I recently wrote about the wines from Caves Saint Vernay in France’s Auvergne, a volcanic terroir in the south of the Loire. Well, next stop on my Gamay journey is…
Two lovely volcanic wines from the Cotes d’Auvergne
Cave St Verny make some lovely wines, from the Côtes d’Auvergne, a really interesting but obscure wine region pretty much in the middle of France, which is counted as part…
Les Terres d’Ocre Saint-Pourcain, a delicious Gamay Pinot blend
Located in the Auvergne, Saint-Pourçain actually has more in common with the Maconnais than the Loire, with Chardonnay, Gamay and Pinot Noir the main varieties. (You can read more about…
A nice fine wine dinner with Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire and South Africa
Last night we had a lovely dinner at Terroir, hosted by Keith Prothero. This is the restaurant on the Kleine Zalze estate, and the food was very good. The wine…
Le Clos de la Févrie Muscadet 2013
Normally, I find it hard to get too excited about Muscadet. But I’m beginning to change my mind. On a recent trip to Canada I tried a Melon de Bourgogne…
Two lovely whites: Vincent Carême Vouvray Sec 2013 and Ganevat Grusse en Billat 2012
I have just been in the Netherlands, presenting a talk and tasting to wine professionals here over two days, with the same 10 wines both days. I met some really…
Two amazing wines from François Cotat
He’s the total star of Sancerre. François Cotat (note, there’s a relation, cousin Pascal Cotat, and the wines of the two shouldn’t be confused) is one of the Loire’s most revered…
Fine wines with lunch, old-school wine trade style
These wines were recently tasted at a rather fine lunch at La Trompette, which is a great restaurant. It went on a long time, as you can imagine. I’m always…
The fabulous Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2013
I love this wine. It’s from a relatively cool vintage, and it has a brilliant tension to it. Starting off with a small negociant business in the 1980s, Pascal Jolivet…