Au revoir, Monsieur Dubosc
by Tim Atkin
It’s hard to imagine the Cave de Plaimont, one of the most forward thinking co-operatives in France, without André Dubosc. He’s been associated with the Gascon operation since 1972, first...
Author: TA_Editor
Bordeaux 2011: first impressions
by Tim Atkin
A tractor on the Garonne It feels as if the 2010 Bordeaux campaign has only just ended, but attention spans are shorter than ankle socks in the Gironde. As the...
Celebrating 25 years of the IPNC
by Tim Atkin
What would a neo-Prohibitionist make of the International Pinot Noir Celebration in McMinnville, Oregon? There’s enough wine consumed over the course of the three day festival to stock a chain...
Bordeaux 2010: end of term report
by Tim Atkin
At last, the 2010 en primeur campaign is over. Even for people who are fascinated by what happens in the world’s largest fine wine region, it had become a bore...
Sleepless in Bordeaux?
by Tim Atkin
As Bordeaux prepares to welcome the world to the biennial Vinexpo trade fair this weekend, the increasingly overblown 2010 en primeur campaign has gone into hibernation. But what happened earlier...
A world without Bordeaux en primeur?
by Tim Atkin
It’s a bank holiday in France today, so the 2011 en primeur bandwagon has been pushed into a lay-by until tomorrow morning. To be honest, it’s barely got out of...
The joy of Austrian red wines
by Tim Atkin
Heaven, runs the old joke, is where the police are British, the chefs Italian, the mechanics German, the lovers French and it’s all organised by the Swiss. Hell, on the...
Australia: lessons from the past
by Tim Atkin
There’s nothing like a tasting of old wines to give you a sense of perspective. Sipping from bottles that were made before you were born (increasingly rare in my case...
Two great South African white blends
by Tim Atkin
Wandering around the London International Wine Fair can be a bewildering experience. You could spend three weeks at ExCel, a series of ugly aircraft hangers in the Docklands, and only...
What’s wrong with the UK wine scene
by Tim Atkin
In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in the middle of National Wine Month, an initiative launched by the admirable Wine & Spirit Education Trust. I may have missed the road...
The joy of blind tastings
by Tim Atkin
They may not be as unpopular as estate agents, traffic wardens or international bankers, but wine tasters are generally regarded with suspicion and even derision by the general public. I...
Bordeaux 2010: should you believe the hype?
by Tim Atkin
At a drinks party during the Masters of Wine Symposium in Bordeaux last June I was talking to Jean-Guillaume Prats, the general manager of Château Cos d’Estournel. What would the...