Today is the first day of Harvest at Brane-Cantenac … one of my favorite wineries in Bordeaux and I must say, I wish I was there! Above is a photograph taken earlier, and the grapes look perfect and ripe! When i think of Bordeaux, I usually think of fun and sun (and wine, of [...]

    Fabulous event at chateau Brane-Cantenac (second growth) in Margaux. One of the most  fabulous things about Vinexpo in Bordeaux is that the Chateaux put on some very creative and fun events. Here, owner/winemaker Henri Lurton (enjoying the concert in the picture above( hosted a musical evening with the famous opera singer Elizabeth Vidal. [...]

Chateau Smith Haut Lafite is a gorgeous estate in Graves, south of Bordeaux and this year they (literally) rolled the red carpet to kick off En Primeur 2011 and welcome fellow Bordelais and the 108 international journalists visiting for En Primeur. The grand party also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Chateaux, as owners Daniel [...]

  Looks like paradise, yes? You are looking at a picture of the post-tasting refreshments at Chateau Fonreaud, Cru Bourgeois Superiieur in Listrac-Medoc. Fellow blind tasters included Stephen Brook, Janscis Robinson, Ian D’Amato, and many others.  At the moment of the picture, we had just finished the tasting of Listrac, Mouis, Medoc, and Margaux wines. [...]

The 2010 vintage represented some fabulous sweet wines.     As always, I tasted blind, finding it interesting to note the nuances between wines of the same vintage and relatively same region. When the tasting was over and the “answer sheets” passed around, I was pleased to see that some of my favorite wineries got [...]

The morning tasting at Cheval Blanc was a gorgeously orchestrated event, despite the controlled ‘media frenzy’ that is bound to occur whenever a new vintage of Cheval Blanc comes on the market. Tasters included journalists like myself tasting at En Primeur, as well as distinguished Masters of Wine and heads of the world’s leading auction [...]

  Did any of you happen to read Neal Martin’s blog today on the eRobertParker.com site? I first met this eRobertParker.com wine columnist a few years back at one of the parties surrounding the tasting of the VDP “Grosse Gewachse” in Germany.  In person Neal is charming and a bit subdued, yet his columns are [...]

      On a gorgeous spring day in Bordeaux I found myself listening to Professor Denis Dubourdieu and his colleagues Laurence Geny and Bernard Doneche discussing the 2010 vintage. So the question you are all asking is this: Does it live up to expectations? From my tasting to that point – and what the [...]

  Called the “Versailles of the Medoc” Chateau Beycheville is a Saint-Julian Great Growth, boasting an elegant, palatial chateau and French gardens with ivory statuary. Generations of wealthy families have owned this prestigious estate over the centuries, building the iconic global power of the brand.   Today Chateau Beycheville is one of the most recognized [...]

Adele “What a fabulous wine to enjoy as an aperitif!” I exclaim, sipping 2006 Esquisse, a new brand from the 2nd growth Chateau Nairac. It’s not a second wine, exactly, which is the traditional name for a cuvee that does not meat the standards of the singular “great wine” from a classed growth Chateau.   [...]

Henri Lurton in suit Chateau Brane-Cantenac celebrated its fabulous new vintage during En Primeur this past week, with the cities most notable names in attendence. This second growth chateau is a favorite among series collectors, and is among the first of all the chateaux in Bordeaux to invest in an optical sorter to ensure only [...]

I am so excited to read on Christian Seely’s blog (managing director of AXA’s wine investments) that James Sucking called Pichon-Longueville 2003 his wine of the year. Really delicious wine, and Chateau Pichon Longueville is enjoying a great comeback after AXAs investment. The stories of the Chateaux in Bordeaux is more intriguing than any best [...]

  Visiting Pichon Longueville AXA generously hosted the winners of the AXA Millesimes scholarship offered to students of the Master of Wine educational program a week in October 2010. It was an incredible week of excitement, learning, travel, exploration, and a fairy tale few days at this incredible Chateau (see that second floor turret? That [...]

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 wine be sent [...]

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 to write about Chateau Prieure-Lichine. Our Visit A gorgeous bright blue sky greeted [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]