Red

The first of my first ever en primeur Bordeaux rouge. Yet still youthful – a ‘sleeper’ as RP might say. Surprisingly still ruby – …

Picked up at the Château when Katy and I visited, the day after the Marathon du Médoc. This was one of the tasting wines, …

A revelation in Beaujolais! And a step up from the non-specified vineyard Moulin-à-Vent Jadot bottling. Medium ruby, if not darker. Black pepper, oak spice …

Not necessarily an auspicious vintage or producer, but a very interesting Burgundy nevertheless. Fragrant aromatics are the key to this, though sadly just missing …

Coming into maturity now. Pale-medium ruby, with a narrow watery rim. Medium+ intensity gamey, chilli spice nose, over plummy, cherry fruit. Some smoky minerality …

As a conference presentation thank you gift, not too bad. But ultimately a mid-range, modern-style Rioja, that was pleasant enough, but not radically inspiring. …

A fabulous rarity, with just 2Ha of Bastardo (aka Trousseau) now grown on Madeira, and rarely bottled varietally. So good, in this case, that …

A Nebbiolo from a DOC on the Piemontese side of the Val d’Aoste border, that I’d not come across before the POTG guys recommended …

A very kind birthday present from Blue Rubicon, and my first experience of GPL. Not bad for the vintage. Particularly noteworthy were a distinctive, …

Hmm. I keep trying with California Pinot, and it still doesn’t work. This wasn’t too bad – OK, but not inspiring – but still …