At this point, I think that I’ve met most of the 5th generation of the Wente family (including jamming with Winegrower & Chief Land and Supply Officer Karl Wente at his then unfinished house several years ago, which is just the kind of thing that happens to people like me on wine travels, I guess)….
“The Biggest Fear” (Catching Up With Bolgheri’s Tenuta Argentiera)
“We want to have elegance be the main focus of our wines. The biggest fear for me is over-extraction.” Tenuta Argentiera winemaker Nicolò Carrara is right to be a little afraid. He is dealing with ripening and fermenting grapes in Tuscany’s Bolgheri, after all, where sunlight and the potential for big levels of ripeness—not to…
“The Difference” (A Villa Rosa Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vertical)
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of bumping into Cecchi fourth-generation wine family icon Andrea Cecchi a handful of times at locales all over the globe, but earlier this year (2025) marked the first time that I had a virtual sit-down with him over Zoom. Not as fun as our usual face-to-face run-ins, but…
Wine Reviews: Mini Round-Up for May 26, 2025
2024 Roseblood d’Estoublon Rose (Coteaux Varois en Provence): Utterly delicious. Rose petals, wild red berries, and equal parts fun and refinement. $27 B+
2023 Domaine de Cabasse ‘Le Rose’ (Mediterranee): Floral and earthy, and very round in the mid-section. $NA B
2022 Bodegas Ontanon Tempranillo Blanco (Rioja): Lotsa honey, lotsa oranges, lotsa wood. $15 B…