News & Features
:
Drinking Out Loud
If so, where's the action?
Posted: January 22, 2013 By Matt Kramer
News & Features
:
Drinking Out Loud
Wines have changed and so have our palates
Posted: January 8, 2013 By Matt Kramer
News & Features
:
News & Features
Winemaker Peter Gago explains how he sticks to tradition when making this Australian legend
Posted: October 22, 2012 By Augustus Weed
News & Features
:
News & Features
Four bubblies, vintage and non-vintage, show the famed house’s range
Posted: October 22, 2012 By Mitch Frank
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Puento Alto Don Melchor 1999
Posted: August 10, 2012 By Thomas Matthews
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses 1989
Posted: July 31, 2012 By Thomas Matthews
Blogs
:
Harvey Steiman At Large
Kendall-Jackson's Durell Vineyard 1986 is still graceful and alluring
Posted: July 2, 2012 By Harvey Steiman
Rummaging around the cellar for something interesting for dinner with old friends, I brought up my last bottle of Kendall-Jackson Syrah Durell Vineyard 1986. It had held up beautifully, wowing everyone at the table.
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Castellare di Castellina Toscana I Sodi di San Niccolo 1997
Posted: June 28, 2012 By Thomas Matthews
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
H. Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese Nahe Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube 2000
Posted: June 11, 2012 By Bruce Sanderson
Blogs
:
Exploring Wine with Tim Fish
Tasting old vintages of Pinot with Milla Handley, one of Anderson Valley's originals
Posted: May 16, 2012 By Tim Fish
Milla Handley was making Pinot Noir in the Anderson Valley before it was cool to be there. She has championed that remote valley in Mendocino County since launching Handley Cellars in 1982, back when winemaking there was just taking baby steps.
"In the old days, we were using old dairy tanks for fermenters," Handley said. "And we weren't sure we could get still wine grapes ripe or not."
Things change in 30 years. Anderson Valley has matured and is now considered one of California's best spots for Pinot Noir. Handley recently marked her three decades in the business by opening a few older wines from her extensive cellar.
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Château Cos-d’Estournel St.-Estèphe 1986
Posted: April 30, 2012 By Thomas Matthews
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Nigl Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken Kremstal Senftenberger Piri Privat 1999
Posted: February 21, 2012 By Bruce Sanderson
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Château Margaux Margaux 1929
Posted: October 25, 2011 By Thomas Matthews
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Ridge Mataro California Evangelo Vineyards 1990
Posted: September 6, 2011 By Thomas Matthews
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Dow Vintage Port 1977
Posted: August 15, 2011 By Bruce Sanderson
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Reserve 1999
Posted: June 29, 2011 By Tim Fish
News & Features
:
Retrospective / Vertical
Fourteen wines earn classic scores, with 37 more rating outstanding
Posted: June 27, 2011 By James Laube
News & Features
:
What We're Drinking Now
Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County Cinq Cépages 1996
Posted: June 10, 2011 By Thomas Matthews
Blogs
:
Harvey Steiman At Large
A parade of Rhône-style wines makes for a memorable evening
Posted: June 6, 2011 By Harvey Steiman
The bottle of Henschke Hill of Grace 1996 rested in my cellar for about a decade, waiting for the right occasion. It came out Sunday night at the annual dinner I donate, along with my longtime friend Archie McLaren, to the Central Coast Wine Classic auction. Last year's lot centered on Rhône-style wines—French wines from Archie's cellar, Syrah- and Viognier-based bottles of Australia and Washington from mine.
We had some great names in the lineup, including top vintages from Jean-Louis Chave, M. Chapoutier, Paul Jaboulet Aîné and Château de Beaucastel. But the HoG stole the show. As well it should, being the greatest single-vineyard wine in Australia in the greatest vintage there of our lifetime.
Blogs
:
James Laube's Wine Flights
The California Cabernet icon pulled out two verticals of his Beckstoffer To Kalon and T-6 Cabernets when I interviewed him last year
Posted: May 19, 2011 By James Laube
m as curious as everyone else about how well certain wines age, and one of the stress tests, if you will, is to taste older vintages.
When interviewing Fred Schrader last year, he poured two verticals to show how the wines were aging. Both flights were extraordinary and very revealing; all of the wines were outstanding (or better), youthful, vibrant and concentrated. Moreover, they all showed great potential for years ahead. The first flight came from the wine he's made the longest, the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, followed by the T-6 bottling, which takes its name from the clone of the same name.
