James Laube's Blog Archives
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June 2008
Musically, Lodi Rocks and Rules
Posted: 12:04 PM ET, June 27, 2008
In the Wine Spectator offices, when we blind-taste, the bagged wines stimulate thoughts about all sorts of winey things, not the least of which are appellations, and what different wines say (or don’t say) about their origins. Read more
Stag's Leap Making the Right Decisions for the Future
Posted: 02:30 PM ET, June 26, 2008
Ted Baseler insists that returning Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ Cabernets to their top form will be easy for the simple reason that the winery’s vineyards are in great shape.
When Warren Winiarski decided to sell the winery to Ste. Read more
Tasting Dry Creek Reds Shows the Area's Shortcomings
Posted: 04:24 PM ET, June 24, 2008
My blind tasting last week of a dozen Dry Creek Valley red wines didn’t change my view that: 1) this appellation has a shortage of great wines, and 2) it lacks a signature wine.
Of the two, the former is the bigger concern. If you add up the case numbers for all of the best wines, it’s still a pretty small percentage of the total that are outstanding wines. Read more
A Smoky Weekend In Napa Valley
Posted: 05:12 PM ET, June 23, 2008
I noticed a cloud of white puffy smoke rising to the east at about 6 p.m. on Saturday. I knew right away it was a fire. Too hot and windy for delta fog to be creeping over the hill into Napa.
It wasn’t clear where the fire was, since I was in Sonoma, which is west of Napa. Read more
Napa's Chicken Ranch to Cult Wine Central
Posted: 01:27 PM ET, June 20, 2008
If you build it, they will come, or flock as it might be considered.
"It" is, after all, what the locals in Napa Valley still refer to as the Chicken Ranch. It was once one of Lambert Farms key chicken coops, though it hasn’t been home to chickens for some time. Read more
New Napa Cabernets Worth Seeking
Posted: 02:29 PM ET, June 19, 2008
I have an answer to one of your pressing new-wine queries. But the other wine so many of you have been curious and patient about, well, it hasn’t passed my way yet.
Ovid 2005 is every bit as good in bottle as it tasted out of barrel a year ago. Read more
A Quick Tour of Londer Vineyards
Posted: 02:51 PM ET, June 18, 2008
Larry Londer gave me a brief tour of his spectacular Anderson Valley vineyard on Sunday, and he paused to explain about how he got into Pinot Noir and share the view.
For those of you who’ve never been to Anderson Valley, in Mendocino, well, it’s a great place to visit, with lots of new vineyards and wineries. Read more
A Few Thoughts About Blogging
Posted: 05:35 PM ET, June 16, 2008
A couple of housecleaning matters for today.
Friday’s blog, about what would-be buyers of Chateau Montelena might consider should they look at the winery and its business prospects, is a perfect example of an imperfect blog.
In collecting my thoughts rather hastily, I didn’t clarify the differences between sales, or case sales, or case volume and revenue as well as some readers would have liked. Read more
Sizing Up a Montelena Sale
Posted: 01:55 PM ET, June 13, 2008
When a winery the caliber of a Chateau Montelena is offered for sale, there are many ways to assess its value.
Potential buyers would look at sales and revenue, with the latter being the far more important figure, since inexpensive brands—think Two-Buck Chuck—can run up impressive sales numbers. Read more
The Case and Cause of Bottle Variation
Posted: 04:45 PM ET, June 11, 2008
Today is a share day, with an item from a winemaker about bottle variation.
Readers send me many notes about reviews (including how mine differ from those of others), and I think it’s important to consider that, aside from different tastes, bottles do vary in quality, and the time at which a wine is reviewed can also be a factor. Read more
Dry Creek Valley's Wines Should Be Better
Posted: 01:27 PM ET, June 10, 2008
Most wine regions are defined by either a grape or a style. Last week, as I rode my bike through picturesque Dry Creek Valley, my thoughts turned to what I consider this Northern Sonoma appellation’s dilemma.
It doesn’t have a signature grape nor wine nor even winery. Read more
The Top 2006 Barrels at Napa Auction Are Exceptional
Posted: 02:26 PM ET, June 09, 2008
Oprah created quite a buzz when she arrived at Friday’s Auction Napa Valley barrel tasting. I asked her to do a quick interview and tasting on camera with me, but she politely declined, saying that she wanted to taste a few wines before going on camera (at least with me). Read more
Friday and Napa on My Mind
Posted: 10:34 AM ET, June 06, 2008
The party scene shifted from Sonoma (I wrote a blog on the Wine Spectator "Bring Your Own Magnum" party in Sonoma earlier this week) to Napa on Wednesday night, and so did the mindset. Read more
Your Thoughts on What Matters wIth WIne
Posted: 01:32 PM ET, June 04, 2008
Last night I hung out with a bunch of Sonoma wine folks at Wine Spectator's "Bring Your Own Magnum" party, held at the Healdsburg Hotel, home of Dry Creek Kitchen and chef Charlie Palmer, in Healdsburg, Calif. Read more
Two Aces from a New Napa Winery
Posted: 04:22 PM ET, June 03, 2008
You never know where the tips will come from.
Mitch Johnson, the golf pro at Napa Valley Country Club, introduced me to Shibumi Knoll winery, and I’m glad he did.
“Hey, you should try this Cabernet,” Mitch insisted a couple of weeks ago. Read more
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