This was the star wine in a star line-up at Tuesday’s lunch. Just thrillingly good. Chateau d’Yquem 1986 Sauternes, Bordeaux, France Powerful, spicy and intense with lovely flavours of marmalade,…
Three lovely Rhones: two Chaves and a La Turque
Had a great lunch at The Glasshouse restaurant in Kew yesterday, hosted by Keith Prothero. In attendance: Malcolm Thwaites, Greg Sherwood and me. The Glasshouse is such a great restaurant….
Visiting Cognac producer Les Grands Pateurs
So, I’m on holiday with my extended family in the Charente, attending a family wedding tomorrow. It’s not wine country, really – although a few wines are made here, the…
Two from Champagne Savart
Fred Savart’s Champagnes are the real deal. His elevage is in a mixture of oak and now concrete, and the production here consists of small volume, terroir focused wines. I’ve…
Lalou Bize-Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Les Folatieres Puligny-Montrachet
This was perhaps the stand-out wine of a wonderful weekend of wine. I tasted it with Raj Parr and some friends just before the salmon bake at the IPNC. We…
Some great wines at lunch, including Cristal, Faiveley Corton and Schlumberger GC Saering
After judging the Roederer Awards on Tuesday, we repaired to Chez Buce, where – naturally – we popped a couple of bottles of Roederer’s Cristal. This was followed up with…
Two 1996 Bordeaux wines: right and left
Had a splendid afternoon with extended family today. Brother-in-law Beavington was kind enough to open two clarets (three bottles, we got through two of the VCC) from the 1996 vintage….
Domaine Saparale ‘Le Saparale’ 2012, a lovely Corsican red
I’ve had a few really impressive Corsican reds of late. This is a lovely wine, a blend of 80% Sciacarello and 20% Nieulluccio, which spends 6 months in oak. Domaine…
Ganevat Les Chamois du Paradis 2011, an amazing Jura Chardonnay
Jura wines are becoming increasingly popular, and when you taste bottles like these, it’s not hard to see why. Jean Francois Ganevat is perhaps the most highly regarded producer in…