2010

An immodestly brilliant Pomerol… The first test of a truly great man is his humility,” asserted the English art critic and social theorist John Ruskin, whose contemporaries were unlikely to have accused him of possessing an undue measure of this virtue. Hardly a subject existed on which Ruskin did not hold an opinion that could […]

When most wine collectors think of Australia, they think of Penfolds; and when they ponder Penfolds, their thoughts ineluctably drift toward Grange, the label’s flagship wine, which emphasizes Shiraz and was first produced commercially in 1952. Like Grange, Bin 707—which debuted with the 1964 vintage—is sourced from multiple vineyards in multiple regions that include Adelaide […]

Some years ago, the tide of opinion turned against Merlot after a scene in the film Sideways convinced audiences that well-tutored palates avoid this varietal. Today, Syrah has met a similar fate, falling out of favor with U.S. consumers. Yet, just as many of the world’s most captivating reds are produced from Merlot—Château Pétrus and […]

A white wine with heart. Many wineries in California include the word family on their labels—a descriptor intended to suggest not only that the contents of the bottle are the result of a multigenerational labor of love but also that future generations will heed the call of the vine. In many instances, the families in […]

Tucked among the hills of Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley is a 600-acre laboratory where fascinating oenological experiments are carried out by Matt Dees. An alumnus of the University of Vermont and a veteran of the very different growing conditions of New Zealand and Napa Valley, Dees now presides over the complex winemaking at […]

Wine is often cloaked in a mantle of romance by marketing directors who are intent on moving inventory. True romance, however, does occasionally emerge from the vineyards, as the vintners Solène Christophe-Fabre and Guillaume Fabre well know. The couple, both natives of France, met among the vineyards of Bordeaux shortly before Guillaume traveled to the […]

The holy grail of white Rhônes returns… In 1834, when Antoine Jaboulet established himself as a grower and négociant, he more than likely never imagined that he was founding one of France’s most notable viticultural dynasties. His firm later came to be known as Paul Jaboulet Aîné when one of his twin sons named the […]

For Robert Young, whose family has farmed the same acreage in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley for five generations, one of the highlights of agricultural life was apparently lighting his burn pile—a large heap of dried cuttings that, once ignited, burned all day, leaving only a smoldering expanse of ash. Once the farm became a vineyard […]

The eponymous owner of Cliff Lede Vineyards in the Stags Leap District of the Napa Valley has an obvious passion for all things cultural. This enthusiasm manifests itself in every aspect of the property: The tasting room, with its California Craftsman–style design, quietly evokes the region’s past, for example, while in the winery, sleek postmodern […]