A busy day.  Not quite the consistency of St Julien, though pleasing all in all.  First mention must go to Cos for both a brilliantly made 2008 and the astonishing cuverie (see above).  Jean-Guillaume Prats is a man with vision and this is the future.  Simply astonishing, and it clearly works.  In Pauillac, Latour and Mouton […]

Another interesting and variable day.  The late sunshine of 2008 clearly did much good for the Cabernet of the Medoc, but what about the Merlot of the Right Bank and Graves? There is more variation here but still some lovely wines.  In Graves the sheer class and breeding of Haut-Brion pips La Mission for me […]

After checking in at the beautiful Ch. du Tertre and a quick lunch in Margaux we headed north to taste in St Julien, invariably the most consistent appellation of Bordeaux.  Not knowing quite what to expect, I think it fair to say that we have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ’08s so […]

En route to Amsterdam the towering presence of Olivier Humbrecht MW stooped into Basingstoke last week to show off his fine 2007s. It seems eastern France fared better than their western counterparts in ’07, judging by the quality of White Burgundy, Chablis and the Rhone; and of course those of the Rhine! Nevertheless we were […]