Documenting great food, great wine and great restaurants.
Few tastings are as thoughtfully organised as Corney & Barrow’s relatively new annual Domaine de la Romanée-Conti “masterclasses.” The setting is impeccable: beautifully printed, well-researched materials, ample time to taste in silence, and, as a rare privilege, the presence of Perrine Fenal and Bertrand de Villaine, co-directors of The …
Pernand-Vergelesses: July 2023
We had been planning a visit to Bonneau du Martray for quite some time. This was inspired by our session with John Kongsgaard, who held the Burgundian domaine in high regard. He had visited when Jean-Charles le Bault de la Morinière was in charge. The estate …
Sancerre’s wines normally spark up adjectives such as aromatic, herbaceous, zesty, lean or austere. Yet, the Sauvignon Blanc that Sébastien Riffault proposes breaks with all of those expectations. Notes of apricot marmalade, candied lemon and chamomile destroy any notion with which we used to consider Sancerre.
Sébastien works biodynamically and …
Having covered the resurgence of quality wine in Savennières, it is worth mentioning the rising star in Saumur, Domaine Guiberteau.
The attention that Clos Rougeard has brought to the hill of Brézé, once considered one of the best plots in France by the father of gastronomic reviews, Curnonsky, …
Gouleyant: adjective. Said of a pleasing, fresh and light wine.
Le Robert en ligne
A definition that seems to have been designed to describe the wines of Beaujolais (yes, and those of their privileged brother, Pinot Noir). Medium alcohol, high acidity, restrained tannins, this is a wine destined …
Boudignon’s wines have been appearing in numerous wine lists in the last years and there are good reasons for it. Having worked in Burgundy in the past, in 2009 Thibaud started his own venture in Anjou and within a few years he managed to revitalise the image of Loire Chenin …
The international market for Champagne is dominated by large traditional brands, the Champagne houses. Bollinger, Moët, Veuve Clicquot, Pol Roger… just to name a few. These buy large quantities of grapes to make Champagne in their own cellars and distribute them under their own name. The official term is ‘…
Bordeaux has a historical reputation for producing high quality wines. This reputation leads to an expectation that great wines must have a very long life, inducing some winemakers to try to make over-extracted, tannic and oaked wines even if the balance is not right. Sadly, few of our fellow winelovers …