One of the best vintages of Pétrus, the 2005.

Your Guide to the Best Vintages of Pétrus

Bordeaux, Buying Wine, Collecting, France, Producers, Producers and Wineries

The best vintages of Pétrus have the power to move people. A commenter on the Wine Berserkers forum claimed that after trying 488 wines from 1990, he found that Château Pétrus was his absolute favorite of that year, even over the first-growth wines he tried. In average years, these wines are still unbelievably decadent, but in great years, they are otherworldly. When it comes to investing in Pétrus wine, it’s almost impossible to make a poor decision. As always, though, there are still some vintages that wine enthusiasts consider to be a cut above the rest. This guide will help you find the most legendary Château Pétrus wines for your collection.

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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 Regions

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.

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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 Regions

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.

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2008 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet label

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet: The Best Vintages

Burgundy, Collecting, France, Investing, Producers, Producers and Wineries

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.

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Tenuta San Guido's Sassicaia vintage guide

Sassicaia Vintage Guide: How to Invest in This Iconic Italian Label

Italy, Producers, Producers and Wineries

In 2016, wine critic Jane Anson had the opportunity to try 44 different Sassicaia vintages in a single day. By the end of the tasting, she was “approaching sensory overload,” but she never got tired of the wine. Anson said the Sassicaia vintages displayed an excellent balance that kept them from being overpowering. She said, “[It’s] almost impossible to imagine another European Cabernet-based wine, tasted through this many vintages, managing to pull off this gentle physicality.” In particular, Anson enjoyed the 2014, 2010, 2006, 2001, 1996, and 1985 vintages, as they were especially refined, complex, and aromatic.

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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, Tasting

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.

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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, Wineries

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.

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Decanting Château d'Yquem isn't common but it can be beneficial.

Decanting Château d’Yquem: Should You or Shouldn’t You?

Bordeaux, Enjoying Wine, France, Producers, Producers and Wineries, Sauternes, Serving, Wineries

A few years ago, a wine enthusiast wrote a letter to Wine Spectator’s Dr. Vinifera asking whether it’s safe to decant Sauternes. The letter writer had just come back from a restaurant and had been surprised to see that the sommelier poured a 1995 Château d’Yquem from a decanter. Dr. Vinifera responded that decanting Château d’Yquem certainly isn’t a common practice, but it’s also not a bad idea. Like any other fine wine, some Sauternes vintages open up with a little aeration and become more expressive.

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The best Dom Perignon food pairing takes into account the vintage and style of the wine.

What Is the Best Dom Pérignon Food Pairing?

Champagne, Enjoying Wine, France, Producers and Wineries, Serving

In 2015, journalist Melissa Chang was invited to a private wine tasting party built around unique Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon food pairings. Each dish was designed specifically to complement a particular Dom Pérignon wine. The classic 2004 Dom Pérignon was served with bacon jam biscuits. A bottle of 1998 Dom Pérignon P2 was paired with smoked king salmon. The night wrapped up with glasses of 2003 Dom Pérignon Rosé followed by a sweet tofu dessert. Chang said the tasting reminded her just how versatile Dom Pérignon and other fine Champagne can be. She says, “Champagne is like a little black dress—it goes with everything.” This guide will show you how to create the ideal pairing for all the bottles in your collection.

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Top-rated California Cabernet wines on display.

Ranking the Top-Rated California Cabernet

California, Producers and Wineries, Reviewing, Wine Regions

While you can show that certain vintages, labels, or producers are better than others using metrics like tasting scores, price performance, and bottle value, ranking the top-rated California Cabernet is still a subjective process. In this guide, we’ve identified some of the highest quality producers, vintages, and wine labels on the market today. While these rankings are by no means definitive, they are designed to help you gain a better understanding of which wines most collectors find worthwhile so you can add top-quality Cabernet to your collection.

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2011 was one of the Château d'Yquem best vintages

What Are Château d’Yquem’s Best Vintages?

Bordeaux, France, Producers and Wineries, Sauternes

What makes a great Château d’Yquem vintage? All of these wines are excellent–the château doesn’t release a vintage if the grapes aren’t satisfactory–and they’re all designed to age for decades, so there aren’t many vintages that fall short. Still, different vintages have different strengths. You’ll find vintages that taste mature just 35 years after release and others that still taste exceptionally young at age 50. Some collectors prefer Château d’Yquem bottles that develop mature flavors fairly early whereas others prefer wines that age more slowly. This guide will help you find the best Château d’Yquem vintages based on your personal preferences and goals.

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The best vintage year of Opus One is subjective.

What Is the Best Vintage Year for Opus One?

California, Investing, Producers and Wineries

Designating one year as the best vintage year for Opus One is a difficult and subjective task; wines from two different years may both be fantastic in completely different ways. Some vintages are fruit-driven and intense in flavor, while others are delicate and bright. To pick the best vintages for your own collection, you’ll want to consider which of these two styles you prefer as well as whether you plan on reselling your bottles on the secondary market in the future. Our guide to the best Opus One vintages will help you narrow down your choices and build a rewarding collection of these iconic wines.

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