France Archives - Page 5 of 9

Comparing Médoc vs. Haut-Médoc reveals many similarities as well as differences.

Médoc vs Haut-Médoc: The Key Differences You Should Know

Bordeaux, France, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff July 18, 2019

Wine drinkers often get confused when they shop for Left Bank Bordeaux, especially if they don’t have a lot of experience reading wine labels from this region. Even some experienced wine enthusiasts aren’t sure exactly what differentiates Médoc vs. Haut-Médoc wines. Some bottles are labeled “Appellation Médoc Contrôlée” (AOC) or have the word “Médoc” in large letters. Other bottles are labeled just “Haut-Médoc.” This guide will help make sense of the incredible wines made in both the Médoc and the Haut-Médoc AOCs, providing all of the information you need to find the best bottles from each region.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sauternes vs. Tokaji bottles side-by-side for comparison.

Sauternes vs. Tokaji: Which Sweet Wine Should You Invest In?

France, Hungary, Sauternes, Sweet Wine, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff May 9, 2019

Sauternes and Tokaj wines are some of the most sought-after in the world. Both regions are famous for producing sweet, concentrated white wines that can age for decades–some can even age for centuries under the right conditions. These wines share similarities–botrytized grapes are used in both regions, for example–yet comparing Sauternes vs. Tokaji reveals that these are two very different wines. For one thing, they don’t have the same flavor profile. Fine Sauternes is known for tasting rich and honeyed, while Tokaji Aszú is often much fruitier and more acidic.

Moët & Chandon tasting notes can help you choose a wine.

How Moët & Chandon Tasting Notes Can Help You Find the Perfect Champagne

Champagne, France, Producers, Producers and Wineries, TastingBy Vinfolio Staff April 19, 2019

Moët & Chandon produces some of the most age-worthy, valuable, and flavorful wines in the world. However, if you’re new to Moët & Chandon, you might feel overwhelmed by the number of labels and vintages available to choose from. Moët & Chandon tasting notes can help you make your decision. Professional tasting notes are designed to guide collectors and wine enthusiasts to the wines that best match their personal tastes and investment goals. This guide will direct you to reliable reviews for Moët & Chandon’s best labels and vintages. You’ll see what experienced wine experts have to say about specific wines and will get detailed advice on the best bottles to add to your collection.

DRC and Clos de Tart make some of the best grand cru Burgundy.

Ranking the Best Grand Cru Burgundy

Burgundy, France, Producers and Wineries, Wine Regions, WineriesBy Vinfolio Staff April 5, 2019

The reason it’s so hard to rank the best grand cru Burgundy is that personal taste plays a huge role. It also comes down to what you value most. Are you looking for a wine with a high quality-to-price ratio (QPR)? Is flavor complexity the most important factor? Or do you want to buy wine that you can resell for a profit? No matter which quality you value most in a wine, this guide will sort–and in some cases rank–grand cru Burgundy according to a few different criteria.

Pauillac wine is among the most collectible Bordeaux.

How to Start a Pauillac Wine Collection

Bordeaux, Collecting, France, Investing, Wine RegionsBy Vinfolio Staff March 29, 2019

Wines from Pauillac receive top scores from critics and can age for very long periods of time. Although producers from this area only make traditional Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends, there’s still plenty of diversity of flavor in these wines, making the tasting experience very exciting. If you want to start your own Pauillac wine collection from scratch or you’re looking for new wines to add to an already extensive collection, then this guide will help you discover the best wines that this region has to offer.