In the Nov. 30, 2008 Issue | Articles

In the Nov. 30, 2008 Issue:

Previous issue: Nov. 15, 2008

Cover Story

Syrah’s North Star Not so long ago, the hillside vineyards of the Northern Rhône’s Côte-Rôtie appellation lay dormant as local growers abandoned grapes in favor of higher-income crops. But over the last generation, a group of vignerons has reclaimed the top vineyards and revived the wine industry with some of the area’s best Syrahs ever

WineSpectator.com BONUS VIDEO: Côte-Rôtie Field Trip—Discover this classic Northern Rhône area with James Molesworth as he visits with top winemakers in their vineyards.

WineSpectator.com Syrah Standouts: 24 top Côte-Rôtie producers who are making some of the Northern Rhône's best Syrah ever.

Côte-Rôtie at a Glance

Map of the Region

Features

Tasting Reports

Racy Reds, Rich Whites The 2006 vintage continues the Rhône Valley’s run of success, and while prices for top reds continue to climb, some appellations still deliver value

WineSpectator.com: An alphabetical chart of all wines tasted for this report is available.

Plentiful Fruit Australia’s white wines, led by Chardonnay and Riesling, are perfect for the table for their bright flavors and restrained oak

WineSpectator.com: An alphabetical chart of all wines tasted for this report is available.
WineSpectator.com BONUS VIDEO: Learn more about Australian whites and reds with Harvey Steiman, who has conducted a series of video tastings covering Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet and Shiraz.

California Merlot This versatile red spans a variety of styles, from bold and rich to soft and juicy, as an excellent 2005 vintage arrives from Napa

WineSpectator.com: An alphabetical chart of all wines tasted for this report is available.

Travel

Renaissance in Lyon France’s gastronomic capital, long a food-and-wine destination, now has more dining options than ever

WineSpectator.com: Get information on hotels, restaurants and wineries in major wine regions around the world with WineSpectator.com's Dining & Travel section.

Departments

This Issue

This Issue Marvin R. Shanken

Upfront

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates faces uncertain future; vine disease on the increase in Bordeaux and Cognac; Hurricane Ike impacts wine business in Texas; Smoke Taint a Concern in Northern California Vineyards; Big Grapes Hit the Big Apple; WineSpectator.com Launches Mobile Site; GrapeVine

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

Savvy Shopper

The Savvy Shopper French and Spanish reds, Australian whites

Tastes

Roast suckling pig; smoked salts; blended Scotch; chocolate bark; dry me to the moon; Brooklyn hot spot: Clover Club

WineSpectator.com: Members can find other recipes for pork dishes in our online Recipe Search, plus tips on buying and serving pork in our online Food Encyclopedia.

Columns

James Laube A makeover for Montelena

WineSpectator.com: In recent blog posts, James Laube asks readers how the economic turmoil is affecting their wine-buying strategy, visits a green winery in Napa and reminisces about the late Loire vintner Didier Dagueneau.

Matt Kramer What’s the word?

Harvey Steiman Australian whites with age

James Molesworth Leaders in Côte-Rôtie

Letters

Collecting

Retrospective tasting of 1999 Côte-Rôtie; Washington Charity Auction marks 21st year with record bids; Sun Valley Auction celebrates wine and art

WineSpectator.com BONUS CONTENT: Complete tasting notes for James Molesworth's 1999 Côtie-Rôtie retrospective tasting.

WineSpectator.com: Website members can search our complete Auction Price Database, which tracks prices and performance for more than 12,000 collectible and cellar-worthy wines recently sold at commercial auctions. Also available are analyses of the latest auction results and a calendar of upcoming auctions.

Wine Talk

Wine Talk Musician and composer John Medeski

The Buying Guide

For more than 216,000 tasting notes, use WineSpectator.com's Wine Ratings Search, where you can sort by region, variety, vintage, price, score and tasting date.

WINE SPECTATOR MOBILE: We've launched an optimized version of WineSpectator.com for Internet-enabled smartphones, PDAs and other mobile devices. For anyone who has ever wanted more information when buying wine on the go, help is now at your fingertips, at mobile.winespectator.com.

Search for wine scores and tasting notes in our full database of more than 200,000 reviews.
Consult our vintage charts to determine the best years in the world's major wine regions.
Add reviewed wines to your Personal Wine List.
Check your shopping lists and current cellar inventory using your Personal Wine List.

VALUE-WINE FINDER: Browse our exclusive lists of the world's top wine values and top value producers. Find outstanding red, white and sweet wines for $30 and less, in regions from Alsace to Washington.

TOP 100 COUNTDOWN: On Nov. 10, we'll begin unveiling the Top 10 wines of 2008, followed by the complete Top 100 list. The names of the wines will be available to all our readers, but you must be a subscriber to access the tasting notes. Visit our site for a full schedule of the countdown and don't miss out on this exciting event!

THANKSGIVING: Get our take on the classic Thanksgiving meal, plus recommended wine matches.

BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU: Join us on Nov. 20 for our annual tasting of these fresh, fruity, bargain-priced reds. Find out which of the 2008 vintage are crowd-pleasers and which ones you should probably avoid.

EDITORS' QUIZZES: Think you know a lot about wine? Test yourself against our senior editors, who have created the questions for the latest editions of our biweekly Wine Challenge.

VIDEOS: We now have hundreds of free videos on our Web site. One of the latest is of a Côte-Rôtie field trip—discover this classic Northern Rhône area with senior editor James Molesworth as he visits with top winemakers in their vineyards.