Wine Reviews

Can Rafols dels Caus is the name of the estate in Avinyonet del Penedès belonging to Carlos Esteva.  Set in a farmhouse dating from 1630, it is one of the most distinctive, bold and individualistic bodegas in Spain, like the personality of its owner, Carlos Esteva.  He was one of the first wine producers in Spain to use the trellis system in the...
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Gorka Izaguierre is a winery founded in 1994 in the Bizkaia D.O.  Today, it is the finest example of modern Txacolis from the area. It owns 31 hectares of vines planted on trellises on clay soils with some marl.  Here they grow the Basque grape varieties of Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabia Zerratia, over 14 estates with slopes as steep as 30...
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Founded by Theodore Vander Veken in 1757, the Maison Henri Abelé is the third oldest in Champagne.  Its 250 year history, marked by prestige and innovation, is intertwined with the history of champagne itself. The history of Henri Abelé is full of interesting stories.. It was the first champagne house to use the process of disgorging by freezing,...
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Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard is located in Préhy, a village of 140 inhabitants, 7 km from Chablis. From 0.3 hectares planted in 1973, the Jean-Marc Brocard domaine today operates 150 hectares of vineyards located in all the Chablis denominations, with 60 hectares surrounding the domaine.  Today Jean-Marc Brocard’s second son, Julien, with...
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Lanson was founded, as Delamotte Père & Fils in 1760, by Francois Delamotte, and is one of the oldest maisons de champagne. The champagne house only gained its Lanson Père & Fils name in 1837. Lanson is supplied from 800 hectares of vineyards growing the three main Champagne grape varieties. The basis of their champagne style lies in the art of...
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Leon Beyer is one of the oldest wine houses in France, with fourteen successive generations following the winemaking tradition since 1580. Located in the heart of the Alsace region, in the beautiful village of Eguisheim, at the foot of its three castles, Leon Beyer is the owner of some very prestigious vineyards. The wines are produced in perfect...
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With a long history of shipping port dating back to the 19th century, the Symington family began investing in table wines in the Douro region in the 1980’s, growing the first single varietal vineyards in the area.  In 2004, it acquired the Quinta do Ataíde and the Quinta do Canada, in the Vilariça Valley (Upper Douro), to consolidate the Altano...
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The name of this property first appeared in land registers in the year 1715.  After changing hands several times, after the phylloxera plague and following a devastating fire in 1981, the port house was bought by AXA Millésimes in 1993.  What sets this port house apart from most of the others, is the care given and importance it attached to the...
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Valais is the largest quality wine producing region of a country little known for its wine - Switzerland.  Located in the southwest of the country, the Valais can be considered to be the most northern wine-producing area of the Rhône region. Domaine Gerald Besse is located in the Valais and was founded in 1984, going from a few hectares in 1979...
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