
Month: January 2009


2007 Cave de Vire Viré-Clessé Vieilles Vignes
2007 Cave de Vire Viré-Clessé Vieilles Vignes – France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé (1/24/2009) Hay, white fruit and citrus on the fresh but restrained nose. Yellow and white fruit, citrus-like acidity and a hint of honey and minerals on the fresh, balanced and very tasty but not so complex palate. Good everyday quaffer and very good qpr. Slightly better than in > Read more …

Russian Tycoon Buys Prieuré Saint-Jean de Bébian
Le Prieuré Saint-Jean de Bébian, a well-regarded wine property from the French AOC Coteaux du Languedoc (Languedoc Roussillon), was sold to the Swiss company Sinara Capital Management S.A., controlled by the Russian tycoon Dmitriy Pumpyanskiy. He owns two-thirds of the shares of the Russian oil and gasgigant TMK. Owners and former Revue du Vin de France editors Chantal Lecouty and > Read more …


2007 Calendal (Philippe Cambie et Gilles Ferran) Côtes du Rhône
2007 Calendal (Philippe Cambie et Gilles Ferran) Côtes du Rhône – France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (1/14/2009) Black coffee, exotic spices and dark berries with a slightly, but pleasant burned aroma on the nose. Masses of ripe dark and red fruit, espresso coffee, refreshing cherry-like acidity, exotic spices and a hint of minerals on the very expressive palate. > Read more …

No Presidential Pardon For Two Buck Chuck Owner
Fred T. Franzia (65), cousin of the California wine legend Ernest Gallo and owner of the fourth largest U.S. wine company Bronco Wine Co., gets no presidential pardon from George W. Bush. This reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Franzia was in 1993 sentenced to a five year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 dollars for wine fraud. Bronco > Read more …

Spanish Software Identifies Grapevine Cultivation
Spanish researchers from the universities of Léon and Santiago de Compostello have developed software that automatically recognizes vineyards on satellite photographs. The software is useful to quickly calculate the potential proceeds of vineyards. That is one of the requirements the E.U. imposes on wine-producing countries. Previously the information was manually collected by drawing lines on satellite photographs. The new software > Read more …

Crisis Threatens ‘En Primeur’ Campaign
Jean-François Moueix, owner of the prestigious Chateau Petrus of Pomerol and the important Bordeaux négociant Duclot, says in an interview with Le Nouvelle Observateur that the crisis puts the “en primeur’ campaign for 2008 in Bordeaux at risk. The prices of the great Bordeaux wines are under increasing pressure. A Belgian merchant told us this week that he is constantly > Read more …


First Fall in Fifteen Years for Australian Wine Exports
Australian wine exports slumbed for the first time in fifteen years, reports The Australian. Last year Australia exported eleven percent less measured by volume and eighteen percent less measured by value. Reasons for the decline are the global financial crisis, the increasing competition from other countries and currency fluctuations. Britain, one of the most important wine markets for the Australians, > Read more …