Brewer Inoue Seikichi gives this a 65% polishing (so only 35% was buffed off), this nears the texture I love in sake: a tiny bit coarse. The brew is from... read more →
Over the years the use of yeasts in sake has bugged me. No matter how high end, it seemed as if all sakes were too manipulated by aromatic yeasts, trying... read more →
Marcel's son Matthew Deiss has brought his own fine sensibility to the family domaine. I particularly resonated with this field blend from the Gruenspiel—a vineyard of granitic, sandstone and gneiss... read more →
Talk about a wine that knocked me out. I opened it up, I took a sip, stared at it for a couple of minutes, letting the juice sink into my... read more →
Giorgio DeMaria (see Issue #6 and this month’s Where to Eat and Drink) shared this with me, but that bottle was from the 1973 vintage. It was a transfixing vision... read more →
Michael Chonishvili became a full-time winemaker in 2015 and works his two hectares in the Kurdghelauri village, near Telavi's Tsinandali micro-zone. All of the wines I've tasted wines are gorgeous... read more →
Tako Juruli (Zhuka) and Zura Sanodze (Sano) stumbled upon an old house in Telavi and thought they’d put the vineyard and marani to use. They tapped the right people to... read more →
John Okruashvili is a native of Sighnaghi, a high-tech guy who started to make wine in 2009. His vineyards are in Nukriani, from a higher elevation than much of the... read more →
From Cour-Cheverny, the ground zero for the romorantin grape. This particular romo is from vines that have up to 60 years of age. The grapes are fermented and aged in... read more →
My note? “This one!!” Almond, wool and electricity. From Philippe’s 40–90 year old vines, his oldest. This 2009 had more sulfur than usual, and a little less acid (it was... read more →