The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Iron Chevsky and Erwan Faiveley (right),  with his outstanding 2013 Corton-Charlemagne. At the 2015 Frederick Wildman Burgundy portfolio tasting in San Francisco, I got a chance to sample some very good wines from the upcoming 2013 vintage. Some (like Olivier Leflaive) are currently being bottled while others are a few months away. But the vintage characteristics already shine through. And I very much liked what I saw, at least from the top producers at this tasting. I generally preferred the reds here to the 2012's. While the 2012 is hyped by many as a great vintage, I personally don't think so. The 2012 reds are fluffy, juicy and plush - but they seem to lack structure. The 2013's on the other hand have it - they are more serious and angular, with nice ripe dark fruits reminiscent of black tea, with tart acidity and fine tannins. The acidity seems to stick out just a bit on some of the reds at this early stage, but I think it will integrate nicely in the coming mon...

The 2011 line-up of great burgundies, a celebration of celebrations that takes place once every two years in San Francisco, and a must-attend for a serious Burgundy lover, did not disappoint. I've written about this glorious tasting  in the past , and this was my third time covering the event. On March 15, the long-awaited La Paulee came to San Francisco again, and the 2011's on display confirmed my positive impression of the 2011 vintage so far - there were many very good and even brilliant wines, with much great drinking to look forward to in the next 15 years, and even a lot to enjoy in the relatively immediate future as many wines are already quite delicious. As usual, the food at this event is top-notch. Tons of amazing gourmet bites from top restaurants... Three producers stood out for me. Armand Rousseau . That's Eric Rousseau in the photo below - the current owner of the domain, holding his precious Chambertin Grand Cru. One month ago I tasted a barrel sam...