After writing up yesterday’s Napa Cabernet tasting, I dug around and found this report, from a tasting held at the Jackson Family Wines internal meeting in Napa back in May…
Lokoya, high-end Napa mountain Cabernets, with winemaker Chris Carpenter
Chris Carpenter, winemaker, introduced this tasting of the four Lokoya wines, after taking us for a quick tour of the beautiful WE Keyes Howell Mountain property that’s the source for…
New Zealand Syrah masterclass, with four imposters
These are my notes from the first tasting At the Hawke’s Bay Symposium on Classic Reds, held at Trinity Hill, Hawke’s Bay, 4 February 2017. This flight looked at New…
The Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, an important wine for Chile
This is an important wine for Chile. Marcelo Papa, chief winemaker with Concha y Toro, has been on a journey away from excessive ripeness. He has been picking as much…
In California, day 4 – Napa Valley with Peter Michael, Corison, Trinchero, Silverado and Chimney Rock
Day four of the California trip. By now, the group was certainly performing, and this was to be one of our strongest days in terms of banter and general foolery….
Some wine highlights so far from Napa
Over the last few days we’ve tasted quite a few wines. It seems a bit unfair to pick favourites, but here are is a personal selection of some highlights. Antica…
Four nice SA reds: Restless River, Pofadder, La Motte Syrah Viognier, Spioenkop Pinotage
A few interesting South African reds tasted together. I’d heard a lot about the Restless River, and didn’t quite know what to make of it: Hemel-en-Aarde is cool climate for…
Cloudburst: the remarkable emergence of a cult Margaret River wine brand
Cloudburst is a really interesting and slightly controversial wine project in Margaret River. Interesting? Because the wines are so good. Controversial? Because of high prices, despite the lack of any…
Wakefield The Pioneer Shiraz and The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon
Wakefield, known in Australia as Taylors, are a leading Clare Valley producer, and they have recently begun making two very high-end wines: The Pioneer Shiraz and The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon….