Ferdinando’s been a friend ever since I first arrived in the region, along with his Spanish wife Belen, her daughter Laura and their son Leonardo (a sparring partner for my Patrick!). Indeed it was he who insisted, over a dinner at La Coccinella in Serravalle Langhe a year ago, that I should seek out (not his […]

After a glorious weekend recovering from what I have to say was a completely exhausting week in Bordeaux (and several bottles of reviving Burgundy to aid the process), I can sit down now and actually format in my mind what we experienced and after assimilating that, what’s going to happen next.

Surprise, surprise it’s not only Bordeaux (Burgundy and Barolo) that have performed in 2009. A 4,000 kilometre tour (‘in macchina’) to 26 producers in three different countries convinced me that there are some real jewels to be snapped up when we offer the (Austrian and German) wines to our customers in August; notably those from Prager, Schloss Gobelsburg, […]

Our last day of our Bordeaux 2009 en primeur week was spent in the Graves – a 9am start at Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, tasting both Haut-Brion and La Mission. We’d already been mentally preparing our taste buds for the final First Growth of the Médoc. Ch. Haut-Brion was fabulous, showing subtle red fruit aromas […]