December 2008
Posted: Dec 31, 2008 1:37pm ET
I just read a story from the Sunday Times of London that Château Latour, the famous first-growth estate in Bordeaux, is looking for a buyer. And I had to laugh. Anything is possible, but I know that it isn't.
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Posted: Dec 30, 2008 10:41am ET
The wines I drank last night were very good, even excellent. I opted for two Syrahs that I had never tasted but were mentioned in your comments in my Dec. 4 blog : 2006 Owen Roe Syrah Ex Umbris Columbia Valley ($27) and Kinton Syrah Santa Barbara County ($22).
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Posted: Dec 29, 2008 1:47pm ET
I am in La Quinta, Calif., visiting my mother with my two children for Christmas break. It seems like the middle of nowhere, unless you are ancient or like playing golf. The desert mountains are beautiful.
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Posted: Dec 23, 2008 10:33am ET
When I was in Bordeaux last week tasting a couple hundred 2006s, wine producers and wine merchants alike were debating whether to sell their newest wines en primeur or as futures. That’s when the wines are sold while they are still in barrel, about eight to 10 months after the harvest, for delivery after they are in bottle.
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Posted: Dec 19, 2008 4:29am ET
One of the most popular subjects of this week’s trip to Bordeaux is the Bernard Madoff scandal. Sure, we've talked about wine (particularly 2006, because I am tasting the vintage from bottle), as well as the grim economy and the change in politics.
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Posted: Dec 16, 2008 11:01am ET
Yesterday I should have driven a boat to Bordeaux instead of a car! But I finally arrived around 8 p.m. in the famous wine city after close to 10 hours of driving in the rain and snow. I was in Piedmont over the weekend, and the snow was knee-high in some parts.
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Posted: Dec 11, 2008 11:35am ET
I drank some fake Sassicaia last weekend at a friend’s house near Pisa. The wine wasn’t mine, but I told my friend that his bottle didn’t make sense. The big giveaway was the branded cork that didn’t have a vintage printed on it.
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Posted: Dec 8, 2008 11:40am ET
I am feeling much better now. Thanks to all of you for your best wishes following my bout with pneumonia. It looks all clear. In fact, I am feeling better than ever! I was thinking over the weekend about the economic downturn and what we are all doing for buying and drinking good wine, and I came across an e-mail from a friend who is a retailer on the West Coast.
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Posted: Dec 4, 2008 11:17am ET
I was thinking, as usual, about the bad news. I have some friends with Credit-Suisse, and I was thinking of them as I read that the Swiss bank is cutting 5,300 jobs. But what about some good news? In these times of doom and gloom with the economy, I was thinking about the go-to wine I always buy when I am feeling the pinch when I am in the United States.
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Posted: Dec 2, 2008 12:00pm ET
The Hong Kong stock market lost almost 5 percent of its value today. But at end of last week it was up. I guess it doesn’t have any influence on how much people are willing to spend in wine auctions over there.
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