Category: Older Vintages
50 Years of Limestone Dreams: A Look Back at Calera Pinot Noir
You’d likely know if you ever met the late winemaker Josh Jensen. He was tough to miss and hard to
Tasting The Ghost Grape: A Deep Look at Pignolo
What virtues are there to be found in obscurity? Don’t ask a hipster. They’ll just roll their eyes and go
Vinography Unboxed: Week of 3/5/23
Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted.
The Way of Granite: Gideon Beinstock and the Wines of Clos Saron
In the most famous wine regions of the world, a tourist wandering the nicely manicured rows of vines that lead
Forgotten Wine Island: Tasting a Few Madeiras
There was once a time when everyone who was anyone in the world drank Madeira. Just ask America’s Founding Fathers,
The Wines That Helped Me Survive 2020
I am not a fan of journalism-by-list. We can thank Buzzfeed, SEO fanaticism, and the shortening attention span of America
Drinking the Past as California Burns
Light night, even as flames roared through the chaparral of Southern California, I attended a wine tasting event to benefit
Like Visiting an Old Friend: A Few Vintages of Chateau Musar
Sometimes drinking wine can be like spending time with your dearest friends. I suppose that any familiar flavor, enjoyed repeatedly
Flavors of a World-Changing Wine Event: Celebrating the Judgment of Paris
On May 24th, the world will celebrate the 40th anniversary of perhaps the single most important event in the modern
Plumbing the Depths of Portugal: A Tasting Journey
In the pantheon of global wine regions, Portugal doesn’t rank among the most storied, at least as far as the
25 Years in the Hills: A Seven Hills Winery Retrospective
We’re funny, us humans. We like to draw these imaginary lines on the earth and give names to the places
Château de Beaucastel: The Difficult Vintages
For most lovers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château de Beaucastel needs no introduction. One of the largest, most storied, and most respected
Checking On Some Older CA Pinot Noir
Once upon a time, among the many criticisms leveled at California wine, there existed the notion that California wines did
Icon Wines of Napa: A Tasting
What would you do if someone offered to hold a tasting of all the best Cabernets in Napa according to
Hawke’s Bay Wines With Some Age On Them
With the clouds turning a peachy pink against the always-riveting-blue sky above Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, I found myself strolling
The Legendary Wines of Napa: Tasting Notes
Last weekend I had the singular pleasure of co-leading a tasting with the title Legends of Napa Valley. I wrote
2006 Peay Vineyards Roussane/Marsanne Blend, Sonoma Coast
As a wine reviewer who gets paid next to nothing for his work, I have the luxury of only reviewing
2001 York Creek Vineyards Cabernet Franc, Spring Mountain District, Napa
One of the most gratifying experiences I have as a wine lover and very, very small time wine collector involves
1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache Grand Cru, Burgundy
You don’t get very far in a journey towards being a wine lover without hearing the words “Romanée-Conti” spoken with
