I’m on a bit of a Languedoc roll at the moment. Here’s another really delicious, quite serious, yet well-priced wine. And it’s white. La Chapelle de Bebian 2009 Coteaux du…
RTL update
Non wine related: an update on Rosie The Labradoodle. Today we took her to be mated, by her old chum Diglett. Two years ago she had her first litter, and…
A couple of disappointments, one corky
I don’t get all that many cork-tainted wines these days. Part of this is that I’m opening quite a few bottles sealed with alternative closures, but also the proportion of…
What did we do before twitter?
There’s a nice article by Charles Arthur on the Guardian Technology website about Twitter. I can’t remember when I started using Twitter, but now I couldn’t imagine life without it….
Secret Wine: I’ve just voted, but have I got it right?
I’ve just cast my vote in the Secret Wine competition. It’s an innovative idea from French PR agency Clair de Lune. They sent three mystery wines to the first 85…
A brilliant southern French red
This is fantastic. It’s a blend of seven different grape varieties (Syrah, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Counoise, Grenache Noir, Terret Gris), made without any oak. And it manages to catch…
Some superb single-quinta Ports
Vintage Port is one of the world’s great wines. It’s also relatively affordable compared with other great wines. But there’s an even better bargain in single-quinta Ports from shoulder vintages…
Harvest
My modest harvest took place today under ideal conditions. Three varieties were picked. First, Pinot Noir. Nicely ripe, about 10% of berries affected by rot. Bacchus: unfortunately not very much,…
An excellent Indian lunch
It’s Friday, so Fiona and I had lunch out (she managed to secure a 3 hour gap between clients). We went, for the first time, to Indian Zest, a high-end…