Rants
Australian wine makers often say, “I make my wine with ripe fruit”. The insinuation is that European wine makers don’t use ripe grapes and so make weedy wines. I …
Burgundy
I got this on release from Berry’s, what a bargain it was. It doesn’t suffer from 1996 syndrome. Vosne-Romanée Les Brulees 1996, Rene Engel en magnum A lovely, soft …
Burgundy
This is from one of the more expensive producers of Burgundy. I have a bit of a soft-spot for their wines, but I can rarely afford them. This was …
Australia
I’m around at the neighbours place and a bottle of Grosset Polish Hill 2004 has been cracked. This is really excellent Riesling: fresh, lively, balanced, complex, really lovely stuff. …
Alsace
A more sedate dinner party last night. Chablis Premier Cru le Forest 2004, R & V Dauvissat This had good weight and roundness. It was quite acidic, but the …
Australia
Last night we had a dinner party. Quite a bit of wine was got through. Riesling Spätlese Oberhäuser Brücke 2004, Helmut Dönnhoff Lovely fruit, quite round and ripe for …
Recipes
I have a dinner party organised for tonight and as I am feeling quite rotten it will be a simple meal; chicken in cider. For four people you will …
Loire
I’ve had a bit of Eric Morgat Savennieres recently, I quite liked them. However, I think this is a bit better. Savennieres Clos du Papillon 2000, Domaine des Baumards …
Cocktails
I mixed myself several Harvey Wallbangers at the party last night. This is a drink that reminds me very much of the eighties. The original recipe calls for Galliano …
Drivel
Every year since 1953 Oxford and Cambridge universities have competed in a blind wine tasting competition. I was in the Oxford University team about a decade ago. We never …
