Here comes my annual statement of support received by me in the work I do running and writing Winedoctor, a little later than planned (I have been rushed off my feet). Having said that, looking back to my 2013 disclosures, I see I published in late January and made the same excuse last year, so […]
The Salons of Angers
There’s a change to the usual programme of updates on Winedoctor this week, as last Friday evening I arrived in Angers for the annual Salon des Vins de Loire. There is little if any time to make the usual additions to the site, and so instead I will provide some brief reports on what I […]
Salon des Vins de Loire 2015 day 1
I’m not sure it is possible to taste more Muscadet, Sancerre, Vouvray and Montlouis than I tasted yesterday. I kicked off with Luneau-Papin, with some brut de cuve samples which only served to reinforce my rapidly forming opinion that 2014 in the Loire Valley is a lovely vintage for all styles of dry wine, white, […]
Salon des Vins de Loire 2015 day 3
Well that is the annual Salon des Vins de Loire over for another year. It’s been a busy few days; in combination with the preceding weekend salons, I’ve just completed five long days of tasting, almost every wine from the Loire (with just a handful from Bordeaux). Yesterday I caught up with the domaines and […]
Salon des Vins de Loire 2015 day 2
The more meticulously you plan things, the more likely they are to go wrong. Thus it seems to me that the path to success involves never planning anything; then, when things go even half-right, it is a major victory worth celebrating. If I had this attitude yesterday would have been a success. As it happens, […]
Critics: The Primeurs Marketing Machine?
The world’s wine eyes are beginning to turn towards Bordeaux now, as en primeur season looms. Well, that opening statement might have been true a few weeks ago. Now it would be more accurate to say that the en primeur season is already underway; the early-bird critics are in Bordeaux, and making sure their presence […]
Bordeaux 2014: Prices will Rise
The 2014 Bordeaux primeurs draw near. The almost traditional pre-primeurs back-and-forth is already behind us. The UK wine trade called for sensible pricing in an open letter printed here in The Drinks Business. Bordeaux says no, of course. Once a seemingly innocent device designed to provide early cash flow for the châteaux, which then mutated [&#
Exploring Sherry #7: Emperatriz Eugenia
It has taken me quite a while to get around to the next instalment of my infrequent and informal Exploring Sherry series, but the wait has been worth it. This wine, an oloroso from Lustau, is a wine worth experiencing. It comes from a solera begun in 1921 to celebrate the visit of Emperatriz Eugenia […]
Checking in on . . . Herbert Hall Brut 2012
The sparkling wine scene in England continues to make waves, and I’m delighted to have been able to taste the 2012 from Herbert Hall recently, after writing up the 2011 last year. The 2011 charmed with a rather firm, Loire-like, stony-nettly reticence, but the 2012 shows a much riper, more seductive character. The 2012 from […]