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Saturday Morning: Larcis Ducasse 1945-2017
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Oct 2020
Larcis Ducasse is now regarded as one of the leading Saint-Émilion estates, not surprising given its outstanding terroir. However, as this vertical back to 1945 proved, success came late compared to its peers.
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Cellar Favorite: 1919 Montrose
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Sep 2020
Obscure Bordeaux vintages are like the detritus of odds and ends you find at the back of the drawer you never open. The more forgotten or derided the annus horribilus, the more it piques my interest.
2018 Château d'Yquem
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Sep 2020
Three bottles tasted and two separate, independent critical opinions, both in one place. Neal Martin and I offer our views on the 2018 Château d'Yquem.
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Southwold: 2016 Bordeaux Blind
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Aug 2020
The 2016 Bordeaux vintage might have been born with a halo above its cherubic head, but you cannot see a halo if blindfolded. This report sees the 2016s re-examined blind at the annual “Southwold” tasting.
The Most and Least Important of Things: Petrus 1897–2011
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Jul 2020
What is the place for a retrospective on Petrus in a time of global pandemic and economic hardship? This article has been in suspended animation since January 2019, when London’s Hide restaurant witnessed one of the most unforgettable wine dinners in recent memory. But finally, after 18 months, I decided that these rare and precious wines should be written up. First of all, as the only journalist in attendance, I had a duty to formally record a tasting that might never happen again. Secondly, life goes on; you cannot put everything on hold forever.
Delivering Where It Counts: Meyney 1971–2017
France: Bordeaux, Verticals & Retrospectives, featured
, Jul 2020
Continuing my focus on Bordeaux wines that offer both quality and value, my final château visit before lockdown was to Meyney in Saint-Estèphe. How has their wine improved so much in recent years?
Cellar Favorite: 2010 Haut-Bailly
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jun 2020
In my write-up of the 2010 Bordeaux vintage earlier this year, it was unfortunate that one bottle in the blind tasting was so hideously corked that it rendered every participant’s glass unusable. (Hopefully, the injured stemware has recovered by now.) The culprit turned out to be Haut-Bailly, and unfortunately we did not have a backup at hand.
Cellar Favorite: 2011 Le Pin
France: Bordeaux, cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites
, Jun 2020
When I recently conducted a Vinous Live with Jacques Thienpont and his wife Fiona Morrison MW, two days before transmission, the latter suggested that I should be drinking a bottle of Le Pin during the interview. Unfortunately, the Martin cellar does not maintain a reserve of Le Pin for whenever I fancy a cheeky iconic Pomerol.
2019 Bordeaux: A Long, Strange Trip
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jun, 2020
“You must really like your wine,” the FedEx delivery person said as he dropped off yet another stack of boxes shipped from Bordeaux. The global lockdown that began in March ended any hopes of en primeur tastings in the spring. After weeks of indecision, the Bordelais finally moved ahead with a summer en primeur campaign, setting in motion a flurry of shipments across the ocean and a series of equally fast releases. Do the 2019s live up to the early hype?
Uncertain Smile: Bordeaux 2019
France: Bordeaux, featured
, Jun 2020
Born into an uncertain world, how certain are we that the 2019 Bordeaux vintage belongs amongst true greats? Several weeks ago I assumed lockdown would make it impossible to find out. Then 900 samples landed at my door...