At the Berry Bros press tasting today

It’s always fun at the Berry Bros & Rudd press tastings, because they show such good wines. Today’s tasting, in the cellars below their shop in St James’ St, was no exception.

David Berry Green, pictured above, has revitalized their Italian range, and today he took the unusual step of showing 15 Langhe Nebbiolos, of which [...]

Bordeaux: past performance cannot be used to predict future performance

It’s the time of year when, once again, the attention of the wine world is focused firmly on Bordeaux, the world’s most important fine wine region.

There are a number of reasons why Bordeaux dominates the arena of fine wine, and they aren’t all to do with the quality of the wine. A proper discussion of [...]

Verniotte Castillon 2008

This is a substantial Bordeaux from a lesser appellation, made by Henry Laithwaite, son of Tony Laithwaite. It’s the first wine to be produced fron this new estate, which has 4.2 hectares of old vines on top of a limestone ridge. It’s a big wine, but I like it, and reckon it has some ageing [...]

Chateau Brown 2007: good, affordable Bordeaux

Back in September 2007 I visited Chateau Brown in Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, just before the harvest was about to begin (see my photo gallery here). This week, I’ve finally had a chance to taste the wine made from those grapes that I saw on the vines. And given the vintage, it’s a really impressive result. There’s [...]

Batailley vertical at The Sampler

Just on my way back from a brilliant vertical tasting of Château Batailley, the fourth-growth Pauillac producer with a reputation for making elegant, typical wines.

It was held at The Sampler’s South Kensington shop. This was the first time I’d been to this new incarnation of The Sampler, and it is well located at the back [...]

A couple of new year reds: Lynch Bages and Robert Arnoux

Happy new year, dear readers! I feel quite bemused by the fact that it is now 2011.

Two reds from last night, as well as a lot of Champagnes that will be written up separately. One underwhelming Burgundy, and a really nice Bordeaux.

Domaine Robert Arnoux Nuits Saint Georges 1999 Burgundy
Pale colour. Light, cherryish and quite fresh. [...]

Neal Martin's exceptional Pomerol tasting

A pleasant Thursday night outing: Neal Martin was compere for tonight’s tasting at Roberson, with the focus on Pomerol. Neal is writing a book on the topic, and with the research he has done, there is no one more qualified to present this tasting.

Pomerol is newly famous. An appellation of 780 hectares, it’s only really [...]

A lovely wine dinner: Dom P, Jamet, Vieux Telegraphe, Conseillante

Went over to my sister’s last night for a spot of dinner. Brother-in-law William is a wine nut, so we had a few nice bottles open.

First off, Dom Perignon 2002. It’s rich for a Dom P, but quite lovely and elegant. This was contrasted with a more evolved Drappier Grand Sendree 1999. Then we moved [...]

A 2007 Bordeaux that I like, and on offer, too

UK supermarket Waitrose are doing a French Wine Showcase over the next month, with 25% off a range of French wines. The emphasis is on good value stuff, and there are some bargains. Here’s a 2007 Bordeaux that’s actually really nice. It’s proper Bordeaux, the way it should be, with no spoofiness, and it’s drinking [...]

Clarence de Haut Brion 2007

This is the second wine of Chateau Haut-Brion, which prior to this vintage was labelled ‘Bahans de Haut-Brion’. At around £40 a bottle, it isn’t cheap. It sort of delivers, but this isn’t a wildly pleasurable wine at the moment, although it does have some savoury interest.

Le Clarence de Haut Brion 2007 Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux
13% alcohol. [...]