Welcome Merlot al dente #Bdx15

Posted on May 5, 2016

And other tales from Saint Emilion

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com

5 May 2016

OK, the title is a bit misleading. Not everyone picks Merlot earlier in Saint Emilion. The influence of ultra-late picking to please critics, and to get an upgrade (or avoid a downgrade) every 10 years for appellation-sanctioned revisions (often ending up in courts and/or with recriminations) is still strong.

But I tip my metaphorical hat several times to the very best Saint Emilion barrel sample I tried #Bdx15: Château Cheval Blanc.

Part of its success comes from the realization (yes, I have been saying this for years, along with other friends and fellow #winelovers including for example the talented writer Ben Giliberti) that Merlot is picked too often, too late in this storied appellation.

But don’t take it from me. This short video clip during en primeur week captures the quote directly from the source: Cheval Blanc technical director Pierre-Olivier Clouet. Read More

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Domaine Albert Mann: innovative and friendly

Posted on May 5, 2016

Enjoying annual open doors – and trying 2015s

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 

5 May 2016

You want great wine at a good value?

Sure, you can find that in many wine regions. But in Alsace, where so many grands crus exists, so many complicated names, and confusion over whether a wine is sweet, off dry or dry, it can be a more difficult exercise.

Basically, as one does in Burgundy, one should rely on the producer.

And one producer I recently visited offers both high quality and fair prices: Domaine Albert Mann, whose winemakers Maurice & Jacky Barthelmé were named (justifiably) “Winemakers of the year 2012” by the leading french wine magazine Revue du Vin de France. Read More

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Pessac-Léognan (and Graves) pizzaz #Bdx15

Posted on May 4, 2016

And why dry extract matters

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com

4 May 2016

Perhaps my overall favorite region in Bordeaux is the Graves region, which includes the since 1987 created Pessac-Léognan appellation that gathers such famous estates of the northern Graves, from Haut Brion and Pape Clement to Haut Bailly and Domaine de Chevalier.

It is here where #winelovers can enjoy both excellent reds and whites from Bordeaux. More often than not, a great vintage for reds is not such a great vintage for whites – and vice-versa. 2010, where both reds and whites were successful, is not the norm. 2014 is good to very good for both, perhaps better for whites, because the high acidity of that vintage lent extra vivacity, especially from producers who picked optimally ripe fruit. But is 2015 far behind for whites? In some cases, yes, but I found that several producers made wines with more dry extract than in 2014, even if the acidities were lower. Read More

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Ramonet in Alsace

Posted on May 3, 2016

Perfect tastings and lunch – with Montrachet from Jeroboam – and other treats

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 

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Saint Julien #bdx15: subtle, suave, successful

Posted on May 1, 2016

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 – clearly better than in 2014.

Then again, some of the other wines seemed to be not all that much better than in 2014, a vintage that was also excellent for this appellation. For some estates, 2015 is getting more hype than the qualitative difference suggests, so savvy #winelovers should be wary of some of the 2015 pricing… Anyway, I enjoyed these barrel samples. As usual, in bold I liked in particular, when bold and red, even more. And when underlined, too, a kind of nirvana. Read More

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