Three Barolo’s by Giovanni Rosso
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- Published: 30 March 2021 30 March 2021
Piemonte is only a few hours drive away from here but under the lockdown conditions, a visit is currently off-limits. It was a pleasure to receive these wines in 2020 and they have been delayed in posting due to the chaos of relocating here. It is a real pleasure to post these now with some thoughts for local food from here in Liguria.
Tasting these superb wines by Giovanni Rosso there is an incredibly alluring character to these wines with layers of complexity. They are fantastically charming.
40 yr old Tawny, tasting in and out of situ: Burmester And Quinta Do Noval
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- Written by Nick Breeze (@NickGBreeze) Nick Breeze (@NickGBreeze)
- Published: 24 March 2021 24 March 2021
As unexpected as the lockdown was, so it has been that probably the most memorable drinking experiences throughout the period have come from fortified wines. In 2019 I visited Portugal 3 times and the Douro Valley twice. In February 2020, on the eve of lockdown, I was in Porto for the Essencia tasting, and despite many memorable parts to the trip, I do cherish the Port Dreams tasting as among the most special. I will write this up later as I have a backlog of port tasting notes, memories and even film footage to disassemble.
La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2018
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- Written by Scottie Gregory Scottie Gregory
- Published: 04 March 2021 04 March 2021
To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March I tasted and reviewed La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay from JACKSON FAMILY WINES. Proprietor Barbara R Banke has led the company for the last two decades.
The ancient Furmint Grape continues to impress
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- Written by Nick Breeze (@NickGBreeze) Nick Breeze (@NickGBreeze)
- Published: 01 March 2021 01 March 2021
Around two-thirds of vines planted in Tokaji is Furmint. Although it is by far the most used grape in the famous botrytised sweet wines of Tokaji, it is also now widely explored by producers making sparkling and, most impressively, a wide range of very stylish dry wines.
Champagne AR Lenoble: Anne Malassagne interview as family business passes 100yrs
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- Written by Nick Breeze (@NickGBreeze) Nick Breeze (@NickGBreeze)
- Published: 17 February 2021 17 February 2021
When Armand-Raphaël Graser started producing Champagne under his new brand AR Lenoble 101 years ago (Lenoble being a tribute to the noble wines of Champagne), there would have been a sense of relief as the 1918 influenza pandemic was just receding into the rearview.
Who would have conceived back then that the centenary year would be mired by a similar crisis?
An injection of pink into a monochrome world
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- Published: 17 January 2021 17 January 2021
More evidence that rosé wines pair fabulously well with food and are at the ready to add colour into the wintry months. Scottie Gregory explores three fine pinks from Provence with some mouth-watering dishes.
Three more Provence Rosés well worth trying are Le Grand Cros L’Espirit de Provence; Chateau St-Maur Cru Classé and last, but not least, La Sangliere Speciale.
La Scolca | Expressions of Cortese di Gavi
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- Published: 15 December 2020 15 December 2020
Spending this winter in Liguria in NW Italy has been joyous for the ongoing experience of the local aperitivo. Social strictures that COVID places on us here mean that dining out in the evening is not an option. Bars and restaurants cease service at 6 pm sharp.
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An aperitif by the coliseum
As COVID-19 conspires with the grimmest of winds and rain to force a societal retreat behind our own front doors, the word ennui springs to mind. The muddle of displeasure is pierced when Natalia hands me a large bulbous glass of a liquid I do not recognise.
Artichoke pasta and very fine Pigato
Britain’s lamentable exit
On the eve of Britain’s official departure from the EU, my partner and I decided to explore a small town on the Italian Riviera where thewintry cold doesn’t feel so much like cold war bite.
I had warned my significant other that I would be having an inverse departure party, a release of the sanity valve if you like!
Soave: volcanic wines with elegance and longevity
Sitting inside the ancient castle walls inside the town of Soave, a short drive from Verona in northern Italy, the unique slightly almond aroma of the indigenous grape, Garganega, rises gently from my glass. The castle sprawls up the side of an extinct volcano that gives the region its variant soil structures that mark out the better quality of Soave wines.
An American In Paris; Tanisha Townsend (@GirlMeetsGlass) discusses podcasts, Paris wine bars, & what she's drinking at the moment
Tanisha Townsend decided to move to Paris 4 years ago after regularly passing through the city en route to the world’s most famous vineyards. In fact, it was about 2 years ago at the Printemps de Champagne Bouzy Rouge tasting in Reims that I saw (who we shall now refer to as) GirlMeetsGlass chirpily speaking to her web followers on Snapchat.
Wine tasting in Galicia: The pilgrims search for Albarino
The cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the final resting place of Saint James, rises out of the landscape, infested with antiquity. The rambling steep streets give way to shafts of dramatic light, emblazoned chapels, and tightly packed tapas bars, dusty, as old novels pressed together in antiquarian bookshops.
Interview: (Re)Defining the Entre-Deux-Mers, climate change & tasting with Stephane Dupuch
Driving into the Entre-Deux-Mers region from the north, the vineyards roll out like a bright green deep-pile carpet across the undulating land. It’s hard not to be excited about tasting wines with so much heritage, as we head to Chateau-Sainte-Marie to meet with 5th generation owner, Stéphane Dupuch.
