2020 Bordeaux: bottled classic

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 21 October 2023 TASTING NOTES CLICK HERE Dear Readers, It has been a while, but after buying a new apartment with renovation work, prioritizing articles in magazines for which I am paid, and work from my day job at the Council of Europe, I took a hiatus from this website. […]

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Bordeaux 2018: Where does reality in bottle meet hype from barrel?

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  24 January 2021 From barrel, I had characterized 2018 Bordeaux as a vintage for “Hedonists and Intellectuals”. Over the course of the last few months, including several visits to Bordeaux during official lockdowns in France, I tasted 2018s on location, after recent bottling. Some bottles had been sent to me to […]

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Premium Pomerol 2018

The gorgeous Château Evangile

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 […]

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Pomerol 2016 from bottle wins big

Including brands at $35-$55 per bottle (Bordeaux 2016 from bottle, part I) 4 November 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  Writing about 2016 from bottle, let’s start with Pomerol, an appellation that is often better now in bottle than it was from barrel in April 2017. This small appellation of some 150 estates is not […]

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Pomerol Plaudits: Bordeaux 2017 from barrel

The small Bordeaux appellation with many 2017 hits By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  2 May 2018 As almost anywhere in Bordeaux, the best terroirs thrived, especially those with either minimal or no frost. Pomerol in spite of its rather small size, is no exception. As you can see in the photo, Christian Moueix of the […]

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Bordeaux 2015 from bottle, part 2

Pomerol isn’t just about the stars: Update with more tasting notes! By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  11 January 2018 / 11 March Just an update folks from this January post … Just a few more tasting notes directly below, in alphabetical order. Proving again how good Pomerol is in 2015. UPDATED TEXT (MARCH 2018)  Château […]

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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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20 years of Château La Conseillante

A great vertical, a great Pomerol 10 January 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Driving west past Château Cheval Blanc at the edge of Saint Emilion, you come across a series of superb Pomerol estates with prime vineyard real estate: Vieux Château Certan, Evangile, Petrus and La Conseillante, among others. They count among the very […]

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Pomerol power in 2016

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine chronicles.com  30 May 2017 Last year’s Pomerol Panache is followed by more serious tannin this year. Whatever the case, Pomerol now has a run of three excellent vintages in a row. With some exceptions, 2016 is the most powerful among the three – more Pauillac than Pomerol. 2014 showcases brightness, and 2015 more […]

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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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