Blog Index

James Molesworth

Day 10: From the Roasted Slope to the Hill

Posted: 08:54 AM ET, 07/09/08

On my final day in the Rhône, I finished up with two visits in Ampuis, with two vignerons who are polar opposites.

René Rostaing is formal and restrained; his wines loaded with black fruit, violet, white pepper and garrigue notes. Read more

James Laube

Restaurants Shouldn't Charge for Dead Wines

Posted: 05:22 PM ET, 07/08/08

Some time ago I encountered a half-bottle of 1968 Beaulieu Vineyard Burgundy Napa Valley on a great wine list at a fancy restaurant.

I was tempted to buy it, since this wine—a blend of mostly Cabernet, but also I believe some Pinot Noir and perhaps Gamay—in its youth was a delicious cuvée. Read more

James Suckling

A Great Pair in Tuscany

Posted: 04:41 PM ET, 07/07/08

I had some Italian wine producers over for dinner last night, including the owners of Casanova di Neri, Valdicava, La Massa, and Tua Rita as well as the manager of Ornellaia. They brought samples of their best 2006s and 2007s.

It was a great tasting and underlined how fabulous 2006 and 2007 are for Tuscany. Read more

James Laube

Back to a Separate Wine Reality

Posted: 02:38 PM ET, 07/07/08

Returning to the gym this a.m. reminded me that taking time off from any routine requires—no, make that forces—a re-entry reality.

Vacations are supposed to be a relaxing break from the norm. Mine was. I got plenty of exercise hiking along the North Coast of Mendocino and wrestling fish off the bottom of the ocean. Read more

Harvey Steiman

Many Faces of Dessert Wines

Posted: 10:12 AM ET, 07/07/08

I like dessert wines, a confession that should come as no shock to longtime readers. I even like to drink sweet wines with savory food, especially cheese. Sweet wines go well with spicy dishes and those that have some fruit or other sweet elements, but when they're good, they don't need food to complete to the picture. Read more

James Molesworth

Day 9: A History Lesson, and More Time on the Roasted Slope

Posted: 08:02 AM ET, 07/07/08

Whenever I visit the Rhône, I try to set aside some time for a retrospective tasting (you can reference my past reviews of the 1995 and 1998 vintages in Châteauneuf-du-Pape). On this trip I wanted to focus on Côte-Rôtie a bit, so I rounded up nearly two-dozen samples from the superb ’99 vintage. Read more

James Molesworth

Day 8: On the Roasted Slope

Posted: 07:42 AM ET, 07/03/08

“L'été est arrivé,” was the joyous refrain of every vigneron I visited. With sunny, dry, hot weather helping to make up for the cold, wet spring, folks in Cote-Rôtie were just as happy as those down in Chateauneuf. Read more

James Suckling

Sour Grapes or Wine?

Posted: 02:00 PM ET, 07/02/08

Tomorrow there will be a joint press conference in Montalcino featuring Luca Zaia, the Italian agricultural minister, and Ron Spogli, the U.S. ambassador to Italy. They will announce a plan to resolve the current dilemma with the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco and Trade Bureau (TTB), which has said it will block the importation of Brunello di Montalcino to the United States if the wines do not have an official certificate from the Italian government guaranteeing that they were produced in accordance with DOCG rules. Read more

Harvey Steiman

New World Not-Port?

Posted: 11:01 AM ET, 07/01/08

What do you call a sweet red wine that's had some alcohol added to it to bring it up to about 20 percent? If you said Port, you're soon going to be behind the times. Australia, which makes some of the world's finest fortified wines, including stuff it has been calling Port, has concluded an agreement with the European Union to desist in using names like Port and Sherry for their fortified wines. Read more

James Molesworth

Day 7: A Quiet Sunday with Three of the Four (or Is It Five?) Musketeers

Posted: 07:24 AM ET, 07/01/08

Dinner ended well after midnight at Regis & Jacques Marcon, plus it was Sunday, so I was moving a little slower than usual. I was finally able to motivate by 11 a.m., got in my car and drove back down the gorgeous, winding mountain road from St. Read more

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