Regional Reports | Sarah Ahmed - The Wine Detective

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 [...]

Niepoort Projectos tasting plus, first taste, Niepoort’s maiden crusted Port

Posted Friday 7th January 2011

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What really excites me about wine is its dynamic nature – its mutability according to variety, site, vintage, winemaking technique and age among other factors. How do so many winemakers resist the lure of working with other varieties, sites or regions? Most definitely not to be counted amongst their number is fifth generation Port producer [...]

Pitch perfect & precise: Jeffrey Grosset Off-Dry Riesling 2010

Posted Wednesday 8th September 2010

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I spent a weekend with Jeffrey Grosset and his partner Stephanie Toole in 2008, whom I interviewed for an in depth feature about the couple for The World of Fine Wine (published in Issue 23). Clearly, my cross examanination skills need brushing up because, at no time, do I recall mention of an Off-Dry Riesling in [...]

Wines of South Africa Taste the Earth highlights: Pinot Noir

Posted Monday 6th September 2010

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My fifth regional report on Wines of South Africa’s July Taste the Earth tasting focuses on Pinot Noir, that difficult, thin skinned and sensitive variety (as you may recall from Sideways). In South Africa, there’s been little competition to rattle the cages of leading Pinot producers Hamilton Russell and Bouchard Finalyson but, based on this recent tasting, Cape Pinot [...]

Tasting Vinho Verde with the guru – Anselmo Mendes

Posted Friday 3rd September 2010

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Third time lucky and so it was on my recent visit to Portugal in July where I caught up with Vinho Verde supremo Anselmo Mendes. He’s a busy man, making Vinho Verde under his eponymous label and consulting widely to, among others, Quinta do Ameal, Casa de Cello (both Vinho Verde) and Douro producer Alves [...]

Afros, Bryn Terfel & Divinho Verde

Posted Wednesday 25th August 2010

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Put a wine-loving world renowned baritone and an architect turned passionate biodynamic wine producer in one room and there’s bound to be chemistry. And so it was when Bryn Terfel met Vasco Croft, the man behind Afros Vinho Verde. Tasting Afros Loureiro to Croft’s backstory on the Afros name (Afros was born to celebrate the birth [...]

Fraser Gallop – a runaway success?

Posted Saturday 19th September 2009

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I’m off to Western Australia today on various journo missions, also guesting at the Howard Park International Riesling tasting and judging Qantas Wine Show of Western Australia. It’s a region which I love to visit – very beautiful and great wines of course! Speaking of which, in the current edition of Decanter, bulging with award [...]

The Douro Boys – 2007 table wines & port report

Posted Friday 18th September 2009

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Just to say I’ve posted my full report of my visit earlier this month to meet with the Douro Boys here. It features tasting notes of new releases (2008 whites, 2007 reds and ports) and a report of vertical tastings with each of the famous five – Quintas do Vallado, do Crasto, do Vale Dona [...]

Shaw & Smith 20th Anniversary tasting

Posted Tuesday 15th September 2009

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Cousins Michael Hill-Smith MW and Martin Shaw started making wine together in the Adelaide Hills under their Shaw & Smith label in 1989. Last week they were in town to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a tasting of mini-verticals that struck right at the heart of Australia’s winemaking spirit – rigorous in approach yet open-minded [...]