Bad Karma on 2005 Bordeaux

Posted 05/05/2008 at 01:40 PM by Ben

It's official. Robert Parker has just declared 2005 to be "the greatest [Bordeaux] vintage produced during my 30-year career." That stunning pronouncement is not what's causing the buzz on his website's bulletin board [eRobertParker.com; free registration required] and, undoubtedly, among Bordeaux aficionados around the world, however.  
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No More ABC's, Please

Posted 04/16/2008 at 07:45 AM by Ben

The latest issue of the Wine Spectator [May 15, 2008] is devoted to America's most popular varietal -- -- surprise, surprise, Chardonnay. I'm not being arch here. This really is a surprise to me after all the Chardonnay bashing we've been subjected to over the last few years, particularly the A-B-C [Anything but Chardonnay] argot, which I've always suspected was launched by the producers of competing varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Viognier.  
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Barney Rhodes, Age 88

Posted 04/15/2008 at 07:32 AM by Ben

A founding father of the Napa Valley wine, Barney Rhodes, passed away earlier this month at the age of 88. He was truly one of the greats. I had the pleasure of meeting Rhodes for the first time in the mid-1980s at the Napa Valley wine auction, where Rhodes was both an active bidder and a generous donor of rare wines from his extensive cellar. Despite his fame, he could not have been more down to earth and gracious to everyone around him.  
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Bordeaux 2007: The Early Line

Posted 04/05/2008 at 12:53 PM by Ben

The initial reports from this week's 2007 vintage en primeur tastings in Bordeaux are kind of scary. Several commentators have described the vintage as inconsistent. If only that were true...  
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Who Drinks White Burgundy?

Posted 04/01/2008 at 11:13 AM by Ben

In a recent e-mail to subscribers of his subscription only newsletter, wine critic Steve Tanzer of the International Wine Cellar finally tells us who drinks all that expensive White Burgundy - that we're all ...  
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The Meaning of Is Is

Posted 03/28/2008 at 10:23 PM by Ben

Lately, I've been worrying that new owners of Napa's Stags Leap Wine Cellars will change the style in order to curry favor with the big kahuna wine critics. I might find this latest statement from Jeff McBride, the new general manager, reassuring, except that I can't make heads or tails of it.  
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Time Travel

Posted 03/28/2008 at 06:59 AM by Ben

A recent survey on the Internet posed an intriguing question: if you were offered the gift of one superpower, what would it be? I'm pretty sure my choice would be time travel. (The winner, BTW, was the power to become invisible, which could also come in handy from time to time.) My first stop would probably be a trip to the Jurassic epoch to see some real live dinosaurs, followed by a visit to ancient Egypt to check out Cleopatra for myself.  
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The Truth About New World Pinot Noir

Posted 03/26/2008 at 08:35 AM by Ben

New World winemakers routinely warn us not to compare their wines to the corresponding wines from Europe. The soil, climate, and winemaking philosophies are just too different. This makes fair comparisons between Old World and New World wines impossible, they say.  
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Overview of 2005 Burgundy

Posted 03/25/2008 at 01:54 PM by Ben

From the moment that the 2005 Burgundies finished their bubbly fermentation in early 2006, there has been no question that this is one of the great red Burgundy vintages of all time. The only question has been whether this would also be a vintage that that would give both early as well is long-term drinking pleasure.  
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Bordeaux Swap Meet

Posted 03/21/2008 at 07:40 AM by Ben

I have recently discovered a surefire method of knocking of 80% or 90% off the price of even the most hard to find, expensive wines. There's just one little catch. To make it work, you already have to own hard to find, expensive wines. With that little caveat in mind, here's how it works.  
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Burgundy Gains Value

Posted 03/20/2008 at 05:58 AM by Ben

Over the years it has become my habit to cruise right past the red Burgundy aisle in favor of Bordeaux at the local wine shop. It's not that I have found red Burgundy any less profound than Bordeaux on a glass by glass basis, but because Burgundy is more confusing, more inconsistent from vintage to vintage, and more expensive than Bordeaux. But that's changing.  
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Another Reason I Love Champagne

Posted 03/18/2008 at 05:50 AM by Ben

Last night I enjoyed the wonderful 1998 Pol Roger vintage Brut Champagne, which cost me a hefty $80 a bottle. Tonight, I'm going to enjoy it again, but it will cost me absolutely nothing. That's because I'm not opening a second bottle, but will be finishing the one I started last night.  
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Margaux's Rising Star

Posted 03/14/2008 at 12:24 PM by Ben

Last night's French Wine Society tasting of the wines of the Margaux and Pauillac communes of Bordeaux revealed a rising star in the Margaux pecking order -- Chateau Rauzan-Segla. It trounced my sentimental favorite, Chateau Palmer, and and also beat out a number of well regarded wines from Pauillac.  
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Last Call for 2005 Bordeaux

Posted 03/13/2008 at 12:51 PM by Ben

If you're interested in 2005 Bordeaux my advice is to speak now or forever hold your peace. Prices are going nowhere but up.  
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What Goes with Asian Food

Posted 03/12/2008 at 01:19 PM by Ben

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant for a casual dinner with a few friends. Normally when a waiter comes by with the wine list, I'm the first to grab for it because I enjoy choosing the wines, and even if I don't grab for it, the duty normally falls to me anyway as the resident wine guru. But not this night. Instead, I said bring me the beer list.  
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What's the deal on the 2007 Bordeaux? Or, perhaps I should ask, will there be a deal at all?

Posted 02/26/2008 at 08:33 AM by Ben

If Bordeaux has any sense at all, it should offer this ho-hum vintage at bargain prices. But I'm not counting on it. Bordeaux has a way of shooting itself in the foot when it comes to pricing such vintages. It overpriced the less than stellar 1997, 2002 vintages, and the wines sold poorly. It could easily do the same thing with 2007.  
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Quintessa: When the Whole Is Better Than the Parts

Posted 02/14/2008 at 06:45 AM by Ben

It always amazes me how with certain wines, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. My recent tasting in Washington, DC of Quintessa, a high-end Meritage blend from the Napa Valley, was a graphic demonstration of this interesting phenomenum.  
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Second Label Confusion

Posted 02/13/2008 at 08:23 AM by Ben

In a great vintage like 2005, the so-called second label wines put out by many prestigious Bordeaux chateau can be great bargains. Second label wines come from the same vineyards as as in the states first wine, but typically costs about half as much. However, the better ones are closer in style and quality to the more expensive Grand Vin than you might imagine based strictly on the price difference.  
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When the Bottle Lets You Down

Posted 02/12/2008 at 08:42 AM by Roger

One of the most annoying things that can happen to any wine lover is to open a prized bottle of wine only to discover damp, musty, cardboard-like flavors that indicate the wine is 'corked.' Cork taint, which is thought to be caused by a harmless but unpleasant chemical called TCA, is estimated to afflict anywhere from 2% to 12% of all wines. It's a problem that can potentially afflict everything from $5 a bottle Beaujolais Nouveau to $5,000 a bottle Chateau Petrus.  
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Off the Leash In Australia

Posted 02/11/2008 at 10:59 AM by Roger

Australian winemaker John Edwards of Lane winery is a big guy who doesn't pull his punches, except when it comes to his wines. Instead of hitting you over the head with a plank of oak and a ton of fruit, his wines are understated and subtle.  
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