There are exceptions to almost every rule in 2022 – and, as ever, it’s essential to asses wines individually. Here, however, we break down the region by commune to offer an overview of how each subregion fared in this fascinating vintage The Left Bank The gravel soils of the Left Bank are beautifully free-draining…
Primeurs is the most anticipated week of the year for the fine wine industry. Bordeaux’s top châteaux open their doors, inviting trade and critics to taste the previous year’s vintage from barrel. Our Senior Buyer Rachael Ryan reports on her first experience of the region, the week and 2022 – a year that shows remarkable…
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…
Over two separate trips to the region, our team delved into the 2021 vintage – visiting, tasting with and talking to a wide range of producers up and down the Côte d’Or. The vintage was complicated, to say the least – but Burgundy’s vignerons have crafted some exceptional wines. Here we dig into everything you…
Formed of layers of négociants, courtiers and châteaux, La Place de Bordeaux is not a place at all, but the complex distribution system for the region’s wines – and increasingly the top wines from around the world. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works In Bordeaux, you can’t buy wine directly from…
Saint-Emilion is arguably Bordeaux’s most idiosyncratic appellation. But, as Cheval Blanc’s Pierre-Olivier Clouet tells us, it’s the region’s heterogeneity that makes it so exciting. We caught up with the dynamic winemaker about how to define the undefinable – and why it’s determined to lead the appellation into a new era Saint-Emilion has always been difficult…
The 2021 vintage was difficult everywhere in France, with viticulturalists facing challenging weather throughout the season – but perhaps nowhere was hit quite as hard as Chablis. But the region’s winemakers are no stranger to adversity. What little wine was made is steely and classic in style: Gavin Smith digs into the vintage In recent…
Fresh from our team’s initial, whistle-stop tour to the region, we offer our first thoughts on Burgundy 2021 – a year that possibly marks a shift back to the Burgundy of yore The seasons have shifted. Drizzle is once more the order of the day, russet tones spreading across the landscape, the soft tread of…
With the 2022 crop picked and in the winery, we visited a handful of Bordeaux’s leading estates to dig into the year. Sophie Thorpe reports on the vintage and its extraordinary potential. The 2022 vintage may only just have made it into the winery, but it’s already one for the record books. “Unique”, “historic”, “completely…
Some wines seem destined for greatness. Founded in Pauillac—one of the most prolific and praised Left Bank appellations of Bordeaux—by the Governor of the Médoc himself in the early 1700s, Château Pontet-Canet has produced some of the most poignant and intriguing Red Bordeaux blends to date.
If you’re eager to add a few radiant red wines to a well-stocked cellar of Bordeaux, or if you’re interested in starting a new Pauillac or Bordeaux collection, save a place for a few bottles of Château Pontet-Canet’s best vintages.
The best Chablis wine has a fairytale quality to it. Crafted by master vintners in a remote subregion of Burgundy in northern France, the subtle flavors and aromas of these light-bodied white wines gently guide you on a journey through the idyllic green hills and breezy vineyards of this picturesque area. They may not be as famous as their Champagne neighbors to the north, but there is nothing quite like the fresh, airy purity of a quality Chablis wine.
Some wines simply seem destined for greatness from the beginning. Hailing from the Côte-Rôtie appellation of the northern Rhône, a region rich with oenological history, Étienne Guigal’s empire was founded just over 60 years ago—not long at all, when you consider how many centuries many of the world’s top estates have existed. And yet, in just over half a century, Guigal has become a leading negociant for the Rhône and now vinifies as much as 40 percent of Côte-Rôtie wines.