Duncan Savage was until recently the winemaker at Cape Point. He made a great reputation there, coaxing profound, mineral, saline white wines with proper ageing potential from these interesting, exposed…
Sipp Mack Riesling Tradition 2009 Alsace
A real-time tasting note on this wine, which is in my glass now. It’s an older Alsace Riesling. From a very warm vintage, this is a dry-styled Riesling from Sipp-Mack….
Two Pinot Noirs from Folding Hill, Central Otago, NZ
I visited Folding Hill, in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago, back in January 2014. It’s the project of two medical folk, emergency doctor Tim Kerruish and his wife Nikki,…
Grower Champagne focus: A. Lavasseur from the Marne
Tried these lovely, distinctive Champagnes yesterday at the Red Squirrel (UK importer) tasting. They are from a small grower from Cuchery in the Marne, Champagne A. Levasseur, which since 2003 has been…
Video: tasting the Cape Winemakers’ Guild auction wines 2016
Back in 1981, when the Cape Winemakers’ Guild was first formed, the South African wine scene was very different to how it is today. One of the founder members of…
On happiness
On happiness. Some thoughts prompted by someone asking me how they could be happier, when they were feeling miserable. Are you happy? Happiness is something we all strive for. But…
Champagne Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2008
This is the new Vintage cuvée from Veuve Clicquot, and it’s really good. It’s a fresh, quite complex wine with lovely focus. This is the first vintage made by current…
Gamay focus 21, Bass Phillip Gamay 2014, Gippsland, Australia
There isn’t a lot of Gamay in Australia, but there are two or three examples that get written up very highly by the critics. This is one of them: the…
Video: the 2016 VDP Grosses Gewächs tasting in Wiesbaden
On Wednesday I was in Wiesbaden, Germany, for a very special tasting. It was the 2016 Grosses Gewächs tasting, featuring new releases from some of Germany’s top wine estates, all…