Luxembourg and wine? is that a joke?

What is the fuss about Luxembourg and the wines there? The answer is Mr Abi Duhr of Chateau Pauque in the small village of Grevenmacher who is the wild cat in this small country and  in my opinion makes some of the best Rieslings possible of the very old and steep vineyards facing the Mosel river.

I was there a couple a weeks ago to check out the grapes just before the harvest and the 2011 looks wonderful with ripe maturity and good acidity lever that are so crucial here and without it can make the wines bland and flat, this is what many winemakers miss out on, to bad.

Abi is a fascinating and highly knowledgeable winemaker with a great sense of humour that makes his wine with a passion and great skills to bring out the most in every plant.

The wines are concentrated and absolutely wonderful in every aspect with a great acidity that balances the mature fruits and makes them age beautifully.

If you can find any of his wines you better buy them before the whole world hear about it.

In vino veritas

Storing your wine collection? good or bad?

If you speak to wine professionals who provide wine storage facilities or assist in building cellars, they will tell you that a great many mistakes are made along the way to building a dream wine collection. The good news is that, unlike doctors who have to bury their mistakes, those of wine lovers can be drunk – or at the very worst, poured down the sink. However, this can become expensive, so do be careful.

Surprisingly, the experts will tell you that it is often those with the deepest pockets that make the most errors of judgment. They can take a scattergun approach to filling the cellar, tossing a wallet at every offer so as to corner as many of the best wines as they can. Unfortunately, they often also dredge up a lot of crap wines on the way. Those who take greater care however, often have more interesting cellars.

So the million-dollar question is: what do you put in your cellar?

Deciding if you are a collector or an investor is key. Investors usually have an entirely different agenda, and some may not even like wine. Collectors, on the other hand, are the real wine lovers, although they may make the occasional purchase for investment purposes. Buying two cases and later selling one allows for future expansion, and if done astutely, can even finance the cellar.

Bordeaux has underpinned the secondary market in wine for decades but not every Bordeaux is the same. First Growths and wines known as Super Seconds, along with the best from the Right Bank, such as Cheval Blanc, Petrus and Ausone are as close to blue chip as is possible, and a good vintage is vital.

In recent years, the pronouncements of American critic Robert Parker have had a profound influence on this market. A good score from him can propel an unknown into 'blue chip' territory, or send well-known wines into the pricing stratosphere.

Outside of France, things are more hit and miss. Spain has many exciting wines developing, but Vega Sicilia and Pingus are probably the most reliable investments for the moment. Vintage port has seen somewhat of a recent revival. German wines is rarely a fruitful investment, and Italian wines are mixed. Super Tuscans, like Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Masseto have done very well (the 1985 Sassicaia has been one of the great wine investments of all time), and the best Barolos are starting to see the sort of return that such great wines deserve.

From Australia, Penfolds Grange and Henschke's Hill of Grace are the leading performers, but the next generation is making strides. Some of the boutique producers from the Barossa and McLaren Vale with their turbo-charged shiraz have been given a boost by Parker points.

New Zealand has yet to establish such iconic auction performers, though some of the pinots from Martinborough and Central Otago, like Dry River, Ata Rangi and Felton Road, are close. From the United States, the auction performance of such wineries as Screaming Eagle, Araujo, Phelps 'Insignia', Opus One, Heitz 'Martha's Vineyard' and Harlan Estate is legendary and not completely unrelated to positive reviews from Parker and Wine Spectator.

Serious wine lovers soon learn that there is little point in collecting wines unless they are properly stored. High or fluctuating temperatures, light and vibration can all adversely affect wine. So can humidity: too dry an environment is detrimental as it can dry out corks, which allows for the ingress of oxygen and thus spoils the wine. Too much humidity, on the other hand, promotes the growth of bacteria and mold around the cork, which isn't very esthetically pleasing. However, the increased use of screw caps makes humidity less of an issue.

 A cellar can be anything from a box under the bed to a massive underground, temperature- and humidity-controlled facility. If you do not have a proper cellar at home, consider storing your wine with professionals. It has the disadvantage that late at night, you cannot grab a favored bottle on a whim (next morning, some may consider that as a positive), but at least you can be assured the wine will be in ideal condition when you do decide to drink it.

Remember do enjoy your wines in proper wine glasses such as Riedel.

Боллинджер По существу

Чтобы посетить Боллинджера миссии это сам, после месяца работы мне удалось получить время посещения этого великого Marque в шампанском.

Стиль Боллинджера является одним из моих любимых в течение многих лет и было специального лечения, чтобы получить возможность посетить их в качестве VIP-феерия, и меня, и Кристина была поражена от того, насколько руководство трудящимися было за все cuvees и какие усилия они помещают по крайней каждую бутылку.

Что мне нравится в Боллинджера власти в винах, я бы сказал, что они делают большие белые бургундские с лучших и мельчайших пузырьков, его мощный, мужественный, элегантный и чрезвычайно сложные вина всегда готовы к потреблению, ведьма я люблю J

Баррель хранения является одной из рода в шампанское и 3000 + баррелей, где все со штрих-кодом, так что винодел мог прочитать всю историю бочку с сканер, некоторые высокопоставленные Tec в традиционном месте.

Последняя ребенок розовые вина, что Боллинджера был последним принять благодаря тому, что Лилли Боллинджера не нравится идея розового вина, но потребности рынка делают их дважды подумать об этом, и за последние два года в два розлив розовоеСпециальных кюве и Ла-Гранд Année розы.

Наиболее загадочным в этом диапазоне бутылки Vieilles Vignes Francaises! Изготовлен из непривитого виноградные лозы, которые не пострадало от филлоксеры с двумя крошечными участками большой крю из 100% пино нуар в непосредственной близости от дома, и только около 2000 бутылок в год, мистическое, магическое и, вероятно, фантастические, я не попробовать его, к сожалению, бутылки Все, выделяемых на лучших клиентов по всему миру, и если вы можете найти его купить. Цена составляет в среднем 900 €

Диапазон выходит из специальных кюве, La Grande Année, RD (в последнее время изверг), а затем шедевр VVF, самое лучшее, что Боллинджера положить сосредоточиться на меньший портфель и делать лучшее, что виноград может обеспечить.


Боллинджера является торговой маркой для Gutsy шампанского, и я просто люблю его

Mr Gaston in Dizy, who the hell are he?

One of my many meetings recently in champagne was with the charming Nicolas Chiquet in the village of Dizy where he produce champagne in an traditional style with great depth and concentration especially the blanc de blanc from the vineyards of Dizy

That wine is exiting and very different from the Blanc de Blanc of the Grand cru in cotes du Blanc that is more famous for producing such a wine.

This is truly a challenge to identify on any blind tasting, how fun would that be? Very fun indeed J the flagship wine is his Special club selection where he use the best pressing and the oldest parcels of his vineyards, great stuff!

Nicolas is a very modern winemaker with lots of new ideas without dropping the respect of the family and the tradition that he grew up with, we hade a good discussion about the cork issue and he told me a lot of how you actually can manipulate the wine just by choosing an certain cork quality, amazing and very interesting news for me.

Another thing was all the things going on with the organic and biodynamic winemaking that’s going on in the world, he just prove to me that most of the things that are going on is BS, halleluiah!!! I told you, but we both agreed on that sustainable winemaking is the best way of producing grapes of the best quality and to take care of the environment regardless what it say on the label.

The house of Gaston Chiquet is a nice treat if you ever visit the area, but do make a reservation ahead