Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France
The wines of Bordeaux
The May meeting of the blind tasting group was a great evening out … if more chaotic than usual. It wasn’t obvious why. We had the same format: everyone brings a good/interesting bottle, we taste them blind, we get the wrong answer (mainly), we have a fine meal courtesy of the Red Lion, Overton, everyone
For much of human history, wine was sweet. Winemakers didn’t have the knowledge to get wines to ferment out completely and so inevitably the result was sweet. And anyway, people like sweet things and, it could be said, some sweetness can cover up a number of faults. In the last twenty years, fashion has dictated
Some wine occasions really stand out. Obviously you need top quality wines or, at least, wines of exceptional interest. Hopefully, there is really good food to go with it. And you certainly want congenial, knowledgeable and appreciative company. Saturday night’s dinner more than met all these criteria. People had clearly searched their cellars for precious
Through the generosity of friends on New Year’s Eve, we got to taste a rather grander Claret, Clos du Marquis. Those of us who live in North Hampshire will immediately feel positively disposed to this wine as its name graces the very good French restaurant in the former pub on the Stockbridge road which all
and a third Claret Read More »
Relaxed Christmas drinking presented a chance to compare two red wines from Bordeaux from the same year (the very hot year of 2003), at the same sort of price level, but from different sides of the Gironde river. I opened these two to see how marked the difference was between a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend as
Tale of two clarets Read More »
Corked bottles continue to be a real problem. Some years ago I visited a fine new winery in Campania, Southern Italy, and over lunch in the spectacular winery restaurant had a corked bottle. I didn’t think about it anymore until at dinner we ordered the same wine in a local Naples trattoria and it was
To cork or not to cork … Read More »
Blind tasting sounds a slightly terrifying prospect. The phrase itself is slightly worrying, like ‘deaf skiing’ or ‘mute horse riding’. It’s not entirely accurate in that you can still use visual clues in the colour or viscosity of wine, but obviously not read the label. But it is a remarkably different experience. Rather than interpret
Tasting in the dark Read More »
Recent years has seen a surge in the popularity of rosé in the United Kingdom. It must be something about all those summer parties or just people looking for a change from white or red. On the whole the style is light and easy drinking, a quaffable crowd pleaser. But every now and then you
I suppose it is inevitable that the wine trade will live on the hype about certain vintages. It was 1982 which made Robert Parker’s name when he declared it, early and correctly, to be a great vintage. 2000 was much promoted because it was the millennium and fortunately turned out pretty well and 2005 was
Something to celebrate: 1990 Read More »
There is something very satisfying about a proper case of wine. At one level it’s only a wooden box as opposed to the usual cardboard container but it spells promise – hopefully great wines and a bit of protection against life’s knocks. But above all it sends a signal – this is something special. This
Recent vintages of Langoa Barton Read More »