Potel Revisité

by ripple on Feb. 26th, 2014

"Comment dit-on" Burgundy? One answer will always be Nicolas Potel, who's winemaker, Jean-Christophe Pascaud was asked, what makes great Burgundy, replied, " It is not a question of extracting something from the grapes; it is a quest for purity and subtlety where they are no longer expected..." That quest is what drives Burgundy house Nicolas Potel & tasting the new releases of 2011 & 2012 Village, Premier and Grand Cru rouges shows a level of quality I have not previously encountered from them. The dynamic personality of Ottavio Ruggieri was ever present, as he orchestrated another first-class event for importer WinesU, at the lovely Hotel Sofitel Philadelphia In addition, USA sales director Stephane Schaeffer was behind the table expounding on every nuance of what makes his wines tick, from soil/climatic conditions of vintage & site to winemaker Jean-Christophe's reasoning for yeast and conal varietal selection. It is always a pleasure Read on...

Concha y Toro kicks out a range of great Chilean #wine

by drxeno on Feb. 6th, 2014

 Chilean #wine has exploded in the US and around the world over the last decade+. Indeed, during the Lady and my vacation to awesome Belize late last year, we were surrounded by the Wines of Chile, with very few exceptions. While the wines that most of us enjoy in the US are at the very affordable level, say <$12, I have also tasted through some great upper-end Chilean wine tastingsof late, which showed off what the finer, more boutique end of the fine wine range can do from this country. Late last year, I had the chance to attend two tastings that spanned the breadth of wine Chilean wine powerhouse of Concha y Toro (WL, FB, Tw, YT).  From affordable to supercrazypremium, these wines showed consistent quality, regardless of their actual price. Walking from our GenenBus stop at the SF Ferry Building towards the resto for the night, I reflected on how great the late Read on...