Last year Robert Parker had a little rant about things he doesn’t like in the wine world. It was quite funny, but also – in my opinion – misguided. In…
Great New Zealand Pinot Noir, from Yealands and Greystone
I’m at Prowein. It’s a huge trade fair, with 50 000 attendees from around the world. The scale of this fair is daunting. It is the first time I’ve attended:I’d…
Riecene Chianti Classico and IGT Toscana
It’s fair to say that I am not the biggest Sangiovese fan out there. But when I come across great wines, I don’t mind what they are made from or…
Two German Pinot Noirs
Seeing that I am off to Germany for a few days I thought I’d write up two German Pinot Noirs that I opened last night. I really like German Pinot…
Meeting Mark Driver of Rathfinny, talking PDOs
Mark Driver’s Rathfinny Estate has become one of the most talked about English wineries, even though they haven’t released any wine. I caught up with him (he’s pictured above) to…
A lovely Greek white, Semeli Mantinia Nassiakos 2013
I really liked this Greek white, which is a varietal Moschofilero, from grapes grown at 650 m altitude, made by Semeli winery in the Mantinia region. It has personality and…
Eugenio Collavini Refosco ‘Pucino’ 2013 Friuli Colli Orientali, Italy
This is interesting. And we like ‘interesting’ here. [And I’m not using ‘interesting’ in the typical British sense, which is when a grower shows you a bad wine you politely…
Château Plaisance ‘Alabets’ 2010 Fronton, France
Marc Pénavaye’s Château Plaisance consists of 30 hectares of vines in the Fronton appellation, near Toulouse in southwest France. This is a varietal Negrette, which is such an interesting red…
Jaspi Blanc, a lovely affordable Spanish white
I love it when I find a really nice wine at an everyday sort of price. This fits the bill: a Catalan white wine from Coca i Fitó in Terra Alta,…