Our reviewer of Spain, Argentina, Chile and Jura shares his highlights of 2018 in this extensive report.
One independent and small winery that I place among the top in Chile is Garage Wine Co. Not only their wines are great, but their work goes beyond what’s in the bottle. I’ve been to some of the ancient dry-farmed vineyards where they source their grapes and met some of the growers that work with Derek Mossman and his partners, like Don Nivaldo Morales, and I think they have the right approach to preserving Chile's cultural heritage and the artisanal wine growing methods of yesteryear. Mossman sent me some thoughts about their philosophy, but unfortunately it was too late to include them in my current article about Chile, so I asked him to polish it a bit to be able to publish it here for you. This is what he has to say about what he calls “fieldcraft.”...
Yup! It’s that time of year again—it’s time to look back and see what has happened over the past 12 months.
Pierre Marcolini makes my favorite chocolates in the world. So when I got an invitation, which meant a visit to Brussels, it was a no-brainer: to try and secure a visit Marcolini and tour his chocolate factory. It wasn’t easy, as he’s a very busy man—his business produces chocolates in a small factory near the Brussels airport to supply his shops in Belgium, London, Paris other European cities, Hawaii and Asia, plus manages distribution via the internet to many other parts of the world. All of that from the capital city of Belgium. We finally secured a full visit including a few minutes with the man himself, most likely in between meetings (the daily torture in most companies, especially multinational ones!). I thought he looked remarkably like Gordon Ramsay, similar age, height, hairdo and clothing. We walked through the different stages of the process, what they call their “bean-to-bar” approach, covering every single step of production. And they go a little further, as they also take care of the sales and distribution, and want to make sure the products offer the same quality in every corner of the world. ...
Join Luis Gutiérrez as he takes a look at Chilean wine country and how its affected by forest fires, its colorful history and the promise of sustainability.
As I do 16-month cycles to cover all of my regions, I don’t necessarily do all of them in one natural year. So in 2016, I didn’t publish anything on Chile and some of the regions in Spain. Argentina will be published at the end of December and I’ve only had the chance to taste the new releases from Jean-Francois Ganevat in the Jura. So within those limitations, let’s get on with the Best of 2016 show!
A friend of mine asked me to give him a list of 50 rock albums he should have, so I thought it would be fun to publish the list. Here are my picks for the top 50 rock albums that you need to have.
Best of 2013: Current Release Wines Rafael Palacios 2011 Sorte O Soro Valdeorras ($131) (White) Rating: 95 A pure Godello white from Valdeorras sourced from a single vineyard that is a breakthrough wine for Spain’s table whites. Casa Castillo 2006 Pie Franco Jumilla ($50) (Red) Rating: 97 Pure Monastrell from Jumilla, from ungrafted vines planted in 1942, that combines power and elegance but at the same time remains truly Mediterranean-style. González-Byass NV Fino Cuatro Palmas Jerez ($137) (Fortified) Rating: 97 The name is a little misleading here as this is so old that it is really an aged Amontillado. The whole Palmas line-up (and the Tío Pepe en Rama) from González-Byass is outstanding, but the Cuatro Palmas is otherworldly!...