Wijnnieuws

Gabe Cook leads us by the hand into his specialist territory, by a slightly circuitous route. Close your eyes and imagine a classic (pre-COVID) scenario. You enter a pub, saunter up to the bar and are greeted with a dazzling display of drinks. It’s magical, like being an overgrown child in giant sweet shop. Behind the bar is a fabulous array of

See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. Above are the incredibly steep, terraced vineyards of Château-Grillet, now part of François Pinault's wine empire, Artémis Domaines. 2019 was a slightly mixed year for white wines in the northern Rhône, and particularly in Condrieu given Viognier’s modest acidity levels and propensity to become

A second, Académie du Vin Library edition of his autobiography is published today. Lucy Pope took this picture of Steven Spurrier at home in Dorset. Steven is now a vine grower and produces Bride Valley sparkling wine from slopes near his house in Dorset. The Bride Valley office, tasting room, wine and art room and eventually a club room (he is

See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. Both St-Joseph and Cornas show real quality in 2019, with Cornas being on the slightly more powerful, riper spectrum. Pierre Gonon’s St-Joseph is shaping up beautifully, as are Thierry Allemand’s brooding Cornas offerings. Above is Thierry’s son Théo. These 143 wines are grouped by

After last week's wallow in the southern Rhône, we head north – to find it not that much cooler. See this guide to our substantial coverage of Rhône 2019. Above, Alistair Cooper MW takes a break from tasting in the St-Joseph vineyards. The 2019 vintage in the northern Rhône can be considered a paradoxical year of extremes. As in the southern

See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. Above Jean-Luc Jamet gives Ali a cartographical tour of Côte Rôtie. Some standout wines were produced in 2019, none more so than in Côte Rôtie. Powerful and intense wines but with real precision, freshness and structure are to be found. This is looking like an excellent vintage. Hermitage

A version of this article, an annual fixture, is published by the Financial Times. Matt Martin took this picture of a serious champagne tasting. All these wines are champagnes unless stated otherwise. Virtually all of these wines are 12%, occasionally 12.5% alcohol but the first one is 13%. Jaume Serra, Asda Wine Selection Marques del Norte

Nick highlights a particularly wide-ranging new book about one important fish. For the past couple of months, in addition to humping the many cases of wine addressed to HRH up to our 14th-floor apartment, I have also been humping cases of books. These are the food and drink books that have come out over the past year whose publishers have

See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. The picture above was taken for the Perrin family of Ch de Beaucastel who produced the Roussanne that so impressed Ali. It will come as no surprise that many of Châteauneuf-du-Pape whites are weighty, honeyed, opulent, broad-shouldered and textured wines. Yet alongside that, many possess real

Intoxicating Ten drinks that shaped Australia  Max Allen  Thames & Hudson Australia  ISBN 9781760761004 (paperback)  ISBN 9781760761370 (ebook)  AU$32.99, £12.29 (Kindle)  I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I am sure that no book that I have reviewed for JancisRobinson.com has knocked me sideways like this one has. I

Richard salutes an old favourite, whose cellars are pictured above. From $20.39, 3,999 Icelandic kronur, 119 Polish zloty, £25.49, HK$283, €40.02, SG$84 Find this wine This is not only my WoW, but my WoY. When I tasted the 1998 vintage earlier this month, it was the perfect antidote to 2020 – a wine that is improbable yet acclaimed

Ali's slightly quizzical reaction to his blind tasting of nearly 80 Vacqueyras reds at the HQ of the appellation. His reviews of the whites will be published tomorrow. See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. There was quite a contrast in 2019 between the wines of Gigondas and those of Vacqueyras, which all too often showed harsh

… on Thanksgiving Day, with an apposite (rotated) image supplied by food photographer Alison Marras via Unsplash. It’s a little more challenging than usual to work out what I’m grateful for at the moment. But let me try. I’m very grateful that: Neither Nick nor I have – yet – been infected by COVID-19 and in our family only our younger

Ali's reaction to his blind tasting of over 90 Gigondas 2019s at the appellation's headquarters in the pretty village below the Dentelles de Montmirail. See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. In my specialised tastings in Gigondas and Vacqueyras I was surprised at how different the two were. Gigondas was the standout performer, with

Alex Sokol Blosser, pictured above by Andrea Johnson and star of this sustainability video, was stumped when trying to find words to describe the 2020 vintage in the Willamette Valley, so he turned to opera instead. Dear ‘Those who are curious to know how we fared in a vintage during a pandemic, social unrest, fires and smoke, and why not throw

Yesterday the Tradition bottlings, today their fancy stablemates, of which Dom de la Vieille Julienne produces not a few. See also Ali's overview of the southern Rhône in 2019 and this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. Interestingly, I found that there was a step up in quality with the Cuvées Spéciales compared with the Traditions in 2019

As in Burgundy, the 2019s, products of a scorching summer, are surprisingly refreshing. Clay may help, and not just underground … See this guide to our substantial coverage of Rhône 2019. There are considerable positives to be taken from the 2019 vintage in the southern Rhône. Crucially for producers, the crop was healthy and yields were back to

We begin two weeks devoted to hundreds of 2019s tasted in the Rhône Valley last month. Above are just some of the Châteauneuf-du-Papes ready for Ali's blind tastings. See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. Winemakers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape warmly welcomed this year’s return to healthy yields. The heat spikes and low rainfall mean

California vineyard workers are increasingly becoming winery owners in a story charted here by Alder, who also provides us with as comprehensive a list as he can muster. Above, the Mexican American Vintners Association's 2018 winemaker dinner. All images courtesy of their subjects. The first people to make wine in California were almost

Ali Cooper took this picture of the hill of Hermitage during his 12 days in the Rhône Valley last month. Nine tasting articles and two overviews are heading your way. Keep track of them all here, with the most recently published articles at the top. For the moment, we list only those scheduled for today and tomorrow. General articles South