Month: October, 2007

News from the Rhône

I recently joined our Rhône Buyer, Simon Field MW, to taste the Rhône 2006s and fermenting examples of the freshly-harvested 2007s. Years in the trade have taught me that it is unwise to be dogmatic about the quality of a vintage when the fermentations are still to be completed, but it was revealing to see […]

Bordeaux 2004 – ‘The best-value vintage on the market today’?

 At a Decanter Magazine Panel Tasting of the 2004 Médoc Crus Classés which I recently attended, Master of Wine James Lawther noted “For lovers of classic Bordeaux, this is the best-value vintage on the market today.” It is almost always the case that the years which immediately precede and follow a great vintage suffer from living a little in […]

News from Bordeaux

Alun Griffiths MW (Wine Director) and I have just spent a fascinating week in the vineyards of Bordeaux. We were there mainly to re-taste the 2006s and the now bottled 2005s. The former have added a little weight now and are definitely softer than when we tasted them in April; with a few magnificent new […]

Fine Wine Investment

That the best wines have proved to be sound investments over the past few years is undeniable: one only need to look at the numbers to see that the fine wine market has been exceptionally buoyant since 2005 (the year, not the vintage) and customers who own top end 1996 & 2000 clarets will have […]