Now this is good. Another superb Syrah from the Gimblett Gravels subregion of Hawkes Bay in New Zealand. Squawking Magpie ‘The Stoned Crow’ Syrah 2008 Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay A…
The great Portuguese fortified wine tasting
I’m in the process of writing up the great Portuguese fortified wine tasting in Linhares on Saturday morning. This was one of the most remarkable tastings that I’ve been involved…
A couple more Portuguese wine discoveries
The great thing about visiting Portugal is that there are always more wines to discover. Here are a couple from this week. First, up, a couple of Dao wines from…
Day two at the Portuguese conference
The church at Linhares, where we were staying So after a horridly late night, day 2 at the conference began. There were a few more people in the audience. Jancis…
A fun dinner in Portugal with some nice wines
Had a great time last night at the conference dinner. The food was bad, but the company was good and the wines were excellent. I’m pictured above with a magnum…
At a conference in Portugal, day 1
I’m in the small town of Celorico da Beira, for the the first Encontro e Prova Internacional de Vinho. It’s a wine conference. Celorico is on the fringes of the…
Le Soula Blanc 2007 – a remarkable wine from the Roussillon
I really like this. It’s the latest release from Roussillon producer Le Soula, a partnership between UK wine merchant Richards Walford and celebrated winemaker Gerard Gauby, who discovered this wonderful…
The art of the restaurant wine list
Just finished the final day’s judging of Imbibe Magazine’s Sommelier Wine Awards. It has been an interesting experience, tasting with sommeliers and thinking about wines not only in terms of…
A superb Malaga from Bodegas Bentomiz
Bentomiz is a new venture in Spain’s Malaga region, started by a Dutch couple Andre Both and Clara Verheij in 2003 (their website is here). This is a region that…