What better way to spend a summer weekend than by blinding tasting two whites and out of all the whites in the world, analyzing their variety and origin? Of course, this sort of Sherlock Holmes antics is familiar to students in the Master of Wine program. Typically I ask wine retailers that [...]

Chateau Prieuré-Lichine   In March of 2010, several Master of Wine students – myself included – were invited to visit several prestigious Chateaux in Bordeaux. We were each assigned a Chateau to cover, and I had the good fortune of being able [...]

Caudalie
 
It seems like just yesterday I was a guest of svelte, soignee Florence Cathiard and her handsome husband Daniel at their Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte estate in Graves during En Primeur – the annual event when the latest vintage is unveiled and tasted by the world’s fine wine journalists. In addition to producing excellent wine, the [...]

Celine Villars-Foubet
 
"So what vintage do you think this is?" asks charming hostess Celine Villars-Foubet, an owner of the 1855 Grand Cru Chateau Camensac (and many others). We are sitting at a round table inside the very grand Chateau Chasse Spleen (another Chateau of hers) enjoying vibrant green watercress soup and an unknown red wine.
"2001," I [...]

Jean-Jacques & Florence Dubourdieu
 
So here I am in Bordeaux the Sunday before the beginning of En Primeur, where journalists will sample the new 2009 vintage. Already the word is that 2009 is a fantastic vintage, and as I had some great early tastes this week (and was warned not to write details!) I quite agree.

As [...]

Chateau La Papeterie
So, you might ask, what were some of my observations on my most recent trip to Bordeaux for En Primeur — a week when journalists, members of the trade, and others come to taste the 2009 vintage? Of course I had many – perhaps the most poignant was realizing that a surprising [...]

Gorgeous sunny weather is this beautiful city is always a treat. I am here today, March 15 2010, on a four day study trip with fellow students in the Master of Wine program. Happily, I’ve met most of the group during our Napa educational week and then during what is called a ‘Course Day’ in [...]

“Robert Parker spent an entire day here,” says the charming matriarch Annick Saturny, whose husband bought and created Château Tayac many decades ago. So far, this is the first Château I have visited that actually looks like the American ideal of what a Château should look like.
First, notice the imposing gates and long driveway that [...]

Wouldn’t it be interesting to take a snapshot of the past? For example, on a recent trip to Bordeaux, I visited many of the same Chateau as our third president Thomas Jefferson. It was so interesting see the same topography, taste the “same” wines, and read his experiences of over two hundred years ago.
Of course, [...]

"Welcome to Chateau Paloumey," says Martine Cazeneuve, owner and winemaker of this 22-hectare, award-winning, Bordeaux Supérieur property. Fashionably dressed and accessorized, Madame Cazeneuve greets me at the door with her public relations executive Barbara Engerer.
I am tasting my way through the Medoc, and am curious to visit this Chateau as it is one of several [...]

Quick! What does Saint Emilion mean to you? In your mind, does it represent the healing saint of the same name? Does it signify a quaint, ancient, walled village in Bordeaux? Or, for you wine lovers, does it represent chateaux offering quality, collectible wines?
Visiting vineyards in Saint Emilion is a special treat. Many are small [...]

Bonjour," says English-speaking Jerome Juhe, part of the winemaking team at Chateau La Lagune. Handsome and compact with dark hair and electrifying enthusiasm for his company’s wine, he guides me through the remarkably modern and clean winemaking facilities, of which he is clearly proud. Looking at this spacious, almost futuristic winery, I find incredible [...]