These two wines are brilliant. Rioja is a frustrating region: some great old vineyards, but average quality dreadfully low. However, like all leading wine regions, there remains a core of…
David Clark: innovation in Burgundy
David Clark’s previous life was as part of the Williams Formula One racing team, but he changed pace by moving to Burgundy in 2003, where he now has a small…
Veraison, at last
Veraison – the stage in grape phenology where the berries change colour and the skins soften – is occurring at last with my Pinot Noir vines. I’ve deliberately chosen this…
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,…
Video: tasting Burgundy, with a hint of reduction
Three wines from Burgundy tasted, with some comments on ‘good’ reduction.
Descriptors on the mind
Describing wine in words is quite a difficult task. It’s certainly one of the challenges for wine writers. Just listing descriptors isn’t all that helpful. No matter how exotic they…
Heida: a brilliant Savignin from Switzerland
Swiss wines rock. I tasted a lot on a visit in 2006 (write up here) and was really impressed. Of course, in the UK we don’t see all that many…
A pair of Mad Dogs – Shiraz and Sangiovese from the Barossa
I first reviewed the Mad Dog wines, made by Barossa grape grower Matthew Munzberg, some time ago. Here I’m taking a look at the latest releases, which are just fantastic….
At the cricket
I’m at the Oval – it’s the test match, England v Pakistan, first day. Shame not to see more people here. Ticket prices should be lower, I guess. Anyway, it’s…