Early in 2007 the celebrated Rhône writer, John Livingstone Learmonth sent me (along with the rest of his address book) a petition to try and prevent what was described as ‘Le Cornas menacé par l’urbanisation’ . Unbelievably the powers that be (or were) planned to build a 5 storey building slap bang in the middle […]

I like to start Christmas with a glass of Champagne and the refined elegance of Billecart Salmon  fits the bill perfectly. Moving on to white wine to serve with oysters I would select a Chablis, and the biting, mouth-watering minerality of Billaud Simon ‘s wines has no peer in my book. With turkey I eschew […]

For all those intrigued by the chocolate & wine debate, a recent tasting trip of mine to Tuscany threw some more light on the subject. We were approaching the end of a wonderful lunch, held by Dr. Thomas Bär  of Chianti Classico producer Gagliole, when he produced a bowl brimming with the finest Lindt chocolates. Bitter black with the silkiest […]

A few years ago Glengoyne distillery released their Scottish oak finish matured single malt. This was a nice piece of marketing and, critically, the product was very good. It is never likely that there will be swathes of the great Scottish oak forests toppling to keep up with demand as commercially it is rather an […]