FEEDBACK
Bordeaux Flies
West
Editor’s note: Our “Feed-
back” page of the June 15 issue
included a letter from reader
Brad Kordic asking which Cali-
fornia Cabernets most mirror
the profile of red wines from
Bordeaux. We published a re-
sponse from reader Richard
Dreger in the July 31 issue. Be-
low is the latest addition to the
conversation.
In reference to Richard Dre-
ger’s letter about Cali Cabs
tasting like Bordeaux: I be-
long to a pretty sophisticated
wine tasting group in Albany,
N.Y., that has been tasting
wines regularly since the late
1980s. We do most of our
tastings blind. Over the years
we have tasted many wines
from Bordeaux and Califor-
nia, including many “first
growths” from both of those
regions. We often have a
ringer in the mix to see how
it compares with the others.
Dominus Estate is hands
down the wine from Califor-
nia that most resembles the
wines from Bordeaux. Young,
old or in between, it is usually
way up there with the favor-
ites, and is sometimes the
pick of the tasting. I often put
it in with a flight from Pauil-
lac and it fits in seamlessly. I
personally have never tasted
another California wine that
has so consistently measured
up to the classic Bordeaux fla-
vor profile.
Bob Schaffer
Slingerlands, N.Y.Viva La Veuve
I enjoyed the article “Spar-
klers Steam Ahead” (cover,
June 15). That being said, I
was surprised that no real
mention was made of Barbe-
Nicole (Ponsardin) Clicquot,
known as the “Grande Dame
of Champagne.” Widowed
at 27, she took on her late
husband’s wine business and
played a leading role in the
development of Champagne
in the early 1800s. She was
an astute businesswoman in a
time when women of her so-
cial class did not work. She
was the “veuve” for whom the
95-point Veuve Cliquot Brut
Champagne La Grande Dame
2008, mentioned in the rec-
ommendations, is named.
Maria L. Purwin
Mount Pleasant, S.C.Praise for Paso
Robles
Your feature article about
Paso Robles (“The Grit and
Grace of Paso Robles,” June
30) was timely, as my wife
and I were a week away from
visiting. Paso reminds us of
Napa 30 years ago: We did in
fact meet and have conversa-
tions with winemakers at the
wineries we visited. The first
was Rob at Peachy Canyon
Winery—great guy who pa-
tiently answered our ques-
tions and told us about his
own unique winemaking
story. We also spoke with
Carl Bowker at Caliza and
told him about our last visit
several years ago, when Rob,
assistant winemaker, pulled
up at the tasting room in his
work truck, kicked the dirt
off his boots (he’d been in
the vineyards) and poured
the wine for us to taste.
We will certainly be back
to Paso soon, and hope this
beautiful place maintains its
cowboy and small-town feel.
Patrick Hitchcock
Burlingame, Calif.14 WINE SPECTATOR • SEPT. 30, 2019
Picture Perfect
Napa Valley bureau chief
Kim Marcus’ profile of David
Ramey (“Professor Chardon-
nay,” cover, July 31) gave
readers a terrific insider’s per-
spective on one of Califor-
nia’s most influential wine-
makers. Dave is, indeed, the
consummate professor. Mar-
cus captured Dave’s passion
for Chardonnay as well as his
“no-BS” attitude toward
winemaking. Marcus also ef-
fectively told the story of the
Ramey family’s hard-earned
success—a story that contin-
ues to inspire.
Jeff Morgan
Covenant Wines
Berkeley, Calif.The Case for
Coravin
First off, love your magazine.
The articles are informative
and I love trying the wines
you review and recommend.
I have a question for your ex-
perts: I’m the only wine
drinker in my house and
many times want only one
glass, so was wondering what
you think of the Coravin
products? It would be so great
to have one glass and, most
importantly, not damage the
wine long-term.
Craig Eslinger
Littleton, Colo.Editor’s note: Wine Spectator
staffers conducted tests on the
Coravin soon after it came to the
market and were generally
pleased with the product’s perfor-
mance. WineSpectator.com
members can access articles in-
cluding “Do Wine Preserving
Devices Like the Coravin Really
Work” and “Coravin’s By-the-
Glass Breakthrough” using the
search term “Coravin.”Bedrock Bond
Your June 30 cover story
about Joel Peterson and his
son, Morgan, had particular
interest for me. Based on the
strength of your review, I
bought a couple of bottles of
the 2016 Bedrock Heritage
last year and after tasting it
decided that it would be ideal
to serve with dinner follow-
ing my daughter’s wedding in
July 2018. I knew however
that given the small produc-
tion of 600 cases and my rela-
tively remote location in
New Mexico that garnering
enough bottles might be a
challenge. I bought all of the
bottles available in my local
wineshops, then my wine
merchants secured some
more from their distributors,
and I found a few more cases
on the internet. All told, I
cobbled together five cases—
nearly 1% of the entire vin-
tage! And as expected, it was
wonderful with the dinner.
What I didn’t realize until
reading your article was that
the wine was the product of a
family undertaking, with ex-
pertise and care passed from
one generation to the next—
making it especially touching
for a family wedding. Thanks
for sharing their story. Fortu-
nately I still have a few bot-
tles in the cellar!
Kent Grubbs
Santa Fe, N.M.Questions and Comments
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