I have just returned from a brief visit to a rain-drenched Rioja, tasting and assessing the new releases. The wines in general are elegant, fresh and focused but even in youth seem to  lack  something of the concentration and tannic grip of more illustrious forebears such as 2001 and 2004. Overall, I would say, of the major Bodegas visited La […]

  Well, what an interesting week. And what have we learnt? Well, 2007 was about as good as it could be given the dreadful growing season up to the end of August. It was never going to be as good as 2005, and for once no one has pretended otherwise. However good the winemaking, vineyard […]

Poor old Graves – it’s not a Médoc, it’s not a Right Bank, it feels like a bit of an orphan, unloved and forgotten. Even with the stylish new Pessac-Léognan name its top estates have been able to use since 1987, the region – with the honourable exception of Haut Brion – has never really […]

As we rambled through St Emilion and Pomerol today we found it increasingly difficult to visit a château without bumping into one of the members of the Thienpont clan. It must be quite galling to own one of the greatest estates in the world and not even produce the best wine in your own family. […]