660. Château Langoa Barton, Saint-Julien, 1988 
659. Beaulieu Vineyard, Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, 2000 
658. Bodegas Guelbenzu, Lautus Ribera del Queiles VdlT, 2004 
657. Podere Brancaia, Il Blu IGT Toscana, 2004 
656. Marc Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Vide-Bourses”, 2006 
655. Domaine du Colombier, Hermitage Blanc, 2007 S
650. Château de Saint-Cosme, Gigondas, 2007
So, the real opening was with this – chosen to compliment a main course of game (rabbit, pheasant, venison and squirrel) and beef-shin stew. …
636. El Porvenir de los Andes, Porvenir Cafayate Valley Salta, 2005
The most ridiculously heavy bottle I’ve ever come across – 1,198g empty, compared with 1,320g for a full bottle of d’Armailhac – heralded this …
617. Mitolo, G.A.M. McLaren Vale Shiraz, 2005
Little room to describe this! Good, very easy to drink, but not a 95+ point wine! Deep garnet. Narrow rim. Medium+ lightly vanilla and …
615. Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau, 2006
One of 3 reds I brought for Whippet’s leaving BBQ, as I figured it’d be at maturity, and good for meat – both of …
586. Macià Batle, P. de Maria Binissalem Mallorca, 2007
Picked up whilst ‘exploring’ The VineYard in Dorking. My first Mallorcan wine, from more-or-less the only DO (Binissalem), and the only major producer. Modern, …
Sonoma: old-vine Zinfandel, fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Sonoma is, in fact, a large region. Most people, including myself, would probably think of Sonoma as Napa’s quieter, more rural, more familial, ‘little …
Paso Robles to Santa Cruz Mountains: Central Coast diversity
Paso Robles to the Santa Cruz Mountains – or ‘the rest of the Central Coast’, between Santa Barbara County and the city of San …
California wine: the Golden State shines brightly
California wine is synonymous with US wine. For many it is US wine. Fortunately, the fine Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of Oregon, the Bordeaux …
Santa Barbara: elegant Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah
Santa Barbara County, making up the Southern part of the broad Central Coast area of California, was the region I most wanted to visit, …
Berry Bros press tasting: how the other half live
The Berry Bros & Rudd Autumn / Winter press tasting, in stark contrast to the Co-op supermarket’s Autumn press tasting exactly a week before, showed …