In this piece, US-based wine writer Ron Washam pokes fun at Riedel, the wine glass company, a brand that I respect and use personally. This is a piece of satire....
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Georgia: a visit to dreamland
Visitors to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi were warned to stay off the streets last month. The city has seen its share of disorder over the centuries, but this had...
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Romania: getting back on its horse
Standing at the baggage carousel in Timişoara Airport in western Romania, I was approached by a friendly fellow traveller. “You here for the IW Conference too?” he said. “Erm… International...
Read MoreA letter from the Publisher of Le Pan Magazine
Hello Le Pan is the only wine magazine that answers the questions to which real wine connoisseurs need answers. Is my private jet a good place to store my First...
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Chapoutier 2014 Sélections Parcellaires: a difficult birth
The vintage I moved to London in August 2003 on one of the hottest days in living memory. Not the ideal conditions for shifting furniture up flights of stairs. Not...
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Are en primeur Bordeaux scores out of control?
In his timely article on Wine-Pages about score inflation in Bordeaux, Stephen Brook sets out to prove that points reached a “preposterous level” in 2014. He also accuses me of...
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Priorat: too little of a good thing?
It doesn’t feature on many wine tours, but the village of Bellmunt del Priorat has its very own mining museum, a tribute to a time when lead was more important...
Read MoreJefford on Mundane: Palate and Column Fatigue
How do you maintain your nose? Your tongue is your most important tool, but whose box do you keep it in? How often do you need a liver transplant? And...
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Guerrilla winemakers
One wine, in one place, for one year only. It’s hard enough making wine in the same place each year, so as winemaking philosophies go it doesn’t get much more...
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To spray or not to spray?
Thibault Liger-Belair is the last person you’d expect to see in a court of law. He’s friendly, respected and a supremely honest bloke who makes some of the best wines...
Read MoreAnyone for red Chardonnay?
There is no doubt that the Great British Public loves wine. After all, they’re regularly accused of abusing themselves with more than two glasses a night but it seems to...
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Bordeaux 2014 – my methodology
Before the unveiling of my anxiously anticipated scores for 2014 Bordeaux (many of which fall between 90 and 98 points, and have pretty much been randomly assigned), I thought it...
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