Our team at FINE+RARE in London recently hosted an event with Château Ausone at Hotel Café Royal, tasting nine vintages of the wine, as well as a flight from the Vauthier family’s other estates. It was a rare opportunity for the team, the guests and Edouard Vauthier himself to taste so many vintages of this…
Sauternes might be the most distinctive wine on the planet. Its combination of power, unctuosity and aromatic complexity is unparalleled. These extraordinary wines consistently compete with the finest wines made anywhere in the world. But unlike most wines of the world, Sauternes’s journey from vine to bottle is a tumultuous affair. Typically, over half the…
For a long time, Tuscany was known merely for its squat jugs of rustic Chianti, almost inevitably in quaint straw baskets; thin, insipid wines that are a shadow of what the region has proven it can produce today. While Chianti had once been known for making fine wine – having been the first region to…
Much has been written about Promontory. The property was discovered by Bill Harlan in the 1980s, hidden behind a ridgeline in Oakville, and its story – one that almost feels mythical – has been told many times (including by us). Those stories, however, don’t prepare you for standing in this vineyard. “The territory”, as the…
Château Haut-Brion is one of the oldest and best-known names in fine wine. The Bordeaux First Growth estate was created by Jean de Pontac, back in 1533, and its wines were among the first to be exported. Records detail 169 bottles of the wine (then as “Hobriono”) served to guests in 1660 by King Charles II.…
Calon Ségur was my first ever en primeur purchase. There was such hype around the 2005 vintage and I was desperate to get my hands on something, anything. At the time I was a delivery driver for a small wine merchant and it was a luxury, but I could just afford a 12-bottle case of Calon…
Our team has spent the last week touring some of Napa and Sonoma’s best wineries, exploring the Golden State and what makes it so special. Sophie Thorpe considers why – three centuries after the Gold Rush – California remains a land of opportunity Think of the Golden State and you imagine sunshine, orange trees and…
Lalou Bize-Leroy is one of the wine industry’s legends – but you wouldn’t know it meeting her. The slim 90-year-old flings open the door of her Auxey-Duresses estate to greet me open-armed, her two dogs running out to say hello as she gushes over the flowers I’ve brought her. Just as we commented after our visit…
Anyone who’s had the misfortune of tasting a de-alcoholized version knows that alcohol is key to wine. Take it away and it leaves a gaping void in the glass – stripping the liquid of body and flavor. Those attempting to craft alcohol-free alternatives look to make up for its absence with sugar or flavorings, but…
Since Bruno-Eugène Borie took over Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou in 2003, the estate has become one of the best-known and most-loved properties in Bordeaux. The 2023 vintage will be his 20th at the helm – during which time the estate, and the region, have been transformed. “Everything has changed, and nothing has changed,” Borie says, laughing. “Go all the way…
Magical Merlot: Pétrus The final event of 2022 and arguably the most impressive was a line-up of 20 vintages of Pétrus back to 1947. With special guest William Kelley to talk guests through the wines, this was a momentous occasion, not only for the wines but also because it was the last ever event held…
Along with Giuseppe Quintarelli, Dal Forno Romano makes the best wines in the Veneto. The history of this estate, however, is much shorter, and its rise to fame much faster. The Dal Forno family had long owned vines in Valpolicella, in Illasi – on the eastern side of the historical Classico zone. The fruit had,…
