The sensational results of a tasting in Paris more than 30 years ago forever changed the way American wines were considered, writes Curtis Marsh.
America’s most prodigious Bordeaux-style blend – the legendary Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello from the Santa Cruz Mountains – turns 45 years old this year.
Reaching this milestone is only part of the motive for writing this article, notwithstanding that I hail from the same vintage, further inspiration comes from my affinity with Ridge, the 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet was the first American wine I had ever tried, and remains to this day, one of the most profound and indelible wine experiences.
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For many summer means BBQs, and a great refreshing accompaniment is a glass of chilled red wine, writes Curtis Marsh.
In the heat of the summer months, even the most ardent red wine drinkers gravitate towards white wines, perhaps the more savvy new age imbiber indulging in rose.
However, if you are like me when it comes to the BBQ, both the apparatus and cook just do not seem to function adequately without a glass of red in your free hand. Notwithstanding, the enticing smoky, meaty incense of broiling pork cutlet’s or succulent sirloins teasing the olfactory senses in the direction of a wholesome red. Apologies if you are vegetarian.
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A progressive balance of contemporary and traditional techniques have transformed the otherwise unyielding Nebbiolo grape.
For the uninitiated, the formidable Barolo is a full-bodied Italian red wine produced in the Piedmonte region of northwest Italy from the idiosyncratic and indigenous Nebbiolo grape.
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A Californian vineyard is a deserving bearer of the torch of old-world winemaking, writes Curtis Marsh.
In the world of fine wine, what was old is now new. This is not a past fashion reinventing itself, nor a renaissance of a specific variety, style or region. It is the acceptance of an age-old reality: that truly great wines are made in the vineyard.
There are distinct vineyard sites and soils emblematic of this around the world, begetting truly distinguished wines that are expressive of their unique terroir, endowed with an encompassing spirit of place and indisputable authenticity.
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Following on from the first instalment on Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage in our last edition of the Asian Wine Journal, it is quite possible that I am becoming obsessed with La Chapelle and perhaps suffering from autosuggestion
My deprivation and craving to try the legendary 1990 was more than satisfied on a recent trip to France, in Bordeaux of all places! Well, at least that’s where the story begins. Participating in the 2007 en Primeur tastings, I was a guest of the Frey family, consummate hosts and my lodgings at the impeccably renovated Château La Lagune. Indeed, an auspicious circumstance if not nostalgic, recollecting my early days as a sommelier, Château La Lagune being amongst the first Bordeaux wines I cut my teeth on.
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These tastings notes and further comment are an appendix to my Brunello di Montalcino article in the Hong Kong Standard Weekend Magazine, and based on recent visits to Montalcino, specifically the outstanding producer Conti Costanti.
There is also a separate account in ‘restaurants’ of my favourite family-run eatery in Montalcino, Osteria Al Giardino, indeed one our most enjoyable meals in Tuscany, in every respect; value, quality, ambience and service.
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Directly following the New Zealand Pinot Noir Celebration 2010 in February this year, I attended the Nelson Aromatics Symposium, staying with the Finns at Neudorf Vineyard.
I was met at the airport by Richard Flatman, who had just left Two Paddocks in Central Otago to join the Neudorf team. Flatman is one of the most passionate organic and biodynamic viticulture practitioners in the country and clearly the Finns are not resting on their laurels in bringing him onboard, forever striving to improve in the vineyards with a no compromise approach to every facet of making wine.
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The Benchmark of Marlborough and representative New Zealand Vineyard
Savouring my glass of 2007 Seresin Sauvignon Blanc, actually I am guzzling and already on to my third glass, so good is this wine; concentrated, complex, invigorating and comparable to any top Sancerre or Pouilly Fume. It is the quintessential New Zealand wine, an exemplar and nexus to the geography and fast-evolving wine culture of New Zealand.
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Is there another 1961 equivalent in the offering? Cuisine & Wine Asia’s Contributing Wine Editor Curtis Marsh ponders the latest staggering auction result at Christie’s.
In conversation with an enthusiast at a recent wine dinner, the subject turned to the staggering price that a case of 1961 Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle (rouge) fetched in the latest Christie’s Fine and Rare Wine Auction in London, a whopping GBP123,750 (S$342,000) inclusive of taxes and premiums, setting a new European record for the amount paid for a single case of wine.
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