TAG ARCHIVES: vineyard visit

Wine Buyer on Tour | Northern Rhône

Wine Buyer on Tour | Northern Rhône

By on 02/02/2024

After many years of loving the wines of the Northern Rhône (and placing many orders for them!) I excitedly boarded a plane to Lyon to make my way to the Marché aux vins d'Ampuis (one of the largest wine fairs in France, focused entirely on the Rhône), at the epicentre of Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu.

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Bordeaux Wine cellar

Why on earth would I buy Bordeaux 2021?

By on 11/05/2022

I feel like these blogs have become something of a confession of late, so here’s another one. As much as, when we visit Bordeaux, I’m acting in a professional capacity (something many of you will know I’m just about capable of…) to taste, evaluate and communicate a vintage to you, I’m also secretly really just figuring out what I want to buy.

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Pichon Lalande

2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Pauillac

By on 11/05/2022

Great old, grand old Pauillac. The most revered appellation in the Médoc felt more like it had gone back in time than perhaps any other area. The wines were generally very lean and precise – Merlot, again, suffered a fair bit up here and, with the wines usually Cabernet focussed anyway, it meant that these high percentages were pushed even higher.

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Smith Haut Lafitte

2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Pessac-Léognan

By on 08/05/2022

Pessac-Leognan is a slightly peculiar place. You start in the city – Carmes Haut Brion, it’s fair to say, is quite literally an ‘urban winery’, such is its proximity to the hustle and bustle of Bordeaux. Slowly you start to drift out, Haut-Brion & La Mission, two absolutely stunning Châteaux, appear almost out of nowhere, cutting through the tower blocks and urban sprawl.

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