Monthly Archives: September 2020

Château d’Yquem was almost English. During the Middle Ages, in fact, the estate belonged to the King of England, who was also Duke of Aquitaine at the time. In 1453, southwest France was once again brought under the dominion of the French crown by Charles VII and has stayed French ever since. A century and a half later, in 1593, a descendent of a local noble family, Jacques Sauvage, was given feudal tenure over Yquem. The Gironde department archives, as well as those of the château, show that special winegrowing practices and late harvesting already existed at this time. A few years later, the Sauvage family built the château and patiently set about constituting the present-day vineyard, plot by plot. The family became full owners of Yquem in 1711, during the reign of Louis XIV (by which time they had received noble status). In 1785, Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d’Yquem married Count Louis Amédée de Lur-Saluces. Three years later, in 1788, the count died after a riding accident. His young

"Do wine drinkers genuinely seek pleasure above all?"

Award-winning author and contributing editor to the Decanter magazine, Andrew Jefford, asked in the recent issue of August 2020.  What a timely question! Do you?

If you are a hedonist wine drinker, here is a new release for you:  a custom-made original wood case of 3 top vintages of Château Mouton Rothschild - 2005, 2009 & 2010.

These are the ratings by wine critics of the 3 vintages of Mouton:

Château Mouton Rothschild 2005 (99/100, Robert Parker Jr, Antonio Galloni)
Château Mouton Rothschild 2009 (99/99, Robert Parker Jr, Lisa Perrotti-Brown)
Château Mouton Rothschild 2010 (98/99, Neal Martin, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker Jr)

Château Mouton Rothschild 2005 - "The 2005 Mouton-Rothschild has developed magnificently, and is even better than I remember. The final blend was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Stunning notes of crème de cassis, melted asphalt, roasted espresso and cedarwood

Who doesn't fall in love with the Tuscan sun? When you are far from Tuscany, a Super Tuscan is the next best thing to savor over the memory you may have.

This morning, Château Latour released a small quantity of its top-rated vintage of 2009.  For collectors and connoisseurs, such ex-chateau release of the top vintage is the most reliable way to acquire 100 pointers.  The wine is being prepared by the chateau to leave its cellar for the first time after aging in its vaulted cellar under perfect conditions for 10 years.  You wouldn't find a better kept bottle anywhere else in the world.  For an inside view of Château Latour's cellar, here is a picture I took on my last trip.

When the 2009 vintage was first released, Robert Parker Jr called it "a monumental wine from a monumental vintage in the Médoc, this is our children's children's children's elixir".  We all love our children.  But I plan to open one of the bottles in another 5-10 years, just so I can be sure of the quality of what I will be leaving behind for the children and their children one day.  :-)

"A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7%