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August 2006
Tasting in Tel Aviv
Posted: 03:21 AM ET, August 31, 2006
Flew into Tel Aviv for a few days with some friends yesterday on a whim. Everything was quiet, except for the occasional military helicopter speeding by overhead.
It is my first time to Israel, and it is a trip I have wanted to make for a very long time. Read more
The Million Dollar Label
Posted: 03:23 AM ET, August 30, 2006
I drank a bottle last night in Mykonos of what is supposed to be one of Greece’s greatest wines, the 2003 Alpha Estate Alpha One. The wine was good but slightly too jammy and disjointed to be very serious in quality. I would put it at 84 points. Read more
Annoying Back Labels
Posted: 08:07 AM ET, August 29, 2006
Sometimes I get really tired of reading wine bottle back labels. Some can be on the level of information provided on breakfast cereal boxes or soft-drink bottles. Here’s one I noticed after a friend brought a bottle of Australian Pinot Noir to dinner in Mykonos. Read more
Another Outpost for Outstanding Wine
Posted: 06:00 AM ET, August 28, 2006
I am always surprised to come across restaurants in unlikely places with excellent wines. For example, last night I took some friends to dinner at La Cucina di Danielle in Mykonos, and we drank some extraordinary wines from the restaurant’s wine list, including 2002 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape White Vieilles Vignes, 2000 Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra, and 1997 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto. Read more
Tricky Bottles in Mykonos
Posted: 11:58 AM ET, August 25, 2006
I attended a playful dinner last night at a friend’s house in Mykonos. My buddy is a big-time wine collector, and he has been nice enough to share many great bottles with me – although last night was not the case!
We spend a lot of time together tasting (and drinking) good bottles and traveling around France and Italy. Read more
Second Wine, Second Night in St.-Tropez
Posted: 07:41 AM ET, August 23, 2006
I had dinner the other night at Au Caprice des Deux in St.-Tropez with some friends before going clubbing. The food was fancy bistro fare, good and hearty, with lots of flavor. Most people had oven-roasted lamb crusted with parsley. I opted for the scallops with truffle risotto. Read more
Why A Cristal Summer on the Côte d'Azur?
Posted: 02:58 PM ET, August 21, 2006
You have to wonder how much prestige cuvée Champagne is consumed in dark, loud and smoky clubs around the world. I was in Les Cave du Roi last weekend in St. Tropez, and I saw buckets full of 1999 Roederer Cristal being consumed like bottles of Evian at a beach clubs during the day. Read more
Outstanding Wine and High Heels
Posted: 06:12 PM ET, August 18, 2006
Something a little lighter than contemplating prices for 2005 Bordeaux futures: I just had dinner with the fox, and we were drinking a bottle of 2002 Petrolo Galatrona, the pure Merlot bombshell from Tuscany. The wine was drinking well, with lots of crushed berry and vanilla character, medium body, and fine tannins. Read more
Bordeaux Buyers Beware
Posted: 02:54 PM ET, August 17, 2006
I received e-mails from a few close friends who are Bordeaux wine traders, and they were very skeptical of my blog about Blackberry messages full of offers of top-class 2005 Bordeaux, such as Pétrus and Le Pin.
I saw them with my own eyes! So they were real! Believe me!
But here is an e-mail that makes an interesting point:
"I have been reading the odd blogs and thought I would draw your attention to the last blog: 2005 Bordeaux and 2005 Pétrus offers. Read more
Back to Bordeaux 2005
Posted: 05:22 AM ET, August 14, 2006
A wine merchant friend was staying with me for a few days, and I was curious to hear that he was receiving, via his Blackberry, offers for big bottles of rare and expensive 2005 Bordeaux like Pétrus and Le Pin….double magnums, jeroboams and the works. Read more
Good Life, Good Wine…in Tuscany
Posted: 11:59 AM ET, August 11, 2006
I limped into the covered market in the Tuscan coastal town of Follonica this morning to buy some fresh fish with some friends. I say limped because I pulled my hamstring last night playing tennis on a clay court. I slid trying to get to a drop shot and pulled my muscle. Read more
A Living Thing ...
Posted: 08:02 AM ET, August 09, 2006
Last Friday night, I had two wine merchant buddies over for dinner (one was Thomas because his Korean friends left). I grilled some chicken and served a green salad – no big deal. I pulled up a couple bottles of 1997 Barolo from my cellar. They were the normal bottlings of Paolo Scavino and Aldo Conterno. Read more
Forgotten Vertical of Redigaffi
Posted: 11:27 AM ET, August 07, 2006
This past weekend, I was thinking about the greatness of the 1997 Tua Rita Redigaffi, which I blogged about last week, and how wonderful the 2004 is. Apparently, the latter is being shipped to the United States later this year and will be on the market in 2007. Read more
Tuscany's Marvelous Merlot
Posted: 01:14 PM ET, August 04, 2006
I had dinner last night with Stefano Frascolla, who is the son-in-law of the owners of Tua Rita, the Tuscan cult wine producer in Suvereto, on the coast south of Bolgheri. Stefano oversees the estate, which is one of the best in Tuscany, if not Italy. Read more
A Friend Indeed
Posted: 05:29 AM ET, August 02, 2006
How’s this for a friend?
Hoyt Hill Jr. of Nashville commented on my blog yesterday, on drinking great wines on ice in hot weather, writing this:
“I recently handled the wine service at the wake for a close friend with a large wine collection. Read more
Montrachet and Latour on Ice
Posted: 10:43 AM ET, August 01, 2006
I dined last week at the osteria below my house with my buddy Thomas and two wine merchant friends from Burgundy, and I came late to what appeared to be an incredible fest of awesome wines including 1973 DRC Montrachet and 1959 Latour. They saved me a glass of each since I came late from a dinner at my house. Read more
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