Top 50+ hits: Bordeaux 2020 from barrel

The emotional, the intellectual, the (i)Deals In a vintage that favors Merlot from cold clay and limestone soils By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 May 2021 No ads, no fees charged: Here my objective and experienced impressions of 2020 Bordeaux, 18 years in a row assessing Bordeaux from barrel, including visits during the pandemic era. […]

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Saint Julien 2018

Consistent excellence By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  24 January 2021 Consistently excellent in 2018, recently bottled wines from this appellation fulfill their promise from barrel: elegant, suave, sometimes powerful, with grip, but overall refined and fresh. I give an edge to the 2016 vintage for superior freshness, as Didier Cuvelier of Château Léoville Poyferré agrees. Still, 2018 […]

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Saint Julien the Consistent …

… and consistently delicious in 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  26 April 2019 This famous Médoc appellation often tends to be the most consistent in any given vintage, and all the more in 2018. The more extreme alcohol levels and lower acidities of Saint Estèphe are not found here. A series of wines combines […]

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Northern Médoc: Sweet spots confirmed in 2016

A modern era 1986? Great stuff in Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe ? (Bordeaux 2016 from bottle, part 2) 11 November 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  Just as we saw how well Pomerol excelled in 2016, another area of consumer interest, also in terms of quality across all price points, is the northern […]

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Chinese food and aged Bordeaux?

It works By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  29 January 2018 I recently met with friends at a Chinese restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland where we enjoyed 1970 Palmer and 1975 Trotanoy among other treasures with Chinese food. “Heresy” you say? The crazy spice and umami intensity often associated with Chinese food obliterates the soft finesse of […]

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Pauillac and Saint Julien: Sweet Spots

Bordeaux 2016 barrel tasting notes New addition: Sensual and strong Saint Julien! By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  2 May 2017 When I was tasting barrel samples in Bordeaux with wine author Jane Anson, exclusive Bordeaux en primeur critic for Decanter, blogger and ace photographer Miguel Lecuona and Bloomberg writer and wine author Elin McCoy, we […]

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High class, with Léoville Las Cases

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  27 April 2017 Wines made by Domaines Delon count among the classiest in Bordeaux – and that applies to their moderately priced Médoc Château Potensac, once correctly classified as a Crus Bourgeois Exceptionnel, to the grand vin, Château Léoville Las Cases. You know top-flight wines are involved when you assess […]

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Bordeaux 2016 – updates!

The mysterious vintage – updated By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  14 June 2017 Originally published in April, I am adding links to this page on specific 2016 barrel tasting notes by appellation/region. Live links coming soon for the red and whites of Graves and Pessac-Léognan, Margaux and Sauternes.   Pauillac & Saint Julien / Saint Estèphe […]

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Fit for a wine groundhog 2017

Top Bordeaux back to 1970, with Marla Maples By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles.com  3 February 2017 Bravo to Kevin Shin for making this happen. The DCWino is in top form. And I got to meet some new wine-loving friends in the area as well as seeing old friends. Once again, we found ourselves at Ripple. […]

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Saint Julien #bdx15: subtle, suave, successful

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  1 May 2016 2015 was a successful vintage for Saint Julien, with expected elegance combined with Cabernet driven structure. While some tasters seemed a touch under-whelmed, I was happy with most of the wines from this affable appellation. And boy-oh-boy Léoville Las Cases and Ducru Beaucaillou were both amazing – […]

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