As we wound our way through the villages of Burgundy to taste the 2023s, the region’s winemakers seemed weary. The 2023 vintage, with its generous volumes, was tiring in its own way; but these vrais vignerons were also recovering from the 2024 season. High disease pressure, with warm conditions and twice as much rain as…
FINE+RARE and Vinfolio, in partnership with Brunello Cucinelli and La Paulée, hosted an exceptional gathering on 13th and 14th of November 2024. This event, inspired by Burgundy’s traditional end-of-harvest celebration, was held in the breathtaking village of Solomeo, Umbria—home to Brunello Cucinelli. Castello di Solomeo Welcomes La Paulée brought together iconic wine estates, distinguished guests…
One of the narratives frequently espoused in recent years is that Burgundy has become a plaything of the rich. It is not simply a question of who can afford to drink the Grands Crus, but that aspirant young winemakers are being squeezed out by the financial power of the super-rich – heavyweight French players such…
This year marks the 50th birthday of Cristal Rosé, Champagne Louis Roederer’s rarest wine. Sophie Thorpe caught up with CEO Frédéric Rouzaud and Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon about this very special prestige cuvée and tastes through five decades of the wine Wine journalists are jaded folk – spoilt by too many impressive tastings, lunches…
Few names in Abruzzo have become as sought-after as Tiberio, best known for her single-vineyard Fonte Canale, Colle Vota and Archivio bottlings. We sat down with Cristiana Tiberio herself to talk about the project – and taste through a vertical of these extraordinary, category-defying wines “I want to struggle,” says Cristiana Tiberio, earnestly, as we…
In 2017, Chanel added Ch. Berliquet to their suite of prestigious Bordeaux properties, joining nearby Ch. Canon and Margaux’s Ch. Rauzan-Ségla. Our Bordeaux Buyer Hector Howes reports on the evolution of the estate under its new expert owners – and why it’s one to watch We normally taste Ch. Berliquet at Canon during en primeur, and…
A year of extreme conditions, 2022 demanded much of Napa’s producers. Rachael Ryan – Senior Buyer for our US arm, Vinfolio – spoke to the region’s top producers about the vintage, reporting on the growing season and the wines If there is one new constant in Napa, it’s that each vintage seems to bring extraordinary…
Last month, we welcomed Francisco Baettig to London, guiding us through a vertical of his stunning Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and new Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile’s south. Here, we unpack the Baettig story, style and how each vintage of this exciting project is drinking right now If you haven’t already heard about Baettig, we urge you…
Next month our team will be heading out to Burgundy to taste and dig into the 2023 vintage. Ahead of our full report and as the first wines are released en primeur, here’s everything we know so far Burgundy’s vignerons are currently preoccupied with the 2024 vintage – one that has been challenging, with warm,…
Earlier this year, William Kelley took over as Editor-in-Chief of the Wine Advocate, taking over from his colleague Joe Czerwinski. We sat down with him to find out more about how he stumbled into writing, the role of critics today and why – for him – wine is much more than just a job It’s…
Annie Favia and Andy Erickson are Napa royalty. As the 2021 vintage of their personal project, Favia, is released via La Place, we caught up with the couple about the label, estate and vision for the region. “We’re just sort of making it up as we go along,” Andy Erickson says to me on our…
Each September, a selection of the world’s finest wines are released via La Place de Bordeaux. We look at how these prestigious properties – from South America, California, Italy and beyond – found their way into Bordeaux’s distribution network For a long time, La Place de Bordeaux – as you might guess from its name…
