Had a good evening last night with Jean-Luc Colombo at Hawksmoor Seven Dials last night. Jean-Luc was quite tired – he was suffering from a cold, and had spent the…
Northern Rhone series 19, Ogier Belle Helene 2007
Normally, I’d shy away from a Cote Rotie aged in 100% new oak. But this cuvee from Ogier seems to be able to take it in its stride. It was…
Northern Rhone series 18, Equinoxe 2009 from Maxime Graillot
I’m so excited by this wine I’m blogging on it minutes after opening it and trying it for the first time. It’s the Crozes-Hermitage Equinoxe 2009 by Maxime Graillot (Alain’s…
Northern Rhone series 17, Chapoutier Petite Ruche Crozes Hermitage 2009
Now this I like. It’s just been listed by Waitrose at a very good price (£12.99), and it’s quite a serious expression of Crozes-Hermitage in a somewhat modern style. I…
Northern Rhone series 16, Domaine Clape Cornas Renaissance
Hmmm, I’m enjoying this Northern Rhone series. A chance to drink some wonderful wines. Here’s the latest: it’s a Cornas from Clape, but it isn’t at all rustic. Some people…
Northern Rhone series 15, Dard et Ribo Karriere
Now this is something a bit different. It’s a white Crozes Hermitage from old vine Marsanne on white clay soil. As with all the Dard & Ribo wines, it is…
Northern Rhone series 14, Cote Rotie, Cornas and Hermitage at Twickenham
Worry ye not. This wine blog is not turning into a sports blog, although you’d be forgiven for thinking so. It has been a sport-filled summer. On Saturday I was…
Northern Rhone series 13, Jaboulet Thalabert 1985 and cricket
Great day today. It was Wine Trade vs Further Friars, down at Keevil in Wiltshire, on a perfect late summer’s day. The game was great – more on that later…
Northern Rhone series 12, Saint Peray time
Saint-Péray is a tiny appellation in the south of the northern Rhône, consisting of some 62 hectares of vines planted on granite overlaid by limestone, silt and loess soils. It’s…