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Review: Famille Hugel Gentil Alsace Blanc (2021)
Tonight’s wine is one of life’s most simple and accessible pleasures: A classic white blend from Alsace. This skinny green bottle smells and tastes amazing, costs little, and pairs with almost anything. I’ll go so far as to say that if you don’t like this style, there’s something wrong with you. I’m at Lavendou Bistro…
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Merlot Thursday: Le Petit Vauthier Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (2015)
After a long day of decisions and disappointments, sometimes you just feel like going for the sure thing. In this case, the sure thing is 10-year-old Right Bank Bordeaux, which has consistently been hitting just right. This 2015 Saint-Émilion came from the back room at The Wine Authority, where I spied the shipping box in…
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Review: Domaine Diochon Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes (2023)
Domaine Diochon of Beaujolais is something of a living dinosaur. It’s not just the vines that are old–so is their entire winemaking ethos. But there’s no Instagram reel or YouTube mini-doc to tell you all about it. In fact, Domaine Diochon doesn’t even have a website. Little has changed since the founding of the estate…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #10: Vin Twenty Three Red Blend (Côtes du Rhône, France)
The quest to taste all the Costco advent calendar wines continues! Next up is Bottle #10, a Côtes du Rhône blend called Vin Twenty Three. The label descriptors for these bottles are mostly breathless, AI-generated slop. But perhaps they may be valuable to someone who is trying to decide whether they will like this wine,…
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Catena Zapata tasting at the Wine Authority (Richardson, TX)
The fine wine was Argentine at The Wine Authority on Thursday. We hustled over after work to taste six wines from the Catena family in a presentation led by South American wine specialist Jorge Liloy. Catena essentially created the market for Malbec, planting the first vines in 1902 and elevating a minor blending grape to…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #9: Ryokō Futsu-shu Sake (Japan)
Let me begin by saying that I am sorry for my sake ignorance. I do not know very much about sake, nor have I yet learned to appreciate it. Sure, I’ve sipped premium versions at trade tastings and such, and I’ve approached them with the same curiosity I’d extend to any other beverage. But at…
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Merlot Thursday: Mouton Cadet “Les Terroirs” Bordeaux Rouge (2023)
Welcome to another #MerlotThursday, where we make a weeknight meal of a bottle of Merlot! (And usually some food, too.) Today’s wine is from the Mouton Cadet line of daily drinkers. The story of this label goes back to 1930, when a disastrous harvest resulted in wines that Baron Phillipe de Rothschild decided were not…
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Flâneur Wines tasting at The Wine Authority (Richardson, TX)
We caught the Flâneur tour for sure at The Wine Authority last night. Who can resist a parade of premium Willamette Pinot passing though town? As a special treat, Flâneur founder Marty Doerschlag was behind the bar, answering questions and opening bottles of these beautiful wines. Established in 2013, Flâneur Wines makes organically farmed Willamette…
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What Is This Thing? Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Chinato (NV)
It’s a wide, wide world of wine out there and there’s no way to taste it all in many lifetimes. I’m basically resigned to that fact. But even so, a completionist impulse lurks within the heart of every wine lover. So if I see something novel on a wine list or back bar, you can…
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Merlot Thursday: Tenuta Campo al Mare “Baia al Vento” Bolgheri Superiore (2019)
I hope I never stop encountering wines that defy description. Variety is the spice of life, they say. And that nagging side-brain itch you get when you’re trying to describe an aroma that just won’t let itself be assigned to any normal noun or adjective? I’m trying to learn to love that feeling, that little…
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Review: Tiziano Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (2021)
This pretty Pinot Grigio is named for the Venetian painter Titian–but is it a masterpiece? Let’s pour a glass of Tiziano and ponder its dimensions. Medium yellow in the glass and giving off aromas of apple and citrus blossom. Faint stone fruit, too. The palate is mostly apple and ripe pear. I taste hay and…
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Review: Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons Graves Rouge (2016)
Buying premium Cabernet at a steakhouse is a bit like buying a phone charger at an airport. If you gotta have it, then you gotta have it–but there are way better times and places to make that particular purchase. As a price-conscious wine lover, I try to maneuver around the restaurant markups while still treating…