This is a lovely, complex, detailed and – in some senses – difficult wine from Benedicte and Stephane Tissot in the Jura. It’s aged for 30 months in barrel under…
Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorées Côte de Brouilly 2013
Gamay. A variety that I’m growing to love. I remember Kermit Lynch memorably describing Beaujolais as ‘the one night stand of wines.’ His point: not every wine has to be…
Burgundy and Rhone, Cathiard and J-L Grippat
Met for pre-dinner drinks with Raj Parr and his cousin Prerna at 28-50 yesterday. Two bottles between three before dinner wasn’t a smart idea, but they were super wines. The…
Do we overstate the importance of terroir?
Do we make too much of terroir? Once in a while, it’s good for us to question ourselves. Far too often we assume that our perspective is the only one,…
Champagne Deutz Cuvee William Deutz 2002
This is remarkable stuff. The prestige cuvee from Deutz, from the brilliant 2002 vintage. Deutz is based in Aÿ, which is Pinot country, and the blend reflects this. It is 60%…
Cascina Degli Ulivi A Demua – a lovely natural white from Piedmont
This natural Piedmont white is really interesting. It’s a blend of several local varieties, fermented on skins for a month using native yeasts in barrel. Then the wine is pressed…
Cervejaria Ramiro, Lisbon – a must visit
Earlier in the year, when I was in Lisbon with the fabulous Young Winemakers of Portugal (who, incidentally, have just been written up on the BBC news site), I was…
How sherry is transferred from cask to cask
A short film showing the way that sherries are transferred from cask to cask in the solera/criadera system. This is biologically aged sherry (fino), so a special device is used…
A truly remarkable 6 Puttonyos Tokaji from Dobogó
I made a great discovery tonight. I always love finding new wines that are amazing, like this 6 Puttonyos Tokaji. Dobogó is a small producer in Tokaji, Hungary, with 5…