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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Mouton Rothschild: reaching back 40 years

And some talk of “first growth bias” By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  A wonderful evening at the cozy and elegant French restaurant La Chaumière in Georgetown in Washington D.C. It was great to catch up with wine friends most of whom I hadn’t seen since Covid struck. We chose as theme the venerable First Growth […]

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Bordeaux 2021 from barrel: the whites

Make Acidity Great Again By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Updated 27 May with the reds A quick reference to tasting notes below. I had published my reflections on the white wines of Bordeaux on 13 May, which I think shine most in 2021. The reds are now online on a new page: HERE. With thanks […]

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Jury selected Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge of 2019

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 16 November 2021 As I taste through Bordeaux’s recently bottled 2019 vintage, with an article to appear in Club Oenolgique early next year, a shout out to the more humble Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations. I joined a jury of 30 people to pick out my favorites based on samples the […]

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Weekend White: 2017 dry Bordeaux

Château Tronquoy-Lalande Blanc By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles  20 February 2021 Much is said of 2019, 2018 and 2016 as recent “great” Bordeaux vintages, naturally regarding red wines. However, this world famous region crafts many whites, dry and “sweet”, so it was useful to taste a just-released 2017 dry white from the excellent Saint Estèphe estate […]

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New grapes in Bordeaux to fight climate change

Foresight, or an easy way out? by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 6 February 2021 Late last month it became official: France’s wine appellation authority (INAO) authorized six new grapes for Bordeaux to better adapt to climate change. Two are very well known: Touriga Nacional and Alvarinho. As most readers know, the late ripening Touriga Nacional, […]

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Saint Estèphe 2018

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com  24 January 2021 Fascinating to see – in a blind tasting of the five classified growths – just how impressive Château Montrose turned out to be. I have tasted the wine twice from bottle, once at the estate, once in the blind tasting (held at Château Lafon-Rochet), and although I […]

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White Bordeaux: 2014 vintage

With a focus on Château Smith Haut Lafitte By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 15 September 2020 Top three 2014 whites from this tasting? Domaine de Chevalier, Château Pape Clément and Château Smith Haut Lafitte  Last week Decanter Magazine published an article I wrote – subscribers only – about how fine dry white Bordeaux can be, with […]

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Dry whites for summer quaffing in or out of quarantine

Some even won “Oscars” this year 😊 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine review online (This text was published earlier this week in Wine Review Online) 23 July 2020 I sparked a series of comments on Facebook the other day with the line, “Life really is too short to drink average wine.”  Some 100 comments – […]

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Wine snapshot: Château Corbin

Sure-to-enjoy from Saint Emilion, with a good price/quality ratio By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 4 June 2020 Ripe plum, red berry and floral aromas beckon drinking from the get go. The bottle was pretty much “popped and poured” but it opened up more in glass. After nearly 10 years in bottle the Château Corbin Saint […]

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