In 2010, the Chinese takeover of the fine wine investment market was big news. Premium Bordeaux futures were selling like hot cakes, particularly off the back of the 2008 vintage (the Chinese symbol for the number 8 is considered to be very auspicious), and any fine wine merchant worth his
The nose smells like blackberries crushed over the crisp, smoky end of a good prime rib, with a bit of soy sauce in the background. Smokiness comes out on the palate, under juicy blackberries and crisp beef fat. Black pepper and soy show on the mid-palate. This has good minerality
The nose smells like blackberries crushed over the crisp, smoky end of a good prime rib, with a bit of soy sauce in the background. Smokiness comes out on the palate, under juicy blackberries and crisp beef fat. Black pepper and soy show on the mid-palate. This has good minerality
Color is starting to add some orange-hued brick around the edges. The first whiff on the nose makes it clear that this is more Rhone than Outback, showing blackberries, black olives, and very rare beef. Blackberries and olives show, too, on the palate, with tar, white pepper and a tiny
Pliny the Elder, the Roman author, was a fan of wines from the Rhône Valley. Something he wrote nearly 2,000 years ago struck winemaker Pierre Gaillard, a student of wine history, as a tip for finding something almost incredible today: unused Grand Cru-level terroir in the heart of French wine
Five clones of estate-grown syrah are blended together to produce a wine full of nice, tarry fruit. Balanced by good acidity, this wine is hearty from nose through palate to finish. Yet it has a touch of florals throughout as well, which add both a hint of delicacy and another
Cows and sheep trekking down from the mountains have nothing to do with the “Transhumance” name of the wine; instead it’s the winemaker himself who makes the journey from the Northern Rhone down to the Languedoc region in the south of France. There, he has produced an earthy, smoky, syrah-based
The color shows the wine’s age, just starting to go from deeper colors in the center to a brick red at the edges. The nose shows classic Northern Rhone - a bushel blackberries in a room full of dry-aging beef. The same blackberries and meat show on the palate, with