Wijnnieuws

Ferran ventures to the land of this mother, land of windmills, in order to discover how dated the stereotype of La Mancha is. See also the accompanying The new La Mancha – tasting notes. I plan my articles once a year, together with Jancis. I explain to her more or less what I have in mind and she advises me on them and suggests which of these

Ferran tasted his way through some of Spain's most unusual wines. This tasting article is to be read in conjunction with Ferran's The new La Mancha – overview, a fascinating account of changes in this once rather reviled wine region. The picture is of Adán Israel at Granero restaurant, the local sommelier who helped Ferran enormously with the

Nearly 100 wines tasted in London and Switzerland, from rare varieties such as Himbertscha to more recent crosses such as Galotta as well as the globally versatile Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. My picture above shows vineyards in the lieu-dit of Clavau. The majority of the 96 wines reviewed below were shown at a tasting in London in March organised

Michael wonders whether 2019 isn't the vintage of the century in Germany. See also this guide to our still-growing coverage of Germany's 2020 releases. Klaus Peter Keller took this picture of the harvest in Piesporter Schubertslay in the Mosel on 6 October 2019. Better than 2018? Not in terms of quantity, is the short answer. As suntan lotion

Nick considers the dishes that no restaurant can afford to take off their menus. I can still remember sitting in my office at the top of L’Escargot in Soho one day some time during the 1980s with our chef Martin Lam and several others and saying, ‘If only we could come up with a signature dish, one that everybody would feel compelled to order

How the pandemic first threatened then saved Bordeaux's 2019s. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. See also our guide to coverage of 2019 bordeaux. Ronan Laborde, president of the UGCB, is pictured above by Taylor & Yandell. Mathieu Chadronnier runs CVBG, one of the most important Bordeaux wine merchants. He measures

A company with tentacles in Scotland and Asia… Of all the wine merchants occupying this Friday slot comprising an examination of a dozen wines submitted for review, Justerinis least qualifies as an independent. They are the fine-wine subsidiary (backwater?) of the mammoth international drinks conglomerate Diageo, owner of more than 200 brands

More evidence of the finesse that can now be found in Argentine Malbec – in this case thanks to altitude, terroir and the material in which it was aged. From AR$1,690, 259.90 Norwegian kroner, 269 Swedish kronor, £25, $31.99, €39 Find this wine As outlined in Three generations of Argentine wine, Familia Zuccardi have their origins in the

Some really rather scrumptious 2018s, even if they are not technically vintage ports. Quinta do Vesúvio and the Douro pictured above. As you doubtless know, the port trade dignifies the best years by making vintage port carrying that vintage year – wines that, at their best, should be kept for decades before being opened, with extreme care, and

Stories like that of Epicurean Wines provide hope for Africans such as Johannesburg-based wine writer Tshepang Molisana. This continues our series of personal accounts of those working in South African wine. See last week's from Elton Greeve. In 1994, when South Africa was declared free and democratic, it would have been hard to imagine that

We aim to provide unrivalled coverage of the whites from 2019, a vintage that Michael suggests may be Germany's vintage of the century, and many a red wine released this year, typically from 2018 and 2017. Michael continues to taste in regional groups at his home in Germany and we both hope to taste the latest Grosse Gewächse releases in Wiesbaden

Will the fortunes of wine in newly reopened Singapore be repeated around the world? After ten weeks of closure, Singapore’s hospitality sector reopened on 19 June. Having initially seemed to control the influx of COVID-19, the city state was forced to lock down for the first time on 7 April once infection statistics began their inexorable rise –

See also yesterday's part 1 with its tasting notes on 100 wines from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. As I explained yesterday, these two tasting articles are published, as suggested by our German-wine-loving members of Purple Pages, to complement this summer's offer from specialist importer into the UK Howard Ripley. We have done our best to get these 165

Walter writes There is so little original written material in English available to students and lovers of Italian wine that reporting on Italian wine and recording the traditions and history of a part of Europe that has been producing wine longest has always been my first objective. Burton Anderson has been doing this for 30 years longer than me.

Last year produced an exceptional crop of German wines. Here are tasting notes on 100 of them, including some made by the Zillikens shown above to remind everyone of the family nature of German wine production. Many more notes on Germany's exceptional 2019s to follow. Howard Ripley is not the only specialist importer of German wine into the UK

Burgundy-based Matthew Hayes tried to persuade his neighbours to enjoy some non-French wines. The inspiration for this is a popular thread on our Members’ forum in which a Purple Pager called Blurds laments his quixotic quest to convince a French father-in-law that someone, anyone, makes fine Cabernet Sauvignon outside the Médoc. After 30 years

Ferran reports on three exciting sets of wines from very different Spanish territories. The Canary Islands landscape above was captured by Cristian Palmer. Albada: a surprising way of rethinking Garnacha Albada is a brand owned by Bodegas Virgen de la Sierra, a co-operative in Villaroya de la Sierra (Calatayud). We need to see how these

A shorter version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Picture of the Abbaye d'Hautvillers by James Bort. Dom Pérignon or Krug? The ultimate first-world problem. But the rivalry between these two famous prestige champagnes from LVMH, the luxury brand owner par excellence, is fun to observe, even if you’d never dream of spending

What have some of the world's best chefs been doing during lockdown? A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. ‘Complex, interesting but definitely not fussy’ – that was how one restaurateur described the food we will all be looking forward to when we’re allowed to dine out once more. I asked five chefs from around the world

The owners of this nascent wine business would like it to be slightly less secret... See this guide to our survey of dozens selected by other UK wine merchants. I was contacted by Andrew Towler of Secret Wines in March when we were busy compiling our long list of Wine retailers who’ll deliver to self-isolators. His request to be included was