Wines in the Press

Although this does have the comforting richness so typical of Saint Emilion it’s more towards [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Dolcetto d`Alba Vilot, Ca` Viola

In Piedmont, where this is from, dolcetto loses out because everyone wants to talk about [...]

Wine Reviews

2016 Château Paret, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

Haynes, Hanson & Clark says this red bordeaux has been flying out of its stockroom [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Lautarul Pinot Noir, Cramele Recas

Romania is a secretly good source of everyday drinking (as opposed to sublimely hedonistic) pinot [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Quincy Villalin, Domaine Jacques Rouzé

From one of the Sancerre satellites in the Loire, this white is a very classy [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, Pontemagno

The great thing about Italian whites is that – unlike some others – they don’t [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Dolcetto d`Alba Vilot, Ca` Viola

25th June 2020

When Piemonte Dolcetto is as good as Ca’ Viola Vilot, it’s an absolute treat, living [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Domaine Pique Roque Rosé, Côtes de Provence

An extremely good, shimmeringly pale pink made up in the hills of the Var department [...]

29
May

Wine Reviews

2019 Quincy Villalin, Domaine Jacques Rouzé

23rd May 2020

This is scintillating Sauvignon Blanc comes from a village called Quincy, which is just down [...]

Wine Reviews

Matthew Jukes’ Recommendations on SheerLuxe’s Podcast

A superb trio of recommendations from Matthew Jukes on SheerLuxe’s podcast: I have a £100 [...]

20
May

Wine Reviews

2019 La Petite Muraille, Le Champ des Murailles, Corbières Rosé

16th May 2020

Corbières, in the south-west of France, is famous for its hearty red wines, but this [...]

Wine Reviews

2016 Château La Guérinières, Saint-Emilion

9th May 2020

…Haynes Hanson & Clark have long worked harder than most at sniffing out the bordeaux [...]

Wine Reviews

2016 Château Barreyre, Bordeaux

4th May 2020

I taste up to 40,000 wines a year and I can tell you that it [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux, Domaine des Sanzay

2nd May 2020

Cabernet franc grown in the south-west facing vineyard of Les Poyeux: ample and plump like [...]

Wine Reviews

2016 Château Paret, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

2nd May 2020

A superb specimen of an unassuming red bordeaux. Fresh, clean and unoaked, it is built [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Racine Picpoul de Pinet, Bruno Lafon & François Chamboissier

2nd May 2020

Haynes, Hanson & Clark is a London-based wine merchant whose buyers favour wines that are [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 La Fruitière Vignes Blanches, Val de Loire IGP, Famille Lieubeau

1st May 2020

Well-integrated ingredients make a most attractive whole with a bit more body than the simplest [...]

Wine Reviews

2016 Château Paret, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

1st May 2020

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Close to the border with St-Émilion. Unoaked. Straightforward crimson. Very [...]

Wine Reviews

2015 Clos Sainte Anne, Côtes de Bordeaux

1st May 2020

From Marie and Sylvie Courselle, ‘vigneronnes épicuriennes’, daughters of Francis Courselle of Ch Thieuley. This [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Domaine Pique Roque Rosé, Côtes de Provence

Very pale, distinctly orangey, salmon Provençal colour. Lightly smoky nose. Saline and fresh with some [...]

01
May

Wine Reviews

2017 Château Roc de Levraut, Bordeaux

29th April 2020

There is one merchant in the UK whose innate understanding of inexpensive red Bordeaux (as [...]

Wine Reviews

2019 Domaine Pique Roque Rosé, Côtes de Provence

I have written up and also bought this wine every vintage for well over a [...]

06
Apr

Wine Reviews

Gatinois Brut Tradition, Grand Cru Aÿ NV

I can remember sitting next to the venerable Madame Gatinois at a Bollinger Vins Clairs [...]

27
Mar

Wine Reviews

2016 Château Les Reuilles, Bordeaux Rouge

An absolutely lovely classic claret: fresh, gentle and so fragrant, as if there’s a waft [...]

23
Mar

Wine Reviews

2018 Pleno Tempranillo, Navarra

23rd March 2020

Tempranillo is the rioja grape but this wine is made in the adjoining region of [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Basa Blanco, Rueda, Telmo Rodriguez

Streamlined, elegant and very unshowy, this white wine made from verdejo and viura has all [...]

14
Mar

Wine Reviews

2018 Pinot Bianco, Kellerei Kurtatsch, Alto Adige

This is one of the most enchanting and remarkable wines of the year so far. [...]

07
Mar

Wine Reviews

2016 Léonides, Domaine du Météore, Faugères

This is a very dramatic wine, made from organic Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault vines which [...]

29
Feb

Wine Reviews

2018 Saumur-Champigny, Domaine des Sanzay

Saumur-Champigny is one of the most important red wine regions in the Loire Valley. I [...]

01
Feb

Wine Reviews

2016 Château La Freynelle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux

It is odd to taste a Bordeaux that is solely made from Cabernet Sauvignon because [...]

Wine Reviews

2016 Château Lion Noir, Côtes de Bourg

The inexpensive red Bordeaux category is a scary place but I found this wine a [...]

Wine Reviews

Gatinois Brut Tradition, Grand Cru Aÿ NV

This is one of my favourite Champagnes of all and it is made from such [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Les Parcelles Chardonnay, Réthoré Davy

This demure wine, with its discreet label, does not jump off the shelf, so let [...]

Wine Reviews

2017 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley

Not the grandest of Burgundy appellations, but winemaker Thomas Bouley is from Volnay and the [...]

04
Dec

Wine Reviews

2014 Vieux Château Saint André, Montagne Saint-Emilion

30th November 2019

It pays to look outside the most famous appellations. And the less ambitious 2014s are [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Ritou Syrah, Vin de France, Domaine Vallet

There are some stunning north Rhône Syrahs around, thanks to a recent run of excellent [...]

30
Nov

Wine Reviews

2018 Le Bois Jacou, Touraine Gamay, Jean-François Merieau

This Loire wine’s morello cherry fruit is more charming than many a Gamay grown in [...]

30
Nov

Wine Reviews

2014 Vieux Château Saint André, Montagne Saint-Emilion

23rd November 2019

Vieux Château Saint André is the family winery of Jean-Claude Berrouet, who made Petrus for [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Ritou Syrah, Vin de France, Domaine Vallet

A glorious Rhône syrah, made by a St Joseph producer from vineyards that aren’t classified [...]

23
Nov

Wine Reviews

2018 Le Bois Jacou, Touraine Gamay, Jean-François Merieau

This is one of my favourite discoveries of the year! Made from the Beaujolais grape, [...]

23
Nov

Wine Reviews

2018 Les Parcelles Chardonnay, Réthoré Davy

This is beautifully expressive, unoaked cool-climate Chardonnay – both vibrant and generous, with citrus, white [...]

21
Nov

Wine Reviews

2015 Lirac, Baron Louis, Château de Montfaucon

The lirac made by Rodolphe de Pins is notably elegant for a red lirac – [...]

11
Oct

Wine Reviews

Cantina Kurtatsch, Sonntaler Alte Reben Vernatsch 2018 Alto Adige

16.5pts – Vernatsch aka Schiave/Tronllinger grown on sandy soils in Kurtatsch hills, at 300–400 m [...]

07
Oct

Wine Reviews

Dom de la Grosse Pierre, La Grosse Pierre 2018 Chiroubles

16pts – 100% Gamay Noir. East-facing, 4-ha vineyard at 350 m on deep granite soils. [...]

07
Oct

Wine Reviews

2017 Condrieu Rouelle-Midi, Domaine Vallet

17/20 Aged for 10 months, 70% in stainless steel, 30% in barrels. Buttery, creamy, toasty. [...]

16
Sep

Wine Reviews

2017 Cent Visages, Touraine Côt, Jean-François Merieau

A couple of years ago I wrote six columns for the short-lived, highbrow, erotic magazine [...]

13
Sep

Wine Reviews

2018 Ritou Syrah, Vin de France, Domaine Vallet

Domaine Vallet Ritou Syrah 2018 Vin de France is a gleaming syrah, with a plume [...]

07
Sep

Wine Reviews

2018 Ritou Viognier, Vin de France, Domaine

When it comes to white I naturally incline to dry, focused wines with a clean [...]

07
Sep

Wine Reviews

2018 Chiroubles, Domaine de la Grosse Pierre

Chiroubles is one of my favourite Beaujolais Crus (the 10 jewels in the Beaujolais crown [...]

29
Aug

Wine Reviews

2018 Lagrein, Kellerei Kurtatsch, Alto Adige

A wonderful example of northern Italy’s Lagrein grape – deep coloured and bathed in black [...]

01
Aug

Wine Reviews

Coates & Seely Rosé Brut NV

This sophisticated pink fizz has emerged as one of England’s finest. Its tantalising aromas of [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Quincy Villalin, Domaine Jacques Rouzé

Quincy is one of the Sancerre satellites and typically a step above Touraine sauvignon but [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Mas Bres Pinot Noir, Cévennes

Holiday pinot noir that seems to have a faint waft of lavender and blowsy florals [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Domaine Pique Roque Rosé, Côtes de Provence

I hadn’t tasted this palest pink wine when I wrote my recent top rosés list [...]

Wine Reviews

2018 Domaine Pique Roque Rosé, Côtes de Provence

I was lucky to see a very early sample of this wine and it is [...]

13
Apr

Wine Reviews

2017 Pleno Tempranillo, Navarra

Tempranillo is the rioja grape, but this is from the northern Spanish region of Navarra. [...]

Wine Reviews

2017 Basa Blanco, Rueda, Telmo Rodriguez

It’s the streamlined shape of this elegant wine that makes it such a pleasure. It’s [...]

Wine Reviews

2017 Touraine Sauvignon, Domaine de la Bergerie

…this is altogether sleeker and more refined – a real mini sancerre. Very finely delineated, [...]

Wine Reviews

2017 Chianti Colli Senesi, Campriano

…I knew that ’17 Campriano was special and, of course, it is. This is one [...]