Wine ChroniclesDining at Château Haut Brion with Prince Robert of Luxembourg
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 13 May 2014 Prince Robert of Luxembourg – owner of Château Haut Brion – loves history. Last year, the estate awarded several cases of Haut Brion 1989 to art historian Laurent Chavier, who won a contest to find the earliest mention of Haut Brion as a wine. “I launched the […]
Bordeaux in barrel 2014: Mighty Montrose, classic Cos and perplexing Calon Segur
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com MAIN BORDEAUX 2014 BARREL TASTING PAGE When I was asked to do an educational blog for Total Wine, we agreed to have top ten lists: top ten reds, top ten whites, top ten bargain wines. One of the very best barrel samples of 2014 is Château Montrose. Fellow wine writers and […]
(In spite of) Bordeaux 2014 in barrel: Saint Emilion oak saga continues
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com MAIN BORDEAUX 2014 BARREL TASTING PAGE Some faves? Belair-Monange, Berliquet, Cheval Blanc, Canon, Corbin, Pavie-Macquin and Quinault l’Enclos Irony is a word that comes to mind. Château Quinault L’Enclos counts among 16 estates that had been promoted to grand cru classé in the 2012 classification of Saint Emilion. In contrast to […]
Bordeaux 2014 in barrel: Successful Saint Julien
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com MAIN BORDEAUX 2014 BARREL TASTING PAGE Faves include Langoa and Léoville Barton, Ducru Beaucaillou and Beychevelle. Most are excellent… Well high-ho! Saint Julien is one of the most consistently positive appellations from barrel in 2014. OK, not every estate is at its very best. I mean, take the rather hard and all-too […]
Bordeaux 2014 in barrel: Pomerol (very) pretty
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com MAIN BORDEAUX 2014 BARREL TASTING PAGE Some of my faves: Petrus and Vieux Chateau Certain are the best of those I tasted, but also La Conseillante, Clos l’Eglise, La Fleur Petrus and Trotanoy are excellent I love this appellation. There is no classification, you see? No need for official hierarchies. You […]
Bordeaux 2014 in barrel: Pauillac peaks
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com MAIN BORDEAUX 2014 BARREL TASTING PAGE From cru bourgeois to first growth, Pauillac kicked ass in 2014. Fans of steely tannic towers such as Pichon Baron and fans of more sumptuous styles at Pichon Comtesse will find happiness, based on the barrel samples. OK, some wines were a touch hard, with the […]
25 years of Smith Haut Lafitte: all magnum verticals
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com In late March 2015, just before the start of the barrel tasting week for Bordeaux 2014, I was very lucky to have been invited to a unique all-magnum 25-vintage vertical – in both red (15 vintages) and white (10 vintages) – of the classified growth Château Smith Haut Lafitte. The […]
25 years of wine passion: Florence and Daniel Cathiard at Château Smith Haut Lafitte
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Château Smith Haut Lafitte, the grand cru classé of Graves – and later Pessac Léognan, when the appellation was created in 1987 – has been run for 25 years as of 2015 by the innovative couple Florence and Daniel Cathiard. I have known the Cathiards since 2002, and long have […]
2014 Bordeaux: Hundreds of barrel samples coming
My new educational blog for Total Wine, too By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles On the eve of a week of intense barrel tastings of Bordeaux’s latest vintage, I look forward to what promises to be a classic style in a positive sense. If tasting Chateau Corbin (grand cru classé) and Chateau Canon (premier grand […]
Zind Humbrecht 2013: buy it!
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com What a treat it was to taste the 2013 vintage at the legendary Domaine Zind Humbrecht estate near Colmar in Alsace. First of all, it felt like the United Nations. From South Africans to Americans, owner Olivier Humbrecht has hired an international cast of wine pros to help out. Take […]
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