The Merry Drinker
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Chardonnay 2006, Grgich Hills
I have just finished reading The Judgment of Paris, by George Taber. This splendid book tells the story of the 1976 Paris wine tasting, at which a panel of distinguished French critics compared wines from France and California in a blind tasting. To everyones shock, the winners turned out to be Cal …
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Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Yarden
I have never found Jesus an especially attractive personality, but one of the few things he did that meets with my wholehearted approval was to turn water into wine at the Cana wedding. One wonders what the results tasted like. A great DRC Burgundy, such as La Tâche? A Pétrus-style Bordeaux? Or …
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Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004, Penfolds
With so many fine new labels coming out of Australia nowadays, it is easy to forget the ones that have been around a long time. The grandaddy of them all is Penfolds, a firm that has been in business since the 1840s. During its first hundred years of existence, Penfolds concentrated on fortified wi …
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Pinot Noir Reserve 2005, Argyle
The worlds Pinot Noir makers divide into two schools. There are those who say We are striving for greatness. The greatest Pinot Noirs are made in Burgundy. Therefore our Pinot Noir will be as Burgundian as we can make it. Others say We too are striving for greatness, but greatness can take man …
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Persia 2005, Domaine de Fondrèche
Alistair Darling is the minister responsible for Britain’s finances. Lately Britain’s finances have not been doing well. However unfairly, many people are holding Mr Darling to blame. In an interview with the Guardian, he revealed how these people are expressing their displeasure. He and his wif …
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Esporão Reserva 2005, Herdade do Esporão
The region of Alentejo used to be best known for corks. It is said that over half the world’s corks are from Portugal, and of these nearly all are from trees in Alentejo. Since the 1970s the region had also produced some interesting wine. Its best-known firm, Herdade do Esporão, hit form in the 1 …
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Chianti Classico Riserva 2001, Marchese Antinori
Some weeks ago I argued that this Chianti, like so many other red Tuscans, was no longer good value for money. On reflection I think this was unfair. I would still say that, in most years, these wines offer a poorer deal than wines of equal stature from, say, Chile or South Africa. But some years …
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2001 Chianti Classico Riserva, Marchese Antinori
Some weeks ago I argued that this Chianti, like so many other red Tuscans, was no longer good value for money. On reflection I think this was unfair. I would still say that, in most years, these wines offer a poorer deal than wines of equal stature from, say, Chile or South Africa. But some years …
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Quincy 2006, Domaine De Chevilly
Those who are supposed to know about these things agree that times are getting tougher. Economies are ultimately shaped by how people feel, and right now the predominant feelings are gloom and foreboding. For those of us who can remember the 1970s the present worries seem eerily familiar. Soaring …
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Finis Terrae 2005, Cousiño-Macul
The Chilean house of Cousiño-Macul has been going since the mid 1850s. It is still run by its founding family, using vines imported from Bordeaux at the time the house began. Thanks its to location and climate, Chile is immune to the Phylloxera aphid which destroyed most of Europe’s vines later in …
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Saint-Aubin 2005, Louis Jadot
By general consent 2005 was one of the greatest Burgundy vintages. Some are calling it the greatest ever. The richness, complexity and sheer majesty of these wines have been praised universally, even by those normally sceptical about Old World vino. The result, inevitably, has been record prices. …
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Condado de Haza 2005, Ribera del Duero
Odd region, Ribera del Duero. A plateau over 2500 feet above sea level, enduring blisteringly hot days and frosty nights, this is not the first place one would choose to grow grapes. Yet since the 1860s it has produced Spains most prestigious wine. Vega Sicilia is a blend of Tinto Fino - the local …
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Château Le Crock 2005, Saint-Estèphe
Most of the big political arguments have their counterparts in wine. Take the question of trade. One of the loudest debates of our time is between those who favour governmental control and those who would rather trust market forces. In this argument the world of wine perfectly mirrors the world o …
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Château Le Crock, Saint-Estèphe 2005
Most of the big political arguments have their counterparts in wine. Take the question of trade. One of the loudest debates of our time is between those who favour governmental control and those who would rather trust market forces. In this argument the world of wine perfectly mirrors the world o …
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Querciolaia 2004, Mantellassi
It is now around thirty years since the great Tuscan wines were discovered by the rest of the world, and their prices are no longer competitive. Delicious as they are, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile, and the so-called Supertuscans – Tignanello, Sassicaia and the like – nowadays offer poor valu …
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Gewürztraminer Wintzenheim 2003, Domaine Zind Humbrecht
Though undoubtedly an art, winemaking is not Art with a capital A. It is one of the great crafts, like cabinet-making or ceramics. I know many people dispute this, especially the young, whose duty is to challenge all established categories. Having joined countless undergraduate arguments on this …
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Ancient Vines Mourvèdre 2006, Cline Cellars
The Mourvèdre grape has a bewildering range of aliases. In Spain, from where it is thought to originate, it is known as Monastrell. In Portugal and much of the New World it is called Mataro, after the Spanish town of Mataró. Most of France calls it Mourvèdre, after another Spanish town, Murviedro …
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Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2004, Antonio & Elio Monti
Italians hate simplicity. They abhor it as vampires do garlic. Consider the case of Montepulciano, one of Italy’s more interesting grape varietals. It shares its name with a village in Tuscany which makes one of the countrys great wines, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Any reasonable person might …
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Miss Harry 2005, Hewitson
One of the charms of wine drinking nowadays is its endless cosmopolitanism. Regular visitors to this blog will have read about Burgundy from New Zealand, Bordeaux from South Africa, Gewürztraminer from Italy and Margaux from New York State. Now we have a delightful Rhône wine from South Australia. …
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Château Pétrus 2005, Pomerol
For once I am breaking my own rules. I am discussing a wine I have only read about and may never have the chance to enjoy. If this distresses you, by all means write to complain. The weeks liveliest news story was the resignation of New Yorks governor, Eliot Spitzer, who was caught frequenting pros …
The Merry Drinker
