Very impressed with these English sparkling wines, from chalky soils in Dorset. Langham Rosé 2014 Dorset, England 12% alcohol. From Cretaceous chalk soils in Dorset, this is a blend of…
Grower Champagne: Marie Noelle Ledru Grand Cru 2009
I found this on the list at La Maison du Columbier in Beaune the other night. It was beautiful. This place has the most amazing wine list: it’s so good…
Château Pichon Baron 2013
Recently I was lucky to be able to taste all the Pichon Barons from the current era, 2001 until 2014. They were lovely wines, but one was missing: the 2013….
Champagne Dom Pérignon 2009
This, the latest release of Champagne Dom Pérignon, was released out of sequence, before the 2008. It’s because of the ripeness of the year, which has produced a wine that…
A gem from Yarra Yering
Yarra Yering, with its distinctive labels, is one of my favourite Australian wineries. I drank this gem last night: probably well before its time, but it was lovely. [Read more…
Pio X 1903 from Gonzalez Byass: an ancient Moscatel
There’s something special about very old wines. While I was tasting through the Las Palmas sherries with Martin Skelton last week, I got a chance to try this remarkable wine,…
Gamay 35, Château de Grandmont Beaujolais Villages Nouveau 2017 France
So, it’s Beaujolais Nouveau day. For quite a while, those of us who love Gamay and Beaujolais were a bit embarrassed by this seemingly outdated celebration. We cringed when we…
Some thoughts on Minimum Unit Pricing of booze
Big news in the drinks trade yesterday, although this is less relevant to readers of this blog: Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of booze has been ruled legal, and Scotland are…
Back at the IWC for some more wine judging
It’s Tranche 1 of the 2018 International Wine Challenge this week. [In case you are wondering why it’s 2018, not 2017, a couple of years ago an extra week’s judging…