I don’t make whole-case purchases all that often. Usually I find that 12 of a particular wine is a little too much. 6 is usually better. But this is the…
Northern Rhone series 5, Jamet Cote Rotie 1999
This wine is a favourite of mine, and I’ve drunk it on perhaps a dozen occasions. Well stored bottles, like this one, are really singing now, but there’s no hurry…
Northern Rhone series 4, Jean Luc Colombo Gravieres Crozes Hermitage
I admit to not having been a great fan of Jean-Luc Colombo in the past. His wines have seemed slightly too polished and modern, lacking the raw essence of northern…
Northern Rhone series 3, 1967 Hermitage
So after two white Hermitage wines, we’re heading to Syrah, but sticking with the Hermitage hill. This wine is very interesting. It was a gift from Richard Kelley MW, who’d…
Northern Rhone series 2, Chapoutier Chante Alouette Hermitage Blanc 2007
Continuing my exploration of the Northern Rhone, wine number two is also a white Hermitage. It may seem an odd choice. Shouldn’t I have gone to Syrah? But I want…
Northern Rhone series 1, Cave de Tain Hermitage Blanc Au Coeur des Siecles 2007
I have decided to start a short series of posts on the wines of the northern Rhone, a splendid and unique place for growing wine grapes. Not only is it…
Video: Syrah and Shiraz – northern Rhone and Barossa
Here’s a short film of me tasting two contrasting wines. Both are from the same grape variety, but one is a Syrah (Jean-Luc Columbo Crozes-Hermitage Les Gravieres 2008), the other…
Video: on the Hermitage hill
Here’s a short film of the wonderful hill of Hermitage: a relatively small appellation of 123 hectares, of which 25 are white grapes (mainly Marsanne), the remainder Syrah. It’s amazing…
Exploring the Hermitage hill
Just back from an amazing mini-trip to the northern Rhone to visit Chapoutier, who are the largest vineyard holders in Hermitage, one of the world’s great wine appellations. Hermitage is…