March 2010
On my final day of tasting in the Northern Rhône, I made my annual trek through Chave's vineyards and tasted his 2009s and 2008s from barrel
Posted: Mar 29, 2010 3:00pm ET
On my final day in the Rhône Valley on this trip to taste the 2009 and 2008 Northern Rhône Syrahs (as well as the whites), I visited Jean-Louis Chave in Mauves. After an adventurous walk up and down the slopes of some of his newest vineyard projects, some of which are now coming on line, I went back to the cellar to taste the latest vintages from barrel. Here are my notes.
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On my finally day of tasting in the Northern Rhône, I headed first to Colombo and then to Delas to preview the 2009s and 2008s from barrel
Posted: Mar 26, 2010 3:00pm ET
I returned to Cornas to taste the Syrah-based wines at Jean-Luc Colombo today, as well as those at the terrific Delas domaine. Here are my notes.
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Visits to the Cave de Tain as well as two new projects from former family members at Paul Jaboulet Aîné
Posted: Mar 24, 2010 3:00pm ET
I spent my ninth day in France's Rhône Valley tasting the 2009 and 2008 lineups at Cave de Tain, Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet and Maison Nicolas Perrin. Here are my notes.
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After tasting the Northern Rhône star's Ferraton Père & Fils wines in Part 1, I sit down for the full lineup of M. Chapoutier's 2009s and 2008s
Posted: Mar 23, 2010 3:00pm ET
On the afternoon of my eighth day in France's Rhône Valley, I went to M. Chapoutier to taste the négociant's most recent vintages, from the St.-Joseph and Cornas bottlings to the potentially classic wines from Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage. Here are my notes, along with a few videos.
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I tasted at Emmanuel Darnaud's domaine in Crozes before heading to the Chapoutier house, first to taste the Ferraton & Fils wines
Posted: Mar 22, 2010 3:00pm ET
I made one more stop in Crozes-Hermitage to taste the 2008 and 2009 wines of the young but talented Emmanuel Darnaud, and then headed to Tain to visit the house of Michel Chapoutier, where I first tasted the new wines from Ferraton Père et Fils.
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With most of the Rhône resting, I took the time to conduct a pair of vertical tastings from two top Rhône domaines: A. Clape and Jamet
Posted: Mar 19, 2010 3:00pm ET
A. Clape, in Cornas, and Jean-Paul & Jean-Luc Jamet, in Côte-Rôtie, are two of the Rhône Valley's top producers. This past Sunday, with the rest of the Rhône taking the day off, I sat down to taste verticals from each of these domaines, including Clape back to 1983 and Jamet back to 1989. Here are my tasting notes.
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After finishing up my rounds in Cornas at Domaine du Coulet, its off to Alain Graillot
Posted: Mar 18, 2010 3:00pm ET
Today, on Day 6 of my annual barrel tasting tour of the Rhône Valley, I finished up in Cornas by visiting with one of the region's most exciting young vignerons, Matthieu Barret of Domaine du Coulet, followed by a drive to Crozes Hermitage to visit Maxime Graillot, who has taken over for his father, Alain, at the family's domaine.
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More visits to some of Cornas' top producers, including A. Clape and Nicolas Serrette
Posted: Mar 17, 2010 3:00pm ET
In part 2 of today's tastings in Cornas, I visited A. Clape and Nicolas Serrette to take tasting notes on their Syrah-based wines from the 2009 and 2008 vintages.
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Long known for tough, gamy Syrahs, some of Cornas' best vignerons are updating the region's style
Posted: Mar 16, 2010 3:00pm ET
In part 1 of today's tastings in Cornas, I visited Franck Balthazar and Thierry Allemand to taste the Syrahs at these two old-school domaines, after getting a flat tire fixed...
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First-time visits to four St.-Joseph domaines that stood out in recent tastings
Posted: Mar 15, 2010 3:00pm ET
While traveling through France's Rhône Valley to taste the red and white wines from the 2008 and 2009 vintages, I made first-time visits to four St.-Joseph domaines that stood out in my recent blind tastings: Domaine Faury, Laurent Betton, Domaine Monier / Monier-Perréol and Eric Rocher. Following are my tasting notes on some of the notable still aging in their cellars.
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Tasting the 2009 and 2008 lineups at Rostaing, Duclaux, Cuilleron, Vins de Vienne and Villard
Posted: Mar 12, 2010 3:31pm ET
On my third day back in France's Rhône Valley, I visited the domaines of R. Rostaing, Benjamin & David Duclaux, Yves Cuilleron, Les Vins de Vienne and Francois Villard to check out the 2009 and 2008 Syrahs, as well as some whites.
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Tasting the 2009 and 2008 lineups at Guigal, Vidal-Fleury, Pierre-Jean Villa and Vernay
Posted: Mar 11, 2010 9:31am ET
On my second day back in France's Rhône Valley, I visited the domaines of E. Guigal, J. Vidal-Fleury, Pierre-Jean Villa and Georges Vernay to check out the 2009 and 2008 Syrahs, as well as some whites.
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Tasting the 2009 and 2008 lineups at the domaines of Gerin, Clusel-Roch, Jamet, Ogier and Stéphane Montez
Posted: Mar 9, 2010 2:31pm ET
On my first day back in France's Rhône Valley, I visited the domaines of Jean-Michel Gerin, Clusel-Roch, Jean-Luc & Jean-Paul Jamet, Michel & Stéphane Ogier and Stéphane Montez to check out the 2009 and 2008 Syrahs, as well as some whites.
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A trio of Châteauneuf-du-Pape vignerons stops by for a chat
Posted: Mar 4, 2010 2:31pm ET
I sat down with a trio of vintners from Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhone Valley of France, Sophie Armenier of Domaine du Marcoux, François Giraud of Domaine Giraud and Didier Negron of Domaine Roger Sabon. The topic on everyone's mind was the weather.
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Derek Mossman Knapp of Garage Wne Co. recounts the first days following the recent earthquake
Posted: Mar 2, 2010 10:12am ET
Derek Mossman Knapp, a native of Canada, has lived in Chile for the past 20 years. During his last 10 years in Chile, Mossman Knapp, 45, has made wine, working as founder and head of Garage Wine Co. and as a member of Movimiento de Viñateros Independientes (MOVI) a small group of independent wine growers that include Viña La Reserva de Caliboro, Flaherty, Agricola La Viña and others. Here is his firsthand account of his experience following the earthquake that struck southern Chile on Saturday morning.
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