Wine Chronicles25 years of Smith Haut Lafitte: all magnum verticals
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com In late March 2015, just before the start of the barrel tasting week for Bordeaux 2014, I was very lucky to have been invited to a unique all-magnum 25-vintage vertical – in both red (15 vintages) and white (10 vintages) – of the classified growth Château Smith Haut Lafitte. The […]
25 years of wine passion: Florence and Daniel Cathiard at Château Smith Haut Lafitte
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Château Smith Haut Lafitte, the grand cru classé of Graves – and later Pessac Léognan, when the appellation was created in 1987 – has been run for 25 years as of 2015 by the innovative couple Florence and Daniel Cathiard. I have known the Cathiards since 2002, and long have […]
2014 Bordeaux: Hundreds of barrel samples coming
My new educational blog for Total Wine, too By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles On the eve of a week of intense barrel tastings of Bordeaux’s latest vintage, I look forward to what promises to be a classic style in a positive sense. If tasting Chateau Corbin (grand cru classé) and Chateau Canon (premier grand […]
Zind Humbrecht 2013: buy it!
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com What a treat it was to taste the 2013 vintage at the legendary Domaine Zind Humbrecht estate near Colmar in Alsace. First of all, it felt like the United Nations. From South Africans to Americans, owner Olivier Humbrecht has hired an international cast of wine pros to help out. Take […]
ProWein 2015: record number of participants
Although I did not make it to ProWein this year, by all accounts it seemed to have a record number of participants, for example as Harpers Wine & Spirits reported: over 52,000 in total, and 7% more than last year. It happens once a year in Düsseldorf, Germany, which once again underlined its reputation as […]
Alsace appellation “confusion”? Bring it on!
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com 20 February 2015 I just had a news article published on decanter.com about plans to add two more appellations to the 53 that already exist. Some posters in social media react with the remark that far more important is for consumers to understand if the wines are sweet or dry. Indeed, […]
Swiss delights … with higher peaks on the horizon
16 February 2015 By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com Most wine savvy people know that Swiss wine is not limited to using brisk and inexpensive Fendant to wash down fondue or raclette. Of course it is skiing season. Winter beckons such food and wine in a log cabin with a cosy fireplace on a massive snow covered mountain. Hot […]
Champagne: Spotlight on Pierre Péters
By Christine Havens for wine-chronicles.com 15 February 2015 My first encounter with Pierre Péters happened innocently enough, at a trade tasting, as such encounters often do. “How much is this?” was my knee-jerk response after the first sip. The company’s owners wanted us to keep our opinions to ourselves until the tastings’ end, including questions […]
Business lunch at the one star Buerehiesel
Restaurant review by Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles.com 7 February 2015 We were seated in a well-sunlit space, the large windows offering lovely views of the trees in the surrounding Orangerie park on a cold, yet sunny February day. The site was the Restaurant Buerehiesel, located in the heart of Strasbourg’s rather expansive and pastoral park, […]
Bordeaux 2005: high tannin, freshness and balance
Some high alcohol Merlots in Saint Emilion annoy me, but most all wines yield balance and poise, with freshness and opulence By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles.com 3 February 2015 Special note: for tasting notes below, I use a simple system: When bold, I particularly liked the wine. If red and bold, even more. If red, bold and underlined: wine nirvana. […]
Recent Comments