A celebrity in Bordeaux and throughout the wine world, Professor Denis Dubourdieu has been Professor of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux since 1987. He owns five wineires (Château Doisy-Daëne, Clos Floridene, Château Reynon, Château Cantegril and Château Haura) and is a widely respected consultant to some of the best Chateau in Bordeaux, [...]

Chateau Kirwan was generous enough to host a fabulous tasting of the wines from Moulis-en-Medoc, Listrac-Medoc, Margaux and the Medoc.  Co-Owner  and publicist Sophie Schyler-Thierry – always stunningly dressed – met us at the door and escorted us into the tasting. As you can imagine, this tasting offered some of the best wines in Bordeaux [...]

It was a delightful treat to blind taste the 2012 vintage of Saint Julien, Pauillac, Saint Estephe and Haut Medoc at 3rd Growth Chateau Lagrange.  Head winemaker Bruno Eynard welcomed journalists to the Chateau in a charming fashion, and made everyone feel comfortable. Given the four regions to be tasted, it was a rather challenging [...]

I love all the wines of Bordeaux, yet there is something so unique about Graves and Pessac-Leognan. This blind En Primeur tasting was very exciting for exactly that reason! Latour-Martillac were excellent hosts, and as I wrote before, the hosting chateaux all scored very well so they must have known early on they had a [...]

Fabulous tasting of wines from Chateau Beauregard for En Primeur on April 10 … What was most interesting the entire week, the Chateau hosting the tasting often had the highest rated scores! In earlier posts, I explained that two groups of journalists (including myself) taste “blind” in that we make our notes before we get [...]

Always such a pleasure to visit Chateau Cheval Blanc!   The 2012 vintage was challenging … buds broke later than usual, and the vines grew very unevenly in April as a result of the difficult weather conditions.  The harvest began on September 27th for Merlot and October 6th for Cabernet Franc. Despite this, the composition [...]

How curious an entire year has passed since I last sipped various vintages of Chateau La Faurie Peyraguey with fellow journalists, under the delightful care of technical manager Eric Larramona, an attractive man in his thirties who looks a bit like a very handsome Clark Kent (you know, Superman) with dark hair, sleek designer glasses, [...]

Every year, the Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) organizes a welcoming dinner for journalists and members of the trade. This year, the event was generously hosted at Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere on the outskirts of the medieval town of Saint-Emilion, at the southern foot of the slope. The 19.5 hectare vineyard has a complex, outstanding [...]

So the Tasting of Sauternes and Barsac this year was at La Tour Blanche — very generous of them to host the tasting this year! As always, I am in one of the two “blind” tasting groups which means that we all taste the wines and write our notes without knowing the winery. The other [...]

“Oh, you’re coming to our Chateau Wednesday night!,” says Jose Sanfins, technical director of Chateau Cantenac-Brown in Margaux. We have just exchanged cards, and are sitting together at a festive Diner d’accueil at Chateau Canon la Gaffeliere in Saint-Emilion.  It is Monday night – the kickoff night for En Primeur 2013 – and over a [...]

“Look at this terroir!” I exclaim, having just tasted the 2012 Château Haut-Bailly and its ‘petite’ sibling, the 2012 La Parde Haut-Bailly during a visit to  the chateau during the week of En Primeur. As you can see in the picture above, the  soil consists of sand mixed with the gravel that gives the Graves [...]

A lovely experience visiting Mr. and Mrs. Jacques Capdemourlin during En Primeur 2013! This chateau in Saint-Emillion is said to be the oldest in the region and had been in the family for hundreds of years. At the end of the 1970s, Jacques Capdemourlin established the unification of the vineyards, grouping together a total of [...]

  John Lewis Brown purchased what would be Chateau Cantenac Brown at the start of the 19th century, put his name on it, and designed the chateau in the Tudor style. The property changed hands several times until the latest to the famous Cognac producer, Remy Martin,  who then sold it to AXA, the insurance [...]

April is just one short month away, and I am super excited to visit Chateau Brane-Cantenac and not just taste the new vintage during En Primeur, but also also see the new exhibition of photographer François Poincet. Each year, Henri Lurton invites a different artist to exhibit. Mr. Poincet is the winner of the Terroir [...]

  Do you see that gorgeous Chateau above? It is owned by Florence and Daniel Cathiard, who met when they were skiing champions as very young teenagers and in the fullness of time bought the Chateau, devoted their lives to it, and in the last few years have been reaping the rewards. The couple also [...]

The 2010 vintage of Brane Cantenac received a very nice review in Wine Spectator! I am so happy because I loved these wines and appreciate the hard work that goes into them.  You can read an interview with Henri Lurton about the 2009 vintage at the link here

The Union Des Grand Crus de Bordeaux (UGB) visited New York on January 21st and I was excited to see old friends – Bordeaux is a community and during my many visits during the year I’ve managed to meet so many wonderful people and stay in their Chateaux, in addition to tasting their wine! For [...]

FÊTE DE LA FLEUR 2013 So excited! The Commanderie du Bontemps will celebrate its Fête de la Fleur as Vinexpo Bordeaux closes on Thursday 20 June at Château Lagrange. I was there two yeas ago for the Fete and it was such a fabulous evening! I sat at a fabulous table with some of my [...]

  “Haut Brion speaks to me, yet can I say it’s really better than the other first growths?” Horst Schulze, chairman and CEO of the Capella Hotel Group told Decanter magazine (December 2012 issue, page 125). In the article, Mr. Schultze went on to praise other wines, especially Brane-Cantenac (owner Henri Lurton pictured above). I’ve [...]

“I think that the Opalie de Château Coutet 2010 would pair great with the crudo,” Aline Baly, co-owner and media rep of the family owned Chateau Coutet tells me, famed for their first growth Sauternes. “And for the main course, let’s try the 1995 vintage of Ch Coutet (the sweet style) as the new vintages [...]