The price of $500 for a bottle of Cullen’s Vanya sets a new level for Australia’s Margaret River, but in international terms it is more than reasonable. But is it worth this money? Ken Gargett investigates.
Ken Gargett believes that the recently released La Trova is challenging the superb Fundadores cigar as the benchmark for Trinidad.
For wine lovers, there is not much more exciting than being in on the ground floor for the release of a new label, especially one that aspires to the highest quality. Being of severely limited quantities adds a tiny bit of a thrill as well. With all that in mind, Ken Gargett predicts that the new Roam Napa Sleeping Lady Cabernet Sauvignon and its first vintage, 2015, will be a welcome addition to the ranks of cracking Cabernet.
Individual champagnes rarely seem to attract the pre-release anticipation that we sometimes see with other wines. Ken Gargett thinks that perhaps the 1996 Krug was the last release that really generated serious excitement before it hit the market and he doubts that any champagne has created such interest since then – until we come to the 2008 Louis Roederer Cristal.
Even though Penfolds releases all its top wines – the “Penfolds Collection” – at the same time, eyes of wine lovers around the world are always focused on one wine: Grange! Here Ken Gargett reviews the 2014 Grange. Plus he shares the early history of Grange and explains how the first tastings were a complete flop in quite colorful language.
Ken Gargett first encountered Serra de Estrela in Oporto at a lunch. He thinks, however, that it has not received its dues outside Portugal and can only assume that is because no one seems to associate cheese with that country – a gross oversight, which he rectifies here..
Most good wine regions in Australia are delightfully scenic. But few are quite as picturesque as the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Located just to the south of Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, it is easy to visit for a day trip, but Ken Gargett thinks it’s much more fun to stay a few days.
The famous Venezuelan rum Diplomático and Ken Gargett share a birth year (1959), so it is an error of judgment on his part not to have shared more time with this excellent rum. Thankfully, he is rectifying that. And shares what he thinks with us while he’s doing that.
Equipo Navazos is making some of the most exciting wines – sherries to be specific – on the planet. Ken Gargett believes this company is incredibly exciting and that this rum is a great example of the “team’s” great nose for the sublimely unusual.
Critics are not supposed to have favorites, though we get asked exactly that question all the time. It ranks with asking parents which is their favorite child, and chances are you’ll get an equally noncommitted response. For champagne, Ken Gargett has many favorites – too many – but the house of Pol Roger will always hold a special place for him.