Producer profiles – Decanter

Niepoort: producer profile and 10 top wines to try

Sarah Ahmed — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 07:00:56 +0000

Dirk van der Niepoort and his son Daniel Niepoort

‘Do little stupid things’ may not sound like a recipe for success. Nor, for that matter, the best fatherly advice for Daniel Niepoort on becoming Niepoort’s sixth-generation head of winemaking in 2021. However, the open-minded attitude and logic behind it – ‘because you learn the most’ – are what enabled Dirk van der Niepoort to transform a relatively obscure Port house, founded by his great-great-grandfather in 1842, into one of the best known and most influential Portuguese wine and Port producers in the world.

Top Niepoort wines to try

Portugal’s iconic wines: top bottles from the Douro

Top 20 Portuguese Atlantic whites from Portugal

Rare museum wines from Portuguese icon producers

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Champagne Telmont pushes ahead with lightest-ever Champagne bottle

Tom Hewson — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 07:00:58 +0000

Champagne Telmont, a Damery-based house that is part of the Rémy Cointreau group, has recently finished trials of an 800g Champagne bottle, made in partnership with glass manufacturer Verallia, that pushes the very lower weight limits of what is technologically possible for bottle-fermented wines. The lightest standard bottles currently available are 835g.

Does shaving off a further 35g really make much difference to carbon emissions? Ludovic du Plessis, president of Champagne Telmont, thinks so: ‘Our goal is to become net positive by 2050….when we looked at our carbon footprint, 24% of it is from the bottle. We need to tackle the product,’ he said.

The 35g reduction saves a further 4% on production alone. It wasn’t easy to come by, though. ‘We couldn’t play with the bottom of the bottle as it receives too much shock,’ du Plessis addwd, so the weight loss ended up coming from the shoulders.

Telmont’s findings mirror that of Champagne’s pioneering efforts to measure its carbon footprint in 2003, which found that only about 15% of the region’s carbon emissions come from the vineyard and winemaking activities. Combine that with packaging and freight, though, and the figure is almost 50%. Since 2011, bottle weight has been reduced from 900g to 835g, already saving 8,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Telmont’s new bottles, made from 87% recycled glass, underwent a rigorous crash test regime that involved 3,000 units undergoing not only a full second fermentation, but also disgorgement, labelling, freighting, temperature tests and even a trial shipment to Singapore. After six months, only one bottle had broken.

Explosions were common in the 19th century, even though Champagne bottles weighed well over 1kg. Manufacturing irregularity and winemaking imprecision meant that around 5% of Champagne bottles did not survive the pressure created during the in-bottle fermentation (a number which was regularly between 20%-80% until 1836 when Champenois chemist Jean-Baptiste François invented a scale that allowed winemakers to precisely measure the amount of sugar required). Visitors to Champagne’s cellars will still see some (strategically-placed) exploded bottles, reminders of the somewhat hazardous work of the past.

A return to such risky times is clearly something the Champenois want to avoid, but Telmont’s lighter bottle is an example of how the Damery-based house appears prepared to go further than most in its ecological pledges. Its 46-page sustainability guide of January 2023 includes a commitment to ensure not only its own 25ha vineyards are organic, but the 55ha of bought-in grapes are, too; a move no other major house in Champagne has made. ‘Some of the growers don’t want to be organic, so we cannot renew their contracts. But there is a new generation in Champagne coming to us, asking to join,’ said Du Plessis.

He also pointed out that, unlike organics, Telmont sees no real benefit from the lighter bottle other than for its carbon footprint. ‘There are no patents, no exclusivity. If only Telmont end up using it, the whole exercise is pointless’, he said. Telmont’s commitment to use the bottles for all of its wines means there can be no clear glass (which uses no recycled glass, unlike the 87% used in the green bottle) and no special bottle shapes, either.

Following the trial, Telmont will be making 30,000 bottles in the new 800g shape, and the organic cuvée Réserve de la Terre will be available in these bottles from 2026.

Champagne Telmont unveils plans to reduce the weight of its bottles

Champagne: Getting ready for 2050

Looking ahead: the Champagne revolution

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Walls: Tasting Château de Montfaucon - 'Lirac's finest wines'

Matt Walls — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 09:31:58 +0000

A vertical of Château de Montfaucon's Vin de Madame la Comtesse.

How many wines can you name that contain over 20 grape varieties? Here’s one: Château de Montfaucon’s Lirac, Vin de Monsieur le Baron. Having tasted every vintage back to 2007, I can state with certainty that it’s one of Lirac’s greatest red wines.

If this sounds like faint praise, it’s not meant to. Admittedly, Lirac doesn’t currently have the same cachet as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but it’s just on the other side of the Rhône river and has some pockets of exceptional terroir. What’s more, while the greatest Châteauneuf might set you back £400 a bottle, you can find Vin de Monsieur le Baron for closer to £40.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for verticals of Vin de Monsieur le Baron and Vin de Madame la Comtesse

See the full verticals for Vin de Madame la Comtesse and Vin de Monsieur le Baron:

Southern Rhône 2021: full report and top-scoring wines

Rhône vintages: four to lay down and four to drink now

Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine d’Abrigeon, Buisson

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Daou: behind this Paso Robles estate, plus 11 tasting notes

Brianne Cohen — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 07:00:53 +0000

Daou Mountain in California's Paso Robles.

The land on which Georges and Daniel Daou’s eponymous estate sits has always been highly regarded. However, under their guardianship its true potential has been released, today the source of critically acclaimed wines.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 11 wines from Daou and Patrimony Estate

Soul of a Lion and more: 11 wines from Daou and Patrimony Estate

California’s El Dorado AVA: regional profile and wines to try

Colgin Cellars: the evolution of a cult Napa estate through 14 wines

The Duckhorn Portfolio purchases 107ha vineyard in Paso Robles

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Vignobles Cruse-Lorenzetti: producer profile & 12 wines tasted

Andy Howard MW — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 07:00:59 +0000

Vignobles Cruse-Lorenzetti may not immediately spring to mind as a significant player in the world of Bordeaux wines. Yet this newly formed company, officially launched in 2022, includes names which will be very familiar to lovers of wines from the Left Bank.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 12 Vignobles Cruse-Lorenzetti wines

The new company brings together four estates; St-Estèphe is represented by Château Lilian Ladouys, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, and fourth growth Château Lafon-Rochet. The fifth growth Château Pedesclaux ticks the Pauillac box with Margaux covered by the addition of third growth Château d’Issan.

See Andy Howard MW’s notes and scores for 12 Vignobles Cruse-Lorenzetti wines:

Wines are listed in score order per estate

Bordeaux court convicts suspects in major wine fraud case

Château Branaire-Ducru: producer profile

Bordeaux winemakers protest and seek aid to pull up vines

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Henschke 2018: Single-vineyard releases

Tina Gellie — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 13:31:15 +0000

On 3 May, the Henschke family will release its 2018 single-vineyard Eden Valley wines: Hill of Grace, Hill of Roses, Mount Edelstone and The Wheelwright – all 100% Shiraz – as well as the Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon.

Henschke is releasing the new vintage of its five single-site Eden Valley wines together for the first time on 3 May, in celebration of a series of anniversaries.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of the Henschke 2018 releases

Henschke 2018 single-vineyard wines plus other new releases

The 2018 vintages of Hill of Grace, Hill of Roses, Mount Edelstone, The Wheelwright and Cyril Henschke are available from the Henschke cellar door and website (henschke.com.au), in the UK via importer Liberty Wines and in the US via Winebow from Wednesday 3 May 2023.

Ancient Australia: World’s oldest vines and 10 wines to try

Penfolds Collection 2022: $1,000 Grange and new Bordeaux wines

Margaret River Chardonnay: panel tasting results

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Walls' hidden gems: Domaine d’Abrigeon, Buisson

Matt Walls — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 08:44:15 +0000

Julien and Nadia d'Abrigeon.

Julien and Nadia d’Abrigeon stood before me like new parents: proud, exhausted, thrilled. Tasting with them in their rented cellar space, I shared their excitement for their new arrivals. It’s not often you get to taste the first vintage of a new domaine, especially not one so promising.

We’d just returned from visiting their vineyards in the village of Buisson. Not so long ago, this was an undesirable location. Cairanne and Rasteau inhabit the sun-warmed southern face of the Ventabren massif, whereas Buisson is located on its chilly northern slope. But today, cooler spots like this are beginning to come into their own.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for five Domaine d’Abrigeon wines

Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for five Domaine d’Abrigeon wines:

Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Richaud, Cairanne

Walls: Counoise spreads its wings

Behind Rasteau’s renaissance plus 10 ‘new look’ bottles to seek out

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Tom Bove: The man who sold Miraval to Brad Pitt

Elizabeth Gabay MW — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 08:00:39 +0000

Tom Bove.

While Tom Bove may have acquired international fame as the man who sold his home and vineyard, Château Miraval, to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, locally he is better known as the American who has bought, restored and sold over a dozen vineyards in the past 30 years.

His amazing energy leaves a telltale trail of quality as each vineyard achieves recognition for producing organic wines of distinction.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for a selection of wines from Tom Bove’s key estates

A selection of wines from Tom Bove’s key estates:

Cos d’Estournel owner Michel Reybier buys Provence winery

Brad Pitt reopens Miraval Studios at Provence wine estate

Brad Pitt, Jolie and Château Miraval story takes new twist

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Ancient Australia: World's oldest vines and 10 wines to try

David Sly — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 08:00:55 +0000

Langmeil's Freedom 1843 Shiraz vines in South Australia's Barossa Valley.

Marco Cirillo tends the world’s oldest surviving Grenache and Semillon vines. Planted in 1848 on their own rootstocks in the Light Pass parish of South Australia’s Barossa Valley and growing enough fruit to produce single-vineyard wines, these living relics hold far more than just historical value.

‘These vines aren’t good because they are old,’ says Cirillo. ‘They are old because they are so exceptionally good.’

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 10 wines showcasing Australia’s oldest vines

Ancient Australia: oldest vines and 10 wines to try

Barossa and McLaren Vale Grenache: old vines, new passion

South American old-vine reds: panel tasting results

Rosa Kruger: Decanter Hall of Fame 2022

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Domaine de Leos: the celebrity rosé takes a new direction

Elizabeth Gabay MW — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 08:00:04 +0000

Patrick Bruel, a well-known French actor and singer, an accomplished poker player and a television poker commentator, is no newcomer to the wine scene. He is a longtime friend and collaborator of Philippe Faure-Brac, Best Sommelier in the World 1992, and since 2007 is also the owner of Vaucluse estate Domaine de Leos (named after his sons Léon and Oscar).

The 41ha estate is located near the town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in northwest Provence, in the hills and on the Plateau de Margoye.

French actor and singer Patrick Bruel at Domaine de Leos. Credit: Domaine de Leos.

Scroll down to see the tasting note and score for Cuvée Augusta 2022

See Elizabeth Gabay MW’s tasting note and score for Cuvée Augusta 2022

Brad Pitt, Jolie and Château Miraval story takes new twist

Brad Pitt reopens Miraval Studios at Provence wine estate

Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Champagne Telmont

Best celebrity wines: How good are they?

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Pomerol 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

Georgie Hindle — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:28:02 +0000

Characterful, structured, opulent and balanced wines comprise the best from Pomerol in 2020. The deep clay and gravel with clay terroirs worked best in the hot and dry conditions that saw 55 days with no rain.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Pomerol 2020 in-bottle wines

Average yields in Pomerol in 2020 were 39.8hl/ha, above 2018 at 36.2hl/ha but lower than 2019 at 43hl/ha with a 10-year-average at 37.7hl/ha.

Top 8 Pomerol 2020 wines:

Château Trotanoy, 100 points
Petrus, 100 points
Château La Fleur-Pétrus, 99 points
Château L’Évangile, 98 points
Château La Conseillante, 98 points
Château Lafleur Pomerol, 98 points
Vieux Château Certan, 98 points
Château Le Pin Pomerol, 97 points

SCORE TABLE: top-scoring 349 wines with 92 points or above

Individual appellation analysis and top-scoring wines

See all Bordeaux 2020 in-bottle wines in score order

See tasting notes and scores for the top Pomerol 2020 in-bottle wines

The following wines all scored 94 points or above.

Bordeaux 2020 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

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First taste: Champagne Bollinger RD 2008

Simon Field MW — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 10:30:29 +0000

In 1967, the redoubtable Madame Bollinger decided to challenge the contemporary fashion for youthful Champagne by releasing a recently disgorged older wine from the 1952 vintage.

Named RD – Récemment Dégorgé or Recently Disgorged – the wine proved an instant hit, all the more surprising as it had been dosed as extra brut, again in defiance of practice and taste at the time.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Bollinger RD 2008 and 1979

Tasting notes and scores for two remarkable RD vintages:

First taste: Champagne Bollinger RD 2007

First taste: Bollinger PN TX 17

B13: A new limited edition Champagne from Bollinger

Bollinger Group purchases Sancerre estate Hubert Brochard

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Walls: tasting Domaine Burgaud's Côte-Rôtie 1988-2008

Matt Walls — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 08:00:49 +0000

Pierre and Bernard Burgaud.

In Bordeaux it’s not unusual to walk through echoey corridors stacked floor to ceiling with bottles of older wines. But the culture in the northern Rhône is different. Most producers will squirrel away a few cases for special occasions, but winemakers usually sell through an entire vintage rather than hold a proportion back.

It’s understandable. A Bordeaux estate is typically five times the size of a domaine in Côte-Rôtie. Older vignerons from around Ampuis still remember when selling their wine wasn’t as easy as it is today, or as rewarding. Holding stock back wasn’t financially viable for many.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the Domaine Burgaud Côte-Rôtie vintage vertical

Domaine Burgaud Côte-Rôtie 1988-2008:

Brune and blonde soils in Côte-Rôtie – do they really make all the difference?

Matt Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Burgaud, Côte-Rôtie

Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Garon, Côte-Rôtie

Rhône trends to look out for in 2023

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First taste: Champagne Henriot Cuvée Hemera 2008

Simon Field MW — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 10:05:59 +0000

Alice Tétienne, chef de caves of Champagne Henriot.

Champagne Henriot is a gemstone; a medium sized house producing just under a million bottles per year, with some magnificent vineyards across the region, many of them in bijou grand and premier cru sites.

With a heritage dating back to 1808, and an impressive manor house to show off in Pierry, Henriot boasts an impressive range, which starts with the Brut Souverain non-vintage, currently built around a 2016 base.

Henriot also now has an extremely articulate and passionate chef de caves in Alice Tétienne, born and bred in Champagne and only three years into the job.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Henriot’s Cuvée Hemera 2008, 2006 and 2005

Tasting notes and scores for all three vintages of Henriot’s Cuvée Hemera:

First taste: New Henriot Hemera vintage Champagne launched

First taste: Champagne Henriot Cuvée Hemera 2006

Billionaire François Pinault hails wine merger with Henriot family

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Producer profile: Orin Swift

Jonathan Cristaldi — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 08:32:52 +0000

In a California vineyard, Dave Phinney with a bottle of Orin Swift, 8 Years in the Desert Zinfandel-based blend.

Since its first vintage release in 1999, Orin Swift Cellars has left an indelible mark on the US wine industry. Founder Dave Swift Phinney made headlines in 2010 for selling (see below) his most famous creation The Prisoner, which has inspired a host of imitators.

Time has proven Phinney’s versatility. In 2016, E&J Gallo bought Orin Swift Cellars’ domestic brands and retained Phinney, who continues to turn out hypnotic labels and modern, stylish wines that consumers can’t seem to get enough of.

Simply put, Dave Phinney has drawn wine drinkers in with his artistically avant-garde labels. His most famous creation is The Prisoner red blend, which bears a phantasmagoric label of a shackled prisoner. There are other bewildering facings, such as the formidable female protagonist on Machete, who is wielding, what else but a machete; and his L’usine labels showing female faces, caked in makeup – a homage to Andy Warhol’s silkscreen portraits of famous women.

Scroll down to see 11 wines from Dave Phinney & Orin Swift

Phinney has said that half of the people who buy wine buy it for the label. His labels instil grand impressions of what’s inside. And labels aside, the wines are well-built, fruit-forward, modern and stylish. The unconventional grape blends have also helped them stand out in a crowded marketplace, as with the first Prisoner wine, and the grapes always come from top growers.

Dave Phinney & Orin Swift: 11 wines to seek out

Moorooduc Estate: producer profile

Storm Wines: producer profile and latest releases

Spring Mountain Vineyard: producer profile & 10 wines to try

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First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015

Tom Hewson — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 10:03:01 +0000

The 2015 La Grande Dame label and packaging has been designed by Italian artist and ceramicist Paola Paronetto.

Veuve Clicquot has fired the starting gun on grande marque prestige releases from Champagne’s much-discussed 2015 vintage with the latest iteration of its recently-refined hommage to Pinot Noir.

‘There was no frost, no disease – the vintage was easy to handle’, chef de cave Didier Mariotti explained at the London launch, which also saw a preview of the 2012 La Grande Dame Rosé.

The ‘solar’ character of the 2015 vintage, together with some pronounced drought conditions, conjured up unusual ripening patterns that have made the vintage a hot topic in the cellars of Reims and Épernay. ‘It’s a good vintage for understanding what’s happening right now with global warming,’ says Mariotti.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for La Grande Dame 2015 and La Grande Dame Rosé 2012

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See Tom Hewson’s verdict on the new La Grande Dame releases:

Veuve Clicquot: Producer profile

First taste: Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2012

First taste: Fleur de Miraval ER3

Champagne Deutz Berceaux Vinothèque: a dazzling new release of back vintages

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Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2020 in-bottle: first look

Andy Howard MW — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 13:20:04 +0000

The release of the new vintage of Domaine Romanée -Conti (DRC) is always one of the most notable, high-profile events in the UK wine calendar. Corney & Barrow (exclusive UK agents for the domaine) held this year’s the tasting at their offices on Thursday 1st February, introducing the beautifully formed 2020 vintage to the market.

In attendance were Co-Directors Bertrand de Villaine and Perrine Fenal, with Aubert de Villaine making an appearance later in the morning.

Given the fine growing season the quality of DRC 2020 is sky-high (as are prices – and this is before the effects of the drastically reduced yields in 2021 fully come into play). All of the Domaine’s wines were tasted (except for Le Montrachet) and the detailed reviews of these wines will be undertaken by Charles Curtis MW following the USA release New York this month.

Coming soon: tasting notes and scores for all DRC 2020 in-bottle wines

MMAD for it: new wines from Tolpuddle and Shaw + Smith team

Sarah Ahmed — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 09:30:45 +0000

The MMAD Vineyard partners (from left): Adam Wadewitz, Michael Hill Smith MW, Martin Shaw and David LeMire MW.

You’re not going mad. MMAD is an acronym of the first names of the partners behind this McLaren Vale project, started in 2021. And they could not be more reassuring.

Michael Hill Smith MW, Martin Shaw, Adam Wadewitz and David LeMire MW are also behind sister-labels Shaw + Smith, up the road in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, and Tolpuddle Vineyard down in Tasmania.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of the three inaugural releases from MMAD Vineyard

MMAD Vineyard: the inaugural releases

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The post MMAD for it: new wines from Tolpuddle and Shaw + Smith team appeared first on Decanter.

Walls: Cave de Cairanne, back from the brink

Matt Walls — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 10:18:49 +0000

In the same way that a private domaine can support a family, a co-operative winery can support an entire village. So when the Cave de Cairanne was effectively declared bankrupt in 2014, a whole community of growers was left hanging from a thread.

‘Closing a co-op is like closing a church. It supports businesses, families, generations,’ says Denis Crespo. He’s an unlikely saviour, as his roots are in natural winemaking. But he provided the necessary electric shock to get the co-op’s heart pumping again. Today, it’s a model of large-scale, no-added-sulphite winemaking. But its recovery was far from guaranteed.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for five Cave de Cairanne wines

Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for five Cave de Cairanne wines

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The post Walls: Cave de Cairanne, back from the brink appeared first on Decanter.

Ceretto: producer profile & 19 wines tasted

Raffaele Mosca — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 08:00:58 +0000

Tasting through Ceretto’s Barolo and Barbaresco portfolio is both a hedonistic and educational experience. Few wineries offer an equally varied line-up of excellent wines from some of Piedmont’s most famous vineyards.

Scroll down to see tasting notes & scores for Ceretto’s Barolo and Barbaresco wines

Owning over 160 hectares across three estates, Ceretto is a large producer by Langhe standards, but it doesn’t solely rely on economies of scale. The Cerettos – Bruno, Marcello, and their siblings Alessandro, Federico, Lisa and Roberta – are among the most energetic and forward-thinking entrepreneurs in the Italian wine industry.

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