Château La Gaffelière: History and Portfolio Château La Gaffelière stands immediately south of the medieval village of Saint-Émilion, on the road rising from the Dordogne plain toward the limestone heights of the town. Ausone lies to the west and Pavie to the east, placing La Gaffelière within a small concentration of celebrated vineyards along the … Read more
Château Ausone: History and Portfolio Château Ausone occupies one of the smallest and most exacting great sites in Bordeaux. The vineyard covers about 7.25 hectares on the southern edge of Saint-Émilion, immediately below the medieval village, where the land descends from the limestone plateau along a steep slope. The upper parcels sit on asteriated limestone, … Read more
Replanting after the freeze helped establish the distribution of the two varieties found in modern Bordeaux.
Those differences begin with climate and vineyard soils.
Why Grape Varieties Came to Have Fixed Descriptions For much of European wine history, a buyer ordered Chablis or Sancerre; the grape names Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc usually remained unstated. Someone choosing Pauillac was expected to know that Cabernet Sauvignon would probably have an important role, although the label did not need to say so. … Read more
Every winemaker we spoke to was overwhelmingly optimistic about the 2025 vintage.
In addition to the weekly wine review and the various other, usually wine-related, articles I write for My Van City, I am going to include a new one that will appear from time to time. I’m calling it, ‘From the Cellar’. It will be much like the wine reviews, except that it will feature wines … Read more
As we waited for everyone to arrive, we chatted and strolled the gardens with a refreshing glass of 2018 La Ensemble, a sauvignon blanc/semillon blend from La Frenz winery in Naramata.