M. Senegor

In my mostly Francophile wine circle there is an oft repeated claim that Napa Cabarnet does not age well. Certainly not as well as Bordeaux. On occasion we do encounter some that do amazingly well. For instance I ran into a batch of 1975 Villa Mount Eden several years ago that I purchased from an estate sale. All six were wonderful. Still, our collective notion is that at the very least, the ageworthiness in Napa is questionable, and inconsistent at best. I was thus quite interested in experiencing a vertical of Opus One 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 that my[...]

Planning for a dinner party at my house that was to feature a vertical of Opus One wines from the 1980's donated by a friend, I was struck by the need for an appropriate Champagne to open the evening. It became a problem because I soon realized I could not find it in Stockton. Of all wines, Champagne commands more "image" than any. My favorite day to day Champagne is from Napa, Domaine Chandon Brut. It's cheap and good. I couldn't place a "cheap" drink in the company of Opus, which if not anything else, is well known for its[...]

If you read wine magazines you will recognize the type of article I am about to describe, which I hate with a passion: it's usually an account of some vertical or horizontal of obscenly expensive, celebrity labels like La Tache, Ch Mouton, or Sassicaia and how great it all was. Then they go on to describe nuances of the various vintages, or maybe special vineyards. Who cares! As if we will ever sample even one of them let alone the whole shitload the author experienced, most likely precisely because he/she is an author for this "prestigious" magazine. For car enthusiasts,[...]

Most wine enthusiasts know that wine is not just a drink like Pepsi. I have in the past written about how wine is a "mortar" solidifying friendships. It is also a vehicle for rememberences as memories get attached to tasting experiences. As I leaf through my 13 volumes of wine tasting notes (since 1995), in some ways these read as quasi memoirs, recording trips, parties, special events, and countless tastings which marked this season and that.Today an article in the Wall Street Journal made me realize that wine can record memories in unpredictable ways. Certain vintages have events embedded in[...]

Consider yourself lucky in the wine world if you happen to be friends with a certain breed of wine enthusiast, a character that truely loves wine (not a show-off or financial speculator), and experiences joy in sharing his wine with others who appreciate it. Yes, there are many such people around. But the unique nature of this rare find in a wine-friend is more uncommon. He has to be someone with a large collection, say, over 1000 bottles. Come on! There are more and more of those too.O.K. Here's the truely unusual feature: a genuine, generous collector, who has come[...]

For those familiar with the wine world and its numerous cliche's, "quality and price don't match" is a well worn out one. Most have numerous examples of this cliche by personal experience. I just experienced yet another one, and have to put it to words in this blog, if not for any other reason, because it is good therapy to get it out of my chest when I feel ripped off.As we prepared for a Chablis tasting at George Heron's house (my second wine group which meets once a month), I discovered that I had none in my garage refrigerator.[...]