Top 100 wines of Augusta

Do growers make wine – or do markets? Growers, of course. Yet markets define the scope of the grower’s creative efforts by what they reward or sanction. When markets are neglectful and unresponsive, there’s little the grower can do but conform. It’s a problem the world over. Here’s an example. The river Moselle/Mosel rises to the wet west of the Vosges mountains, then curves in a long green arc heading north through Epinal, Metz and (along the left bank) Luxembourg’s Grand Duchy, turning east at ...

There’s a reason why heavily-applied perfume ranks highly on most wine lovers’ list of pet peeves. It overpowers your senses, conceals aromas and distorts your perception of a wine. In professional tastings and wine exams the wearing of perfume is banned, if not thoroughly frowned upon. You just don’t do it. What then, if we applied the same logic to music, controlling the sounds we hear, or don’t hear, while tasting wine? There’s no doubt that a chaotic environment can clog your synapses, makin ...

New stocks of Château Latour 2010 were released from the Pauillac-based First Growth’s cellars on 13 September. Latour 2010 is regarded as one of the best Bordeaux wines of the 21st century so far, and has received two 100-point Decanter scores in the past three years. It’s also more expensive than many other Latour vintages, but analyst group Wine Lister said it expected buyers to show interest. ‘There is no doubt that this release will see demand, especially for merchants rel ...