I have a soft-spot for Gruner Veltliner, the wonderful Austrian white grape variety that the Kiwis are now beginning to plant. Here are two good, affordable examples. The problem with…
Shooting and drinking a fortified Tannat
Spent a great day at a stag do for my buddy Richard today. He’s getting married in a few weeks, and so he gathered a bunch of chums to see…
Coto de Gomariz The Flower and The Bee Sousón
This is such a beautiful, utterly drinkable wine. It’s from Ribeiro, a region in northwest Spain in Galicia, and it is made from the Sousón grape variety, which is the…
Shaw & Smith Shiraz 2010
Met with Michael Hill-Smith today at the shiny new Liberty Wine offices in Clapham, to taste the latest releases of Shaw & Smith. For me, this is one of Australia’s…
Diam Rendezvous, Bordeaux: the influencers in the world of wine
On Friday, I took part in an interesting conference in Bordeaux, organized by closure manufacturer Diam. The audience was a group of Bordeaux wine growers, and the panel consisted of…
Two cracking Marlborough Sauvignons
These are two lovely Kiwi Sauvignons from the 2012 vintage. Both are from the Wine Society, and while they are priced above the entry level, the fact that the entry…
Riesling focus, 2: Ostertag Vignoble d’E
Over the last year, I have fallen in love with Alsace. Along with the Mosel and Austria, it is one of the world’s top destinations for Riesling. Here’s a cracking…
Two superb beers from Thornbridge
Good wine is, unfortunately, rarely cheap. Great beer is more often than not quite affordable. Of course, most beer is boring. Increasingly, though, exciting beers are becoming easier to find….
Dinner at Comptoir Cuisine, Bordeaux, with 1953 La Mission
I had a free evening in Bordeaux last night, and Matthieu and Anne-Laurence Chadronnier (pictured above) kindly offered to take me to dinner. I am so glad I accepted their…