Wine ChroniclesFine Fronsac and more 2018
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 7 May 2019 In a very good vintage, you can find economically priced wines, and 2018 is no exception. Once again, many Fronsacs assessed at the always well organized Grand Cercle tastings – this year at the lovely Château La Dauphine – proved yet again the quality of this appellation. […]
Graves and Pessac-Léognan 2018 (reds)
Noteworthy vintage By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 The hotter gravely soils of this famous appellation may have been too … gravelly and hot for the vintage. Here is a case where the question of 2016 is quite relevant. In some cases, I do think that 2016 may be a better vintage than […]
Médoc/Haut-Médoc/Moulis/Listrac: 2018 from barrel
by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 Some lovely wines from the northern Médoc in 2018. A huge pity for the absence of the great Château La Lagune, as hail devastated the vineyards in 2018. I was able to taste the others that made wine in 2018, with oenologist Christophe Coupez in Pauillac (we […]
Wild n’ Crazy Saint Estèphe 2018?
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 Saint Estèphe is an appellation that tends to thrive in hot and arid summers. Take for examples the torrid heat of the 2003 vintage. The cooler soils underneath gravel in Saint Estèphe seemed to counter the extreme weather better than any other Bordeaux appellation of note. Many tasters […]
Premium Pomerol 2018
Quite consistent, too. by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 Pomerol was excellent in 2018. Akin in consistency to Saint Julien. Especially cooler terroirs, with more clay and less sun, or at least those wines made with especially careful winemaking, succeeded best. And where it did succeed, it counts among the very best that […]
Stalwart Sauternes 2018
Challenging vintage, but some nice wines By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 A horrific hailstorm reduced yields for some estates to near nothing, if not nothing. I recall writing this news story about the harvest in Sauternes and Barsac for Decanter last year: including Château Guiraud’s announcement that it would only make dry […]
Pauillac 2018 from barrel
Suave, tannic and sometimes extraordinary by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 Just about as consistent as Saint Julien, Pauillac included many great wines from barrel. I suppose you could say that that is self explanatory, seeing that Pauillac boasts no less than three of five official “first growths” from the ballyhooed 1855 classification. […]
Pessac-Léognan and Graves from bottle 2016
Cannot recall a better Les Carmes Haut Brion red than the 2016. Buy it, today. But many other Graves shined in 2016, including Smith Haut Lafitte, Haut Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier and Malartic Lagravière. Do not hesitate to look at some fine showings from second wines, too, which I had tasted late last year at Château Bouscaut. Cheers!
Assessing 15 vintages of Léoville Poyferré
By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles.com 24 January 2019 Over the last nine years, I have been organizing comprehensive verticals of top Bordeaux estates, sometimes several times in one year, and often in Washington D.C. The most recent, a Friday evening 18 January 2019 dinner at the French embassy in Washington D.C., featured Château Léoville Poyferré, […]
Off to Philly to taste Bordeaux 2016
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 18 January 2019 Dear Readers, I am off to Philly this coming Sunday 20 January to taste many Bordeaux 2016 from bottle. In October and December last year, I already had the chance to taste many Bordeaux 2016 from bottle, so this visit will fill in some gaps, such as […]
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