Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
World-renowned consulting enologist Michel Rolland and his wife, Dany, call Château Fontenil home
Posted: December 17, 2012 By James Molesworth
Finally, after 11 straight days of all-day tasting, it was time to get some fresh air. I slammed my laptop closed to punctuate the end of the tasting, put on my vineyard shoes (it's rained steadily since I've been here and the vineyards are muddy) and headed over to Fronsac to get back in touch with terra firma. After all that, my first stop is Fronsac, you ask? Not a first-growth or Sauternes estate?
With 2,000 acres of vines and 71 producers, Fronsac is just a blip in the overall scheme of Bordeaux. It pales in size and reputation to its cross-river neighbor St.-Emilion, for example, and the wines are often overlooked by the marketplace. But there must be something to Fronsac, if Michel and Dany Rolland call it home.
Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
Pessac and St.-Estèphe round out my Left Bank 2010 Red Bordeaux tastings before finishing with the sweet wines of Sauternes
Posted: December 13, 2012 By James Molesworth
I spent the last few days of my 2010 Bordeaux tasting by working through the reds of St.-Estèphe and then Pessac.
The reds from Pessac, with their typically tarry spine and sometimes wild notes of tobacco and ash, were a standout group, with the fruit showing the extra amplitude of the vintage and the structure evident but well-integrated. Branon turned in a very strong showing, as did some of the usual suspects. There really were no disappointments.
Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
After confirming initial impressions of the 2010 Bordeaux vintage on the Right Bank, I'm working my way through Margaux, Pauillac, St.-Julien and more
Posted: December 10, 2012 By James Molesworth
I'm getting into the meat of my 2010 Bordeaux tasting now, having worked through the Right Bank wines of St.-Emilion (which takes two full days), Pomerol and their various satellite appellations. As mentioned briefly in my last blog, the wines are showing very, very well.
I have started in on the Left Bank now, tasting wines from the Médoc, Graves and Margaux. The highlights so far, though, have come from Pauillac and St.-Julien.
News & Features
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Tasting Highlights
New reviews of lesser-known Cabernet- and Merlot-based reds from Bordeaux's potentially classic 2010 vintage
Posted: December 7, 2012 By James Molesworth
Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
With about 700 wines to taste and two weeks to taste them, I hit the ground running in Bordeaux
Posted: December 5, 2012 By James Molesworth
I arrived as scheduled in Bordeaux - just on time for lunch. I like to plan things like that...
My annual in-bottle Bordeaux tasting is easily the biggest and longest single tasting I do. When in my New York office, I taste every day, but perhaps only 20 or 30 wines a day. When I travel in the Rhône, I may taste dozens of barrel samples in a day, but I'm not writing formal notes or reviewing those wines, since they are unfinished, sometimes just lots of pre-blends, and not tasted blind. That makes the Bordeaux tasting unique.
Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
The 2010 Bordeaux barrel samples earned the vintage a potentially classic rating. It's time to see if they live up to the hype
Posted: December 3, 2012 By James Molesworth
It's that time again: I'm heading across the pond to taste Bordeaux's most recently bottled vintage. This time around, it's the vaunted 2010, a vintage that wound up surpassing 2009 to claim the mantle of most expensive en primeur vintage ever. Now the question is, will the 2010 wines surpass 2009 qualitatively?
I'm excited to taste the wines for a few reasons. First, 2010 was the first vintage I tasted en primeur, after assuming coverage of Bordeaux in August 2010. So, it's the first time I'll be able to measure my impressions of the bottled wines against the ranges I gave them as young barrel samples.
Nov. 30, 2012 Issue
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Tasting Reports
Under new ownership, the Condrieu estate looks to the future
Posted: November 30, 2012 By James Molesworth
Nov. 30, 2012 Issue
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Tasting Reports
With the 2010 vintage, the Rhône Valley hits a rare high in both north and south
Posted: November 30, 2012 By James Molesworth
Nov. 30, 2012 Issue
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Features
Michel Chapoutier has put his Rhône winery at the pinnacle of quality, even as he expands an international portfolio
Posted: November 30, 2012 By James Molesworth
Blogs
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Stirring the Lees with James Molesworth
Pete Wells' review of Guy Fieri's new Times Square restaurant makes for a great tasting note
Posted: November 15, 2012 By James Molesworth
Surely you've read it by now. The savage review from the New York Times' Pete Wells of Guy's American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square, the new restaurant from celebrity chef Guy Fieri.
It was low-hanging fruit for sure. Guy Fieri is best known for his passion for comfort food and his outsize personality, both of which share the spotlight on his popular TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I'm not sure what the New York Times readership gained from the review—I wouldn't expect many of them to be interested in the restaurant in the first place. But it obviously had an impact.
