I visited the new tasting room at the Leeu Collection in Franschhoek, to taste through the new releases of the Mullineux wines. It’s a lovely space, with glass windows looking…
Craven Syrah Faure Vineyard 2014 Stellenbosch, South Africa
This is interesting. It’s from Craven Wines, which is a new project from Mick and Jeanine Craven that focuses on single vineyard wines from special sites in Stellenbosch. The approach…
Our Fathers Barossa Shiraz 2014
Our Fathers is a small production Barossa Shiraz made by Giles Cooke MW of Alliance wine. The inspiration for this wine was that Giles wanted to give something back. In…
Two lovely wines at St Swithins Wine Shippers: Breton Chinon and Nicholas Perrin Crozes
Had a couple of lovely bottles on Thursday night at St Swithins Wine Shippers. It’s a wine bar and retail shop in the City of London, and it has a…
The Guigal La Las from 2001
Tried these three at The Sampler. Guigal’s single-vineyard Côte Rôties, known colloquially as the La Las. These are often thought of as the ultimate expression of Côte Rôtie, and they…
In the Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley. It was almost a decade ago that I first visited, back in March 2006. It was a lovely trip owing much to the generosity of Tony Jordan,…
Lunch at Chez Bruce with some of South Africa’s finest, plus some old world stars
Had a special lunch at Chez Bruce last Thursday, with some memorable wines. Keith Prothero was hosting, and also present were Chris and Suzaan Alheit, Peter-Allan Finlayson, Chris Mullineux, John…
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…
Domaine Jamet Côtes du Rhône 2008
This is the sort of wine I just love, even though it’s one that probably needs to be drunk up now. It’s inexpensive but it’s authentic. It tastes of where…