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Decanter World Wine Awards 2013: Portuguese trophy & gold medal winners
The results of Decanter World Wine Awards have just been officially announced at London International Wine Fair (LIWF). Below you’ll find a list of the Portuguese wines my panel awarded Gold medals and trophies. For the second year in a row, a white wine picked up a Gold & Trophy – only the second white [...]
Continue reading...Portugal: “40 years of Great Reds” (1963 to 2003) with Joao Paulo Martins
Posted Friday 17th May 2013
Having completed my judging duties yesterday at the Wines of Portugal Challenge, what better reward than to attend a tasting presented by leading Portuguese wine writer Joao Paulo Martins (pictured), entitled “40 years of Great Reds,” (1963 to 2003). Here‘s the line up, with photos of my stand out wines (save for the Quinta do Crasto [...]
Continue reading...First taste: Ochota Barrels The Fugazi Vineyard Grenache 2012 (McLaren Vale)
Posted Wednesday 15th May 2013
I’ve been gearing (or should that be Grenaching) up for next week’s Landmark Grenache tasting, which I am co-presenting. In the last week I’ve tasted two old Barossa Valley favourites – Charlie Melton Nine Popes 2009 & Glaetzer Wallace 2006, both in great form. Also made a truly exciting new single varietal discovery – Ochota [...]
Continue reading...Trangallan Galician wine bar – Petiscos naturally: a Portuguese natural wine & food evening
Posted Monday 13th May 2013
I am Portugal-bound tomorrow, judging at The Wines of Portugal Challenge 2013 so I am sure that, in and amongst, I shall be sampling some delicious petiscos – the Portuguese equivalent of tapas. In fact so delicious are they that my local Galician tapas/natural wine bar Trangallan – a favourite haunt – is turning Portuguese two [...]
Continue reading...South Australia v France tasting challenge
Posted Friday 10th May 2013
The Government of South Australia maintains a European office in London, headed by Bill Muirhead, the Agent-General for South Australia. Its role is to increase awareness of South Australia and drive preference for the State’s offering as, among other things, a producer of premium food and wine. Still, it might have been thought a risky strategy to [...]
Continue reading...Tried & tasted: Ramos Pinto Vintage Port 2011
Posted Wednesday 8th May 2013
Resuming my Vintage Port 2011 reports, Ramos Pinto have produced a superlative wine. Composed of 50% Touriga Nacional, 32% Touriga Franca, 5% field blend (old vines), 5% Sousao, 5% Tinta da Barca and 3% Tinta Barocca, it was sourced from three quintas – Ervamoira, Bom Retiro & Urtiga. The Sousao and Tinta da Barca break new [...]
Continue reading...May Wines of the Month: Clip do Monte da Vaia Loureiro 2012 & Tamar Ridge Kayena Pinot Noir 2010
Posted Tuesday 7th May 2013
Sunshine at last and on a Bank Holiday – the hottest, sunniest day of the year so far. Ironically, when the real thing was available in abundance, we’d booked into the Light Show at the Hayward Gallery for a much-needed vitamin D fix! In the fervent hope that this fine weather lasts, here are two wines which [...]
Continue reading...Tried & tasted: Niepoort Vintage Port 2011 & Niepoort Bioma Vintage Port 2011
Posted Friday 3rd May 2013
Continuing my reports on 2011 Vintage Ports below you’ll find my notes on one of my favourite releases of the vintage, the Niepoort Vintage Port 2011 and sister wine Bioma, the latter of which will be bottled next year. Click here and here for earlier reports (Sogrape & Symington Family Estates) Niepoort vintage report “The [...]
Continue reading...Tried & tasted: Symington Family Estates’ 2011 Vintage Ports, including the maiden Graham’s Stone Terraces
Posted Wednesday 1st May 2013
Having tasted the Sandeman 2011 Vintage Port (reviewed here) last Monday, I then trotted off to a comprehensive tasting of no less than 13 2011 Symington Family Estates Vintage Ports, 5 of which were blend components of Graham’s 2011 – an insightful exercise. Below you’ll find my notes on the wines (which I re-tasted at [...]
Continue reading...Tried & tasted: Sandeman, Ferreira & Offley 2011 Vintage Ports
Posted Monday 29th April 2013
It’s judging week at Decanter World Wine Awards and, once again, I’ll be chairing the regional panel for Portuguese table wines. An about turn having spent the last week focused on Port, especially the 2011 Vintage Port releases – the subject of my next few blogs, starting with Sogrape’s releases. Here is Sogrape’s report on [...]
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Posted Monday 20th May 2013
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