As Claret fans will know 1982 was a legendary vintage in Bordeaux: ripe, bold and, we can say after 32 years, one that has passed the test of time. I got a rare chance to taste two examples from this year with Andover Wine Friends due to the generosity of one of our members who
Celebrating 1982 Claret Read More »
The 1855 classification of the Médoc has proved remarkably robust. There have been a few revisions, you have to take into account that in Bordeaux the name on the bottle refers to the commercial entity, the ‘château’, which can buy or sell land (thus obscuring the pure terroir argument) and, of course, the quality of
Quality hierarchy: Claret 2004 revisited Read More »
Last night’s tasting in Longparish was a great opportunity to explore again the amazing diversity and riches of the wines of South West France. Even the names are redolent of difference and local pride: from Irouléguy in Atlantic-influenced Pyrenees, deep in Basque country, via Madiran, Fronton and Gaillac spread across the central area, to Marcillac
Diversity in South West France Read More »
England rises … I recently ran a tasting for Andover Wine Friends which a decade ago would have been scarcely conceivable. In order to test the progress of the quality of English sparkling wine, it pitted the wines of Nyetimber, West Sussex against the grand marque Louis Roederer, historic Champagne house. On the face of
Nyetimber v Roederer Read More »
Our local blind tasting group, at my request, focused last night on Merlot. Why? Because I find it more difficult to detect than the Cabernets or even Syrah, which I also find a bit of a puzzle. We had a good line up – seven wines, six of which I would be happy to drink
Ch. de Mercuès is a proper if very elegant castle. Its website shows the towers of chateau emerge form the mists of South West France. On the same website the wine plays second fiddle to the luxury hotel but nonetheless they are clearly proud of it. In the glass the wine comes over as a
Big birthday dinner, an English evening outside Just occasionally the English weather plays a hugely positive role in a special celebration. For the last few weeks, we have been enjoying a warm, even hot, summer and the evening of my birthday was the last moment of this hot spell. We planned to have the first
Big birthday dinner Read More »
Wine writers and drinkers have been exercised by what is referred to as premature oxidation in white Burgundy since the 1996 vintage. This is a slightly vague condition in which high quality wines from top village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites fail to live up to their promise, being either obviously oxidised or just
How does white Burgundy age? Read More »
What can one expect of a bottle of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru? Due to the rules of the appellation, expectations should be limited as 50% of the wine is deemed to be Grand Cru. (If you want the really classy stuff the label needs to read Premier Grand Cru Classé – or of course you need
Ch. Cantin, St-Emilion Read More »
Wine study has many benefits. It leads to an accumulation of a great deal of knowledge, hopefully, accompanied by insight and understanding. It certainly gets you to amazing places, whether we are talking about grand, architect-designed wineries or the small shed from which the precious bottles emerge. But most of all it leads to great