August 2007
Posted: Aug 30, 2007 4:18pm ET
I have been thinking about the article in the New Yorker dated Sept. 3, 2007, that I mentioned in my previous blog post. (It was also discussed by Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken in his most recent blog and in our recent news analysis.
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Posted: Aug 28, 2007 5:51pm ET
I just read an article in the New Yorker magazine, dated September 3, 2007, about the famous Thomas Jefferson bottles and American tycoon Bill Koch’s million-dollar battle to find out if they are authentic or not.
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Posted: Aug 27, 2007 4:02pm ET
Have you heard the new Rush album, Snakes & Arrows ? I have been listening to it during my tastings of 2005 Barberas. Maybe it's just the quality of many of the fruity, juicy 2005 Barberas, but I think the album is awesome.
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Posted: Aug 22, 2007 5:42am ET
Sometimes, in fact most times, I absolutely hate my morning run. It is boring, and a real pain. But if I don’t keep the pace I may end up looking like some other wine writers who will remain nameless.
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Posted: Aug 21, 2007 5:59am ET
I was checking my e-mail and drinking a cup of coffee at home this morning and guess who dropped by to leave some samples? Aldo and Franco Conterno. I am sure you know, but Aldo is one of the masters of Barolo at his winery, Aldo Conterno.
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Posted: Aug 20, 2007 11:50am ET
It never ceases to amaze me how Vintage Ports age so slowly, particularly the great ones. And how, when they finally start to go past their prime, they simply become nice tawnies … I thought about this over the weekend when I tasted a range of Vintage Ports from 2004, 1997 , 1985 , and 1977.
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Posted: Aug 17, 2007 2:08pm ET
I had a number of interesting white Burgundies in Hong Kong that I was thinking about today, which made me think about white Burgs in general. Hong Kong’s real wine connoisseurs like all the big names in white Burgundies, but they seem to have a particular affinity for Domaine Leflaive.
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Posted: Aug 16, 2007 12:46pm ET
On my last day in Hong Kong, I went to Peter Lam’s office overlooking the harbor in the center of the city, and he laid on a tiny blind vertical of 1975 Pomerols with lunch. The 1975 is a forgotten and often maligned vintage despite that it made some excellent wines on the Right Bank.
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Posted: Aug 14, 2007 6:01am ET
I had a bottle of 1888 L’Evangile last night with wine merchants Thomas Bohrer of Habanos Holding and Eric Desgouttes of Watson's, at a small hipster wine bar called Bar Aedes, where a lot of the wine and restaurant trade hang out.
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Posted: Aug 13, 2007 7:11am ET
The odds can be difficult in getting it perfect in decanting wines, especially with very old and rare ones. It was more than evident this weekend when I went to Macao with some friends and we brought some magnums in our suitcases to go with our tempura dinner at Crown Casino.
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Posted: Aug 10, 2007 11:22am ET
I went to dinner last night at a friend’s house in Hong Kong and, to my chagrin, he decided to serve all the wines blind. I came close on identifying many of them. And a few I got completely right, like the 1990 Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservé and 1970 Quinta do Noval.
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Posted: Aug 9, 2007 12:57pm ET
I went with some friends yesterday to Macao, to check out how it's changed from a sleepy colonial town of Portugal to the new global powerhouse in gambling. Earlier this year, Macao's gambling revenues surpassed those in Las Vegas.
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Posted: Aug 7, 2007 10:33pm ET
I got off the plane in Hong Kong yesterday, and I found myself a few hours later in the Ritz-Carlton on one knee, decanting an imperial of 1961 L’Evangile and a jeroboam of 1961 Latour. I have never decanted such big bottles of anything, especially two amazing wines as the great first growth legend and the fabulous Pomerol.
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Posted: Aug 7, 2007 4:40am ET
I have been thinking about my colleague James Laube’s blog of August 3 when he discussed the option for winemakers to produce more non-vintage wines. And it made me think about how many people are already doing this – legally and illegally.
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Posted: Aug 6, 2007 6:59am ET
I wrote this last night at the dinner table. I was alone and had nothing going on Sunday night in Tuscany. So I grabbed a pizza from the local pizzeria, and I tried one of the 2006 Barberas from my tasting in my office.
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Posted: Aug 3, 2007 1:24pm ET
I have a fireplace in my kitchen in Tuscany that I can use in the winter for cooking, but during the summer it becomes my “resting ground” for thoroughly-enjoyed bottles served during various dinner at my place.
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Posted: Aug 1, 2007 12:18pm ET
I just got off the phone with Piero Antinori and we had a short discussion about his recent acquisition of part of the famous Napa Valley estate of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. He said that his family was still discussing the percentage it would be taking in the deal, but that Ste.
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