The Burgundisation of wine
by Guy Woodward
Every so often, a new buzzword springs up in the wine world. Often rather nebulous, sometimes completely intangible, its role is pithily to reflect a trend gaining traction with the...
Topic: Bordeaux
Where Next For Appellations?
by Andy Neather
Massive hailstones ravaged Chablis last year and fires consumed thousands of hectares in Galicia last month: climate change is accelerating. Grape-growing conditions in classic regions simply aren’t the same as...
Under The Weather
by Rod Smith MW
Bordeaux needs a break. It was once regarded by the French themselves as the greatest of wine regions, but now youngsters are drinking less (and less wine) – just as...
The Dilution of Terroir
by Guy Woodward
First up, a trigger warning… I’m approaching this article from the premise that terroir exists. It’s a position to which I would hope most readers of this site would subscribe....
The Vauxhall Paulée
by John Atkinson MW
The Jesuit promise to take the child and return the man holds loosely for wine. Making the right calls during the formative stages of production should help deliver successful outcomes....
The Ladder Of Quality
by John Atkinson MW
The bucolic opening sequence to The Hunger Games makes the dystopic Panem State seem homely; a place where you can stitch a quilt, or share a venison kill with your...
Getting Better All The Time?
by Andy Neather
Dream’s hit Things Can Only Get Better was the theme tune of Britain’s Labour Party in Tony Blair’s 1997 victory, much reprised at Labour’s election landslide earlier this month. It...
A Classic In The Making?
by Rod Smith MW
After the excessive heat of 2022, the vintage 2023 marks a return to normality for Bordeaux. Had this vintage happened 30, or even 20, years ago, it would have gone...
Big Money And The Soul Of Wine
by Andy Neather
You would need a heart of stone not to laugh at the travails of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, honorary chairman of the Champagne house and grandson of its founder. The British press...
The Greek Exception
by Peter Pharos
We all get some random perks from our parents, and for me it was family friends in Mykonos. I don’t mean friends with a house in Mykonos, you understand; there...
The Low-Down on Bordeaux 2022
by Rod Smith MW
The 2022 vintage in Bordeaux, as across all of France and most of the rest of Europe, was very hot. Regular news stories about daily temperatures exceeding 40°C were prominent....
Knowing When To Stop
by Margaret Rand
The other week Domaine de Chevalier brought over samples of the 19 components of its 2022 red grand vin, plus a sample of the final blend. I’ve always thought blending...