I really like the wines of Alsace. It’s a region I’d like to focus on more in the future, because I think it’s seriously underrated and often forgotten. If you…
Mirabilis, a serious new Douro wine
This is a new wine from Douro property Quinta Nova, which I visited back in March 2010. It’s made from old vines (interestingly, not Touriga Nacional, the celebrity grape, which…
Burgundy 2012, first impressions
So, I went to my first tasting of the year. It was also my first taste of the 2012 vintage in Burgundy. The tasting was one of the big ones,…
Cien y Pico, a remarkable Bobal
Spain has some brilliant old vineyards. When they get into the hands of the right people, good things happen. This is a Bobal, a grape variety that has lived in…
Great value for money Chilean Chardonnay from De Martino
I’m really impressed by De Martino’s high end wines, which for Chile show an unusual (and welcome) sense of adventure. But I was also taken by this wine, an inexpensive…
Cheval des Andes vertical tasting
It was in March 2008 that I visited Cheval des Andes, a vineyard owned by LVMH in a joint venture with Pierre Lurton of Cheval Blanc, based in the Las…
The best Pinotage?
Could this be the best Pinotage of all? Previously I have liked a few. The Scali example springs to mind,do the regular and black label Kanonkops. This is up there,…
Free e-book on grape varieties
This is interesting. It’s a free e-book on grape varieties from Kym Anderson, a wine economist at the University of Adelaide. It is packed full of statistics, and represents and…
Video: visiting Felton Road
Just a quick film from last year’s visit to Central Otago winery Felton Road. I have just written up the visit – quite extensively – here.