• BORDEAUX : COUP D’ENVOI DE LA CITÉ DU VIN

    par | Août 31, 2013

    D’après JEAN-PAUL VIGNEAUD — SUD OUEST — 28/08/2013, avec l’AFP.

    La Cité des Civilisations du Vin entre en chantier ce mois de septembre 2013 pour ouverture en mars 2016. Plus qu’un musée, la CCV se veut la « porte d’entrée » du vignoble bordelais, un « lieu de découvertes et de rencontres autour du vin » qui vise les chiffres de fréquentation du Guggenheim de Bilbao.
    Après le nouveau pont levant Chaban-Delmas, la Cité du vin, qui a la forme d’une carafe de dégustation géante, recouverte d’un voile en verre grillagé d’une nervure dorée (ci-dessous), va continuer de modifier la sihouette de Bordeaux.


    (suite…)

  • PARKER ON BORDEAUX ‘VINTAGE OF CENTURY’ PRICE RISES

    par | Juin 10, 2011

    By HENRY SAMUEL — THE TELEGRAPH

    Robert Parker, the Wine Advocate renowned critic, has warned that wine-lovers of the Western world could end their affair with Bordeaux should its châteaux raise prices on their latest vintage once again.

    Parker dubbed « the pope of the vineyards » due to the influence his wine notes wield, said Bordeaux would play a « very dangerous game » if they decided to raise the 2010 prices. Many Bordeaux producers and some critics had hailed 2009 the « vintage of the century » after near-perfect climatic conditions, and prices for the top growths reached record highs. « This is only the eighth vintage of the century in ten years, » commented ironically the successful French winemaking consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt.

    Given the hype, Mr Parker, said: « If 2010 is released at higher prices than 2009, we can expect a financial crisis and the emergence of a bubble for Bordeaux’s grands vins. » Read More

  • ROBERT PARKER TO BE TASTING ONLY BORDEAUX AND RHÔNE

    par | Fév 16, 2011

    From the INDIAN WINE ACADEMY Newsletter — February 8, 2011 18:27

    Robert Parker, world’s most influential wine critic and founder of the Wine Advocate announced on Saturday that he has decided to continue tasting only Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley wines and stop reviewing California wines except older vintages, passing the responsibility to Antonio Galloni.
    Galloni, who has been     Wine Advocate‘s responsible for Italian wine for several years, had been getting a larger portion of the review duties, including the influential portions of Burgundy, Côte d’Or and Chablis, following on recent duties for Champagne reviews.

    In addition to his heavy and permanent work on Bordeaux, Parker was very instrumental in advancing the cause of Rhône Valley wines and Rhône-style wines in the US. His annual California Rhône tasting brought dozens of new producers to the attention of deep-pocketed drinkers, and a huge amount of money into the state’s wine industry. (suite…)

  • PARKER & Co PUBLISH LATEST GREEK WINE RATINGS

    par | Jan 11, 2010

    By TED LELEKAS

    robert-parkerShortly before Christmas, the latest list of rated Greek wines was published on erobertparker.com. The list was put together by Mark Squires, wine critic and a member of Robert Parker’s expert team, who has been assigned to cover the wines of Israel, Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania.

    The list contains 109 rated wines from wineries across Greece. 15 of those were deemed « oustanding« , in other words received a rating of 90-95/100. Interestingly enough the top 3 spots were won by dessert wines, and namely by the 2003 Vinsanto by Domaine Sigalas in Santorini (94/100), the 2003 Vinsanto by Santo Wines in Santorini (93/100), and the 2003 Muscat de Rio by A. Parparoussis in Patras (92/100). Further dessert wines, including a Grand Reserve bottling of Mavrodaphne, Greece’s historic fortified wine, have also received top marks, and claimed their place in the « outstanding club lounge » of this year’s ratings. (suite…)

  • A CROWDED GRENACHE TASTING WITH ROBERT PARKER

    par | Déc 5, 2009

    By FRÉDÉRIC GALTIER

    2bobA ‘Grand Tasting‘ was held by Robert Parker (right) from 6 to 8 pm on Nov. 12 at WineFuture Rioja’09 in Logroño, Spain.  It included a selection of Grenache (Garnacha in Spanish), i-e made with at least 90% Grenache, (with the exception of two Rioja), from around the world.

    Some wondered why Parker had not chosen Tempranillo since the conference was being held in Rioja and he responded that unlike Grenache which is successfully produced in many countries, there were not enough good non-Spanish Tempranillos to garantee an international tasting: “I have chosen to hold the tasting with twenty wines of Garnacha from around the globe as it is one of the most interesting varieties, and also because Spain is the cradle of this grape” he said.

    The tasting session comprised 7 wines from France—Châteauneuf-du-Pape exclusively; 7 from Spain—2 from Rioja; 2 from California; and 4 from Australia.

    portrait-f-galtier
    I was lucky enough to be able to attend this outstanding Parker Grand Tasting while in Logroño for the purpose of my Desembolic reports.  Installed in Barcelona since 2005 as a journalist, I specialize in Spanish wines, contributing to many wine focusing media.

    One after another Parker tasted the 20 wines that he had personally selected one after another in front of an audience of 530, invited as speakers and sponsors or having paid a €600+ entrance fee.  Under the supervision of Bruno Murciano, winner of the Best Sommelier 2008 in Spain, 20 sommeliers in charge of opening, tasting and serving the 600 bottles presented, poured the wines into 10,700 glasses.

    Here are quoted Parker’s impressions and explanations from The Wine Advocate, followed by mine.

    FRANCE — Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    1.    Domaine Charvin 2007 : “Superb 2007 displaying a personality reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of his 1990 and 1998… It exhibits a deep ruby/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of black raspberries, kirsch liqueur, and subtle notions of underbrush and nori seaweed wrapper. Rayas-like in its ethereal richness, length, and texture with a sense of lightness despite its weight, this beauty possesses superb purity, equilibrium, texture and elegance. Some serious tannins are lurking behind all the fruit, so this 2007 will benefit from 2-4 years of cellaring. It will drink beautifully for 15-18 years. 94-96+ out of 100“
    — Frédéric Galtier: rather classical aromatic Provence style — rasperry and kirsch flavoured. Ample and corpulent, staying svelte, with much litheness and elegance. (suite…)