Bordeaux

Our selections for May 2021 are:

Château Carbonnieux 2015 Pessac Léognan, Rated 91-93 (Neal Martin) This adored property has one of the longest and most extensive histories in all of Bordeaux, dating back to the 12th Century.  The vineyard is an astonishing 900-hectares, making it the largest in the appellation.  Yet despite its size, Château Carbonnieux still manages to have rigorous quality control, yielding some gorgeous, charming, and consistent wines.   The wines are produced at Château Carbonnieux with a mixture of tradition and modern innovation, resulting in timeless red and white wines, with much critical acclaim.  Balance is key at the estate, and if there was one word to describe the vinification process, it would be “gentle.”  The aim here is to preserve the wine’s roundness and mineral qualities – never

Our selections for April 2021 are:

Château Berliquet 2010 Saint-Émilion, Rated 90-93 (Robert Parker Jr) - This is one of the oldest properties in the Right Bank appellation of Saint-Émilion.  This 10-hectare vineyard is planted with an even split of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  The philosophy of vignerons here is about capturing the tension of the limestone and the strength of clay terroir in every vintage.  Starting in 2007, the legendary Nicolas Thienpont of the famed Saint Émilion Premiere Grand Crus Classé Class ‘B’ estate, Château Pavie Macquin,  and well-known consultant Stephan Derenoncourt began advising this property.  Quality since then has skyrocketed as these gifted vignerons began implementing cutting edge technology such as optical sorting in 2009.  In 2017, Château Berliquet was acquired by the Chanel

(Credit: Château Latour) 

At Château Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon is king.  The estate boasts the most plantings of this regal varietal out of all the First Growths at about 10,000 plants per hectare – that’s over 80% of its vineyard!  The wines of Château Latour possess everything a Cabernet-lover dreams about.  Raw, unbridled power, energy, stunning fruit, and of course – ageability.  Château Latour’s Grand Vin is one of the most age-worthy wines on the market, with the ability to lay down for decades.  

In fact, Latour wines are so robust, that in 2012 Château Latour made the radical decision to eliminate Futures and only release their wines when they were ready to drink.   It’s decisions like these – and many others – that put Château Latour in a league of its own.  The visionaries at this property do not rest on their laurels by any means.  Instead, they focus tirelessly on making innovative

Our selections for March are:

Paul Jaboulet Aîné La Maison Bleue 2016  Last month, we presented Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert.  This month, we bring you another wine from the same producer.  Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîné is considered one of the jewels of Hermitage, producing beautiful Syrah with unparalleled complexity and intensity.  The vineyards were established almost 200 years ago by Antoine Jaboulet on the slopes of the Rhône Valley.  A small chapel, built in 1235, sits on top of the hill surrounded by vineyards.  The chapel was lived in by a hermit.  Hence, the name for the appellation, Hermitage.  The current winemaker and viticulturist, Caroline Frey, took over operations at the property in 2014

We certainly live in interesting times.

Today's top news was not the all-time-high of the stock market.  Rather, it is Christie's auction of an NFT for $69 million.

What is an NFT?  You may ask.  NFT stands for non-fungible token.  It is verified using blockchain technology, and is used as a proof of ownership to digital assets that the owners can replicate and sell copies of, or just look at.

It reminds us of the other non-fungible collectibles with authenticity certified, such as the 2018 Château Lafite Rothschild 150th Anniversary Almanac Case.  In the good old physical world,

"... signal the

International Women’s Day is on March 8th - just around the corner.  At Laguna Cellar, we are proud to present wines with connection to several of the many talented and hardworking women in the Bordeaux wine trade. 

Though there are past reports of Bordeaux being a traditionally male dominated industry, more and more women are taking a leadership role in the trade than ever before.  We want to take a moment and share our appreciation for a few outstanding women-run chateaux.  Not only are these women producing knockout wines, but they are also breaking barriers and remaking the image of Bordeaux.  That’s something to be celebrated, particularly around this time of the year!

Over the past 16 years, the US and the EU have been locked in a long running dispute over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing.  In October 2019, under the Trump administration, the US escalated the dispute into a trade war by imposing a 25% import tariff on French wine, Italian cheese, Irish whisky, and a long list of other EU products.  The EU retaliated by imposing tariffs on US export of fish, cheese, cotton, tractors, spirits...  Needless to say, it was an unpleasant time for importers/exporters and consumers of the products involved.  Us included.
After 16 months of tariffs war, avid wine buyers started to notice a gradual reduction in supply and increase in price of imported fine wine.  Some customers have started asking the question: "what's wine got to do with airplanes? will the price continue rising?"

On February 25, WSJ reported, Biden

Our selections for February 2021 are:

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Domaine de Thalabert 2018, Crozes-Hermitage, rated 93-95 by Joe Czerwinski of the Wine Advocate.  Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert is from the northern Rhone Valley.  This is a terroir known for producing good syrah, the only red grape permitted under the Crozes-Hermitage appellation's official rules.  The origin of Syrah has been confirmed to be indigenous to the Rhone Valley.  Crozes-Hermitage counts Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage as its neighbors.  While not as coveted as Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage,

Unlike their cousins at Mouton Rothschild who release a new wine label every year featuring a new artist's design, Lafite Rothschild almost never tinkered with its label's classic design, until the special occasion of 2018.  In celebration of the family's 150th Anniversary of ownership (1868-2018), Saskia de Rothschild, the chairwoman of Domaines Barons de Rothschild, who took over the executive management role in 2017 from her father, imagined a symbol playing on Lafite’s historic and centenary label, which has two women in the foreground looking into the distance. A hot air balloon was chosen to disrupt the label, sketched by Black Adder, a creative duo of illustrators.  Initials CL (150 in Roman numerals) are sketched on the balloon and inscribed in red on the shoulder of the bottle.

Saskia de Rothschild explains, “In 1868, hot