Wine ChroniclesAssessing 15 vintages of Léoville Poyferré
By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles.com 24 January 2019 Over the last nine years, I have been organizing comprehensive verticals of top Bordeaux estates, sometimes several times in one year, and often in Washington D.C. The most recent, a Friday evening 18 January 2019 dinner at the French embassy in Washington D.C., featured Château Léoville Poyferré, […]
Off to Philly to taste Bordeaux 2016
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 18 January 2019 Dear Readers, I am off to Philly this coming Sunday 20 January to taste many Bordeaux 2016 from bottle. In October and December last year, I already had the chance to taste many Bordeaux 2016 from bottle, so this visit will fill in some gaps, such as […]
Ringing in 2019 with good vintages (not “great”)
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 11 January 2019 After an annual holiday dinner with wine loving pals – this year at the French embassy in Washington D.C. – the overriding theme was “good” vintages. Neither “off” nor “great”, but vintages that sometimes get overlooked by critics seeking to obtain fame with 100 point scores. And […]
Splendid cheese ceremony
For the Bucket List By Panos Kakaviatos 8 December 2018 If you ever find yourself near Basel, Switzerland, do yourself a favor and reserve an evening of the “Cérémonie des Fromages” at the famous Antony Eleveur de Fromages. The sheer talent of owners Bernard and son Jean-François (never – ever say “pasteurized”), shines bright over […]
Montecucco charm and quality
Or why I should have visited Tuscan vineyards earlier 30 November 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles This is Part I of a three-part article on the Montecucco DOC of Tuscany A three-day, deftly packed visit of wineries earlier this autumn, with comprehensive tastings of Montecucco in Tuscany, proved one of the best wine tours […]
Northern Médoc: Sweet spots confirmed in 2016
A modern era 1986? Great stuff in Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe ? (Bordeaux 2016 from bottle, part 2) 11 November 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Just as we saw how well Pomerol excelled in 2016, another area of consumer interest, also in terms of quality across all price points, is the northern […]
From 1522 to 2018: Enjoying Philipponnat Champagne
Champagne evening at Mirabelle Restaurant in Washington D.C. By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 9 November 2018 When asked by Heidi Arnold of the famous Heart’s Delight Wine Auction here in Washington D.C. if I wanted to join a special Champagne dinner with Charles Philipponnat, I hesitated to reply for … not even a second. Over […]
Judging top wines with oysters
#osyterriot2018 in Washington D.C. By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com (top photo by Maria Denton) 6 November 2018 How do you sample an oyster? You can’t really chew and spit, as you do with wine. That was but one question I pondered, when asked to participate last night as a judge for #osyterriot2018. It was the […]
Pomerol 2016 from bottle wins big
Including brands at $35-$55 per bottle (Bordeaux 2016 from bottle, part I) 4 November 2018 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Writing about 2016 from bottle, let’s start with Pomerol, an appellation that is often better now in bottle than it was from barrel in April 2017. This small appellation of some 150 estates is not […]
Assyrtiko: A Comet beyond Santorini
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 9 October 2018 In recent articles about Assyrtiko in Greece, in Wine Review Online and in Decanter, I focused on Santorini, the grape’s main island claim to fame. But, as Yiannis Karakasis MW reminded me over a marvelous lunch earlier this month just outside Athens, do not limit yourself to […]