April 2011
Tasting the newest reds and whites at Alain Voge, Pierre-Henri Morel and Ferraton Père & Fils
Posted: Apr 29, 2011 3:00pm ET
On my seventh day in the Rhône Valley I visited Alain Voge, Pierre-Henri Morel and Ferraton Père & Fils to taste the recent wines from Cornas, St.-Joseph, Hermitage and beyond. Below are my notes.
Read More
On my sixth day here, I headed to one of Cornas' most-established domaines and one of the region's newest small négociants
Posted: Apr 27, 2011 4:00pm ET
On my sixth day in the Rhône Valley I visited three wineries. Afterat visiting E. Guigal, I headed to Jean-Luc Colombo and Nicolas Perrin. Below are my notes.
Read More
Tasting the recent vintages of Côte-Rôtie, St.-Joseph, Châteauneuf and more with Marcel and Philippe Guigal
Posted: Apr 25, 2011 3:05pm ET
On my sixth day in the Rhône Valley I visited three wineries. I started at the Côte-Rôtie's iconic E. Guigal to taste not just the recent Côte-Rôtie Syrahs but also St.-Josephs, the Châteauneuf and more with Marcel and Philippe Guigal. Here are my notes.
Read More
Sunday in the Rhône—what to do? A horizontal tasting of dozens of older wines passes the time
Posted: Apr 21, 2011 3:05pm ET
On my fifth day in the Rhône Valley I settled into my hotel room for a retrospective tasting of 30 Côte-Rôties from 2001. Here are my notes.
Read More
Tasting the young new wines at Natacha Chave and Stéphane Ogier
Posted: Apr 20, 2011 3:05pm ET
On my fourth day in the Rhône Valley I visited two young wineries, one belongs to the daughter of Bernard Chave, the other to Stéphane Ogier. I tasted Natacha Chave's 2010 St.-Josephs and Ogier's 2010 Côte-Rôties and more. Here are my notes.
Read More
Visitis with Les Vins de Vienne, Yves Cuilleron and François Villard
Posted: Apr 18, 2011 2:05pm ET
One way to learn the quality and style of a new vintage is to taste at a domaine such as Jamet, where a single appellation is broken down to its basic parts. The other way, is to taste a range of wines covering several appellations from within the broader region—such as at Les Vins de Vienne. And then, by using both approaches together, you get both the broad picture and the fine details. Today I tasted the upcoming vintages at Les Vins de Vienne, Yves Cuilleron and François Villard. Here are my notes.
Read More
Visits with Domaine Alain Paret and Jean-Paul & Jean-Luc Jamet
Posted: Apr 14, 2011 2:05pm ET
Today I made a first-ever visit to one domaine, and a regular stop at a well-know domaine. I visited Domaine Alain Paret and Jean-Paul & Jean-Luc Jamet for tastes of the next vintages of Côte-Rôtie, St.-Joseph, Condrieu and more.
Below are my tasting notes
Read More
Visits with Georges Vernay, Pierre-Jean Villa, Julien Pilon, Yves Gangloff and Jean-Michel Gerin
Posted: Apr 14, 2011 1:05pm ET
I’ve made quite a shift in gears following two weeks in Bordeaux as I’m now in my old stomping grounds in the Rhône Valley. Tastings here are a more casual affair, done usually in the cave, with samples drawn straight from barrel, as opposed to the more formal tasting rooms and pre-prepared samples that are typical at Bordeaux châteaus. I’m getting a good deal of teasing from the local vignerons too, about my new tasting responsibilities.
“Hopefully you’ll give them good marks and they’ll raise prices 40 percent,“ joked one Rhône vigneron. “Then we can raise ours 20 percent and look like a bargain.”
Today I visited Georges Vernay, Pierre-Jean Villa, Julien Pilon, Yves Gangloff and Jean-Michel Gerin for tastes of the next vintages of Côte-Rôtie, St.-Joseph, Condrieu and more. Here are my notes.
Read More
Visiting the domaines of France's Northern Rhône Valley for a preview of the 2009 and 2010 vintages
Posted: Apr 13, 2011 1:05pm ET
Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth is back in France's Northern Rhône Valley for a preview of the 2009 and 2010 vintages.
Read More
Rating the newest vintage from Bordeaux after tasting more than 400 barrel samples
Posted: Apr 8, 2011 11:05am ET
After sifting through the 447 Bordeaux 2010 barrel samples I recently tasted, it seemed like a good idea to give some general thoughts on the vintage.
Right now, châteaus are still showing the wines to the press and trade, then they'll basically huddle up and determine pricing. Based on conversations with many château owners, Demand from the Asian market is not slowing down for the 2010s—with the exception of Japan, which is "not buying anything right now" according to one négociant I spoke with, for obvious reasons. Plus, as the U.S. economy slowly picks up steam, if would only seem to reason that demand for the top châteaus will increase here as well. So, with quality high and quantities slightly reduced in '10, I'd expect pricing to rival the levels of the '09s.
Read More
My recommendations for good dining spots when traveling through Bordeaux
Posted: Apr 6, 2011 2:05pm ET
I'm back in the office this week, after spending two weeks visiting châteaus and blind-tasting a few hundred samples of the new 2010 vintage in Bordeaux. You can access all the tasting notes here; there will be an additional batch of notes posted today as well.
While my schedule was tight and I had little free time, I do actually prefer to dine alone. When I find something interesting, I pass it along here, so consider this an addition to my previous blog post on a few good dining spots when you're traveling through Bordeaux.
Read More
