Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France
The wines of Tuscany/Toscana
The June meeting of the Overton-based blind tasting group was the usual mix of fine bottles, some disappointments and perhaps the least good wine we have ever had (is that sufficiently polite?). And it was a large tasting – 17 bottles. While it is difficult to concentrate for that long (even for those of us
Some wine tastings are large and very mixed in quality: the fun is keeping your wits about you enough to find the best or the interesting in the midst of the ordinary. Put a lot of wines in a small room and event might buzz – but it’s difficult to concentrate or even reach the
Five top Italians … and a bonus Read More »
The launch of the 2006 vintage of Brunello has been mildly controversial. This special wine is made from the particular type of Sangiovese grape variety grown on the Montalcino plateau in southern Tuscany; the resulting wine is released for sale after five years, at least two of which have to be in oak. The launch
Frescobaldi’s 2006 Brunello Read More »
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
La Parrina is a unique Tuscan wine estate near the border with Lazio. In general, terms is it on the Southern Tuscan coast now chiefly famous as a holiday destination. Each year millions of tourists, principally Italians, flock to enjoy the Italian seaside experience of closely packed togetherness on the beaches, in the restaurants, at
La Parrina – last stop in Tuscany Read More »
Sometimes a small loss is difficult to get past. We’ve probably all had the experience of losing something inconsequential which then just bugs you. How could you have lost that pen, that diary, that favourite pair of scissors? You search once, you can’t find it. You search again, it’s not there. Either you have a
The thirty miles between Florence and Siena takes you through one of the most famous landscapes in the world of wine. But while the landscape has enduring appeal – gently undulating hills, now smart renovated farms, vineyards, cypresses, woodlands, more vineyards, medieval towns and castles – the wine is little understood. This is because the
Chianti classico finds its soul Read More »
After the Capezzana tasting, the riches of Decanter’s Italian day at the Landmark Hotel. This has to be the best one-day introduction to the Italian quality wine scene in the UK and maybe beyond. It’s big – with 86 listed producers – and pretty representative, 13 out of 20 regions present, with Sardinia a surprising
Piemonte 2-3 Toscana: A weekend in Italy part 2 Read More »
As the saying goes, if Mohammed won’t come to the mountain, then the mountain will have to come to Mohammed. The past weekend not only offered not only the ending of the English domestic football season with the showpiece of the FA Cup final, but also a Tuscan wine tasting in Hungerford, Berkshire and Decanter’s
A weekend in Italy: Capezzana Read More »
Sangiovese, the most important red grape of Tuscany, is famously variable. It produces both thin sour wine (though today there is really no excuse for this) and some of Italy’s most magnificent, structured and age-worthy reds. The May 2010 edition of Decanter magazine gives the Brunello riserva of 2004 from Biondi-Santi an amazing 20/20 score
Vinitaly 4: high altitude Sangiovese Read More »