Highlights: Maçanita Vinhos Letra F Vinho de Mistura 2022, Douro Valley,...
Letra F refers to the last letter in the grade for the categorization system for port grapes in the Douro, where Letra A is the best. Though the F grade were historically seen as the worst for Port...
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Natural wines from Georgia (1) Lapati Wines
Website: https://www.lapatiwines.com/ I tasted these wines with Guillaume Gouerou, one half of Lapati Wine. He was an artist when he first visited Georgia in 2015 for an art event, where he was to...
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Georgian natural wines (2) Manavi Wines
Manavi Wines Website: https://www.manaviwines.ge/ Manavi is the project of Giorgi Aivazyan. These wines come from the village of Manavi, a small microzone in the eastern part of Kakheti, at an...
View ArticleHighlights: Champagne Billecart Salmon 2016 France
Impressed with this latest vintage release from Billecart-Salmon. Champagne Billecart Salmon Vintage Extra Brut 2016 FranceThis is 100% Grand Cru, with 24% Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims and 66%...
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New releases (2021) from Nicolas-Jay, now one of Oregon’s very best wineries
Jamie Goode tastes latest releases from Jay Boberg and Jean-Nicolas Meo of Nicolas-Jay, a winery who has, in a very short time, become one of the stars of the Oregon wine scene Nicolas-Jay Affinités...
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Dry-grown Chile: exploring Itata, a historic region whose time has now come
The modern era of Chilean wine has been defined by French grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with Syrah and Pinot Noir making a mark more recently....
View ArticleWhy you should enter the new 67 Pall Mall Wine Global Wine Communicator...
Hmmm, wine writing competitions. When I started out we had a few. The Glenfiddich Food and Drinks Awards were fun because they included food, which meant famous people won and attended the awards, not...
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Revela: an exciting new producer from Portugal’s Dão wine region
Mariana Salvador is a winemaker working with Textura and the Barbetio still wines. Revela is her own project in the Dão, and debut vintage was 2021. The vineyards are in Nelas. Revela Tinto 2021 Dão,...
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Chianti Classico deep dive (6) exploring Lamole, the smallest UGA
Chianti Classico has recently been divided into 11 UGAs (Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive, which translates inelegantly into Additional Geographical Units). This move, from the 2022 vintage, allows...
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Rajat Parr Wines: tasting the new releases from Phelan Farm and Scythian Wine...
Website: https://phelanfarm.com/ The pandemic had a big impact on a lot of people. It turned Rajat Parr into a farmer. Jamie Goode tastes the wines that are the result of this transition, from the...
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Biondi Santi: new releases from this star of Brunello
Website: https://www.biondisanti.it/en/home/home Biondi Santi is one of Italy’s great estates. The brilliant thing about this domaine is the consistency of style: picking relatively early and giving...
View ArticleHighlights: Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV
Had a few glasses of this the other evening at a function, and once again came away impressed. Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV France (magnum) This has a significant proportion of reserve...
View ArticleHighlights: Westwell Pinot Meunier Multi Vintage, England
This is an interesting project. It’s a traditional method sparkling wine made with no additions at all. This comes from vintage 2019, 2020 and 2021, picked early (19.5 Brix) with high acidity (average...
View ArticleHighlights: Champagne Lanson NV becomes Le Black Création, and this is editon...
This is the second release of Le Black Création, following on from 257. It’s the re-badged black label non-vintage from Lanson, but, as Roederer have done, and Krug did before them, it’s giving more...
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2021 Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection: top reds from Hawke’s Bay,...
The Gimblett Gravels is a special sub-region in the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand. As the name suggests, the soils are free draining gravels, laid down by the river back in the day. It’s slightly...
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Achaval Ferrer, one of the leading wineries from Argentina’s Mendoza region
Website: https://www.achaval-ferrer.com/ Achaval Ferrer is one of the most celebrated Argentine wineries. I remember being hugely impressed by what they were doing when I visited in March 2008, and so...
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Wirra Wirra: a McLaren Vale winery on the fine wine transformation path
Website: https://wirrawirra.com/ Wirra Wirra is a long-established winery in Australia’s McLaren Vale. For many years it has had a reputation for great quality, well priced wines, but is now looking...
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Sandra Bravo is making some of Rioja’s most interesting wines at her project...
Website: https://www.sierradetolono.com/en/ Sandra Bravo is making some of Rioja’s most interesting wines, with a focus firmly on the vineyard. She is half from Rioja (she was born in Logroño), and...
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Domaine des Escaravailles, a southern Rhône star
Website: https://www.domaine-escaravailles.com/en/ Escaravilles means bettle in Occitan, hence the scarb beetle on the label. I tasted these wines with Madeline Ferran, who joined the family domaine...
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Video and gallery: Festival del Potatare, the Simonit & Sirch pruning...
I’m just back from the Festival del Potatare, the second edition of the pruning festival organized by industry leading pruning consultancy Simonit & Sirch. Held at San Felice in Chianti Classico,...
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