Archive for 2017
Kirwan EquipmentBlack kites were carving the air over the Medoc this morning as I drove north for my first appointment. And it seemed that the frogs by the stream at Chateau Kirwan had noticed them too, as they seemed nervous, leaping into the gin-clear water when my shadow fell on them, cutting cha…
The day rose, quite literally, as fog smothered the Médoc this morning and it was only when the sun started to burn it away that the chateaux and, finally, vineyards, became visible, lifting like a soufflé out of the vapours. My arrival at Ducru was timely and my decision to stop …
BORDEAUXI have arrived in Bordeaux for a week of tasting the new vintage: 2016, a harvest that - by all reports - combines fabulous quality with a return to the sort of quantities that make Bordelais vignerons do little handstands of joy. One cannot mention Bordeaux these days withou…
"Every once in a while, when visiting a specific wine region, I taste so many good bottles that I find myself thinking I might just turn in my author's pen and start making wine…Most recently, this happened during my tastings of the 2012 Brunellos, when I tried one delicious example after ano…
Ballet, Not Body-BuildingWhat a lot of wine: the new cellar at Château Montrose Can you remember the days when Bordeaux was affordable? Barely. But do you recall when you last tasted claret that tasted like...well...claret: cool and savoury and sculp…