Winery Richard RichterAlter Marc vom Riesling

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 ...

Last year, Cláudio Martins and Pedro Antunes caused a stir in the Portuguese wine trade when they unveiled a €1,000 talha wine from Alentejo. It was the most expensive non-fortified wine to emerge from Portugal’s shores, retailing at almost double the price of Douro icon Casa Ferreirinha Barca Velha. That wine was named Jupiter. Now Martins and Antunes have followed it up with Uranus, a red produced in Moreira del Montsant in the Catalan region of Priorat. It comprises 85% Garnacha Negra Peluda, ...

Inside the September 2023 issue of Decanter magazine: FEATURES Napa Cabernet 2020 vintage report Jonathan Cristaldi reveals where to find the high points in a challenging year, with 40 top buys South America’s winemakers take flight Amanda Barnes on the transformation that has occurred, and the personalities behind it My top 20 high-altitude Malbec Alejandro Iglesias introduces 20 delicious Argentinian reds Innovation in Brazil Decanter’s Julie Sheppard is impressed by the dynamism of its rising ...