Fontanafredda Barolo 2006

Fontanafredda Barolo 2006

Leaving aside all the arguments about traditional and modern styles in Barolo, and small versus more commercial producers, this is a delicious wine.

Fontanafredda Barolo 2006 Piedmonte, Italy
This spends two years in oak: the majority in large botti, but some of it in small barrels. Quite full in colour with some bricking of [...]

Dorilli, a new wine from Sicilian producer Planeta

This is an interesting new wine from Sicilian producer Planeta, who I visited a while back. It’s a posh version of their Cerasuolo di Vittoria, which is a deliciously fresh blend of Frappato and Nero d’Avola. For drinking now, I have to say that I prefer the regular version, but this may well develop nicely [...]

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 [...]

The natural wine fair

Spent a good portion of today at the natural wine fair in Borough Market. It was a fantastic location (though hot sunny weather or sheet rain would have played havoc), and the tasting itself was stunning. An embarrassment of riches. Here’s a short video of the event, which I hope gives you a brief flavour [...]

Lunch with Frank Cornelissen and his fabulous Etna wines

Yesterday’s lunch was special. It was a chance to catch up with Frank Cornelissen (above), a winegrower from Sicily’s Mount Etna, over lunch at Hibiscus.

Frank works as naturally as possible, without using any chemicals in the vineyard – not even the sulfur and copper used by biodynamic and organic growers – and he doesn’t add [...]

Natural wines with Doug at Brawn

Had a tremendous evening last night with Doug Wregg at Brawn, out in the wilds of E2 (near Bethnal Green and Hoxton).

It was my first visit to Brawn, which, like Terroirs, is backed by Les Caves de Pyrene, importers of interesting terroir-driven and natural wines. The setting is informal, and the food is based around [...]

Nicodemi's Neromoro - a serious Montepulciano

This is a striking wine. It’s incredibly concentrated and intense, but also has a bit of class. It’s modern, but still has some soul. Currently, it still tastes very youthful, which suggests it may cellar quite well.

Nicodemi ‘Neromoro’ Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo Riserva 2006 Italy
14.5% alcohol. Deep coloured. Intense, dense, sweet dark cherry and plum fruit, with [...]

Planeta's first Mount Etna wine: the Carricante

Almost two years ago I visited Sicilian producer Planeta. One thing they talked about was their new project on Mount Etna, which has some really interesting terroirs. At this stage, no wine had been made, but now they’ve released their first Etna white. It’s from the Carricante grape variety, and it’s full of interest. It’s [...]

Schioppettino!

I’m strongly drawn to lesser-known grape varieties like Schioppettino, both for the wines they produce, and also for the fact that they tend to be restricted to certain localities. This is a delicious wine from a variety that very nearly became extinct in the 1960s – apparently it was down to just a few hundred [...]

Gatti Lorenzo Raboso - something a little different

One thing I love about the world of wine is its diversity. Here’s an Italian wine that stretches the boundaries of that diversity, and I love it.

Gatti Lorenzo Raboso NV IGT Marca Trevigiana, Italy
Very interesting: a fresh, vibrant, joyous gastronomic red. It has a fresh cherryish nose with some appley notes and a bit of meatiness. [...]