Wine Spectator December 15, 2021

Visit WineSpectator.com/121521 to find links to all of the following resources. FREE RESOURCES FOR ALL WINESPECTATOR.COM READERS TOP 100 COUNTDOWN On Nov. 8, we begin unveiling the Top 10 Wines of 2021—with videos, tasting notes and more—culminating with the Wine of the Year on Nov. 12 and the complete Top 100 list on Nov. 15. Don’t miss our coverage of the year’s most exciting wines! STRAIGHT TALK WITH WINE SPECTATOR is an Instagram Live series featuring conversations with wine-and-food newsmakers such as chefs Eric Ripert and Jose Andres, winemakers Andy Erickson and Thomas Rivers Brown, and other industry luminaries. Tune in to Straight Talk on Wine Spectator’s Instagram page and check out the chat schedule at WineSpectator.com/LiveChatCalendar. WINE SPECTATOR IS NOW ON YOUTUBE Watch all our great wine and recipe tips, winemaker interviews and…

A lot of successful business people look to Napa Valley when they want to dip their toe into the wine business, but few arrive with a splash in the way of Gaylon Lawrence Jr. In April of 2018, Lawrence inked a deal with the founding family of Heitz Cellar to buy the historic winery, established in 1961. Part of that deal includes long-term grape contracts with Martha’s Vineyard, which provided the fruit for the legendary 1974 Heitz Cabernet (see “The Story of an Iconic Cab,” page 61) and many classic versions since. The purchase of Heitz garnered a lot of attention, but as news editor Mitch Frank reports in our cover story beginning on page 42, it appears to be just the beginning for the newcomer from Nashville. Lawrence may be…

The worst case scenario was a 50% tariff on bottled wine. That’s what most insiders in the Australian wine industry were thinking in the fall of 2020 after tensions spiked between the Chinese and Australian governments over the origins of COVID-19 and Australia’s ban on Huawei’s 5G network. But then, Chinese authorities announced a tariff of 218%. The trade fight was the latest blow to international winemakers working to build a market in China. Since then-Premier Li Peng praised the health benefits of wine during the National People’s Congress in 1996, the country’s growing economy and consumer population have attracted wineries from around the globe. With 52 million wine drinkers and a total population of 1.44 billion, the growth potential is enormous. But so is the risk—Beijing’s government is not afraid to…

Domaine Clarence Dillon (DCD), the family firm that owns Château Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, has acquired St.-Emilion Grand Cru Classé Château Grand-Pontet from the Pourquet-Bécot family for an undisclosed sum. Prince Robert de Luxembourg, DCD chairman, told Wine Spectator that the property will be combined with DCD’s Château Quintus, founded by the company in 2011 and originally expanded in 2013. “We have been looking for opportunities to add good vineyards to Quintus,” de Luxembourg said. “We’ve been close on a few other properties and lost out at the last minute.” Adding the nearly 37 acres of Grand-Pontet to Quintus, de Luxembourg noted, “will produce one of the largest of the great growths of St.-Emilion.” Grand-Pontet’s vineyards are near Quintus, and de Luxembourg is convinced of their similarity to the Quintus terroir.…

Italian winery Caviro and Volio Imports brought together Italian wine professionals and a comedian to show what happens when we try to seem like an expert instead of just being ourselves. The resulting video, Sommelier: Don’t Try This at Home, proved the favorite among WineSpectator.com voters in our 15th annual Video Contest. The video shows the main character, played by Italian comedian Maccio Capatonda, as he tries to judge a glass of wine at a friendly gathering. Instead of just saying what he feels, he chases his version of a sommelier’s description, descending into madness. “The aim of this video is to talk about wine in an easy way, without prejudice and too many complications,” said Caviro brand manager Anna Casodi. Joining Capatonda, Italian wine experts Luca Gardini, Andrea Gori and…

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi has added another estate to its Tuscany portfolio, buying Corte alla Flora in Montepulciano. The purchase price was not disclosed. The owner, Sergio Cragnotti, a businessman from Rome and former owner of the Società Sportiva Lazio, the most-famous soccer team in the Lazio region, decided to retire and contacted Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi president Lamberto Frescobaldi. “It happened that this gentleman wanted to sell, so we decided to buy it,” Frescobaldi told Wine Spectator. “This came to us and we grabbed it.” The deal was completed in less than two weeks; Frescobaldi took control Sept. 10. Located in the Cervognano zone of Montepulciano, one of its best areas, the property, which makes about 23,000 cases a year, consists of 148 acres—75 of which are planted to Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon,…