Wine Chronicles2020 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. […]
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 […]
Nearly 40 vintages of Château Pichon Longueville Baron
In honor of Jean-René Matignon By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 14 October 2022 I recall the disappointment in Jean-René Matignon’s face as rain started falling towards the end of the 2006 harvest. “This could have been as good as 2005,” he said regretfully. Some 16 years later, tasting the 2006 at Château Pichon Longueville Baron […]
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 […]
Pauillac 2018
Power and refinement By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 24 January 2021 Pauillac boasts some excellent wines in this vintage, some in my Top Ten. As said in the intro text, in many cases 2016 (and even 2019) may outshine 2018 in the longer run. However, some estates were capable to tirer son épingle du jeu, as […]
In praise of Philippe Dhalluin
Château Mouton Rothschild director – and all around great fellow – to retire by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 14 July 2020 “People in the north of France, they know Bordeaux wines. They love wine in general.” I met Philippe Dhalluin, the director of Château Mouton Rothschild, last month while on a short visit to Bordeaux […]
Pauillac 2018 from barrel
Suave, tannic and sometimes extraordinary by Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 26 April 2019 Just about as consistent as Saint Julien, Pauillac included many great wines from barrel. I suppose you could say that that is self explanatory, seeing that Pauillac boasts no less than three of five official “first growths” from the ballyhooed 1855 classification. […]
2015 Bordeaux from bottle, part 1: Mostly Médoc wines
Margaux shines brightest By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 17 November 2017 – revised, with new video intro, below. How good are Bordeaux 2015 from bottle? Based on two days of tasting top Médoc wines in early November this year, I would say quite good. It does not seem to reach the heights, on a more […]
16 vintages of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 24 October 2017 For the third time this year, it was great to welcome a top Bordeaux wine to Washington D.C. After Château Montrose in January and Château Léoville Las Cases in March, this time it was Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, with estate director Nicolas Glumineau. A triple […]
Underrated Bordeaux 2014
Worth seeking out from bottle: both white and red 29 January 2017 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com When I tasted 2014 and 2015 Château Montrose side-by-side in October last year at the estate, I learned that less than 40% of the harvest was used to make the first wine in 2015, while over 50% was […]
Recent Comments