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- 🍷 NWR Weekly: NYC Hot Spots, California Pinot Shines, Experts Weigh In On 2022 Bordeaux (copy 01)
🍷 NWR Weekly: NYC Hot Spots, California Pinot Shines, Experts Weigh In On 2022 Bordeaux (copy 01)
🍷 NWR Weekly: Bibi Graetz’s Island Wine, Where To Drink in St. Helena, Going Way Deep on Bordeaux
DRINK YOUR WAY THROUGH BIBI GRAETZ’S CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
What’s more idyllic than a sepia-toned Italian summer? Bibi Graetz works to tap into that nostalgic, ethereal energy with his wines. We spoke to him about packing up the family for a summer-long vacation, Italian spots untouched by tourism, and a network of wine cellars under a medieval island town. Though we can’t all take a trip to Giglio Island this summer, hearing about it from Bibi is the next best thing.
BDX INSIDER ANSWERS TO EXPERTS-ONLY QUESTIONS
Bordeaux En Primeur isn’t for the faint of heart, and this year’s releases, while often excellent, require some serious knowledge to understand what’s really worth the money. Senior Editor Christy Canterbury MW goes very deep on some extremely specific questions about 2022 Bordeaux En Primeur for those who have their sleeves rolled up.
“IF THERE’S ONE REGION WITH ALMOST NO POTHOLES IN THE BORDEAUX 2022 VINTAGE, IT’S THIS ONE.”
Christy’s report on the 2022 reds and whites of Pessac-Léognan and Graves is here, and she’s impressed. The wines showed excellent typicity, with fresh reds and structured whites. Though the wines are approachable now, they’ll also respond well to a patient aging. Read through her 57 reviews, which include lots of stellar scores.
THE KINGS OF PASSAC-LÉOGNAN
A 97-point Sémillon that is “full-on majestic,” a 97-point red from Château Haut-Brion with “painstakingly detailed structure,” and a 96-point red with such notable notes as “bramble and hints of a warmed cast iron skillet.”
WHAT THEY’RE DRINKING IN ST. HELENA
St. Helena is considered by some to be the beating heart of Napa Valley. Not only is it geographically smack dab in the middle of Napa, it’s also a true industry town, with winemakers and distributors inhabiting the beautiful Victorian homes lining its streets.
We spoke with an in-the-know wine shop proprietor, local celebrity producers, Italian-inspired winemakers, and more about what folks are drinking in St. Helena.
A SPOTLIGHT ON 14-YEAR-OLD CABS
This week marks the second installment in our How It’s Drinking feature, which asks a handful of deeply knowledgeable people to weigh in on a particular vintage and region to understand more accurately how the wines are evolving over time.
Virginie Boone zeroed in on a complex vintage: 2009 Napa Cabs. Our experts dubbed them as “youthful,” “elegant” and “ideal.” One winemaker described the vintage as un vin de garde: a wine to keep.
WHAT WE’RE DRINKING AND LIKING RIGHT NOW
🦠Virginie tasted three recent vintages of Opus One: 2017, 2018 and 2019. 2019 is the first Opus One vintage to use native yeast strains exclusively.
🍒 Anna Lee is obsessed with this sour-cherry kiss of rosé made from Pais, also known as the Mission grape, from the Curicó Valley of Chile.
🏜️ Christy was delighted to find a bottle of Nahe native Armin Diel’s lightly off-dry, desert-grown, Poet’s Leap Riesling from Washington State at The Osprey at One Hotel Brooklyn Bridge.
🍕 Becca relaxed with a “Sicilian Cobbler” cocktail at Bar Pasquale, the new-ish Nolita sister restaurant of Pasquale Jones and Charlie Bird.
VALUES, BARGAINS AND FINDS*
*NWR is not compensated for the links in this section
AROUND THE WINE (AND WHISKEY) WORLD
🥵 California’s Central Coast is in the midst of a massive heat wave, which is depressing tasting room visits: “If it’s 108 [degrees] and you’re going out tasting reds, God bless you, you’re a trooper.”
🌄 “Heroic” viticulture is at risk.
🥒 A pickle-flavored wine cocktail that began as an April Fool’s Day joke is now available to purchase online.
Thanks for reading! See you next week.
Santé!
The NWR Editors
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