I first met Michelle Richardson a few weeks ago at a dinner at Providores in London. She’s making wines under her own label from a range of New Zealand regions,…
Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année 2002
I feel a bit daft writing a review of this wine. After all, it’s not headline news that Bollinger’s Grande Annee from a top vintage is a really good wine….
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, in the 2010
Cloudy Bay enjoys legendary status in the UK, fetching prices a notch above those commanded by other New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs (although you are more likely to find it on…
Is Oddbins back?
Oddbins press tasting today. For those outside the UK, Oddbins were in the early 1990s a pioneering wine merchant who brought interesting wine to the masses. Then, in the noughties,…
Sijnn: a really interesting South African red
Now this took me by surprise. It was a sample that appeared one day, and I had no idea of where it was from or what it was, or how…
Good affordable Pinot and Chobham common
Drinking a very nice, affordable Pinot Noir as I type. It’s Villa Maria Private Bin 2009 Marlborough, New Zealand (£9.99 Sainsbury, Tesco, Coop, Wholefoods, NZ House of Wine). Fresh and…
Superb Pinot Noir from northern Italy: Gottardi
This is nice. It’s a Pinot Noir from Gottardi, a grower in the northern Italian region of Alto Adige, which is often referred to by its Austrian name of the…
Cask ale at home – wonderful Strange Brew
Had a fun dinner party last night. My buddy Karl started proceedings off well by bring round a wonderful beer. It was a cask ale from Twickenham Fine Ales –…
This video makes me squirm: is it because I’m a Brit?
James Suckling, previously wine critic with the influential US publication The Wine Spectator, is launching his own website. He’s going to be focusing on video content, and to whet readers’…