Yesterday I visited one of the world’s most remarkable winery buildings. I had dinner at the Marqués de Riscal ‘City of Wine’. I’d heard about Riscal’s bold architecture, but it’s…
At Contino, Rioja, with winemaker Jesús Madrazo
Contino is an estate-based winery, which is unusual in Rioja. It’s based on a 62 hectare vineyard that is at the beginning of Rioja Alavesa, not far from Logroño. The…
Alvaro Palacios, the Decanter man of the year
Ever since 1984, UK wine magazine Decanter have bestowed an accolade on a figure from the the world of wine, crowning them man of the year. The first recipient was…
An amazing fine wine lunch at Chez Bruce
This was one of the most remarkable lunches I’ve experienced – and I’ve been to quite a few special lunches. The food, company and wines were all just perfect. The…
Viña Tondonia Reserva 2002, in a supermarket near you
López de Heredia, who make Tondonia, is one of the classic old Rioja houses. They are super-traditional, and make fabulously old fashioned and brilliantly ageable wines. They are not for…
Don’t spit great wine!
In the wine trade, we taste. And then we spit. Have to, really, otherwise we’d all be permanently drunk and would die young. Sometimes, though, a wine is too good…
So what does a 89 year old table wine taste like?
I have just written up a Marques de Murrieta Rioja tasting, where we got to drink, among other lovely older wines, a bottle of Castillo Ygay 1925. It was remarkable….
Some highlights from the Waitrose Press Tasting
We wine journos are in the middle of press tasting season at the moment, with all the major supermarkets showing off their ranges. Buying standards for UK supermarkets are very…
Some great wines, tasted blind
So Stu, Joe, Will and I rocked over to Andrew’s pad in Fulham for an evening of wines tasted blind, together with some rather nice food. We’d initially agreed to…