Mornington Peninsula Wine’s Post

Here’s my write up on the sparkling movers and shakers in our recent update of The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia. #TheRealReviewWineClassificationofAustralia

The Bordeaux region of Southwest France is famous for producing some of the most complex and world-renowned wines. With acreage spanning over 112,00 hectares, Bordeaux houses the world’s largest vineyards alongside 7000 châteaux, 300 wine dealerships, and 65 appellations. However, in spite of its impressive heritage, the province has fallen upon tough times in recent years. In fact, Bordeaux’s most distinguished oenologist now claims that the region’s newer wines are beginning to dilute its legacy. At their peak, the Bordeaux estates produced approximately 158 million gallons of wine per year and global demand for a fine vintage was flourishing. However, since 2011, demand, and subsequently prices, have steadily declined in a sign of ongoing difficulties affecting the region. Today, analysts paint a bleak picture. Barrels of claret sit gathering dust as China’s desire for French wine dwindles and political turmoil continues to stoke the fires of economic uncertainty. Whilst a Châteaux Lafite Rothschild vintage would have sold for €834 in 2022, prices have now dropped steeply to €570. The going rate of a Châteaux Léoville-Las Cases has also fallen €202 in this same period. In a statement made earlier this year, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine outlined the reasons behind this recent spike in decreased global demand for fine wines: "Geopolitical tensions and subsequent energy crises, along with global supply chain disruptions, resulted in higher production and distribution costs, leading to significant price increases for consumers and dampening overall demand." Despite these assertions, Bordeaux’s most famed oenologist has declared a fad for fresh and fruity wines is behind the crisis. Michel Rolland laments the shift from the complex, dense clarets that have long defined the region’s prestige, to lighter, more accessible wines aimed at capturing fleeting market trends. Speaking to Le Figaro, Rolland claimed vineyard owners had succumbed to the belief that wine drinkers were no longer after a classic full-bodied red. The fresh and fruity notes ringing through newer Bordeaux wines lack the soul of their rich, robust predecessors Rolland argues, causing a slump in sales despite the highest price cuts in 15 years. “It’s not the consumers who want that. It’s a trend, more down to the media,” he said. Tastes do change, he admitted, but “it is not a reason to lose your soul.” Rolland also criticised Bordeaux’s condescension towards international markets, particularly American consumers, arguing that the vineyards erroneously assume the inherent superiority of their wines. So, it would seem Bordeaux’s estates must rediscover their roots or risk losing their storied heritage in the chase for fleeting trends. It remains to be seen whether this slump in sales will push Bordeaux to redefine its legacy, or drive the region further into somewhat of an identity crisis.    Read the full story via The Times: https://lnkd.in/danS2vVs

Bordeaux is one of the most famous wine growing regions in the world, but it’s not necessarily the easiest to get your head around. First off, did you know almost all Bordeaux wines are blends of different grapes? From Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the blend varies from one chateau / producer to another and from one year to the next! And if you thought Cabernet Sauvignon was the main grape, think again. Merlot is actually the most planted varietal in this region. The confusing bit is that many famous wines from Bordeaux are Cabernet-based blends. However, if you’re going to your local wine store for a $20 bottle of red that just says Bordeaux on it, you’re probably buying a Merlot-based blend. It could be from any of the growing areas under the Bordeaux appellation. So why do they blend their wines in Bordeaux and what else do you need to know about this wine growing region? Have a look at the latest article from Father Daughter Wine for all the answers: https://lnkd.in/eBWUpd2i Happy reading and “Santé!”

Reserve wines are such funny things. What should theoretically be the best wines that any given winery can produce are just more ambitious and less delicious. So often, ‘reserve’ is also a byword for overdone. Look at Italy, where Chianti Riserva is often the oakier, less vibrant version of standard Chianti. Ditto Rioja Gran Reserva,

LONG POST: After generations of wine making, through both Italian heritage (Friuli wines Duca di Quadri Catemario ~1900 - 1964, later wines Catemario 1964 - 1986, no longer existing - acquired by and becoming Colavini) and Portuguese heritage (Alentejo wines Tapada dos Coelheiros 1992 - 2015, still existing), our globally accomplished endeavor in viti- and viniculture had come to an end. The events of 2020,however, brought about reconsiderations of the future, a certain desire to return to soil, and all the complex life it offers. After generations of wine making, a return to soil inevitably became a return to grapes, and a return to grapes inevitably became a return to wine making. After 4 years of hard and stubborn work, a new wine is birthed; something very new but very old, something very different but somewhat familiar, yet unquestionably unique. After 4 years of hard and stubborn work, Vinha dos Padres (https://lnkd.in/dnf7CbGn) is (re)born through its first white and red produced and bottled (after at least 4 centuries of winemaking history) at the property where Vila Maria (https://lnkd.in/dZV8aza8) was established in 1925, in Reguengo, Portalegre, in the distinguished and highly sought after Serra de São Mamede National Park microclimate, in Alentejo, Portugal. Vinha dos Padres (https://lnkd.in/dnf7CbGn) launches its first wines - Quinta da Vinha dos Padres 2022, white and red - with the great and world renowned winemaker and enologist Susana Esteban. The making of Vinha dos Padres wines (meaning “Vines of the Priests”) employ artesanal traditions that culminate centuries of historical heritage of wine making, by harvesting self-regulated grapes sprouted from untouched century old vines and fermenting them in century old portuguese handmade clay pots ("talhas") - methods of the bygone priests that first made wine here long ago. As century old vines are not found in rows but scattered, all vines, grapes, and wines are carefully cared for, harvested, and produced necessarily by hand, from grape to bottle. After generations of discontinued winemaking, we invite you back to discover a new generation of winemaking - a new wine, a different wine, a unique wine and a limited wine; Vinha dos Padres (https://lnkd.in/dnf7CbGn). Follow us on Instagram for more. #wine #winelover #winetime #generation #wineoclock https://lnkd.in/dWS65_Vd

The authoritative wine critic Ian D'agata includes CADGAL wines among the "most exciting wines of the Vinitaly Fair 2024": "On a different but just as meritorious note are the two entry-level wines made by Ca’ D’Gal, a winery that is expanding under the guidance of newly arrived Alessandro Varagnolo. The top bottling vintage cru wines are noteworthy (as is the source of their grapes, the grand cru area of Canelli) but it’s the winery’s two less expensive bottlings that I want to tell you about, for they are those that will leave you looking to fill up your glass again (and again). The Ca’ D’ Gal Asti Spumante is one of the two best, at no worse three best, such wines made in Italy today, a category that is often the realm of cheap, and cheaply-made, industrial sparklers of little depth and class that outside of their low price hold little interest for anyone. Drinking window: 2024-2025. Similarly, the Ca’ D’ Gal Moscato d’Asti Lumine is everything a good Moscato d’Asti is and should be: sweet but not cloying, fresh and easygoing but also complex and with some depth. Given it’s an entry-level wine, it’s price tag makes it an even bigger steal than Moscato d’Asti wines already are, most of the time. Drinking window: 2024-2038." Studio Cru | Ufficio stampa, PR internazionali & digital marketing per il wine&food Elena Deganello Tullia Mantella Beatrice Bianchi Giulia Tirapelle Anita B. #piedmont #winemarketing #winetasting #studiocru https://lnkd.in/dEe-t3E2

Interesting news coming from Italy, starting in 2025, Montepulciano will release its new classification "Pieve" #WineTasting #WineTastingReport #WineDiversity #Pieve #UGA #Montepulciano #ItalianWine #JamesSuckling #Italy #Sangiovese

A Fine Wine Focus on Piedmont and Tuscany. A great time to invest. These two regions produce nearly all of the top-end, investable, wines from Italy and we've got a huge range of them on our Fine Wine List, whether you are looking to invest or drink. #Piedmont is the more traditional of the two, producing #Barolo and #Barbaresco from the Nebbiolo grape. There’s no such thing as a Grand Cru Barolo or Barbaresco, so the name of the vineyard and producer matters hugely. Amongst the most famous Barolo vineyards are #Brunate, #Cannubi and #Monprivato, while the famous producers are @Conterno, Roberto Voerzio, Vietti and many others. Barbaresco is usually considered better value as the wines are less well-known worldwide, but Gaja differs from the norm; his Barbaresco single vineyards (Costa Russi, Sori Tildin and Sori San Lorenzo) release at higher prices than his Barolos and are generally more sought-after. Tuscany still means #Chianti Classico and #Brunello di Montalcino for some, but the prices of the indigenous wines have long been overtaken by the ‘Super Tuscans’. #Sassicaia was the first of the #SuperTuscans, produced when owner Mario Incisa della Rochetta looked to Bordeaux to produce better wine and planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc on his estate. At first the wine was for friends but soon buyers and other producers heard about it and wanted in on the action. Before long, Antinori was producing #Tignanello and #Solaia. The mid 1980s saw the release of #Ornellaia followed by Ornellaia’s Masseto, a 100% Merlot wine with its sights set on emulating Pétrus. Super Tuscan collectors have seen prices rise sharply over the last decade, taking the value of their collections with them. Values have recently softened, so this looks a good time to start or increase your collection of these magical wines before time sees their seemingly inexorable price rises restart. See the wines here https://lnkd.in/eHHX-FyT #privatecellarwine #finewine #independentwinemerchant

In Ian D'Agata's 100 Italian Wines of 2024, Piedmont plays the leading role and not only with red wines. At the 11th and 16th position you will find two Timorasso. Timorasso is coming out of the shadow for the global public in the recent years, but we in Piedmont knew already some decades ago that it could have possibly been Italy's best white grape variety. It presents the mineral aspects of Rheinriesling and the body and flowers of Chardonnay. It can give wines with important complexity and prone to longevity. It is not a crowd-pleaser, anyway quantities are relatively little, but it showcases one fact: with 15 subregions, 50 indigenous grape varieties and a territory that goes from 4618mts to 50, from the western Alps to the Po plains, from the Ticino to 10kms to the Ligurian sea, Piedmont can offer a huge array of landscapes and wines, much beyond the typical idea "Piedmont = red wines". What's good about this ranking? Several indigenous grape varieties. Impressive is also the fact the he puts a Grignolino on a top spot. I am a huge fan of Grignolino, but if your palate is a Parker's or a Rolland's, you will need time to approach it. #italy #italia #italianwines #top100 #top2024 https://lnkd.in/dr9Giusu