Ticking the right boxes
by Margaret Rand
I’ve been doing some recreational online shopping in the lockdown. But only for things I know will be reliable; only things which will be as I expect. Once upon a...
Country: France
In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinaire
by Tim Atkin
At 5pm on the 25thof April 2008, Peter Hellman received a phone call from Geoffrey Troy of New York Wine Warehouse. The wine merchant had heard that “something unusual” was...
Why I love Chenin Blanc
by Ken Forrester
Chenin Blanc truly is the Cinderella of the wine industry, a shy grape, with no immediately outstanding features. If you’ve ever seen a bunch on the vine – a medium...
Remaking Burgundy
by John Atkinson MW
“In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection that the map of a single Province occupied the entirety of a City, and the map of the Empire, the...
Burgundy’s high flyer
by Tim Atkin
“Where’s the Fourrier?” is an increasingly common question at Burgundy tastings these days. Just as closing time visitors to the Louvre are loath to tarry in the Etruscan collection on...
2017 Famille Perrin Réserve du Mistral, Côtes du Rhône Villages, Rhône Valley
( £11.99, 13.5%, Waitrose )This impressive wine is sometimes described as a ‘mini Châteauneuf-du-Pape” but it’s much better than that. In fact, it’s superior to many supermarket CNDPs and cheaper, too. Made by the Perrin family who own Château de Beaucastel, it’s a poised, scented, integrated cuvée of mostly Grenache with 15% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with fine red berry fruit, a dusting of Mediterranean herbs, understated wood and a refreshing, medium-bodied finish.
The Languedoc: an embarrassment of riches
by Simon Field MW
Château de Jonquières is located just to the north of Montpellier, its slate turrets and honey stone quietly distinguished, history writ large in its cobbles and flagstones. An ancient archway...
The Taste of Smoke
by Harry Eyres
I write in a time of ashes. Not only have certain political dreams and projects recently gone up in smoke; the destructive fires have been raging more literally, all across...
What makes a wine taste expensive?
by Margaret Rand
It happened at a Berry Bros tasting, down in the cellars where the floors are so uneven that they give you the impression you’ve absorbed a lot more alcohol than...
Farewell to a great Burgundian
by Tim Atkin
Some wine personalities take their final bow in front of cathedrals full of mourners; others disappear without fanfare or warm words. William Fèvre, one of the great figures of Burgundy,...
Misunderstood Wines
by Chris Wilson
There are certain rights-of-passage conversations that take place as we make our journeys in life. Which football team do you support? Where did you grow up? What was your first...
Why consumers like Chenin Blanc more than Riesling
by Tim Atkin
Where was the Riesling? Johann de Wet shrugged sheepishly and said he’d brought five Robertson Chardonnays to taste instead. “We only make 6,000 bottles of Riesling these days,” he admitted....