News from Jancis Robinson

Take advantage of some of the best deals around. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. See also my seasonal recommendations for fizz, whites and reds. There are some fabulous bargains here, not least because both strong and sweet wines are out of fashion. For how much longer, I wonder? These 20 gems are listed in ascending

Our preoccupations as diners-out have been evolving. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. The question that readers have most frequently put to me changed significantly during 2019. What used to be the rather generic ‘What is your favourite restaurant or food?’ has morphed into the far more specialised and thought

The latest crop of wines, mainly sherries, from this ground-breaking producer. In the days before my private love of wine became one with my professional world, roughly 20 years ago, I would have liked to have had a friend like me. Not for any particular personal qualities but to share the spoils of a tasting, as I did with some friends in

A strong seasonal recommendation from Julia, suitable for both post-electoral celebrations and commiserations. From €18, $21.22, 199.75 Danish kroner, CA$39.99, £25.95, SG$66 Find this wine This deliciously rich, deep and perfectly balanced wine, which you could enjoy right now or keep for a decade or more, was one of the most vibrant and

A collection of tasting notes, including some of the best-value ports currently available in the UK. A tasting of the more keenly priced offers of The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor's et al), the Symington family and Quinta do Noval was revealing. It seemed to me that the single-quinta vintage-dated wines are great buys, even if not all of those

A blind tasting of some of the fanciest champagnes of all. No one could be more obsessed by mainstream champagne, preferably at prestige cuvée level, than Nick Baker of specialist champagne retailer The Finest Bubble. He is always dreaming up themes for blind tastings and last month’s was a blind tasting of pairs of prestige cuvées, a 2004 and a

Richard examines how cultural attitudes towards wine in Asia differ from those in Europe. Without cultural context, wine is meaningless. When divorced from the human references that define the origin, style and quality of wine – the elements that underwrite its fundamental appeal – wine becomes entirely functional, a mere intoxicant, just as it

The 2016 vintage is game-changing. You'll want to buy some, and you can hardly go wrong. When I reread my tasting notes on the 2016 Barolo vintage I sat back in surprise. Generally considered a rather stingy scorer, I didn’t recognise myself. Hardly any wine I came across during a full week of visits and tastings in the Langhe last month merited a

Walter spent an intensive tasting week in the snowy Langhe recently and took this picture of the alps in Verduno on 15 November. For Walter's thoughts on the background to this stupendously distinctive vintage, see Barolo 2016 – the path to stylistic change, also published today. Alistair Cooper also provided a brief preview here. The 110 wines

Top sommelier Jane Lopes writes a book on wine, the life of a sommelier and, surprisingly, love. VignetteStories of life and wine in 100 bottlesJane Lopes Published by Hardy Grant Books ISBN 9781743795323 £20 Vignette: Pronunciation: /vɪˈnjɛt/Noun 1 a brief evocative description, account, or episode. 2 a small, graceful literary sketch. 3 a

At the moment you are almost certainly deluged by suggestions of ‘the perfect gift’. There is no escape even at JancisRobinson.com. Here are our suggestions. This was Oxford Circus in London last Saturday. Not fun. Buy your presents from the comfort of your armchair. £4.99/$12.95   Give your

A slightly shorter version of this article is published by the Financial Times. After last week’s collection of hand-picked reds, here’s another selection of stunning wines listed in increasing price per centilitre and all chosen on the basis of value rather than price. Many of them, particularly the most youthful Chardonnays, may benefit from

Nick discovers that acetic acid can be rather a good thing. I first met Andy Harris many years ago when we were both in different but related professions. It was in the 1980s when I was a restaurateur at L’Escargot in Soho and Harris was quite a regular customer. We frequently chatted and realised that a love of good food was a common bond. Harr

Our retail specialist Andy Howard MW turns his critical eye and palate from supermarkets to St James. Berry Bros & Rudd is a London institution, with a history dating back to 1698. But in today’s rapidly changing market, the company has to work hard to remain relevant and competitive. In 1994, Berry's became the first merchant to open an online

A Riesling for all seasons is Richard's pick this week. From €14.99, 145.74 Danish kroner, 22.50 Swiss francs, £24.99, $34.99 Find this wine Shocking news! We almost went through the whole of 2019 without featuring a Riesling as wine of the week here on JancisRobinson.com. Let us remedy that immediately with this offering from Robert Weil, one

We have many an article expressing enthusiasm for this Galician white wine grape already (click on the Godello tag), but this is the first based on a comprehensive blind tasting. On discovering that Tim Jackson MW joined the JancisRobinson.com team, I became interested in his profile. Whenever there is a new addition to the team, I get happy. I

A fine time was had by everyone I spoke to. Here are a few pictures taken at our Valtellina Night last Sunday 1 December by those of us trying to make up for photographer Richard's absence. As Walter observed about this evening devoted to these hugely distinctive, refreshing Nebbiolo-based reds that are far too difficult to find on export markets,

As the COP25 UN Climate Change Conference takes place in Madrid, and following on from Tam’s Fifty shades of green, Dr Richard Smart examines the issue of carbon specifically, highlighting ways in which producers, and particularly consumers, can help to reduce wine’s carbon footprint. The logo shown here is his own. Since graduating from Sydney

A round-up from a serious independent retailer's current range that may be of interest over the coming festive season. Click on any wine name and then on 'See prices and stockists' at the end of the individual tasting note to find a retailer near you. London-based fine-wine merchant Lea & Sandeman recently held their autumn tasting, rather

Some thoughts on the meaning of cool prompted by an unexpectedly warm celebration of Chardonnay in Niagara-on-the-Lake. See also Cool-climate Chardonnay – the tasting notes. Ontario’s annual International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C+) always seems to fall on the hottest and most humid weekend of the summer, as it did in July this year