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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Jess Jackson's New Territory

Posted 02/05/2008 at 08:51 AM by Roger

Announcements of "new" wineries seem to be almost a daily event in California. Often, however, the only thing new is the label. What happens is that an enterprising individual lines up a big-name vineyard (e.g. Beckstoffer, To Kalon) to provide a few tons of grapes, hires a celebrity wine consultant to put in the press kit sent out to wine writers, leases production equipment in a custom crush facility somewhere in Napa or parts nearby, and voilà, a new winery. And let's not forget the most important part, a price tag to put on the bottle -- -- $100 is a nice round number.  
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FOUND!!!

Posted 02/05/2008 at 08:49 AM by Ben

To my immense dismay, I discovered 8 bottles of 1982 Clos du Marquis (the second wine of the illustrious Château Leoville Las-Cases Bordeaux ) buried in the back of my wine cellar the other day. I figured it had probably peaked around 1992, roughly ten years after the vintage, and was way over the hill. I decided to pop a cork anyway, to see just how far over the hill.  
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