I’ve written extensively about Norman Hardie’s wines before. But on this recent trip I tried some of his wines that astonished me, and are really next-level. These have to be…
A few days of gastronomic overload in Montréal
I can’t believe it took me so long to visit Montréal. Canada’s second largest city (with a population of 2 million, but double that in the metropolitan area), it’s a…
Wines from Chapel Hill, McLaren Vale
I recently tasted through the range from McLaren Vale producer Chapel Hill, whose wines I hadn’t seen in a while. I was impressed. ‘The past 12 years have been a…
Day two at Norman Hardie, 2017 vintage
Winemaking is fascinating. Of course, it’s all about the grapes. Once a year you get to harvest them, and the quality of the grapes determines the quality potential of the…
Tasting Climate Change, in Montréal: the impact of warming on wine
Yesterday was the Tasting Climate Change conference https://www.tastingclimatechange.com/en/ , organized by Michelle Bouffard and held in Montréal, Canada. It was a half-day event looking at the impact of climate change…
Catching the tail end of vintage at Norman Hardie, Prince Edward County, Canada
After some fun in Montreal (more to come on this), I headed down to Prince Edward County to catch a couple of days of vintage at Norman Hardie (I was…
Gamay 34, Edmunds St John Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir 2015
This Californian Gamay comes from Barsotti Ranch, a high-altitude (1000 m) vineyard in El Dorado County, with decomposed granite soils. Vines were planted in 2005, but there are also some…
My top wines from the Argentina Wine Awards
I’ve just finished writing up the notes from judging the Argentine Wine Awards in Mendoza last month. These are my personal notes and scores on the wines I liked the…
Two lovely Languedoc wines from Gayda
Had a look at some samples yesterday after getting home from New Zealand, and these two, from Domaine Gayda, stood out. Gayda Figure Libre Chenin Blanc 2015 Pays d’Oc, France…