I caught up with Moet & Chandon’s chef du cave Benoit Gouez, who was in town to launch a new Champagne. It’s Ice Imperial, a Champagne made with the intention…
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,…
Video: on the Hermitage hill
Here’s a short film of the wonderful hill of Hermitage: a relatively small appellation of 123 hectares, of which 25 are white grapes (mainly Marsanne), the remainder Syrah. It’s amazing…
Port: why the Symingtons didn’t declare in 2009
Following up from my write-up of the 2009 Vintage Port declaration, Paul Symington contacted me to explain why the Symingtons didn’t make a widespread declaration of the 2009s, which I’m…
Ponce’s Pino: a wonderful natural Bobal
I’m really impressed by the portfolio of Spanish wines that UK agency business Indigo Wine has put together. Agents like this, who are run by people who love wine, are…
The 2009 Vintage Ports from Fonseca, Taylor’s and Croft
Went to a very interesting tasting this morning. It was the declaration tasting of the Vintage Ports from the Fladgate Group: Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft. I really liked them. These…
Exploring the Hermitage hill
Just back from an amazing mini-trip to the northern Rhone to visit Chapoutier, who are the largest vineyard holders in Hermitage, one of the world’s great wine appellations. Hermitage is…
Two Cabernets from Napa Valley: Silverado and Grgich Hills
I’ve only visited California’s most famous wine region – Napa Valley – once. But I was quite taken by the place. It’s actually a really good place to grow wine…
Two Chateauneufs: Beaucastel 99 and Vieux Telegraphe 95
Nice to be able to compare these two side by side. The Beaucastel had the slight edge, although it’s not a competition of course. The VT 1995 is a wine…