After leaving Central Otago, we drove to a wine region that I’d never visited before. It’s New Zealand’s newest and probably smallest wine region, the Waitaki Valley. A few years…
In NZ, day 2: Prophets Rock, Central Otago
Day 2 of this short visit to Central Otago began with Paul Pujol at Prophets Rock. This was an amazing visit. I’ve met Paul and tasted his wines a number…
New Zealand, day 1: Burn Cottage and Two Paddocks, Central Otago
Two more visits on the first day in Central Otago. Burn Cottage is an interesting project. It was started by American Marquis (pronounced Marcus) Sauvage, and he hired a stellar…
In New Zealand, day 1: Wanaka, Central Otago – Maude and Rippon
I’m back in Central Otago, for my fourth visit. I’m slowly beginning to understand a little about this remarkable wine region, and yesterday saw a lovely set of visits to…
Wiston Estate Cuvée Rosé NV England – impressive pink fizz
I was very impressed by this pink English sparkling wine. It’s a non-vintage blend made by Dermot Sugrue. It’s 50% Pinot Noir (about 12% of this is red wine for…
Brancott Estate Chosen Rows 2013, and a recap on the 2010
Brancott Estate’s Chosen Rows Sauvignon Blanc is the result of their desire to make a high-end Sauvignon. I’ve been following this since its inception. Back in 2009, then chief winemaker…
Three lovely wines: Testalonga, Commando G and Domaine Labet
Had lunch at Moro today with Emily Harman and Laura Rhys. Mark Andrew was supposed to join, but he had to fill in for someone at Noble Rot, so after…
Mark Haisma’s 2014s
Mark Haisma, Aussie ex-pat Burgundy micro-negoce showed his new releases yesterday. Here are my notes. As usual, please treat these scores as a very approximate indication of how much I…
A remarkable tasting of sake
This was a remarkable evening, and my first exposure to high quality sake. It was at the Selfridges pop-up sake bar – billed as the world’s smallest, with just 6…