as many separate lists as you need and add wines from our searchable Wine Ratings database, as well as unrated wines. The companion My Cellar tool keeps you up-to-date both on the value of the individual wines in your collection and on your cellar's total worth.

Wine Talk

Wine Talk   Robert Siegel of NPR

The Buying Guide

View a list of all tasting notes from this issue. Or for more than 190,000 tasting notes, use WineSpectator.com's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.


NEW-PERSONAL WINE LIST:  Make a shopping list. Organize your purchases. Track the contents of your cellar. Our upgraded Personal Wine List allows you to create as many separate lists as you need and add wines from our Wine Ratings Search database (and unrated wines as well). And a new companion tool called My Cellar updates you on the value of the individual wines in your collection and your cellar's total worth.

PRINT YOUR OWN SHELF TALKERS:  Now you can label your wines clearly with Wine Spectator scores and tasting notes. Create shelf tags for your bottles using either our new Personal Wine List feature or our Wine Ratings Search database.

2006 BURGUNDY:  To guide your pre-arrival purchases, senior editor Bruce Sanderson reports from his visits to top domaines, providing cellar notes and preliminary scores for soon-to-be-bottled wines.

MORE INSIDER RATINGS:  Our popular Insider newsletter is now offered weekly. Get twice as many advance ratings for exciting new wines selected from our editors' latest tastings.


SPRING ENTERTAINING:  As the temperatures warm up, turn to our seasonal recipes and wine picks.

VIDEOS:  Our Web site features hundreds of videos:

  • Inside our tasting department:  Wine Spectator tastes more than 15,000 wines each year. Come behind the scenes, with tasting director Bruce Sanderson as your host, to see how we do it.
  • Bordeaux:  Learn more about the classic 2005 vintage as James Suckling interviews some of the region's top winemakers.
  • California Rhônes:  The state is doing great things with Syrah and other Rhône grapes. Hear about one of the hot producers, Lagier Meredith.
  • Cornas:  This Rhône appellation may be tiny, but don't overlook its Syrahs. James Molesworth takes you through the new wave of quality in his tasting.

TOP CHEFS:  Meet some of the big names in food, including Bobby Flay, Thomas Keller, Wolfgang Puck and many more, to find out about their first wine loves, their food-and-pairing secrets and what they stash in their personal cellar.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE:  We're putting your wine knowledge to the test with our fun, new biweekly wine quiz. See how you do compared with other readers.

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