The Winery BM of Unknow region

Which offers more pleasure: a wine from a great vintage, but too young, inexpressive and closed? Or a wine from a modest vintage that’s mature, aromatically open and ready to drink? Surely there’s no contest. When it comes to enjoying the greatest Rhône wines, identifying the best vintages is the easy part. Knowing when best to open them is more difficult – but arguably more important. Here are four vintages that will benefit from further ageing, and four that you should consider drinking up. Sc ...

QUICK LINK: Napa Cabernet 2020: full vintage report and top-scoring wines As Coombsville, east of the town of Napa, is among the coolest of the Valley’s 16 sub-AVAs, the region benefited from the intense heat of 2020 that plagued sites up-valley. Andy Erickson of Favia Erickson Winegrowers reminds us that in 2017, the fires ‘surrounded us and were later, and the last of the grapes that hadn’t come in we didn’t harvest. But in 2020, we decided to learn something and made all our wines.’ He said t ...

I clearly remember the summer of 2014 in the Rhône. We were there on holiday, staying not far from the hill of Hermitage. It rained incessantly, I got tonsillitis and we had to rush our two-year-old son to hospital with a severed thumb. It wasn’t the best holiday we’ve ever had. That wet summer of 2014 also made an indelible impression on the wines. The 2013 vintage wasn’t without its challenges either – it was certainly unlucky for some. Positioned between the excellent 2012 and 2015, the 2013s ...