Three bottles of wine arrived with no advance notice on my doorstep a few weeks ago. Intrigued, I opened them all over several days last week. They are very accessible, ready-to-drink Oregon bottlings from the Willamette that carry very reasonable price tags. The Chardonnay is the Goldilocks wine of the trio for QPR. I’m so curious to learn more about why I received these wines, but it is always a pleasure to see what is happening in Oregon through the window of a sample set!
Read MoreThese Pinot Noir and Chardonnay tastings were primarily conducted in Sonoma over the course of two visits (one for ten days, one for three days). My ten-day visit was thorough, covering eight hundred and four miles (1,294 km) and 39 winery appointments.
Read MoreWindvane 2015 Pinot Noir Carneros: Brimming with youthfulness, this Pinot Noir boasts showy, bold fruits. Black plum, blackberry and a hint of anise give this wine lovely definition.
Read MoreThis is a Ramey legacy Chardonnay. David Ramey has been working with the same 19 rows of vines in this vineyard since 2002. But, that’s only the start. These vines were planted in 1972, making them some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in all of California.
Read MoreFor all the years I have tasted Oregon wines, I was surprised to just stumble across these this year, especially as Cooper Mountain Vineyards is celebrating its 40th Willamette Valley harvest in 2018.
Read MoreFEL 2016 Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard Anderson Valley: This is a Pinot Noir powerhouse. Even on Day Three, it was powering on as though it had just been opened.
Read MoreSavory, saline and yeasty, this wine absolutely earns its moniker “SEA”, reflecting the scents and tastes of the sea. As the moniker goes, “If it comes from the sea, it goes with Chablis.”
Read MoreTrentodoc bubbly is on a mission to have its metodo classico wines perceived as the best in Italy. The tip-top of this category of wines is crisp and bitingly dry – in an appealing way. They are also layered with flavor.
Read MoreRich and abundantly fruit-driven on the nose with a vibrant, gold color and supremely ripe orchard fruits, this Chardonnay has a delightfully chewy texture thanks in large part to its excellent fruit concentration.
Read MoreAs I’ve written before in this column, 2016 was a rough year in Chablis. Here are a few numbers on the 2016 vintage recounted to me by Didier Picq, who oversees the winemaking at his family’s domaine….
Read MoreI’ve been visiting Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix for over half a decade. I always taste older vintages that charm and delight…but I am always in the area to taste the most recent vintage. When tasting the 2015 vintage in the region, I got a naughty pour off a tank of that vintage chez Etienne. I was PUMPED! So, when I arrived in 2017 to taste the 2016s, I was astonished to be presented (at last) a full line-up of the 2016s.
Read MoreI’ve long been a fan of the wide range offered at Chablis’ Domaine Bernard Defaix. So when Didier (son of Bernard, who with his brother Sylvain oversees the domaine’s production today) asked if I would be interested in tasting the wines of the Rully domaine that his wife, Hélène, inherited in 2002, I replied with great eagerness. I’d tasted a wine or two here or there in New York, but I didn’t know much about them.
Read MoreYou can’t beat the name Domaine du Chardonnay for an enterprise that produces 38 hectares of domaine-owned Chablis. Founded in 1987 by a trio of friends, Etienne Boileau, William Nahan and Christian Simon, they had to come up with a non-family name. Those are pretty rare for wineries in Chablis. As they say, sometimes simplest is best, and these guys nailed it for marketing purposes!
Read MoreP.S. If you do (or even if you don’t) visit the Angsts, don’t miss the Pontigny Abbey, the largest Cistercian abbey still standing in Europe. It is stunning from afar and on the inside. There are no vines around Pontigny today, but the monks did plant there. The office of the BIVB-Chablis (the marketing and promotions board of Chablis) is in a lovely building in the center of Chablis called The Petit Pontingy, and it previously served as the abbey’s vinification site.
Read MoreThere’s nothing like arranging winery visits on the road. Learning about good juice while in Milan on a Monday then visiting the winery on the Friday (especially on Bastille Day…and at 9 am) in Chablis is exciting. Meeting people on their home turf is the best way to learn about their wines. That is especially true when the winery is off-the beaten path, and there are young peeps making tasty stuff.
Read MoreI met Guillaume Vrignaud three or four years ago. He seemed shy but friendly, and he was clearly, thoroughly passionate. I really liked his wines. I learned first hand that the way to really get him going was to get him into the vineyard. I will never forget our unexpected climb up some steep and rocky slopes through his vines in Côte de Fontenay and Vaupulent (each strikingly different in many ways)…while I wore three inch heeled sandals and Guillaume sprinted about in gym shorts.
Read MoreKnocking at the door of anyone in France for professional call on Bastille Day morning can be unnerving, even when they are expecting you. Happily, this trio of Dauvissats immediately dissipated my concern.
Read MoreChablis is rapidly changing today, and it’s all for the better. I was thrilled to visit one of the region’s new wine-producing domaines in Préhy last July. There are several new or new-ish wineries in this southwestern corner of Chablis. It’s quite a hotspot for new names.
Read MoreEvery time I pulled out that bright yellow and green pen over the course of my ten days in Chablis last year, the vigneron I was chatting with gave a nod, a point and a smile. “Ah! You’ve been to Chantemerle!” Yes, I had.
Read More“Our vineyards are on the left and right banks, all near Chichée,” said Nathalie Oudin. I immediately sensed that Nathalie might be sizing me up. Luckily, I speak “Chablisien” and understood that the family’s vines are clustered around the pretty village of Chichée, about a five-minute drive to the southeast of the town of Chablis.
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