Place of Changing Winds Clos de la Connerie 2017 Macedon Ranges, Australia This wine is made by Luke Lambert for Robert Walters (an importer – he’s the founder of Bibendum…
Interesting Marlborough: new releases from Corofin
This was a chance to taste through the 2016s from Mike Paterson’s impressive Corofin project (which I reviewed a while back). 2016 was a pretty good vintage, but the following…
Central Otago (16) Amisfield
There was a storm! Trees fell down! It was supposed to be summer, but this particular Friday night didn’t want to go to plan. Over dinner at Amisfield’s restaurant, a…
Comparing New Zealand and Ontario Pinot Noirs
Yesterday I took part in a really interesting event in Toronto. It brought together 12 Ontario Pinot Noirs with 12 New Zealand Pinots in a blind tasting, and I was…
Central Otago (10) Rudi Bauer and Quartz Reef
It was great to spend some time with one of the pioneering figures of Central Otago wine, Rudi Bauer. Fresh off the plane from the UK, I picked up a…
Meiomi Pinot Noir 2017: amazingly successful, but how good is it?
I’m in the Star Alliance lounge at LAX, having just showered, getting ready for another 12 h in the air. I check out the lounge wines. On offer, Meiomi Pinot…
Central Otago (9) Grasshopper Rock
It’s five years since I last visited Grasshopper Rock (see the full profile here), a small vineyard in the Alexandra district of Central Otago. Back in 2014 I commented that…
Central Otago (8) Chard Farm
With just a shade under 100 hectares of their own vineyards, Chard Farm are one of the larger players in the Central Otago region. Their beautifully situated home vineyard, at…
Seven German Pinot Noirs
German Pinot Noir (known locally as Spätburgunder) can be quite wonderful, and of late seems to have been getting better. But Pinot is a tricky grape and it’s sensitive to…