Dinner at Bistrot Le Cuisinier, Blois (Loire)

I’m currently in the Loire for a quick visit to give a talk about the science of Sauvignon, with my buddy Sam Harrop who for the last few years has been involved in a very interesting Sauvignon project with InterLoire.

Last night we had a lovely dinner at Bistrot Le Cuisinier, in the pretty town of [...]

A brilliant, affordable Languedoc Syrah

Love this wine. Affordable but with some complexity. Fun yet a bit serious. Chunky but not inelegant. Ripe yet savoury. A perfect house red for autumn/winter.

Domaine Coudoulet Syrah 2011 Pays d’Oc IGP, France
14.5% alcohol. Fresh, vivid black cherry and blackberry nose, which is rich but defined with sweetness and some floral, peppery notes. The palate [...]

A great day of rugby and Rhone wines

Continuing a rather sporty weekend, on Saturday I was a guest of InterRhone at the Twickenham double header.

Two games of premiership rugby and a feed, with good company and some nice wines. What’s not to like?

The Laithwaites contingent: Becca Reeves on her phone, and Tom and Henry Laithwaite

I even took some notes of the [...]

A lovely Bordeaux, for just £8

The other day I was in a convenience store over the road, under instructions to buy some Chewits Extreme for younger son, when a couple of bottles of wine caught my eye. Along with the usual brands, there were two bottles of Caronne Ste Gemme 2004, unpriced.

I asked, and after about 5 minutes, they figured [...]

Abbe Rous Cornet et Cie Collioure Blanc, a mini vertical

Does it count as a vertical when you taste just two vintages of the same wine? Not sure. But I enjoyed opening two consecutive vintages of this lovely white wine from the Roussillon. It’s made by Banyuls producer Abbe Rous, and it’s largely old vine Grenache Gris and Blanc, with some Marsanne, Roussanne and Vermentino [...]

Northern Rhone series 26, Jean-Luc Colombo Les Fees Brunes Crozes 2009

Cornas-based winegrower and negociant Jean-Luc Colombo divides opinion. To some, he’s too modern – and I have had mixed experiences with his wines, finding some a little oak influenced, and perhaps too polished. But I have had some really nice wines from him, too, like this superb and very typical Crozes Hermitage.

Jean-Luc Colombo ‘Les Fees [...]

Two lovely, affordable French reds from the Sampler

Two lovely southern French red wines from The Sampler. They’re some of the exclusive imports that they bring in.

First, Domaine Rimbert Cousin Oscar 2011 Vin de France. 11.5% alcohol, from St Chinian, and made from Cinsault. This is a remarkable wine, mainly for the fact that it’s so honestly just what it is – lively, [...]

A lovely Grenache Gris from Domaine Jones

A while back I was enthusing here about Grenache Blanc, and several people told me to keep an eye out for Grenache Gris. Well, I found one – it’s from Domaine Jones, whose wines I reviewed a while back. The packaging is very stylish and so is the wine. Presumably Grenache Blanc, Gris and Noir [...]

Northern Rhone series 21, Martine Vandre Champ Morel Crozes Hermitage

I’m not giving up on my northern Rhone series, which began almost a year ago, and is now in its 21st installment. It’s a region I love, filled with great wines alongside poor ones – I guess, like most wine regions worldwide. When its on form, it’s brilliant.

This is a brilliantly focused Crozes Hermitage that [...]

Zind Humbrecht and Albert Boxler

Two star Alsace producers visited this morning. One famous (deservedly so), the other less high profile but making some of the region’s best wines.

First up, Domaine Zind Humbrecht in Turckheim. It’s a relatively large, modern, yet unassuming winery in the middle of the flat Herrenweg vineyard on the outskirts of Turckheim. We met with Olivier [...]