Category Archives: Wine Reviews

Although this does have the comforting richness so typical of Saint Emilion it’s more towards the perfumed than the dense, spicy, tannic spicy fruitcake end of the scale. I loved it. in , 11th July 2020

In Piedmont, where this is from, dolcetto loses out because everyone wants to talk about nebbiolo. A criminal shame when a wine is as attractive as this one: deep purple, a silky tease of dark cherries and violets. in , 11th July 2020

Haynes, Hanson & Clark says this red bordeaux has been flying out of its stockroom and it’s easy to see why. Made in an excellent vintage from mostly (80%) merlot, it’s juicy and moreish while retaining a sense of place. in , 11th July 2020

Romania is a secretly good source of everyday drinking (as opposed to sublimely hedonistic) pinot noir and this one shows why: it sings of summer with scents of red berries and cherry blossom, with a gentle rosewoody spice in the background. in , 11th July 2020

From one of the Sancerre satellites in the Loire, this white is a very classy sauvignon blanc that is thick with flavours of grass and nettles with an elderflower lift. So good at the end of a hot day. in , 11th July 2020

The great thing about Italian whites is that – unlike some others – they don’t taste sweet and blowsy when you start eating. Verdicchio is the grape and the flavour is cool and hydrating, with nips of green and a herbaceous background. in , 11th July 2020

When Piemonte Dolcetto is as good as Ca’ Viola Vilot, it’s an absolute treat, living up to its name ‘little sweet’, although it’s most definitely a dry red wine. It’s a grape variety that can have rather dry, sandpapery tannins (perhaps that’s why it’s been losing out to Barbera in the vineyards), but it doesn’t […]

An extremely good, shimmeringly pale pink made up in the hills of the Var department of Provence. The blend is syrah, grenache and cinsault with 20 per cent cabernet sauvignon. Has a gentle, red-berry-scented nose with a crisp structure and herbaceous twist. in , 29th May 2020

This is scintillating Sauvignon Blanc comes from a village called Quincy, which is just down the road from the more famous town of Sancerre. One of the most nerve-tingling and luxuriously appointed Sauvignons of the year so far, it is made by the finest estate in the region, and it is a cracker with the […]

A superb trio of recommendations from Matthew Jukes on SheerLuxe’s podcast: I have a £100 spend split up into three different bottles …and they are all utterly world class… Gatinois Brut Tradition, Grand Cru Aÿ NV 2017 Pouilly-Fuissé, Domaine Dominique Cornin 2012 Château Laroze, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé on the , May 2020