Château Latour Halts En Primeurs
I was traveling yesterday and didn't see the news until Late in the day and my Twitter stream had gone nuts. Château Latour announced they will no longer participate in En Promeurs. The always brilliant Jane Anson covered it best:Instead, director Fr...
Chateau Latour to halt futures – what do you think??
Chateau Latour to halt en primeur After the 2011 vintage Chateau Latour, owned by billionaire Francois Pinault, will not pre-sell their wine as futures. What do you think? “That’s great. It’s good to see a billionaire doing the right thing for a change by not ripping off millionaires. Also, Salma Hayek is hot.” -Mandy Street,...
2012 Bordeaux Tasting at Chateau Lafon-Rochet
"What a gorgeous chateau!" I am here, inside Chateau Lafton-Rochet, speaking with Basile Tesseron, the son of the owner. Other journalists from around the world are here to taste the 2011 vintage of wines from Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, and Haut-Medoc. These represent some of my favorite vintages in Bordeaux and overall, the quality is excellent....
Chateau Brane-Cantenac … a Viewing of Eric Boissenot’s Photographs
On April 4, I was invited to a fabulous party celebrating the marriage of art and wine. Each year, Henri Lurton, owner and winemaker of the 2nd Growth Brane-Cantenac in Marguax, invites an artist (of song, photography, other forms of art) to kick off the new vintage. Last week, Eric Boissenot, a famous...
En Primeur News from Chateau Pichon-Longueville
See that turret? Can you imagine how exciting it would be to spend a few nights in it? That was one of the most incredible experiences of my life living in that fairy tale castle for a few days as a result of a scholarship I won from an AXA sponsored competition for Master...
Dinner at Chateau Figeac
“Welcome!” says vivacious yet petite Laure d’Aramon, nee Manencourt, who grew up at Chateau Figeac. The driver has just deposited me at this famous wine estate in Saint-Emilion and since I have a small collection at home, am very excited to talk about the wine and taste some classic vintages during dinner. At 8:00,...
An Evening at Smith Haut Lafitte
"2011 was a tricky year that required precision and care," Florence Cathiard explained, standing in the picture above near husband Daniel, before a tasting of the 2011 Smith Haut Lafitte vintage. "It was especially important to pay close attention to the tannins." Luckily, all the care of the Smith Haut Lafitte team worked out, for...
En Primeur: Tasting Cru Classe & Haut Medoc wines
"Do you know the significance of a golden carrot? Especially when 14 people are dining with you?" The spell-like meaning of a carrot with a gold sauce, served to 14 people, is luck. Perhaps today at En Primeur with the tasting of Haut Medoc and Pauillac and Saint Estephe it means "luck for the vintage"...
Dinner with Jean-Michel Cazes and Jean-Charles Cazes with chef Jean-Luc Rocha in Boreaux
"Krug champagne!" Well, what else would you expect when having dinner with Jean-Michel and Jean-Charles Cazes at the restaurant inside the exclusive Cordeillan-Bages hotel in Pauillac. The hotel (managed by Relais & Chateau) is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very refined and relaxed. We are gathered together to experience the talent of the new chef,...
Tasting in Bordeaux with Professor Dubourdieu
"There are five essential conditions for a quality vintage," says famed professor Denis Dubourdieu, speaking in front of over a hundred journalists from virtually every corner of the world. We gathered together at Chateau La Lagune, where the vat room I visited several years ago had been cleaned out and filled with many seats...
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Is Riedel right about wine glasses? Château Filhot taste test
The venerable Austrian wine glass maker, Georg Riedel, has made a mistake. I know this to be a fact because I have just done a taste test on a bottle of 2001 Château Filhot, I've been saving for a while.
Poe’s Tobacco
Quite simple and momentarily sweet; within the hour it is gone. . . Wilted leaf, rose petals, soap and talc. It's softened and autumnal. Though it smells of neither, I have the dual image of a childhood rosewood chest full of winter sheets; and a littl...
