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Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage wine characteristics typify the terroir

Hermitage Wine Characteristics: Flavors That Are Worth the Wait

Collecting, Enjoying Wine, France, Rhone, Tasting, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff July 11, 2019

Wines from Hermitage are some of the most delicious and rewarding to age. They can taste a little closed off in their youth, but over time they transform into deeply complex wines packed with peppery, smoky flavors. There is also a lot of flavor variety in wines from this region. For example, a wine enthusiast posting on the Wine Berserkers forum tried two bottles of Hermitage at dinner—a 2004 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon and a 2007 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle. The 2007 wine was flavorful and juicy, but still a little green–a common quality in relatively young Hermitage. The 2004 wine was more complex, aromatic, and much more mature tasting, despite being only a few years older. Although these two estates are located only about three miles apart, the two wines couldn’t have been more different. Terroir, age, and vintage strongly influence Hermitage wine characteristics.

The best Willamette Valley pinot noir vintages are made by producers like Bergström.

The Best Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Vintages for Your Collection

Collecting, Investing, Oregon, Pinot Noir, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff July 5, 2019

Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has an excellent reputation among fine wine collectors. These wines are even compared to Burgundy’s in terms of their flavor profile. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson told the Los Angeles Times that producer Bergström makes some of her favorite Oregonian Pinot Noir in part because it reminds her of fine Burgundy. “I love Bergström’s wines because they are an exciting expression of what Oregon has to offer,” she says. “Josh Bergström trained in Burgundy, so they have a purity and a lack of palate-numbing sweetness too.” The best Willamette Valley Pinot Noir vintages achieve this purity and freshness when the weather conditions in the valley are just right. Too much or too little rain and sunshine can significantly reduce the quality of the vintage as a whole.

French vineyards that fall under one of the many Alsace wine appellations

The Ultimate Guide to Alsace Wine Appellations

Alsace, France, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff June 28, 2019

Alsace is home to some of the highest-quality appellations not just in France, but in the entire world of fine wine. The three main categories of Alsace wine appellations—Alsace AOC, Alsace Grand Cru AOCs, and Crémant d’Alsace AOC—each have notable characteristics that wine enthusiasts love. This guide will take you through each of these categories in detail and single out the characteristics that make these wines so special.

Storing magnum wine bottles and other large format bottles is tricky.

The Best Method for Storing Magnum Wine Bottles

Collecting, Storing WineBy Vinfolio Staff June 27, 2019

Storing magnum wine bottles is a major challenge for many collectors. One member of the Wine Berserkers forum had a few magnums of Krug and Riesling in off-site storage that she wanted to keep in a wine rack at home. This was a problem because the bottles were not only too large for a standard-sized rack to hold, but some of them were also unusually shaped. The Krug magnums were wide and heavy at the base, causing the neck of the bottles to tip too far forward when they were laid on their sides. To deal with this issue, she had a custom rack made specifically for her magnums and provided the company building the racks with the exact measurements of an actual Krug magnum to ensure the bottles would fit properly.

Sine Qua Non makes an excellent rare wine gift.

The Best Rare Wine Gifts for Collectors, from Sine Qua Non to Colgin

Buying Wine, Collecting, GiftsBy Vinfolio Staff June 20, 2019

Rare wine gifts have the power to impress experienced and beginner wine enthusiasts alike. Most wine collectors appreciate the history and unique qualities of a rare bottle. Whether you’re looking for a rare wine as a gift for someone who’s impossible to shop for or you want to show the wine enthusiast in your life just how much you appreciate them, this guide will help you find the most gift-worthy bottles.

Petrus is one of the best Pomerol wine producers

What Are the Best Pomerol Wine Producers?

Bordeaux, Buying Wine, France, Investing, Producers, Producers and Wineries, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff June 14, 2019

When the Vinfolio team visited Pomerol during en primeur week this past spring, we stopped at Château Lafleur to taste some of their incredible wines. During our tasting of the 2018 vintage, we had an enlightening discussion with a representative from the estate about what makes Pomerol special. Here, terroir is king. Château Lafleur and other Pomerol wine producers know just how unique the soil and climate are in this region, so they take a hands-off approach. The quality of the area’s terroir and the grapes it produces really do speak for themselves and this is a large part of what makes Pomerol so distinctive. In most other regions of Bordeaux, the winemaker’s signature style is very apparent in the wine; in Pomerol, most producers prefer not to interfere with the terroir’s natural characteristics at all.

Wine as an anniversary gift is a great choice

Giving Wine as an Anniversary Gift

Buying Wine, Enjoying Wine, GiftsBy Vinfolio Staff June 13, 2019

My spouse and I love thoughtful, experience-based gifts. Rather than giving each other jewelry or watches for our anniversary, we always plan a special dinner and buy each other a fantastic bottle of wine. Giving wine as an anniversary gift is a perfect option for many couples because it’s something they can enjoy together. It’s also very personal; every couple is different, so every couple’s choice of wine will be unique to their relationship.

Your 2018 Burgundy Vintage Report

Burgundy, France, Investing, Vintage, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff June 6, 2019

While it’s still too early to judge the 2018 Burgundy vintage with any certainty, winemakers across the region are thrilled with how these wines developing so far. Louis Fabrice Latour, president of Maison Louis Latour, told The Drinks Business, “We are very pleased to have two big crops in a row of very good quality.” Some Burgundians, like négociant Philippe Pacalet, have even compared the 2018 vintage to 1947–one of the top Burgundy vintages in history.

Barrels of 2018 Bordeaux en primeur in a wine cave

The 2018 Bordeaux En Primeur Guide

Bordeaux, Buying Wine, Collecting, En Primeur, France, VintageBy Vinfolio Staff May 30, 2019

Whether you’re a seasoned Bordeaux collector or you want to start a collection from scratch, the 2018 vintage makes an excellent addition to a cellar. These wines are rich, concentrated, finessed, and elegant. While it’s still a very young vintage that has a long way to go, it’s already showing great promise. In this guide, we’ll offer you tips on which 2018 wines we think are worth collecting and provide you with some useful market projections that you can use to make investment decisions.

Port is a collectible, top-rated sweet red wine

The Top-Rated Sweet Red Wines in the World

Buying Wine, Collecting, Enjoying Wine, Sweet WineBy Vinfolio Staff May 24, 2019

Master of Wine Jancis Robinson says, “Not much about wine makes me sad, but the average wine consumer’s attitude to sweet wines does. Good sweet wine is probably the most difficult and expensive wine in the world to make, yet so many people turn up their noses at the idea of sweetness in wine.” This is especially true for sweet red wines. While Sauternes is often praised by wine critics and collectors alike, sweet red wines aren’t given nearly as much attention. This guide will help you find the most incredible sweet red wines on the market today.

Bordeaux 2018 tasting notes from en primeur week

Bordeaux 2018 Tasting Notes: Barrel Tasting Some of Bordeaux’s Finest Producers

Bordeaux, En Primeur, France, Producers and Wineries, Tasting, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff May 23, 2019

Bordeaux 2018 is shaping up to be one of the best vintages in recent history. The Vinfolio team had the opportunity to try some of these fantastic wines during en primeur week and we’re tremendously excited to share our Bordeaux 2018 tasting notes with you. Over the course of three days, Vinfolio CEO Don St. Pierre, Chief Wine Officer Adam Lapierre, and Chief Marketing Officer Cristina Hall sampled dozens of delicious wines that we think will make great investments for collectors and wine enthusiasts of all kinds. Read on to find out which wines we enjoyed most.

2008 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet label

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet: The Best Vintages

Burgundy, Collecting, France, Investing, Producers, Producers and WineriesBy Vinfolio Staff May 16, 2019

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet is consistently high in quality, but when you find an especially extraordinary vintage, the experience can be transformative. Moreover, these wines are as valuable as they are delicious. Like all Domaine de la Romanée-Conti labels, the Montrachet label increases in value as the wine ages, making it a great choice for collectors who want to resell their wine on the secondary market. There are many fantastic DRC Montrachet vintages to choose from; we’ll recommend the very best vintages–both recent and older–from this iconic label.