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First taste: Loire 2011 vintage whites
It’s the Loire Salon this week which I’m sorry to miss, though looks like I’ve had a lucky escape from a logistical nightmare given the snow. And fortunately, just before I headed down under, Charles & Philippa Sydney’s London Loire roadshow gave me a chance to take a look at the vintage they’ve nick-named ‘Le Grand Ecart’/‘The [...]
Continue reading...‘Le Grand Ecart’/'The Splits’ vintage: Charles & Philippa Sydney’s definitive Loire Valley 2011 harvest report
Posted Friday 6th January 2012
I’m particularly looking forward to Charles & Philippa Sydney’s Loire tasting in London later this month since I won’t make the Loire Salon this year – the first time since 2004. Instead, I’ll be at the International Cool Climate conference in Tasmania – it may be Australia’s coolest climate but it’s going to be a [...]
Continue reading...My Top Five Wines of the Year: the Loire
Posted Thursday 29th December 2011
They say that life’s too short to drink bad wine, still less write about it too! With the exception of lesser vintages in vertical reports, I rate highly every wine which makes its way onto my website, so it’s no easy task to select my top wines of the year. Here’s my top five for [...]
Continue reading...Centre Loire vintage report 2011
Posted Monday 21st November 2011
I’m back at my desk after a couple of weeks in the Cape which, like the Loire, experienced a somewhat unpredictable growing season. Here’s the heads up on the 2011 vintage in the Central Loire from the generic body, Les Vins du Centre-Loire. It represents the producers of Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Côteaux du [...]
Continue reading...Loire Valley 2011 – Charles and Philippa Sydney’s preliminary vintage report
Posted Monday 3rd October 2011
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Following on from InterLoire’s preliminary vintage report (see here), here’s another first look at the early Loire 2011 vintage from Charles and Philippa Sydney, Loire courtiers and themselves producers of the La Grille Classic Loire label. The Sydneys’ report is dated 20 September, though the comment about the Layon (see Chenin) in square brackets - ”a [...]
Continue reading...Back to school – a taste intensive week plus highlights from the Dirty Dozen tasting
Posted Friday 9th September 2011
Back to school this week after 2 weeks on hols. A bit like this photo, this week has passed by in a blur with the IWC and DWWA (pictured) awards dinners, plus two really excellent tastings with Liberty Wine (Premium Australia) & the Dirty Dozen. I’ll be reporting on the Liberty Wine tasting over the next [...]
Continue reading...The Loire: 2011 harvest preliminary report, plus Muscadet’s Crus Communaux receive official recognition at last!
Posted Monday 5th September 2011
I’m just back from holidays to a slew of press releases. Of interest to fellow Loire fans are these two (dated 2 September) from InterLoire, who represent growers and producers in the Nantes (Muscadet), Anjou, Touraine and Saumur. Vintage 2011 “It’s all systems go in the Loire. After a lovely warm spring followed by a [...]
Continue reading...July Wines of the Month: Domaine du Clos Roussely Le Clos Touraine Sauvignon 2010 and Camel Valley Rosé 2009
Posted Friday 1st July 2011
Call me an optimist – be nice to see more sunshine and less showers – for July’s Wines of the Month I’ve selected two delightfully fresh, summer wines. Domaine du Clos Roussely Le Clos Touraine Sauvignon 2010 (Touraine) From the French man who makes “Les Bag-in-Box,” Vincent Roussely’s modern (bottled) Loire Sauvignon shows great concentration and clarity of mouthwatering, [...]
Continue reading...A Roman holiday lunch at RSJ with Ursula Ferrigno plus a couple of great Loire whites
Posted Monday 20th June 2011
For five years, my pasta machine has been gathering dust. Yesterday it was granted a reprieve from the ignominy of eBay since this careless lady owner at last got her head around making pasta thanks to Ursula Ferrigno. Ferrigno is a passionate Italian cook, food writer and educator and, in conjunction with Loire specialist RSJ restaurant, runs a series of Sunday Italian [...]
Continue reading...My pick of the bunch: 2010 Central Loire Sauvignon Blanc
Posted Friday 10th June 2011
Last Friday I published my highlights (here) from this year’s Sauvignon Blanc de Loire Project ambassadors from AOC Touraine and Vins de Pays du Val de Loire, all from the 2010 vintage. Today it’s the turn of Central Loire Sauvignons from Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly and Coteaux du Giennois. Click here for my top tips [...]
Continue reading...Sauvignon Blanc de Loire Project – my pick of the 2010 vintage “ambassadors”
Posted Friday 3rd June 2011
The Blueprint Cafe celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and, until 10 June, is offering a special 3 course dinner menu with a glass of Champagne for just £21 – catch it if you can! Clos Henri Le Petit Clos Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough, New Zealand vineyard of Sancerre’s Henri Bourgeois went down great guns [...]
Continue reading...Laithwaites’ discount, experts’ choice & the heads up on a posy of rosés
Posted Friday 20th May 2011
Until 9pm today, you can enjoy up to 20% off online purchases at Laithwaites. I’ve previously recommended the extremely classy Passa Pequena 2008 (see here) made by Jorge Borges of Passadouro, which is a steal. Here are some more tips based on a tasting in January when I participated in the selection of Laithwaites “Experts’ Choice,” which has just [...]
Continue reading...Suffolk fine wining and dining tips: The Great House, Lavenham & The Crown, Stoke by Nayland
Posted Saturday 2nd April 2011
In March, I posted a blog with tips for food and wine lovers based on a fantastic “shorthaul for Londoners’” weekend I spent near Whitstable, Kent (see here). Last weekend I headed a similarly short distance north and east of London to Suffolk to spend a weekend away with my folks. Here’s some more hot [...]
Continue reading...First taste: Alphonse Mellot Sancerre latest releases
Posted Monday 28th March 2011
This year, the Loire Salon in Angers kicked off on a Sunday, a great virtue of which (for me at least) was that it was relatively relaxed. Usually it’s a bunfight to catch up with the wines of Alphonse Mellot, one of Sancerre’s finest, so I made it my first stop and was rewarded with plenty of elbow, tasting and [...]
Continue reading...Domaine Vacheron Sancerre: two new lieux-dits whites & no more wannabe Burgundy reds!
Posted Friday 4th March 2011
I visited Domaine Vacheron in 2008. Having successfully negotiated Sancerre’s impossibly narrow, snickety streets, you’ll find the winery (and tasting room) in the very heart of Sancerre, while their extensive vineyards are spread around this pretty town. Cultivated biodynamically (and certified organic by the National Organic Program USDA in 2010), the vineyards are planted on three different soils – [...]
Continue reading...Go Gamay, results of the inaugural 2011 International Gamay Competition & some Loire stunners
Posted Friday 18th February 2011
Last month the results of the inaugural 2011 International Gamay Competition were announced. Beaujolais bagged the most medals. No surprises there, but you might be surprised to learn that the Loire was awarded four “Grand Gold” medals, four gold medals and 1 silver (see here for the full results). As the name of my stand [...]
Continue reading...Domaine Le Rocher des Violettes: a great new Loire find!
Posted Monday 14th February 2011
Last week, I reported on one of my finds of this year’s Loire Salon, Domaine Roux’s wines from Châteaumeillant, which region now has AOC status (see here). This week, I’m focusing on another new discovery, the wines of Domaine Le Rocher des Violettes, which is located in Montlouis-sur-Loire. Xavier Weisskopf (pictured) is precisely the kind of [...]
Continue reading...First taste: Châteaumeillant, a new Loire appellation – the wines of Jean-Claude Roux
Posted Wednesday 9th February 2011
Since returning from the Loire last week I’ve been updating the Loire copy for the next (2012) edition of Oz Clarke Pocket Wine and, speaking of updates, with effect from the 2010 vintage, Châteaumeillant has been promoted to Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status. Previously, its wines have been labelled Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS). Châteaumeillant is located on [...]
Continue reading...Angers fine dining, or not & calling non-meat eaters – RSJ’s monthly Italian Sunday lunches
Posted Sunday 6th February 2011
This time last week I was in Angers for the Salon hanging out with the usual suspects, my fellow Loire diehards Jim Budd, Chris Kissack (The Wine Doctor) and Nigel Wilkinson and Tom King of RSJ restaurant. There’s always an entertaining anecdote or two (at least for them!) about my meals. While the guys run [...]
Continue reading...Top blogs: the Loire Salon Wine Blog Trophy results plus why not enter the Born Again Digital Wine Awards
Posted Tuesday 1st February 2011
The results of the 5th Wine Blog Trophy organised by the Loire Valley Salon (Wine Trade Fair) have been released and congratulations go to: Loire Destination Category – David Cobbold for his blog about visiting Nantes (see here) Loire Tasting Category – Fabrice Leglatin for his blog about the wines of Montlouis-sur-Loire (see here) Loire Encounter Category – [...]
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Posted Wednesday 8th February 2012
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