The 2015 Alain Jaume Tavel Le Cretace Rose has now been in my cellar for about eight months since I purchased a mixed case of 2015 Tavel Rose's from an east coast merchant that has an early arrival pipeline with the importer, Kysela Pere et Fils. For me, the 2015 vintage of Rose wines the world over … Read more
When one thinks of Spanish wines, normally only a handful of regions come to mind. Rioja, Ribera del Duero and likely the Priorat. But true wine hunters and seekers have been also known to look out for wines from Montsant, Calatayud, Bierzo and Campo de Borja. The latter of the "hunting ground" regions is best … Read more
Popped open the 2001 K Vintners Cougar Hills Syrah the other night with friends. Talk about an older wine that thinks it's young. This is clearly one of those that just wants to stay a baby for a long time. At age 15 you would think this wine would be well past middle age and in the … Read more
i was delighted to open these two Spanish wines and really enjoyed them at the bar at Akasha with the GM, Mary and somm, Lisa. Both were as impressed with the duo, as I was, and candidly these were tremendous examples of wines that I could drink all the time. The 2013 Adras Godello … Read more
Saturday night I pulled two Rose wines from my stash of 2015. Without question, the 2015 vintage for Rose in both Santa Barbara County, in the USA, and just about anywhere the sun shined warmly in France has to go down as one of the best vintages in many years. While 2014 showed what a … Read more
Today, Lettie Teague, the erstwhile wine reviewer and critic for the Wall Street Journal has taken a taste of the Spanish coastal wines made from the Albarino grape to task. Sadly her reviews are spot on, given the vintage and the state of the Spain's most exported white wine varietal. Lettie pretty much nails how dull … Read more
It has been a long time love affair with Bandol for me, dating back to the 80s when I first learned of the region and the amazingly complex wines that come from the area at the western end of the Cote d'Azur. After Bandol you get to Cassis and Marseille. There, the regions are surrounded by … Read more
I'm going to go out on a rant and basically say, that compared to the Bar a Vins, Enotecas and Tapas bars I've been to around the world, most wine bars in the USA pale in comparison. I could go one step farther and say that by the glass programs have also a weakness as … Read more
Over the past two days I've had the good fortune to try different Rose wines as I have been traversing across Washington, D.C. with friends. Rose wines have been popping up more and more on restaurant lists thanks to a push by various trade groups, a stronger dollar and better representation. Most of what I … Read more
Yesterday I had my annual Rose Day party. It's something I started years ago where on Memorial Day weekend my friends and I would welcome Summer's impending arrival with cool, crisp, dry Rose wines from the South of France. As part of the many bottles opened I decided to organize a "Master Class" on Tavel … Read more
