Latest Blog Posts from Bowes Wine https://www.boweswine.co.uk/feed/ Caspar Bowes tasted 250 wines and even caught a visit from the Queen at Vintners#8217; Hall. And enjoyed some standout burgundies. Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/407/royal-visits-london-tastings-and-savigny/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/407/royal-visits-london-tastings-and-savigny/ Returning to London for the first time in 2026, Caspar Bowes tastes 2024 Burgundy. Once written off, the 2024 vintage now tells a more complex story. Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/406/2024-burgundy-vintage-review/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/406/2024-burgundy-vintage-review/ The Pinots are gaining a foothold at the High Table where Burgundy has been the sole diner for a millenium and more. And Loire Cabernet Franc... Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/405/love-the-wines-of-the-loire/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/405/love-the-wines-of-the-loire/ Caspar Bowes had always disliked Sauvignon Blanc until he went to Friuli and tasted their Sauvignon Blanc, especially the Friuli clone. Mon, 8 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/404/i-hated-sauvignon-blanc/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/404/i-hated-sauvignon-blanc/ Caspar Bowes reflects on how Spain is now making thoroughly exciting wines, striving for expression and experimenting with technique to great effect. Mon, 4 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/403/brilliant-iberian-wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/403/brilliant-iberian-wines/ A journey north involves a highly rewarding encounter with a mature red wine from the alto-Piemonte. Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/401/Anniversary-nebbiolo-vallana-spanna-1971/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/401/Anniversary-nebbiolo-vallana-spanna-1971/ Caspar Bowes' asks whether the en primeur campaign for the 2020 Bordeaux vintage makes sense#33;#63; Mon, 10 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/400/bordeaux-en-primeur-campaign-2020-vintage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/400/bordeaux-en-primeur-campaign-2020-vintage/ Is there any point in describing the minutiae of aromas and flavours that one finds in wine#63; Is objective description not better than subjective analysis#63; Tue, 9 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/399/objective-tasting-notes/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/399/objective-tasting-notes/ #34;It wasn#8217;t long before the young me became reasonably sure that Audrey and I were meant to be together.#34; Mon, 16 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/398/supping-with-the-chat-show-audrey-hepburn/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/398/supping-with-the-chat-show-audrey-hepburn/ Individual grape varieties #40;namely Sangiovese, Furmint and Koshu#41; should be allowed to express themselves in order to make the most credible wines. Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/397/single-grape-varieties/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/397/single-grape-varieties/ Investing in wine has changed but there are still good opportunities. If all else fails, take your revenge on a poor return with a corkscrew#33; Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/396/investing-in-wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/396/investing-in-wine/ Caspar enjoyed his Christmas present of a tour and tasting at Ramsbury Brewery #38; Distillery. Fri, 7 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/395/ramsbury-brewery-and-distillery/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/395/ramsbury-brewery-and-distillery/ Modern-day winemaking in Burgundy has had to change, to adapt to the warmer growing seasons. Caspar Bowes has realised that not all vignerons are getting it right. Read more... Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/394/winemaking-in-burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/394/winemaking-in-burgundy/ #34;Tasting Buddy#34;, AKA Richard Watton, recounts his few days in Burgundy with Caspar Bowes this Autumn tasting the 2018 vintage. Interesting insights into the vintage. Mon, 16 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/393/Tasting-buddys-burgundy-report/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/393/Tasting-buddys-burgundy-report/ Superb peat-smoked salmon#58; a product hailed by Prue Leith as #8220;the best in the world#8221; and No.39 in Lonely Planet#8217;s list of 500 best things to eat in the world. Read more... Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/392/best-smoked-salmon-in-the-world/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/392/best-smoked-salmon-in-the-world/ Caspar Bowes #43; Tasting Buddy have reached the end of the second day of their trip to Burgundy. The 2018 wines continue to impress, as does the food of the region... Tue, 19 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/391/burgundy-trip-day-two/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/391/burgundy-trip-day-two/ Caspar Bowes #43; Tasting Buddy have finished their first day of domaine visits and tasting the 2018 samples in Burgundy. They seem to be in a happy place... Mon, 18 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/390/Burgundy-trip-day-one/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/390/Burgundy-trip-day-one/ Caspar Bowes #43; Tasting Buddy get ready for their first taste of the 2018 Burgundy vintage next week. Watch this space for regular blog updates. Mon, 11 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/389/2018-burgundy-here-we-come/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/389/2018-burgundy-here-we-come/ The rise of importance of the grape variety in the world of wine. And The Daily Drinker Wine Club#33; Read more... Wed, 6 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/388/the-importance-of-the-grape-variety/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/388/the-importance-of-the-grape-variety/ A stand-out wine tasted recently by Caspar Bowes#59; high-scoring, great value, super-fine... Read more about this stunning bottle. Wed, 7 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/387/high-scoring-great-value-fine-wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/387/high-scoring-great-value-fine-wine/ 2017 Pernand Vergelesses Blanc Les Cloux Domaine Rollin was written up by Will Lyons in The Sunday Times, 28th July 2019. Read more about this brilliant Burgundy domaine and try their wines. Fri, 2 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/386/domaine-rollin-in-the-sunday-times-by-will-lyon/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/386/domaine-rollin-in-the-sunday-times-by-will-lyon/ Caspar Bowes jotted down his tasting notes at a recent wine trade lunch in the Wine Library of 67 Pall Mall. They enjoyed a range of wines but mainly from Burgundy. Mon, 15 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/385/tasting-notes-by-caspar-bowes/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/385/tasting-notes-by-caspar-bowes/ Caspar Bowes opines that wine#8217;s ultimate expression is that of barren soils harnessed by vinous soloists, i.e. single variety wines from vineyards with the poorest soils. Read more... Fri, 21 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/384/a-sterile-soloist-sings-the-best/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/384/a-sterile-soloist-sings-the-best/ The 2018 Bordeaux en primeur has come to an end. Some of the Bowes Wine favourites are still available on the market place. Read our short list and get in touch if interested. Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/383/bowes-last-word-on-2018-bordeaux-en-primeur/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/383/bowes-last-word-on-2018-bordeaux-en-primeur/ The Bowes Wine Summer Party at 67 Pall Mall on Thursday 13th June 2019 was a great success. Caspar and Victoria Bowes shared some 30 wines from The Daily Drinker Wine Club and Bowes Wine. Read more about the evening and browse the list of wines. Fri, 14 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/382/bowes-wine-summer-party-2019/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/382/bowes-wine-summer-party-2019/ Caspar #38; Victoria Bowes will be at 67 Pall Mall on Thursday 13th June, from 6.30pm. Come along and let them pour you some diverse and exciting wines from both Bowes Wineand and The Daily Drinker. GBP15 ticket. Read more... Thu, 30 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/381/bowes-wine-london-summer-drinks-67-pall-mall/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/381/bowes-wine-london-summer-drinks-67-pall-mall/ Caspar Bowes remembers just some of the bottles he drank during his recent trip to Hong Kong and Singapore, with huge thanks to his generous clients and friends who shared their wines with him. Sun, 26 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/380/caspar-bowes-wine-tasting-notes-from-asia/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/380/caspar-bowes-wine-tasting-notes-from-asia/ Bill Nanson, one of the major commentators on Burgundy wines, has published his 2017 Burgundy Report. Read his reviews of those wines offered by Bowes Wine and still currently in stock. Fri, 10 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/379/2017-burgundy-reviews-bill-nanson/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/379/2017-burgundy-reviews-bill-nanson/ What can we expect from the 2018 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign this year#63; Caspar Bowes reports his initial thoughts on the new vintage whilst we wait for the French to release the prices. Meanwhile, take a look at our stocks of older vintages from Bordeaux. Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/378/2018-bordeaux-en-primeur/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/378/2018-bordeaux-en-primeur/ Is there really any value in the age-old wine trade practice of #34;blind tasting#34; wines#63; Caspar Bowes would argue that blind wine tasting has its limitations, especially for us human beings who are not blessed with the olfactory senses of dogs. Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/377/why-do-blind-wine-tastings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/377/why-do-blind-wine-tastings/ Today is International Women#8217;s Day with a 2019 theme of #35;BalanceforBetter challenging each and every one of us to strive for a more gender-balanced world. We've put a few questions to our very own #8216;Woman of Wine#8217;, Victoria Bowes. Thu, 7 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/376/international-womens-day-2019-balanceforbetter/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/376/international-womens-day-2019-balanceforbetter/ Now that the dust is settling after the recent 2017 Burgundy #34;campaign#34;, there is time to reflect on the vintage and the wonderfully fresh wines it has produced. And there is still time to snaffle a few of these beautiful wines too#33; Fri, 25 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/375/the-wonderfully-fresh-2017-burgundy-vintage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/375/the-wonderfully-fresh-2017-burgundy-vintage/ We are inordinately proud to announce that our new Bowes Wine website is now live.It brings together the various strands of our business. Have a look and let us know what you think. www.boweswine.co.uk Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/374/new-bowes-wine-website-now-live/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/374/new-bowes-wine-website-now-live/ Christmas IS coming... Time to think about what you might like to drink this Christmas and what you might like to give others. Bowes Wine has some perfect suggestions - Champagne, smoked salmon from the Hebrides, mixed cases of wine, and The Daily Drinker Wine Club Membership. Fri, 7 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/373/Buy-the-best-gifts-this-christmas/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/373/Buy-the-best-gifts-this-christmas/ The outstanding new wines from Italian wine legend Miani, made by Enzo Pontoni. A range of wines, including red and white, made in the Fruili-Venezia-Giulia region of northern Italy. Very limited availability. Wed, 5 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/372/The-latest-offerings-from-Italian-wine-legend-Miani/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/372/The-latest-offerings-from-Italian-wine-legend-Miani/ A look back at Bowes Wine's London Tasting in November 2018 at 67 Pall Mall. A very successful evening with plenty of tasters, and more than enough wines to taste from Bowes Wine and The Daily Drinker. Our next event is scheduled for Spring 2019. Mon, 3 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/371/What-a-wine-tasting-it-was/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/371/What-a-wine-tasting-it-was/ Caspar Bowes has just come back from a few days tasting in Burgundy and takes a moment to reflect on his discoveries, from Chablis, through the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune, to the Cote Chalonnaise. Read more... Wed, 21 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/370/Pecking-around-the-vineyards-of-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/370/Pecking-around-the-vineyards-of-Burgundy/ A report from the annual tasting of the 2017 vintage from Chateau de Beaucastel and the Famille Perrin, under which latter label Beaucastel's owners market their negociant range, many of which are superb. Fri, 9 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/369/2017-Vintage-from-Chateau-de-Beaucastel/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/369/2017-Vintage-from-Chateau-de-Beaucastel/ The Daily Drinker Wine Club's October red wine has been chosen as Joanna Simon's Wine Of The Week. A dark, snappy red wine from Castilla y Leon, Spain. Just GBP13.75per bottle. Fri, 2 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/367/prieto-picudo-belote-press-review/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/367/prieto-picudo-belote-press-review/ Come and taste a range of fine wines at our London tasting on Thursday 29th November. We will be showing highlights from this year but some more mature wines from previous years. GBP15 tickets but spaces are limited. Buy yours now#33;#13;#10; Tue, 9 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/361/Bowes-Wine-London-Tasting-Thursday-29th-November-2018/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/361/Bowes-Wine-London-Tasting-Thursday-29th-November-2018/ We have been reasonably regular visitors to the range of wines produced by Champagne Aubry. Indeed, we have offered their wines twice in the past: one cuvee (the Le Nombre d'Or Campanae Veteres Vites) on two occasions and another (the Ivoire et Ebene) once. Tue, 2 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/360/Tradition-and-History-in-Champagne/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/360/Tradition-and-History-in-Champagne/ Read Caspar's latest wine column for AngelNews.comand - his musings on both etymology #40;including the myriad of synonyms for Tempranillo as pictured above#41; and entomology following his recent buying trip to Northern Spain. Mon, 1 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/359/Etymology-with-a-hint-of-Entomology/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/359/Etymology-with-a-hint-of-Entomology/ I was in Spain last week touring Castilla y Leon under cobalt skies that only served to accent the extraordinary gold of the sun-dried hills in the pared-down landscape through which we drove.I have penned a short report of the trip, which you can read here. And you can expect to see Bowes Wine offe Mon, 24 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/358/95point-Spanish-red-from-one-of-Ribera-del-Dueros-finest/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/358/95point-Spanish-red-from-one-of-Ribera-del-Dueros-finest/ The view from AaltoI recently visited northern Spain with a UK wine importer: a Serb of Bosnian extraction and a lively travelling companion. He's also a man who knows a great deal about the wines of the region we toured, having worked there and having imported a great many of the place's best wines Thu, 20 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/357/A-Few-Days-in-Castilla-y-Leon/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/357/A-Few-Days-in-Castilla-y-Leon/ Fine, adjective - Of very high quality; very good of its kind. Fine, adjective - Good; satisfactory. Wine - An alcoholic drink made from fermented grape juice. That's cleared that up, then. Or has it?...Read more of Caspar Bowes' latest wine column for AngelNews.com, discussing Fri, 14 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/356/Fine-or-not-so-much/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/356/Fine-or-not-so-much/ A friend's Mayfair tasting is, quite simply, a must attend sort of event. In the course of a couple of hours one has the opportunity to taste an eye-opening collection of Spanish beauties, many from wineries of which one has never heard. At this year's event, these Sei Solo wines quite simply rock Sat, 1 Sep 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/355/Seriously-fabulous-Spanish-discovery-Sei-Solo/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/355/Seriously-fabulous-Spanish-discovery-Sei-Solo/ ...most wines produced today will give some level of pleasure. When attending tastings I wear my proverbial tee shirt bearing the logo It's okay to like everything i.e. I don't come looking for trouble...Read Caspar's most recent wine column for AngelNews.com. Tue, 28 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/354/What-is-the-score-with-the-score/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/354/What-is-the-score-with-the-score/ We hope you've noticed our rather striking new logo. This is a herald of greater changes in the form of a stunning new website that will be live in the near future.Our intention is to combine a slick eCommerce site via which we will display all our wine offers, with my blog, as well as listings of a Thu, 16 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/353/Changes-Afootand-a-Fine-Italian/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/353/Changes-Afootand-a-Fine-Italian/ Burgundy has long been regarded as not the sort of region one visits should bargain-hunting be on the agenda. In fact, many wine consumers have long since written it off as being out of the reach of their resources and have turned instead to the less glamourous regions of the world.But listen ver Wed, 15 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/352/Bargains-in-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/352/Bargains-in-Burgundy/ Wine's at a curious crossroads and the future is as foggy as an especially opaque Tyne morning.Pulling in opposite directions are a legacy of Robert Parker and dawning modernism that is attempting to keep pace with climate change.One positive aspect of Parker's influence was the drive for riper fru Thu, 9 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/351/The-foggy-future-for-European-vineyards/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/351/The-foggy-future-for-European-vineyards/ The curtain has long since been drawn on the 2017 Bordeaux primeurs campaign and merchants the world over are doing their damnedest to expunge all memory of it from their minds, so limp has it been.Bordeaux is the only wine producing region in the world that insists on buyers coming to evaluate the Wed, 1 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/350/Is-Bordeauxs-bright-sun-finally-fading-into-dusk/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/350/Is-Bordeauxs-bright-sun-finally-fading-into-dusk/ In this seemingly endlessly sun-drenched UK summer it is to the crisp and the white that one turns once that radiant star has crept over the yardarm...and one cannot imagine anything quite as suitable as a glass of Chablis for slaking the dust from one's parched tonsils.Like Beaujolais at the opposi Wed, 25 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/349/Chablis-Burgundys-Northern-Frontier/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/349/Chablis-Burgundys-Northern-Frontier/ We know that some people feel a little baffled when perusing The Daily Drinker website, or perhaps spoilt for choice! In a bid to help, we're compiling a number of pre-mixed six-bottle cases, all hand-chosen by Caspar and/or Victoria. They offer a great starting point to discover The Daily Drin Tue, 24 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/348/Caspars-favourite-wines-from-The-Daily-Drinker/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/348/Caspars-favourite-wines-from-The-Daily-Drinker/ In April this year northern Italy lost one of the titans of local wine production when Leonildo Pieropan died, drawing to a close a lifetime spent transforming the wines of the Veneto and their reputation.There are now quite a number of estates in Soave producing stellar wines from the high-quality Tue, 17 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/347/Miles-from-Soave/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/347/Miles-from-Soave/ The next wine shipment to Crown Wine Cellars in Hong Kong has been announced. Wines must be with the shipper by 22nd August latest for a 2nd September sailing. Shipments generally take 23 days or thereabouts.You might like to have a look at your portfolio to see whether anything therein is in a fit Fri, 13 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/346/Slow-Boat-to-China-actually-Crown-Cellars-in-Hong-Kong/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/346/Slow-Boat-to-China-actually-Crown-Cellars-in-Hong-Kong/ A bunch of Chenin Blanc grapesIt feels as though the list of great grapes is growing on an annual basis: new names added to the roll-call of supremely expressive varieties that can make something truly scintillating unblended with other grapes.One of the more recent additions has been the Greek As Thu, 21 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/345/Truly-great-Chenin-Blanc/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/345/Truly-great-Chenin-Blanc/ ...there's no question that 2016 is a superb vintage...Richard Hemming MW on jancisrobinson.comQuite out of the blue three half bottles of wine arrived in our offices, sent by Mentzendorff, UK agents for the Fladgate Partnership, owners of Taylor, Fonseca and Croft in the Douro Valley and, indeed, Mon, 18 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/344/2016-Vintage-Port/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/344/2016-Vintage-Port/ Ta dah!!! The new Bowes Wine logo. We hope you like it as much as we do.Next step? The new website which is currently work in progress but aiming for completion before the end of the summer. Watch this space for more exciting developments... Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/343/Bowes-Wine-new-logo/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/343/Bowes-Wine-new-logo/ With this communication, we start a series of offers relating to single wines that we have tasted recently: wines that have shifted our perceptions and astounded our taste buds. The aim is defined by the term Backfill amp; Diversify i.e. it is an opportunity to pad out one's portfolio with less m Mon, 11 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/342/HighAltitude-Red-From-the-Pyrenees/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/342/HighAltitude-Red-From-the-Pyrenees/ We were delighted to find out today that The Daily Drinker Wine Club has been shortlisted in the International Wine Challenge 2018 Merchant Awards for Wine Club of the Year!The other two contenders are Lay amp; Wheeler and The Wine Society. Is 2018 going to to be the year for the small independent? Mon, 4 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/341/The-Daily-Drinker-Shortlisted-for-IWC-2018-Wine-Club-of-the-Year/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/341/The-Daily-Drinker-Shortlisted-for-IWC-2018-Wine-Club-of-the-Year/ There are a number of surprising things about this wine aside from the extraordinary value it represents.For a start, it is made from vines that are grown on their own rootstocks and for one, I feel that this is a special thing. Following the depredations of phylloxera in the early 20th ce Wed, 23 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/340/Assertive-Assyrtiko-From-Volcanic-Ash/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/340/Assertive-Assyrtiko-From-Volcanic-Ash/ While I am never quite sure of the meaning intended by the use of words such as great and classic when applied to wines and vintages, the following have, between them, garnered glowing reports in the press and include some 100-pointers among the list:2009 Chateau Pichon Longueville au Baro Mon, 21 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/339/The-Great-and-the-Good-new-GrapePip-lots-live-this-morning/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/339/The-Great-and-the-Good-new-GrapePip-lots-live-this-morning/ Blow me if the sun's not shining in Wiltshire this very day. Chlorophyll is whirring away like mad and one can almost hear leaves emerging and the lawn offering up misplaced dandelion flowers. Must be rose o'clock...And we've sourced a humdinger: a crisp delight made from one of those curious Wed, 16 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/338/Summer-Supping/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/338/Summer-Supping/ You have no doubt heard about the new General Data Protection Regulation that comes into effect on 25th May, 2018. We have updated our Privacy Policy which can be viewed from the main navigation or here. We have also just sent out a consent request email to everyone on our longstandin Wed, 9 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/337/Privacy-Policy-and-GDPR-Compliance/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/337/Privacy-Policy-and-GDPR-Compliance/ Northern Crunch amp; Snap...Way back in the mists of the Bowes Wine timeline we offered an Italian red wine of riveting quality: a wine that offered bags of character and one that went on getting better and better in bottle until my own supply ran out. At that point it was a simply stunning bottle, Tue, 1 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/336/Italian-Red-Wine-of-Stunning-Value/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/336/Italian-Red-Wine-of-Stunning-Value/ We were so glad to see so many like-minded, wine-loving people come together on Thursday evening at 67 Pall Mall for a casual act of vinous worship. Thank you so much for coming down and helping to make it such a jolly occasion.I thought that, what with there having been so many wines open for tas Sat, 28 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/335/Last-Thursdays-Tasting-List/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/335/Last-Thursdays-Tasting-List/ Herewith a handful of new lots on the GrapePip website as of this morning:2009 Chateau Lamothe-Guignard, SauternesA very interesting big very sweet wine... Jancis Robinson2005 Beaune 1er Cru Les Cent Vignes, Camille-Giroud...impressive concentration and balance here and the impres Mon, 23 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/334/New-Lots-on-GrapePip/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/334/New-Lots-on-GrapePip/ Castelnuovo dell'Abate, Montalcino's southern heartlandIn whatever region one funds oneself tasting wine these days, it seems that one encounters either hot or cool vintages and, more and more, I find myself drawn to the latter.When Robert Parker started out all those years ago, under-ripeness was o Fri, 13 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/333/Under-The-Tuscan-Sun/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/333/Under-The-Tuscan-Sun/ ...bringing together like-minded wine lovers in a casual act of wine worship...Where: The St James's Room, 67 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ESWhen: Thursday 26th April - 6.30pm to 9.30pmPrice: GBP20 per ticketADVANCE TICKET PURCHASES: Buy three tickets get fourth free.Our wine tasting at 67 Pa Thu, 12 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/332/London-Wine-Tasting-Thursday-26th-April/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/332/London-Wine-Tasting-Thursday-26th-April/ Pietradolce boasts some of the most beautiful vineyards I have ever seen. I cannot exaggerate this point. The Vigna Barbagalli is located a steep 900 meters on the volcano's flank. Once you climb up there, you are treated to a panorama of ancient, knotted pre-phylloxera vines hidden in a little amp Thu, 29 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/331/A-Solitary-SuperItalian/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/331/A-Solitary-SuperItalian/ The white wines of the Rhone Valley have always been something of an acquired taste. The top wines that float above their respective appellations (here I am thinking Hermitage from Chave and Sorrel, those recently-offered Condrieu wines of M Vernay and Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the likes Thu, 29 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/330/Southern-Gold-For-Not-A-Lot/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/330/Southern-Gold-For-Not-A-Lot/ Rose Gold From the NorthPiemonte, like Burgundy, is a bastion of mono-varietal wine. Again, like Burgundy, it can boast a red grape as fine as any in the world in the form of Nebbiolo, a variety that can and does produce wines of haunting beauty and complexity and a grape that was once thought Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/329/Italy-Number-1-Piemonte/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/329/Italy-Number-1-Piemonte/ Condrieu - that fulsome, exotic white wine from Cote Rotie's neighbouring and almost equally precipitous commune in the northern Rhone Valley - is a like-it or loathe-it kind of a drink. And I fall into the latter camp...or, at least I do in the normal course of things. Let me Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/328/White-Heights-of-the-Northern-Rhandone/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/328/White-Heights-of-the-Northern-Rhandone/ Coravin means one can try bottles in one's cellar without opening themI have been putting my Coravinto good use since I collected a few mixed cases of ready-for-drinking bottles from my own portfolio. Coravin is a genius invention that allow one, via a fine needle, to extract a glass of wine from a Sun, 11 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/327/Exciting-new-toy-Coravin/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/327/Exciting-new-toy-Coravin/ Train tickets to and from London have been my constant companions of late, visits to Capital City being frequent as the spring tasting season gets underway.And crikey, I've been tasting a great many fabulous wines, many of which will be appearing on Bowes Wine offers in the near future. Italy h Fri, 9 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/326/Whats-going-on-now-whats-coming-up/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/326/Whats-going-on-now-whats-coming-up/ Members of our Daily Drinker educational wine sampling club have received some cracking wines in recent months (even if I do say so myself). Among immediate past mailings have been bottles of wine made from such extraordinary and lesser-known grape varieties as Lacrima, Dafni, Garganega and Tinto Ve Wed, 7 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/325/Expanding-Wine-Drinkers-Horizons-The-Daily-Drinker-Wine-Club/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/325/Expanding-Wine-Drinkers-Horizons-The-Daily-Drinker-Wine-Club/ The short crop very much in evidence here, as most of these are available in minuscule quantities. Yet nowhere is that true-ism about high quality following a natural shortfall more evident. These 2016s from the venerable house of Bouchard Pere et Fils are exceptionally lo Fri, 9 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/324/2016-Burgundy-addendum-No2-The-wines-of-Bouchard-Pandere-et-Fils/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/324/2016-Burgundy-addendum-No2-The-wines-of-Bouchard-Pandere-et-Fils/ Burgundy is all about limestone. Ask a vigneron about the soils in so-and-so vineyard and the common response is argilo-calcaire i.e. clay-limestone. It's a large part of what makes the wines of Burgundy the glorious things they are.Go to Chablis and this phenomenon intensifies. Here we see the effe Fri, 2 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/323/Burgundy-addendum-No1-Chablis-from-William-Fandevre/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/323/Burgundy-addendum-No1-Chablis-from-William-Fandevre/ The Hill of Corton with the village of Aloxe on the rightand Pernand just visible on the leftMuch has been said of the 2016 red wine vintage in Burgundy. Wax has been thoroughly lyricked, thus:2016 is a seriously delicious vintage. Jancis Robinson...it is at times extraordinarily great, with a cl Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/322/2016-Burgundy-The-Reds/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/322/2016-Burgundy-The-Reds/ THE VINTAGEFrost and mildew made up the story of the 2016 growing season in Burgundy. Together they ravaged the Cote and led to a sharp diminution in volume. Fruit was thin on the ground.That's the bad news: little fruit; little wine. Yet so often little fruit also means lots of quality a Tue, 16 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/321/2016-Burgundy-The-Glittering-Whites/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/321/2016-Burgundy-The-Glittering-Whites/ Victoria and I were at lunch at Vintners Hall yesterday and with the beef main course were served 2002 Chateau Leoville Poyferre. It was utterly delicious and all the more fascinating since I knew that a case of it was among a tranche of worthies to be made live today on Gra Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/320/New-Bowes-Wine-Broking-Wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/320/New-Bowes-Wine-Broking-Wines/ I was in Scotland, thus missed the tasting of the newly released wines from the mighty Vega Sicilia. And yet how can one turn down an allocation of what are among the finest red wines of a country celebrated for its red wines? Equally, how could one pass up on the new releases from what is, Thu, 11 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/319/The-Best-of-Red-Spain-The-Best-of-White-Italy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/319/The-Best-of-Red-Spain-The-Best-of-White-Italy/ This is my view, mid-tasting at Francois Lamarche in Vosne-Romanee. The map is useful and saves one asking lots of questions about the exact location of the domaine's vines. And I always remove the cone-shaped lid from the spittoon. With it in place, I have all too often found myself o Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/318/2016-Burgundy-Vintage-Video-Report/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/318/2016-Burgundy-Vintage-Video-Report/ To all Hong Kong-based clients...The next Seabrooks shipment to Crown Wine Cellars is due to close on 20th December and will arrive in the SAR on 26th January.We have already been receiving numerous requests for wines to add to this boat: wines both from clients' cellars that are now ready to drink Tue, 5 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/317/Wine-Across-Water-Next-Seabrooks-shipment-to-Hong-Kong/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/317/Wine-Across-Water-Next-Seabrooks-shipment-to-Hong-Kong/ It's Christmas, so that means presents. And sometimes it means presents for those tricky-to-buy-for friends, relatives and colleagues.Bowes Wine might just have the answer to all life's little dilemmas (at least those of the sort outlined above; we are altogether unable to assist with the alle Mon, 4 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/316/Christmas-Shopping/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/316/Christmas-Shopping/ I returned from a short trip to Burgundy late on Wednesday evening following three days of pretty intense tasting. A full report will follow (this in lieu of nightly blogging for which I no longer, I feel, have the stamina), but I can tell you now that 2016 has Fri, 24 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/315/The-Heights-of-Ribera-del-Duero/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/315/The-Heights-of-Ribera-del-Duero/ Something for fans of the great Chateau Musar...2014 Plaisir du Vin, Chateau Heritage, Bekaa ValleyGBP13 inc VAT a bottleN.B. This is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, the rest Syrah and Cinsault. And I think this will keep a couple of years...if you can keep your corkscrew sheathed, tha Thu, 2 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/314/Marvelous-Lebanese-Red/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/314/Marvelous-Lebanese-Red/ Perfect as a Prosecco replacement?!?2016 Pignoletto, Colli d'Imola, Cantina di ForliGBP10 a bottle inc VATThis is a pretty thing in the glass, pushing out a scattering of bubbles. The nose brings to mind all kinds of summery scents: ripe citrus and orchard fruit in profusion. Taking a sip, the Thu, 2 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/313/Spectacular-New-Italian-Fizz/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/313/Spectacular-New-Italian-Fizz/ Until midnight on Friday 3rd November GrapePip, our wine auction website, is going commission-free for buyers. This means savings of up to GBP240 on lots that are currently live.Those of you that have been umming and ahing about trying our own fantastic, easy-to-use bin-end and broking list Tue, 31 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/312/Zero-Buyers-Commission-on-GrapePip-this-week/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/312/Zero-Buyers-Commission-on-GrapePip-this-week/ I visited St James's the other day to taste through the 2016 wines from the Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel. And it's quite a tasting, since besides the famed Chateauneuf estate the Perrins have interests throughout the Rhone Valley (at least in the south), as well as at Tab Mon, 23 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/311/The-2016-Chandateau-de-Beaucastel-Vintage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/311/The-2016-Chandateau-de-Beaucastel-Vintage/ You may remember a recent communication detailing a mature Austrian found lurking in Bowes Wine's stock list: a wine I snaffled for home usage and am enjoying enormously. In any event, I have recorded a video tasting note that you can see hereif interested.A client in the throes of organising an Aus Mon, 23 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/310/Groovy-GruV-2013-Gruner-Veltliner-Rosenberg-Weingut-Bernhard-Ott/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/310/Groovy-GruV-2013-Gruner-Veltliner-Rosenberg-Weingut-Bernhard-Ott/ Tuesday of this week was B Day in Capital City: the annual presentation of the newly-bottled Bordeaux vintage. This was the turn of the 2015 vintage and I cannot say that I wasn't just a little bit intrigued to revisit these wines. Primeurs week in Bordeaux in early '16 had revealed a vintage t Thu, 19 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/309/2015-Bordeaux-Wines-Now-in-Bottle/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/309/2015-Bordeaux-Wines-Now-in-Bottle/ Some years ago I visited Galicia to taste wine. It was the dead of winter, yet the beauty of this Atlantic coast of Spain was still easy to discern.After driving south from Santiago de Compostela and taking in a number of Albarino producers en route, we turned inland, following the River Min Tue, 17 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/308/2015-Lapola-Dominio-de-Bibei/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/308/2015-Lapola-Dominio-de-Bibei/ The Bowes Wine YouTube ChannelI've been tasting a great many fabulous wines of late and not only out and about, but also at home: wines from my own portfolio bought from Bowes Wine offers past.I realise that some of you may well still have these wines in your own portfolios and might be interested t Fri, 13 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/307/New-Wine-Tasting-Videos-on-the-Bowes-Wine-YouTube-Channel/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/307/New-Wine-Tasting-Videos-on-the-Bowes-Wine-YouTube-Channel/ This is...very impressive...; and we agree!I lunched with a client in London the other day at a restaurant that, whilst not exactly brand, shiny-new, has rapidly become something of a haven for the wine lovers of Capital City. On the rather bohemian-feeling Lamb's Conduit Street not far from Great Thu, 5 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/306/Eat-Well-Drink-Well/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/306/Eat-Well-Drink-Well/ Chenin ShenanigansBottles from my early wine career; some stand out like beacons bright enough to spread the word of any land invasion. 1921 Chateau Margaux and 1929 Chateau Latour are still luminous in my memory. And '59 Grands Echezeaux from the DRC remains one of the finest bot Thu, 28 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/305/Magical-Chenin-from-Domaine-Hu-euml-t/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/305/Magical-Chenin-from-Domaine-Hu-euml-t/ You may have read me ranting about the Bordeaux primeurs campaign and how little sense it makes to me.My words were quoted in the Financial Times the other day, along with opinions from a number of the larger UK merchants. You can view the article here.And Bordeaux was also the theme of another tast Wed, 27 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/304/Wines-from-Bordeaux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/304/Wines-from-Bordeaux/ The tasting season has begun in earnest in the UK and I have been flitting hither and yon - principally to Bristol (where an increasing number of importers are electing to host events) and London - filling my tasting books with semi-legible scribblings. SITT - the Specialist Importers Trade Tas Wed, 27 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/303/Wines-from-Hungary-and-The-Lebanon/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/303/Wines-from-Hungary-and-The-Lebanon/ Tasting the new vintage of Chateau d'Yquem is always a treat. The opportunity now arises during primeurs week at Chateau Cheval Blanc and it's a fine way to wash all that rough old Cabernet Franc out of one's teeth.Everyone has a style of Yquem for which they have a fondness. I loved the Tue, 19 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/302/Royal-Gold-2015-Chandateau-dYquem/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/302/Royal-Gold-2015-Chandateau-dYquem/ The first tasting of the year, hosted at No.8 Northumberland Ave, between Trafalgar Square and the river. Good venue, with lots of space in which to get a big swirl going. And lots of fabulous wines to swirl. The exhibitor was a single merchant: one of the UK's larger importers showing their ra Tue, 12 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/301/Magnificent-Spread-of-Italian-Red-Wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/301/Magnificent-Spread-of-Italian-Red-Wines/ Latest News from Bowes WineYou may have noticed changes to Bowes Wine's MO in the last year or so. And those of you based in Asia will perhaps realise that it is some time since I jumped on a 'plane and paid a visit. There are a number of reasons for this and I thought I would explain exactly what's Fri, 8 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/300/News-from-Bowes-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/300/News-from-Bowes-Wine/ Unlike some stock whizzing around the world that's been who-knows-where, as ever these wines have all been held in professional storage since shipment to the UK:2005 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac - two lotsEverything that top red bordeaux should be... Jancis Robinson1983 Vintage Port, Mon, 4 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/299/New-wines-on-GrapePip-The-High-and-Mighty-plus-mature-drinking/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/299/New-wines-on-GrapePip-The-High-and-Mighty-plus-mature-drinking/ Calling all HK-based clients...The next Crown Cellars shipment from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong will leave the UK on 14th October. Deadline for the receipt of wines is 4th October with the estimated date of arrival in Hong Kong being 10th November 2017.If you wish to add any of your UK-based win Mon, 4 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/298/Next-shipment-to-Hong-Kong-closes-14th-October/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/298/Next-shipment-to-Hong-Kong-closes-14th-October/ Caspar Bowes tastes a St Emilion from his birth year and finds a wine still fruity and probably in better condition than he is! Tue, 1 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/297/1966-Chateau-Canon-St-Emilion-30th-July-2017/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/297/1966-Chateau-Canon-St-Emilion-30th-July-2017/ GrapePip's new Try-Before-You-Buy service is proving popular with the wine trade. We are offering a marketplace where merchants and importers can sell through end-of-line and other bin-end stocks, allowing those catering for something of a crowd to secure something of a bargain.We know there's Tue, 1 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/296/Throwing-a-big-party-Or-just-thirsty/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/296/Throwing-a-big-party-Or-just-thirsty/ We were extremely pleased to get such an enthusiastic review for one of our Daily Drinker red wines. We select wines for our sampling club with extreme care and take pride in each and every one of those selections...so praise in the national prose is entirely welcome.That's the good news. The bad ne Fri, 28 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/295/Fabulous-Everyday-Red-Gets-Telegraph-Coverage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/295/Fabulous-Everyday-Red-Gets-Telegraph-Coverage/ If you are organising a party this summer - whether a 21st birthday, a wedding, or just summer drinks - check out our sister company GrapePip's new Try-Before-You-Buy service.Wine merchants are now listing end-of-line and short-dated stock, all perfect for everyday and party drinking, in m Wed, 19 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/294/Spend-less-on-your-party-wines-this-Summer/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/294/Spend-less-on-your-party-wines-this-Summer/ Calling all HK-based clients...The next Crown Cellars shipment from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong will leave the UK on 2nd September. Deadline for the receipt of wines is 22nd August. Estimated date of arrival in Hong Kong is 29th September.If you wish to add any of your UK-based wine to these shi Tue, 4 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/293/Next-shipment-to-Hong-Kong/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/293/Next-shipment-to-Hong-Kong/ Being a wine merchant in the UK one gets to go to tastings in some pretty extraordinary locations; few are finer, however, than the space at the top of the Millbank Tower: a lofty eyrie dwarfing the Tate Britain at its feet. Above is just one of the many vistas that present themselves from its windo Fri, 23 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/292/The-Wines-Everyone-Should-Have-in-Their-Collections-but-mostly-dont/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/292/The-Wines-Everyone-Should-Have-in-Their-Collections-but-mostly-dont/ As you may be aware, we love nothing more than truffling about, nose to the ground, sniffing out quality and vinous excitement in unexpected quarters for The Daily Drinker Wine Club. Well, you can imagine how much this big, bold red from The Republic of Macedonia - a wine included in April's Daily D Fri, 26 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/291/Stunning-everyday-drinkers-in-the-press/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/291/Stunning-everyday-drinkers-in-the-press/ An eclectic new, short-but-pithy list of broking tidbits from Bowes Wine Clients. All are listed on our sister company, GrapePip.com, the wine auction website:2008 Chateau Lafleur, PomerolGreat presence in the mouth and great concentration... Jancis Robinson2010 Cote Rotie Cordel Fri, 26 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/290/New-rare-and-interesting-broking-stock/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/290/New-rare-and-interesting-broking-stock/ Back in the mists of time, the chateaux of Bordeaux behaved in a sensible manner. The 1989 vintage - a harvest torrid in the extreme and one that, yes, produced some fabulous wines (Haut Brion being the pinnacle) but a great many ugly ducklings - was widely taken up by the world's wine lovers. Mon, 22 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/289/A-rant-about-Bordeaux-en-primeur/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/289/A-rant-about-Bordeaux-en-primeur/ The 2016 primeurs campaign is in full-ish swing and I find myself as exasperated as the negociants in Bordeaux to whom I have been talking. The chateaux are at it again. 2016 is a seriously big vintage, yet the wines are being released in minuscule tranches in order to force the market ever higher.P Thu, 18 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/288/2014-Bordeaux-Availability/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/288/2014-Bordeaux-Availability/ I scooped up a few mixed cases from my own portfolio the other day as I had noticed there being a number of wines in my collection that had been on their plateaus of maturity for some time. And of each that has appeared on a Bowes Wine offer at some time in the past I intend to record a tasting vide Tue, 16 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/287/New-Tasting-Videos/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/287/New-Tasting-Videos/ On another note, I have recorded a number of video tasting notes of Bowes Wine offer wines past in recent weeks. On our YouTube channel you can view my opinions on:2009 Chateau La Tour de By, Medoc2012 Chateau Chantegrive Cuvee Caroline, Pessac-Leognan2003 Chat Mon, 8 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/286/Video-Tasting-Notes/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/286/Video-Tasting-Notes/ View from Deans' YardChurch House in Dean's Yard in Westminster has become something of a regular venue for tastings various and I make my way there from Westminster tube on autopilot: a state that did not make me oblivious to the irony of a judas tree flowering within the yard itself.This was an an Mon, 8 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/285/Revisiting-14-15-and-16-Bordeaux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/285/Revisiting-14-15-and-16-Bordeaux/ N.B. Following hail during the growing season, production on some of these wines is much reduced. Please feel free to request whatever wines are of interest, but confirmation - and invoices - will not be remitted until June.Whites2016 Alsace Lieu Dit Berg Riesling, ChapoutierGBP108 in bond per 6 Tue, 2 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/284/The-2016-Sandelections-Parcellaires-Wines-from-M-Chapoutier/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/284/The-2016-Sandelections-Parcellaires-Wines-from-M-Chapoutier/ 2016 Chateau d'Aiguilhe, Cotes de Castillon85M; 15CF.A briary cream of a nose, then creamy entry, then direct and very fresh of core with dry, grippy structure. Pure cherry and plum fruit. Very briary. Energetic, long and stuffed. Lots at the death. Very busy indeed. Will be a bargain.20 Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/283/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Other-Right-Bank/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/283/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Other-Right-Bank/ 2016 Chateau Beauregard, Pomerol80M; 20CF. 13.5%abv.Fresh plum and apple blossom and a clay-like, spicy aromas like Indian spice. Cool and very quickly grippy wine with a clay squeeze. Fresh, juicy throughput. Long and quite assertive, this.2016 Chateau Bon Pasteur, Pomerol80M; 20CF. 14. Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/282/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Pomerol/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/282/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Pomerol/ 2016 Chateau d'Arche, SauternesRather a simple nose of (esp) apple fruit. Not much sign of botrytis. Fresh and ginger-spiced palate. Real good tang here and very nice concentration and shape. Mineral freshness. But where's the botrytis?2016 Chateau Bastor Lamontagne, SauternesRather nice Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/281/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Sweet-White/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/281/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Sweet-White/ 2016 Le Blanc d'Aiguilhe, Bordeaux Blanc100SB.There's real spice here. Grapefruit and salted green apples. Nice clean and quite lean long palate with very good energy. Real spice through the length. Nicely intense wine. 2016 Chateau Bouscaut Blanc, Pessac-Leognan55SB; 45CS.Bit of c Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/280/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Dry-White/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/280/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Dry-White/ 2016 Chateau Bouscaut, Pessac-LeognanA smoky-dark pot pourri of a nose showing very, very dark blackcurrant fruit. A rich, cool wine of really good snap. Incisive limestone, firm gripthrough to a very long finish. Snappy-dark, lively fruit. Energy here...and real density of structu Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/279/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-PessacLandeognan/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/279/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-PessacLandeognan/ 2016 Carillon d'Angelus, St EmilionFresh, aromatic wine. Airy-pure black fruits and small berries. This is cool and very quickly structured with sticky tannins. Long and fresh and stuffed but perhaps lacking a bit of nuance and refinement.2016 Chateau Angelus, St Emilion60M; 40CS Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/278/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-St-Emilion/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/278/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-St-Emilion/ Margaux2016 Chateau D'Angludet, MargauxA summer pudding of a nose, spicy and fresh. Very, very fresh palate. I like this. Very cool and just about medium weight. Fine, integrated tannin well cached. Quite linear and there's a burst at the death. Very good indeed.2016 Chateau Brane Canten Mon, 24 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/277/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Margaux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/277/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Margaux/ Medoc/Haut Medoc/Other Left Bank2016 Chateau Beaumont, Medoc50CS; 47M; 3PV.Rich and very dark nose of damson liqueur and spice. Quickly fresh; touch creamy. Wild spiced plums. Rich and richly ripely tannic. Dense structure. Spicy, rich and assertive grip. Really long. Exce Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/276/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Other-Left-Bank/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/276/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Other-Left-Bank/ St JulienNB. The figures beneath each wine name relate to the percentage of each grape variety (CS Cabernet Sauvignon, CF Cabernet Franc, M Merlot, PV Petit Verdot) and IPT means Index Phenolique Total (the total level of phenolics including tannin). 2016 Chateau Beychevelle, St Ju Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/275/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-St-Julien/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/275/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-St-Julien/ PauillacNB. The figures beneath each wine name relate to the percentage of each grape variety (CS Cabernet Sauvignon, CF Cabernet Franc, M Merlot, PV Petit Verdot) and IPT means Index Phenolique Total (the total level of phenolics including tannin). 2016 Chateau d'Armailhac, Pauill Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/274/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Pauillac/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/274/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-Pauillac/ St EstepheNB. The figures beneath each wine name relate to the percentage of each grape variety (CS Cabernet Sauvignon, CF Cabernet Franc, M Merlot, PV Petit Verdot) and IPT means Index Phenolique Total (the total level of phenolics including tannin). 2016 Chateau Capbern Ga Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/273/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-St-Estephe/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/273/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes-St-Estephe/ Caspar spent a week in Bordeaux in early April tasting as many young Bordeaux wines - red white and sweet - as he could get his hands on. The results can be found in his tasting notes below, with a separate page for each commune:St EstephePauillacSt JulienMargauxOther MedocPessac-Leac Fri, 21 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/272/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/272/2016-Bordeaux-Tasting-Notes/ I am steadily typing up my vast collection of tasting notes on the 2016 Bordeaux wines that I tasted when in the region last week.In the meantime, I thought you might like to see a panning shot I took last Thursday whilst standing on a stone in the driveway of Chateau Ausone. Those of you unfa Tue, 18 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/271/A-Panorama-of-the-St-Emilion-Landscape/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/271/A-Panorama-of-the-St-Emilion-Landscape/ Things occurring at Mouton...(Apologies for the delay in posting this... Technical problems.)I leave the busiest day until last, not sure why.I was up early for an early appointment at Chateau Ausone. The satnav made excellent time and I was there 20 minutes before the appointed hour, but shou Mon, 10 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/270/Bordeaux-Day-4/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/270/Bordeaux-Day-4/ Kirwan and the frog streamIt's been another day of tasting under blue bordelaise skies and warming sunshine. It was a civilised start this morning and even with something of a lie-in and a late departure I arrived half-an-hour early for my appointment at La Mission Haut Brion. Those who follow my Wed, 5 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/269/Bordeaux-Day-3/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/269/Bordeaux-Day-3/ 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 Tue, 4 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/268/Bordeaux-Day-2/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/268/Bordeaux-Day-2/ The day rose, quite literally, as fog smothered the Medoc 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 souffle out of the vapours. My arrival at Ducru was timely and my decision to stop Mon, 3 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/267/Bordeaux-Day-1/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/267/Bordeaux-Day-1/ 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 Mon, 3 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/266/The-Annual-Tasteathon-and-other-stories/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/266/The-Annual-Tasteathon-and-other-stories/ 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 Fri, 3 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/265/The-Superb-2012-Brunello-Vintage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/265/The-Superb-2012-Brunello-Vintage/ Ballet, Not Body-BuildingWhat a lot of wine: the new cellar at Chateau 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 Wed, 8 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/264/A-new-view-of-one-of-our-favourite-recent-vintages/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/264/A-new-view-of-one-of-our-favourite-recent-vintages/ The annual tasting of the new releases from Bouchard Pere et Fils is always a fascinating event combined, as it is, with a showing of the new vintage from the Chablis producer William Fevre (both Bouchard and Fevre being under the ownership of Champagne Henriot).I find that many Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/263/Burgaddendum/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/263/Burgaddendum/ N.B. I need a pretty instant response about these wines: by (very) early next week at the latest.Please let me know ASAP if they're of interest.On 12th December last year I attended a tasting in St James's. It's an annual invitation and one that one would find rather hard to rebuff, for deep in a su Thu, 26 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/262/The-Mighty-Vega/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/262/The-Mighty-Vega/ The 2015 Burgundy vintage has produced wines of a diverse range of styles. Yet, at its best, it has thrown up very special things. I have selected wines that have charmed and impressed me: wines of purity, freshness and beauty.We have now released the lion's share of our 2015 burgundy offerings, a s Tue, 24 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/261/2015-Burgundy-Offer/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/261/2015-Burgundy-Offer/ Bertrand Chevillon looking as content as a man who has fashioned exceptionally beautiful 2015 burgundyI am often asked that most confusing of questions: what are your picks of wines from your offer? Now if I were working for one of the larger UK wine merchants and I was selling wines that had been c Mon, 23 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/260/Two-Burgundy-Giants/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/260/Two-Burgundy-Giants/ Trompe l'oeil scene on the wall at the Domaine Francois LamarcheAs reported in my blogging during my visit to Burgundy, I was lucky enough to taste through the range of 2015s at Domaine Francois Lamarche alone with Nicole Lamarche, who has undertaken all wine making activities for a nu Mon, 23 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/259/VosneRoman-eacute-es-Sexiest-Wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/259/VosneRoman-eacute-es-Sexiest-Wines/ There was a sizeable omission on our offering of the 2015 wines of Francois Lamarche: the top wine from this important estate.Our allocation of this wine is not what one might call big. But if you would like some, do let me know and I will see what I can do. Priority will be given to those buying ot Mon, 23 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/258/A-very-Grand-Cru-Omission/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/258/A-very-Grand-Cru-Omission/ Smoking mists descending from the Hautes CotesIt's always a pleasure to find a new source of fine wine and at an importer tasting of 2015 burgundy last week I did just that.In a vast room full of some extremely celebrated names, I came across the red Cote de Beaune wines of Francois Buff Thu, 19 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/257/A-fabulous-new-source-from-the-Candote-de-Beaune/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/257/A-fabulous-new-source-from-the-Candote-de-Beaune/ M Rollin in full flow giving the low-down on his 2015 vintageThere are those bits of Burgundy to which one makes a beeline in the event of a sun-drenched vintage: soils that are, for one reason or another, naturally cooler.One such is the Combe de Lavaux in Gevrey, where fresher airs are funnelled d Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/256/The-Master-Behind-the-Hill/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/256/The-Master-Behind-the-Hill/ We have started publishing our 2015 burgundy offers, domaine-by-domaine, and initially solely to those who responded to let us know that this offering is of interest. If you would like to be added to this list, please get in touch. A general release to all Bowes Wine clients will occur once all offe Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/255/First-Bowes-15-Burgundy-Release/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/255/First-Bowes-15-Burgundy-Release/ Frederic Lafarge in the hobbit holeOur first foray into the 2015 Burgundy vintage is hardly a burgundy at all, yet the hand that made these wines belongs to one of the most celebrated of all Cote d'Or wine producers.Beaujolais is included in the greater Burgundy area, yet in wine Mon, 16 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/254/When-Is-a-Burgundy-Not-a-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/254/When-Is-a-Burgundy-Not-a-Burgundy/ Nicole Lamarche now makes the wines at her family's domaine in VosneI spent a few days in Burgundy back in November, opting to drive down in The Beast this vintage, rather than take the train as last year. It offers an additional level of freedom...plus one can stuff the boot with all sorts of Frenc Mon, 9 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/253/Anyone-for-2015-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/253/Anyone-for-2015-Burgundy/ We are told that Aberdeen is in with a chance of experiencing record Christmas Day temperature highs this year. Indeed, the season to date has been remarkably mild and we find ourselves craving the sort of crisp, clear, sapphire airs that can make the winter months such a special time.Be that as it Fri, 23 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/252/Christmas-Wishes-from-all-at-Bowes-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/252/Christmas-Wishes-from-all-at-Bowes-Wine/ Dinner at 67 Pall Mall with a most generous and long-standing friend of Bowes Wine on Monday of this week gave an opportunity to taste some celestial wine.After a couple of glasses of '02 Dom Perignon (thoroughly lovely) the above red was poured. The sommelier had insisted on decanting it and Thu, 15 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/251/Two-Wines-One-Big-Smile/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/251/Two-Wines-One-Big-Smile/ Christmas is barreling towards us like a runaway racehorse. We thought it time to remind you of the goodies we can supply to ensure that your yuletide, and that of your friends and family, is as happy as possible.Smoked SalmonOnce again we are offering the stunning smoked salmon from North Uist in t Thu, 8 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/250/Christmas-Shopping-with-Bowes-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/250/Christmas-Shopping-with-Bowes-Wine/ Enzo Pontoni - Friulian wine shepherd - amongst his flockThere can be few wine makers so synonymous with all that's best in their region of production than Enzo Pontoni of Miani. Quite simply, the man is an iconoclast.Writing in Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Antonio Galloni states: Ponton Wed, 7 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/249/Outrageous-finesse-from-northern-Italys-furthest-east/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/249/Outrageous-finesse-from-northern-Italys-furthest-east/ Meursault church across Puligny vines...plus a Matchbox stick-on van...A blog of my third day in Burgundy, delayed by a day as, after my last appointment last evening, I high-tailed it to Reims, thereby cutting my journey time to the Channel Tunnel by two-and-three-quarter hours.A day of m Thu, 17 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/248/Final-day-and-homeward-bound/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/248/Final-day-and-homeward-bound/ Today started with something of a bang...and I am not referring to the explosion of my malfunctioning peage dongle (see yesterday's blog). The blast to which I am referring relates to the interaction of the finest Cote de Nuits Pinot Noir with my morning-fresh taste buds: a volatile thing inde Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/247/Day-Two-of-Tasting-2015-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/247/Day-Two-of-Tasting-2015-Burgundy/ Above photo shows Mark Haisma in a rare state of relaxation in his newly built wineryThose thinking about holidaying in France at this time of year had better pick their spot with care#59; better yet, consider a stay in one of the lovelier parts of the UK....is what I was thinking as I drove south from Mon, 14 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/246/First-day-in-the-Cote/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/246/First-day-in-the-Cote/ Many years ago at a time when I hadn't been in the wine trade for very long, I was running a wine shop in South Kensington and if ever there was a better place for a wine shop, I'd like to know about it.The head of operations of a large US bank put in a regular appearance at the weekend (if in summe Fri, 11 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/245/A-Most-Particular-Sparkle/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/245/A-Most-Particular-Sparkle/ THE DEAL10% off any single case; 15% off 2 cases; 20% off 3 or more cases(For the purposes of this offer, a case is defined as 12x75cl, 2 cases 24x75cl etc.)On 13th November I'll be driving down to Burgundy for my annual few days of tasting the new vintage, in this year's case the 2015s, which are r Fri, 4 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/244/Just-Like-White-BurgundyBut-Cheaper/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/244/Just-Like-White-BurgundyBut-Cheaper/ In London for tastings and meetings the other day, all was concluded at an appropriate hour for me to take up a kind invitation for lunch in the offices of a rather fine wine importer. (Their wines being rather more than rather fine, I didn't hesitate to accept.)All wines tasted over lunch were exce Mon, 31 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/243/Stunning-wine-and-stunning-value-from-Piemonte/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/243/Stunning-wine-and-stunning-value-from-Piemonte/ The Lindley Hall, Royal Horticultural Halls, VictoriaThe Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux are a pretty active bunch and, among their many activities, they like to give those in the trade a thorough look at the newly bottled vintage at about this time every year. This year was the turn of 2014: a mo Wed, 26 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/241/Unsung-Overlooked-and-Undervalued/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/241/Unsung-Overlooked-and-Undervalued/ The march of Malbec continues unabated. In Cahors (from where it originated) the grape is experiencing a renaissance, yet Argentine examples still grip the consumer's interest like nothing else. And there are few better exponents of the variety than Achaval Ferrer.I tasted these two the other day an Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/239/The-Marvellous-March-of-Mighty-Malbec/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/239/The-Marvellous-March-of-Mighty-Malbec/ I was in London yesterday for two tastings, both relating to wines of Spain.Rioja is, without doubt, that country's most celelbrated Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/238/Spain-Evolving-in-Parts-Evolved-in-Others/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/238/Spain-Evolving-in-Parts-Evolved-in-Others/ I offer the wines of Domaine Joseph Voillot in Volnay every vintage. Owner (since father-in-law M Voillot's death last year) and wine maker Jean-Pierre Charlot is one of the most intuitive men to craft red wine in the Cote de Beaune.Jean-Pierre was a lecturer in wine making at the Lycee Fri, 7 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/236/the-quintessential-Burgundy-vigneron/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/236/the-quintessential-Burgundy-vigneron/ To say I am excited about this wine would be undercooking it like sashimi. There's such hair-curling value lying in this one wine I would almost say that if you are a) a Bowes Wine client and b) a red wine drinker, you are obliged to buy a case at the very minimum. Here's why:We offered the 2008 vin Mon, 26 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/235/Where-VFM-Meets-QPR-Head-On/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/235/Where-VFM-Meets-QPR-Head-On/ The Wines of Francois MitjavileThere are rather more wine makers that could be described as iconoclasts on the Right Bank of the Gironde than the Left. Whether it is the call of the limestone/clay soils or the Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines that grow in them, the Libourne seems to have more Mon, 26 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/234/Foremost-Among-the-RightBanks-Iconoclasts/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/234/Foremost-Among-the-RightBanks-Iconoclasts/ This is a time of year that I love in the UK wine trade. Several times a week mornings find me on the train to London and looking forward to giving my senses a proper work-out at one or other of the myriad tastings that populate the autumn season.And it is my intention to scour these events wit Wed, 14 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/233/A-Master-At-the-Reins-of-a-Thoroughbred-Vintage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/233/A-Master-At-the-Reins-of-a-Thoroughbred-Vintage/ Dinner in the American Club in Central last evening was a extraordinary feast for the senses. I am told much of the club was refurbished six months ago and it really is very smart indeed: not smart formal, but smart like the finest railway waiting room of the 1950s, complete with some small shiny wh Sat, 21 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/232/A-Stunning-Pair-in-Hong-Kong/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/232/A-Stunning-Pair-in-Hong-Kong/ Chateau CitranI was in London yesterday for an annual Bordeaux tasting. An inexplicably conjoined, loose affiliation of diverse chateaux come together each year to show three or four vintages of their wines, to include the new primeurs harvest. On offer were the 2015, 2014, 2013 and Fri, 29 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/231/A-Tasting-a-Margaux-and-Sweets/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/231/A-Tasting-a-Margaux-and-Sweets/ The tasting room at Chateau Barde Haut with St Emilion vineyards beyondFirst and foremost, I have to state that there are a great many worse places to find oneself on a wet Thursday morning than in the company of Denis Durantou tasting a line-up of his wines. But anyway, I am getting ahead of Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/230/Troglodytic-and-Overwhelmed/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/230/Troglodytic-and-Overwhelmed/ The tasting room at my first stop this morning: La Mission Haut BrionToday's diary didn't really work on paper so I decided to tweak it as per last year. My appointment at Chateau La Mission Haut Brion was scheduled for 11am and it's always a long visit (of which more in a sec). Abiding by tha Wed, 6 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/229/Whistling-Whites-and-a-Shotgunned-Lunch/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/229/Whistling-Whites-and-a-Shotgunned-Lunch/ Display at Chateau du TertreThe weather's done a complete volte face today, deciding morning time is overcast time, threatening precipitation, then finally clearing into blue skies and bright sunshine.A busy day: lots to taste and a fair amount of travelling. I headed north to catch the Union des Gr Tue, 5 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/228/Horse-and-Mustard/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/228/Horse-and-Mustard/ Cos d'Estournel from the terrace outside the tasting room at LafiteFresh is not a word to describe the condition in which I find myself sitting here in my hotel room in downtown Bordeaux having just wrestled with Bordeaux rush hour traffic for the last two-and-a-half hours. Fresh is, however, an en Mon, 4 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/227/Wife-Beaters-and-Dimples/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/227/Wife-Beaters-and-Dimples/ Red wine being racked out of a vat. The red sludge left behind is the dead yeast cells.Nuits St Georges was my destination this morning. And to say I was excited about the visit would be an understatement. I'd never been to Domaine Gouges before and it's a long time since I last sampled any of their Wed, 14 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/226/Whole-Bunch-and-the-Bard/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/226/Whole-Bunch-and-the-Bard/ Barrel samples ready for tasting at Domaine Camus-Bruchon in SavignyWhat a day: a day of bright sunshine and crisp northerly breezes. I am going to keep this short. It is now half past tomorrow's first hour and I require a period of dormancy.I have tasted in the Cote de Nuits this morning at produce Tue, 13 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/225/Day-Two-Stunning-and-Sunning-in-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/225/Day-Two-Stunning-and-Sunning-in-Burgundy/ A Mercedes, spotted this afternoon, inconveniently parked on a Cote de Beaune vineyardIt's been a fine first day in Burgundy after my train journey yesterday. I'd never traveled to Burgundy by railway, but had been advised by those with experience of such things that it was, in short, a doddle. And Mon, 12 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/224/Fine-First-Day-in-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/224/Fine-First-Day-in-Burgundy/ Having been recently quoted in brief in the European Wall Street Journal on the subject of scoring wine (here) I thought I might elucidate and lay out my thoughts in more detail.It is abundantly clear that a vast number of factors govern the way we taste wine, from barometric pressure to, well, a gl Tue, 8 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/223/Whats-the-Score-With-the-Score/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/223/Whats-the-Score-With-the-Score/ Vast pompom chandelier and window in the tasting room at AngelusAs ever, I'd left the toughest till last. The Right Bank day is onerous both in terms of the quantity of samples one has to taste and the number of short journeys one has to undertake to get between the tastings and the cha Tue, 7 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/222/Pompoms-and-Stuck-Records/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/222/Pompoms-and-Stuck-Records/ I headed off to La Mission Haut Brion mid-morning fully realising that my timing would make me early for my appointment there, but also mindful of the fact that a solo taster such as myself can often wangle an off-the-cuff slot at the drop of a hat. So it was that, in short order, I found myself bef Wed, 1 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/221/Dropped-Hats-and-Diving-Noses/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/221/Dropped-Hats-and-Diving-Noses/ Substituting a roof for a snowy slope: a St Bernard at LamarqueMy third day in Bordeaux has dawned bright: a pleasant change from the dank clouds that have overhung the region since my arrival. There will be better opportunities for photography today, I feel.Yesterday saw continued frenetic activity Wed, 1 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/220/Lady-Sprinters-Front-to-Back/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/220/Lady-Sprinters-Front-to-Back/ I have completed day one. I must say that I am pretty much tuckered out. A late flight from Gatwick; a long wait at an Avis car hire desk; a belated bedside light snuffing out at gone midnight: all have contrived to make my current state one of physical depletion.There's most likely a touch of menta Mon, 30 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/219/Tungsten-Filigree/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/219/Tungsten-Filigree/ A Worcs walk the morning after a fine mealWe drove, two days ago, up to a fine old rectory near Pershore for dinner-and-the-night with friends from the Borders. The rectory - his parents' house - located in the Vale of Evesham with the far hedge of the Malvern Hills clearly visible in the distance.D Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/218/Over-the-Venerable-Hills/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/218/Over-the-Venerable-Hills/ I have omitted to write up a couple of exceptionally fine meals that I enjoyed during my recent stay in Singapore.I had never been to Sentosa before, but the removal of St Pierre, one of Singapore's finer and longest-standing eating establishments, to Ocean Way on the island gave cause for a visit, Mon, 8 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/217/Two-Momentous-Meal-From-Recent-History/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/217/Two-Momentous-Meal-From-Recent-History/ A tap, a stone basin, a brush: things outside Domaine Jobard in MeursaultIn fact, a visit to see Antoine Jobard was our first appointment of the day and not an onerous one, if I am honest. I know precious little about wine making so I perhaps experience more amazement than one versed in its arc Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/216/Dense-Shoulders-and-a-Personality-Knob/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/216/Dense-Shoulders-and-a-Personality-Knob/ Grubbed up vines, the vineyards of Marangesand the vapours that overhung today's early morningI worked in my hotel room until 12h30 yesterday and then climbed into my car and set the satnav for Arbois in the Jura. Rapid progress was made along the peage and it wasn't more than an hour and ten minute Wed, 12 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/215/Kissing-the-Tops-of-Precision/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/215/Kissing-the-Tops-of-Precision/ The 1er Cru Vosne-Romanee Vineyard of La Croix Rameau: the smallest in the communeSunday's drive was achieved relatively painlessly: the thick end of three hours on the UK side, 35 minutes under the English Channel on a train, then an easy five hour haul down the (largely unoccupied) French autorout Tue, 11 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/214/A-Day-of-Singular-Woodsiness/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/214/A-Day-of-Singular-Woodsiness/ Something to do with tomatoes. In a test tube.The timing for my trip to Asia was dictated by a very kind invitation to the joint 50th birthday party of a client and his wife. There was a proviso: that I would introduce the wines on the evening in question. We planned to meet up earlier in the d Thu, 30 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/213/Big-Day-For-the-Buds/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/213/Big-Day-For-the-Buds/ The next evening found me making my way to a client's apartment in Shiu Fai Terrace to a) meet the latest addition to the family, a fine young lad named Dashiell and b) to drink some excellent champagne. The two things seem to go together somehow, a new-ish baby requiring significant toasting.The ch Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/212/Further-Asian-Treats/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/212/Further-Asian-Treats/ One can expect decent overhead conditions in Hong Kong at this time of year, but I was unprepared for such exceptional meteorological beneficence. Blue skies and clear air were the order of the day...or, rather, days, as such weather persisted throughout my stay.Much had been said about the protests Sun, 26 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/211/A-Number-of-Senior-Meals-and-Lofty-Bottles/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/211/A-Number-of-Senior-Meals-and-Lofty-Bottles/ 129-131 Brackenbury Rd, London W6 0BQWine trade dinner in west London. It takes a bit of planning, which is why Director Ben got his skates on and organised things about a quarter of a year in advance. And still we had a couple of people crying off at the last minute. I mean, really. Does herding wi Thu, 2 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/210/An-Interesting-Bunch-at-the-Brackenbury/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/210/An-Interesting-Bunch-at-the-Brackenbury/ Smudges of expensive liquid: samples of the three 2013 Chateau Latour cuvees, along with the newly released 2008 Pauillac, 2006 Forts de Latour and 2004 grand vinI hosted a tasting in a restaurant in Exmouth Market in London the other evening and great fun it was too. Over a sample of o Mon, 12 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/209/Tasty-13s-Asking-Small-Sums/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/209/Tasty-13s-Asking-Small-Sums/ In the vineyards of Chateau Pichon BaronRadio silence yesterday, I am aware. My excuse, however, is a goodie. Read on to judge for yourself...Some days during these primeurs weeks are busier than others. For example, the Right Bank - to where I am to head tomorrow - is frantic. One has to attend the Wed, 2 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/208/Orange-Mustard-and-a-Pile-of-Poo/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/208/Orange-Mustard-and-a-Pile-of-Poo/ St Estephe from the driveway of Calon SegurIt's been an easy day of tasting is some senses, rather less clear cut in others. And the sun has been shining on the Medoc; glimpses of the Gironde afforded at Montrose and elsewhere have been of water sparkling under bright French sunshine.An easy flight Mon, 31 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/207/Day-One-in-Bordeaux-Tasting-2013/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/207/Day-One-in-Bordeaux-Tasting-2013/ A lemon sourced from the orangery at Alfieri in Asti back in January. The utterly extraordinary Barbera from this estate will appear in a forthcoming offerCellaring wine; what's that about then? It's an activity in which collectors have engaged for centuries; so long, indeed, that most of us probabl Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/206/Is-the-Cellar-Our-Friend/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/206/Is-the-Cellar-Our-Friend/ Precipitous vineyards in Ribeira SacraI have just returned from a lightning-quick tour of Galicia. And what a fascinating part of the world it is. I had never before visited this bit of Spain: the uppermost corner of Iberia's Atlantic margin, separated from the rest of its motherland by mountains, i Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/205/Octopus-Alsatian-and-a-Green-River/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/205/Octopus-Alsatian-and-a-Green-River/ Morey-St-Denis vineyardsAfter a grim start to the day the evening sky is now clear above Beaune. Having paled to turquoise and darkened to a deeper blue, it is now peppered with salty stars and the moon, but a slip of rind two nights back, is now the full slice of nacred melon.Driving north on the p Tue, 4 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/204/Of-Wet-Nurses-and-Melons/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/204/Of-Wet-Nurses-and-Melons/ The sky outside Domaine Jean Pascal this afternoonI left home at 09h40 yesterday morning and immediately started to encounter some of the most classically endowed Sunday driving imaginable. This activity continued right up to the time I hit the far side of the Eurotunnel and included a period on the Mon, 3 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/203/Big-Beaunes-small-bones/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/203/Big-Beaunes-small-bones/ Why I can no longer add photographs to my blog is starting to frustrate me beyond reason. I will enquire of Google as to the reasons. In any event, here's the day's round up.I left home at 09h40 yesterday morning and immediately started to encounter some of the most classically endowed Sunday Mon, 3 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/202/Why-I-can-no-longer-add-photographs-to-my-blog/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/202/Why-I-can-no-longer-add-photographs-to-my-blog/ The hills of the Barbaresco commune, with the Rabaja vineyard in the foregroundThe landscape of this part of Italy lies like great folds of earthy cloth, so perfectly summing up the word foothills that the name Piemonte slips over the vineyards like a glove.The weather, for our visit, was consi Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/201/Filling-sausages-and-temporary-magnums/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/201/Filling-sausages-and-temporary-magnums/ N.B. I have given up attempting to load a photograph of the day's activities as the local connection doesn't appear to be up to the task. We blew into Alba after dark last evening and there was cold rain falling as we rose this morning, rain that had tuned into wet snow during the course of our brea Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/200/First-day-in-Piemonte/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/200/First-day-in-Piemonte/ Not the right vintage, but to give you an idea of the Celtic nature of the labelling hereBack when the world was wearing short trousers and its mother was wiping smuts from its rosy cheeks with a portion of spittle-soaked hankie, back when Bowes Wine was taking its first wobbly steps, giraffe calf-l Mon, 6 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/199/A-tasty-Canberra-Celt/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/199/A-tasty-Canberra-Celt/ Ooops. Suddenly occured to me that I hadn't seen - or, indeed, thought about - my blog for a while and see that I haven't posted since Hong Kong, a trip that feels like a distant memory, although in reality it is three months. Decided perhaps I am the world's most hopeless blogger. Everyone tells me Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/198// https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/198// A rising River Tweed under rare sunshineLast Wednesday hosted the annual migration of the UK's wine trade to the Royal Opera House for a tasting to which those merchants dealing with Bordeaux vintages on a yearly basis really look forward, for it offers the chance to taste the most recently-bottled Sun, 27 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/197/A-big-tasting-a-big-drive-a-fish/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/197/A-big-tasting-a-big-drive-a-fish/ We drank this the other night in the dying days of 2013's summer, sitting outside and gazing up the long valley view to Devizes in the distance.And not to put too fine a point on it, it was a fruit bomb. I was borderline shocked. One encounters so few wines of this style these days. It is almos Fri, 6 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/196/Looking-back-at-future-times/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/196/Looking-back-at-future-times/ Scientists have shown that yoghurt eaten with a plastic spoon tastes measurably richer than the same yoghurt tasted from stainless steel. And this is a mental thing, in case you're wondering whether there's some interaction between yoghurt and plastic that creates this effect. There's not. It's Tue, 2 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/195/Rivetted-by-Yoghurt/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/195/Rivetted-by-Yoghurt/ Above - overly optimistic outdoor furniture at Cheval Blanc with Evangile in the distanceI am going to keep this short. The cream was thoroughly spread on the cracker some hours ago and said biscuit has now become distinctly soggy.I was unsure how long it would take me to get to my first appointment Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/194/Light-Can-It-Be-I-Thought-This-Tunnel-Went-on-Forever/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/194/Light-Can-It-Be-I-Thought-This-Tunnel-Went-on-Forever/ Above - I've always thought that Chateau Olivier looks like it must be one of the oldest in Bordeaux.Well, today's been quite an undertaking. No great hurry first thing. Whatever I did, my last appointment was to be 17h30 at Haut-Brion and the Pessac-Leognan tastingthat required attention beforehand Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/193/Third-Day-of-Nose-to-the-Bordeaux-Grindstone/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/193/Third-Day-of-Nose-to-the-Bordeaux-Grindstone/ Above, the Margaux tasting at Chateau Labegorce and what better thing to add to a room crowded with focussed wine tasters than a tripping hazard in the form of piles of super-sized kindling?Day two in the Medoc started early, but I am happy to say that it commenced after a suitably lengthy period of Tue, 9 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/192/Day-2-of-the-Bordeaux-Bunfight/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/192/Day-2-of-the-Bordeaux-Bunfight/ What is it with France? So often I have trouble sleeping and last night was no exception, with me waking at 04h05 and alternately punching my pillow in the darkness and reading my book until about six o'clock, when I fell into a deep sleep only to have my alarm wake me shortly thereafter. So, showe Mon, 8 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/191/Day-One-in-Bordeaux-the-2012-Primeurs-Tastings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/191/Day-One-in-Bordeaux-the-2012-Primeurs-Tastings/ The picture above is a reminder that the primeurs tastings in Bordeaux loom large (the photograph is of Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte) and I anticipate tasting a great many delicious wines in most of the region's communes, plus the usual disfunctional bunch of try-too-hards who seem largely Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/190/Balance-schmallance/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/190/Balance-schmallance/ Like a cross between Hobbiton and Mordor: Burgundy village wreathed in fogRecent news of note is that Robert Parker has sold a share of his business to three young Singaporeans for USUSD15M. He remains at the helm, with chief editorship going to Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, formerly Parker's Asian e Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/189/Parker-Sells-UpLeading-to-Another-Wine-Rant/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/189/Parker-Sells-UpLeading-to-Another-Wine-Rant/ It's sunny, so it must have been the Monday of my trip to Burgundy (all other days wreathed in fog). Sitting at the table of a pavement cafe enjoying a punchy coffee and admiring the Beaune sunshineI've been back from Burgundy for a few days now and thoughts about the vintage - indeed wine in Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/188/Big-Thoughts-About-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/188/Big-Thoughts-About-Burgundy/ Cold-wise, there's been a distinct improvement. Discomfort has been minimised...although I suspect that my vocal chords in their current state would be better at communicating with rutting cane toads, rather than French wine makers.But spirits are flying higher than those of especially well victuall Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/187/Of-Leprechauns-and-Hobbits/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/187/Of-Leprechauns-and-Hobbits/ The mist has persisted all day. We attempted the road over the top from Gamay (where we'd been visiting and tasting at the Domaine Marc Colin) to the hamlet of Blagny. The thought was that we may find ourselves above the fog at altitude. Ha! The photograph above was taken more-or-less at the highe Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/186/Burgundy-Day-2-Morning/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/186/Burgundy-Day-2-Morning/ I set off from Wiltshire early yesterday morning. Driving up the Test Valley along the A303, the mist filled the lowlands to my right, trees, houses, pylons sticking up through the vapours, the whole scene bathed in silvery white sunshine. We arrived at Beaune yesterday evening. I quickly applied a Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/185/First-Day-Tasting-2011-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/185/First-Day-Tasting-2011-Burgundy/ Just about room to move at the Bowes Wine 10th anniversary tasting at Crown Wine Cellars in Shouson HillA very fine and pleasant dust is falling following Bowes Wine tastings in Hong Kong and Singapore, the pair of them separated by just four days.Tasters in both locations assembled to sample about Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/184/The-Bashing-of-the-Bowes-Birthday/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/184/The-Bashing-of-the-Bowes-Birthday/ Meursault fermenting in oakI am beginning to think that, like a reincarnated dog, white burgundy is about to have its day all over again. Having been caught between the rock of the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) movement and the hard place of PremOx (see here), the wine drinking public's adoration Sun, 2 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/183/Its-ChardonnayAgain/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/183/Its-ChardonnayAgain/ I recently spent a couple of days in Friuli: a kind invitation from a go-ahead UK wine importer with which we work. I was fascinated to discover just what this coner of Italy was like. It is the source of much of the country's best white wine. It has its own language, regularly used, spoken by all: Wed, 4 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/182/Friulian-funtime/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/182/Friulian-funtime/ St Emilion vineyard and workerIt has become clear that the world's wine consumers are well into a period of Bordeaux fatigue and one wonders where/when it will all stop. I've been running through future scenarios in my head - 2012 gives average quality at a low price; it offers great, classic wines Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/181/Thoughts-on-Bordeaux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/181/Thoughts-on-Bordeaux/ Somerset House in London last Thursday for the annual tasting of an affiliated (not sure how, exactly) group of Bordeaux crus classes. And it has immediately become an event I consider de rigeur for a number of reasons, not least that it offers an opportunity to taste some of t Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/180/Catwalk-Fashion-Mouthwatering-Rollcall-of-Bordeaux-Haute-Couture/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/180/Catwalk-Fashion-Mouthwatering-Rollcall-of-Bordeaux-Haute-Couture/ The line-up!Dinner last Thursday evening ?was an exciting event. It took place at Tim's Kitchen, a long-established Cantonese restaurant on Bonham Strand in Sheung Wan. I have attended meals at which European wines are paired with the indigenous food of Hong Kong in the past and find the match works Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/179/Magnificent-HK-FandB/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/179/Magnificent-HK-FandB/ Head north from Chateau Montrose, keeping to the estuary, and one comes to Chateau Meyney. From these vineyards came one of the great insiders' clarets of the 1980s. Today, the reputation of the wine is deservedly growing again under the auspices of Credit Agricole Grands Crus, th Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/178/The-Gironde-a-Chateau-and-Its-Pine-Tree/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/178/The-Gironde-a-Chateau-and-Its-Pine-Tree/ Here's that shot of the topsoil of Vieux Chateau Certan. It's been many years since I studied soil science, but this seemed to be to be a clay/sand mix. Due to the extreme dryness the region has been experiencing, it does come across as being rather dusty. As I pointed out to a number of the B Mon, 9 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/177/Topsoil-at-Vieux-Chateau-Certan/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/177/Topsoil-at-Vieux-Chateau-Certan/ Those who haven't visited Pomerol are often amazed that there is a diversity of terroir under this flat, featureless appellation. The differences are all underground, of course. This shot is taken in Pomerol's golden triangle, an area that includes not only Vieux Chateau Certan, but Evangile, Sun, 8 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/176/Clip-Shot-Outside-Vieux-Chateau-Certan/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/176/Clip-Shot-Outside-Vieux-Chateau-Certan/ The moat at Chateau Beauregard, where the Union des Grands Crus held its Pomerol tasting todayI always leave too much time to to get to St Emilion and this morning was no different. I found myself on the town's outskirts with half-an-hour to kill before my appointment at Chateau Ausone, thus I gave Thu, 5 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/175/Top-Thoroughbreds-and-Golden-Livery/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/175/Top-Thoroughbreds-and-Golden-Livery/ One corner of the cloisters at Chateau La Mission Haut Brion?Today was the day for heading south around the Rocade, Bordeaux's ring road. Like every other road built to solve a congestion problem, it becomes heavily congested at peak times. I wanted to be at the Union des Grands Crus tasting at Chat Wed, 4 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/174// https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/174// They were always going to be big boots to fill...Your guess is as good as mine. Artwork at Chateau KirwanShort blog tonight, as I have to be downstairs for a beer in 10 minutes and much as I enjoy my blogging...Weather-wise, a cooler day with much more cloud. Wine-wise, Day 2 has given ample opportu Tue, 3 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/173/Cool-Sculptures-and-Loose-Textures/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/173/Cool-Sculptures-and-Loose-Textures/ The Ducru-Beaucaillou colour of choice for most if not all its marketing material is orange, but I still had something of a shock when visiting the loo at the propertyI have now arrived back at my hotel room in Blanquefort, just to the south of the Medoc. I have flung open the double doors onto the Mon, 2 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/172/BlueSky-Day-of-Pretty-Tastings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/172/BlueSky-Day-of-Pretty-Tastings/ Gigondas was one of the Cotes-du-Rhone Villages until 1971, when it was granted its own appellation.The town is stunning, strewn, as it is, amidst the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail. The town itself dates from Roman times.There are a number of worthy restaurants in the town, bu Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/171/High-Above-Gigondas/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/171/High-Above-Gigondas/ A visit to the ruined castle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is always on the cards, especially as there is a rather nifty restaurant just downslope: Les Vergers des Papes. Go there only if you can handle dour staff.In some ways, the wines of Chateauneuf are precise opposites to those of Burgundy Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/170/The-Town-and-Vineyards-of-Chateau-neuf-du-Pape/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/170/The-Town-and-Vineyards-of-Chateau-neuf-du-Pape/ I always make a detour to get this view from the top of the Hill of Hermitage each time I visit the region. Note the closeness of the valley walls, walls that form a funnel down which the Mistral wind is squeezed and through which it gathers force: a power expended in the southern part of the valley Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/169/Atop-the-Hill-of-Hermitage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/169/Atop-the-Hill-of-Hermitage/ I took this shot after lunch in Tournon. From that bank, one looks back at Tournon's twin of Tain l'Hermitage, the pair separated by the mighty Rhone. You can see a great deal of building taking place in Tain and, indeed, Tain seems the younger twin by some margin, lacking the character and, y Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/168/The-Hill-of-Hermitage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/168/The-Hill-of-Hermitage/ I took this bit of film standing on a pontoon jetty on the River Rhone just down from the domaine of Rene Rostaing in Ampuis...in the wind, evidently. Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/167/Panning-Shot-of-Candote-Randotie-Vineyards/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/167/Panning-Shot-of-Candote-Randotie-Vineyards/ The inner doings of the ruined castle of Chateauneuf-du-PapeToday has been a cycle of pleasure and pain, a brief description of which will give you some insight into the daily experiences of a wine merchant on a buying trip to France. I headed out to Chateauneuf after breakfast and had an extremely Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/166/Dogs-Minerals-and-Tarnished-Slots/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/166/Dogs-Minerals-and-Tarnished-Slots/ A view from the top...of the Hill of HermitageWe rose in the darkness before dawn. Opening the window of my stifling hotel room in Beaune, I expected an immeditate ingress of icy air; stars gleaming in the morning sky revealed that the night had been a clear one. Yet although the air was refreshing, Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/165/Intellectual-or-Animal-Charm-I-Care-Not/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/165/Intellectual-or-Animal-Charm-I-Care-Not/ Livestock above Westbury white horseNagging at me for weeks now has been the requirement to squirt off down the Rhone Valley to taste the 2010 vintage, about which I - and perhaps you - have been hearing a great deal. In Burgundy, whilst the '09 vintage threw up succulent, ripe wines that'll o Fri, 9 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/164/Imminent-Journeying-Recent-Carousing/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/164/Imminent-Journeying-Recent-Carousing/ Scottish hill, beneath which we walked last weekendWe are coming to the end of a drawn out 2010 Burgundy campaign, during which I have attempted to hold clients' interest through a series of single-producer mini-offers: something I am trialling for the first time this year. Why? Well, my goal and in Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/163/Burgundy-Swansong-Branding-and-Offers-Imminent/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/163/Burgundy-Swansong-Branding-and-Offers-Imminent/ Dressed for the weather on The MallTwice I caught the train to London last week and twice walked across a frozen Hyde Park to my destination, in the first instance the Westbury Hotel off Bond Street, secondly the Institute of Directors on Pall Mall. Both were good walks. And the first day, the sky w Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/162/To-London-to-Walk-and-Taste/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/162/To-London-to-Walk-and-Taste/ The terroir of the departed, Savigny-les-BeauneBurgundy is a magical, mystical place for wine merchant and aficionado alike, source of some of the world's most stunning wines, at best extraordinarily scintillating amalgams of the most beautiful fruit and profound terroir. It's also a place - Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/161/Small-Rant-on-the-Subject-of-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/161/Small-Rant-on-the-Subject-of-Burgundy/ Looking towards central across the lake in Hong Kong ParkI have just arrived in Singapore, a place which looked bright enough during my taxi ride into town, but the firm splatter of raindrops against my hotel rooom window showed its real intentions re the weather.Hong Kong was busy, starting with a Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/160/Mighty-Whites-and-Reds-Heady-Views-and-Fine-Food/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/160/Mighty-Whites-and-Reds-Heady-Views-and-Fine-Food/ A sample of Fixin awaiting our attention outside the Domaine Mortet in Arnaud's absenceI didn't get a chance to pen a post on either my penultimate or final day in Burgundy. Dinner kept me out late for the former, and a woeful collection of misadventures ensured a tardy finish my last night, deliver Tue, 1 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/159/Fuel-Expenditure-Gone-Wrong-Wines-Gone-Very-Right/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/159/Fuel-Expenditure-Gone-Wrong-Wines-Gone-Very-Right/ A modest message in the wall of a Meursault back street, yet to ignore it would be to bypass some of the world's finest ChardonnaysIt's been a fine day in Burgundy, starting with thick fog in Corberon. The fog retained its density to the outskirts of Beaune before it lifted, revealing the glowing sl Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/158/The-Fog-Clears-to-Reveal-the-Greatness/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/158/The-Fog-Clears-to-Reveal-the-Greatness/ Mushroom found growing in a wood near our house in CorberonWe are having an afternoon off, for which I am really quite grateful. Towards the end of our last tasting before lunch today, I was starting to feel in need of forty winks and, indeed, back at the gite after fifteen minutes of grazing on goo Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/157// https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/157// Corberon, where lizards are still enjoying the late autumn sunshineWe undertook the long drive to Burgundy yesterday and enjoyed brilliant sunshine the entire way.It was cold last night; cold enough to leave stubborn ice on the windscreens of the cars.Tasting Buddy and I have been accompanied by our Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/156/Arrival-in-Burgundy-Sunshine-and-a-Few-Bottles/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/156/Arrival-in-Burgundy-Sunshine-and-a-Few-Bottles/ Watching rising waters pouring over the weir at ChollerfordI have been intending to pen a post for some time, but have found the path to the blogosphere paved with distractions.We recently helped in the organisation and hosting of a wine tasting at Vintners Hall in London for a fantastic charity of Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/155/A-Charity-Do-a-CaffeineFuelled-Dash-North-Late-to-the-Convivium/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/155/A-Charity-Do-a-CaffeineFuelled-Dash-North-Late-to-the-Convivium/ Looking upstream from the head of the mighty Gaffer's Pool on the River FindhornI was in the north of Scotland last week on a boys' fishing sojourn, probing the dampness between the Findhorn's banks for the salmon that made no effort to hide their presence, sloshing, porpoising and jumping as they s Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/154/Empty-Nets-Full-Pleasures/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/154/Empty-Nets-Full-Pleasures/ I find within myself the tendency to believe, when dwelling on such things (not often, it must be said; perhaps once a month at a most generous estimate) that our vinegar fungus (mere, in the French tongue) is a contented entity.To give you a brief, potted history (in so doing I fear I have n Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/153/Mother/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/153/Mother/ Sand gives way to limestone in the soils to the north of Chateauneuf-du-PapeThe length of Pall Mall is festooned with smart clubs, all offering the chance to step out of the hurly-burly of the street outside (more or less of a hurly burly, one wonders, than when the area was frequented by thos Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/152/Croquet-and-Black-Rubber/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/152/Croquet-and-Black-Rubber/ Other end of the day, but the same viewI've just come in from the garden. 22.17 and still the last vestiges of the day linger. And Being outside again gave me that feeling - a feeling I have increasingly often at this time of year - a wondering: why do we spend so much time indoors? Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/151// https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/151// A cool and persistently wet Sunday early in a Wiltshire June seems as good a place as any to talk about Bordeaux. From the depths of an en primeur campaign one gets a particular view of the market and a campaign like the present one (I say like although I cannot recall any precedent to this curiou Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/150/In-Started-In-the-Rain-in-Bordeaux-and-Went-From-There/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/150/In-Started-In-the-Rain-in-Bordeaux-and-Went-From-There/ I've just been out for a walk. It was the sort of walk that becomes essential in late afternoon to someone who has been indoors all day caring for an ill child. Isabella was awake much of last night and, after a short period of sickness, spent the hours of darkness very restless and with a raging te Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/149/Linen-Eyelashes-and-Musky-Sap/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/149/Linen-Eyelashes-and-Musky-Sap/ On the way to taste the wines of Jean-Luc Thunevin in a St Emilion side street. Note the Wistaria, which is adorning the facades of many a chateau at the moment The vines have become a great deal more leafy in the last week. The summery conditions are blasting them into their full growth cycle and Thu, 7 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/148/From-Treacle-Tart-to-Lemon-Meringue/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/148/From-Treacle-Tart-to-Lemon-Meringue/ The tasting room at Haut-Brion; a sample being poured with the chateau visible through the doorwayWe drove south this morning under pale blue skies that have remained locked over Bordeaux all day. It seems that flights paths bisect one another somewhere over Bordeaux's southern suburbs, for the blu Wed, 6 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/147/Day-3-in-Bordeaux-A-Stork-A-Treacle-Tart-and-More-Fine-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/147/Day-3-in-Bordeaux-A-Stork-A-Treacle-Tart-and-More-Fine-Wine/ Something of the Scottish baronial style about Lascombes; little Scottish about the weather, however: blue skies over Margaux We have just now crawled back into the hotel at the exceedingly welcome end of a predictably tiring day. Our mettle has been tested; our stamina fully explored. We are weary Tue, 5 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/146/Bordeaux-Day-2/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/146/Bordeaux-Day-2/ Chateau Pontet-Canet floats between gravel drive and sky A pleasant introduction to the qualities of any given vintage is the first day of the en primeur tasting week in Bordeaux. It's a day of reasonably relaxed visits to those chateaux that don't deign to show their wines at the big combined Unio Mon, 4 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/145/Day-One-in-Bordeaux-First-Thoughts-on-the-2010s/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/145/Day-One-in-Bordeaux-First-Thoughts-on-the-2010s/ The little Dash 8 jolly-plane that had conveyed us from Southampton airport dropped through lumpen, bumpy clouds into Bergerac a little before 5pm yesterday. By the time we had picked up the hire car and driven to St Emilion it had started to rain in earnest. There are many more tastings this year t Mon, 4 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/144/Bordeaux-Arrival-First-Tastings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/144/Bordeaux-Arrival-First-Tastings/ Above a panning shot taken from the ruined castle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the shaking of the camera not the result of Grenache withdrawal, rather the instability caused to anything larger than a medium-small invertebrate by the mistral, that muscular wind that is funnelled through the narrow g Fri, 4 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/143/Audrey-Hepburn-Ducks-Butts-and-a-Giant-Bill/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/143/Audrey-Hepburn-Ducks-Butts-and-a-Giant-Bill/ Two green rabbits, one saying to the other, Have they gone? Is it safe to come out?We drove into Avignon last evening for a beer with an old work mate of mine who is now in the pay of the UK's Chateau de Beaucastel importer. On the edge of town, in skies brightly illuminated by a sunset of orange Tue, 1 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/142/Many-More-Than-Four-and-Twenty-Black-Birds-and-Indecent-Levels-of-Fungi/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/142/Many-More-Than-Four-and-Twenty-Black-Birds-and-Indecent-Levels-of-Fungi/ The mono-rail that lifted us up to the heights of Le Combard terraces of Cote-RotieWe arrived in Beaune at 19h15 or so last evening after a drive that included an irritating betrayal by my SatNav. Some distance south of Calais I remarked to Tasting Buddy that I thought our present route was taking Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/141/Wobbly-Legs-and-Salty-Pork/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/141/Wobbly-Legs-and-Salty-Pork/ Somewhere in the Cote d'Or, October 2010It's tasting season in the UK at the moment: a great time of year to rail against the injustices propagated by these events, none more so than the myriad primeur burgundy tastings. It becomes increasingly evident that clear and proper evaluation cannot Fri, 4 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/140/Swings-Sweetbreads-and-Gnomish-Twaddle/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/140/Swings-Sweetbreads-and-Gnomish-Twaddle/ The newly finished ICC, in the top of which will be housed the new Ritz Carlton, towers above expensive residential blocks in KowloonI dropped into Heathrow yesterday morning anticipating a nip in the air and I wasn't disappointed. And the further west I drove, the whiter was the landscape, which su Wed, 8 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/139/Veal-Chops-Pencil-Shavings-and-a-Badly-Docked-Tail/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/139/Veal-Chops-Pencil-Shavings-and-a-Badly-Docked-Tail/ The view back to Sheung Wan from Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsoi, the mighty finger of IFC2 picking at the skyWeather continues good in Hong Kong, a contrast, I believe, to what is occurring in the UK, where subzero termpatures and, today, snow, hold sway.I am enjoying using the facilities of the Thu, 2 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/138/Liquids-Elegant-and-the-RedFronted-Shirt/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/138/Liquids-Elegant-and-the-RedFronted-Shirt/ The usual: a view from my hotel window in Causeway Bay, looking west towards CentralNow arrived in Hong Kong and I am enjoying the cool autumn air and bright sunlight that currently bathes the SAR.My last few days in Singapore were scented with the fine bouquets of some luminary bottles. At the hous Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/137/I-Have-Sinned-With-Beef-Cheeks-and-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/137/I-Have-Sinned-With-Beef-Cheeks-and-Burgundy/ Busy times in Singapore. I do like this place, I must say. Once I remember to leave my jacket in the hotel room and to walk at the same pace as the residents, rather than that of someone late for work in the City of London, I suffer less in the heat. And I thought that the jetlag had departed, yet I Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/136/Denis-Double-Truffle-and-a-Cloud-in-My-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/136/Denis-Double-Truffle-and-a-Cloud-in-My-Wine/ There's usually someone making free with transmittable germs on any long haul flight. Five days - perhaps a week - later, one finds oneself cursing that individual as first one notices the dryness at the back of one's throat and nose, then deals with ensuing cough and persistent nasal drip. Flying f Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/135/Germs-Afghan-Mountains-and-Swiss-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/135/Germs-Afghan-Mountains-and-Swiss-Wine/ We're currently working the five days of the Country Living Christmas Fair in Islington, marketing The Daily Drinker to those desperate to find presents for difficult wine lovers and I would particularly recommend such an activity to those for whom flat feet are something to be desired. Standing up Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/134/Christmas-Is-AComin/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/134/Christmas-Is-AComin/ The 2010 vintage, in its oaken residence, awaits my visit in 2011The weather is changing. We emerged from the cellars of Domaine Drouhin-Laroze in Gevrey-Chambertin an hour ago or so and the leaves were throwing themselves about listlessly in the yard, the trees' smaller branches twitching as if in Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/133/Day-5-in-the-Cote-Friends-in-the-Nuits/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/133/Day-5-in-the-Cote-Friends-in-the-Nuits/ Bottles being gradually swallowed by the mould in Antoine Jobard's cellarWriting this early Friday morning, as I didn't get back until late last night following a most enjoyable meal in Bissoh, one of two Japanese restaurants in Beaune. We'd broken for lunch earlier in the day and eaten a really pr Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/132/Day-4-in-the-Cote/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/132/Day-4-in-the-Cote/ The vineyards of Savigny-les-Beaune surround the village's graveyardAs I drove out to the first of this afternoon's tastings I noticed a flock of large, heavy birds heading in a generally southerly direction and craned my neck to see what they were, knowing that whatever their ID, they weren't commo Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/131/Day-3-in-the-Cote-Afternoon-Tastings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/131/Day-3-in-the-Cote-Afternoon-Tastings/ The multi-coloured quilt that is the swathe of vines from Chorey to the slopes of BeauneAnother chilly, bright dawning, the sky, flushed with purple and orange, blurred by the condensation on the inside of my hotel room window.I drove to Chorey-les-Beaune all of 15 minutes away and we tasted the ent Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/130/Day-3-in-the-Cote-Morning-Session/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/130/Day-3-in-the-Cote-Morning-Session/ A view from the top; a feast for the eyes from the heights above BlagnyThibault Morey was in typically relaxed mood when we arrived for a tasting of the wines of Domaine Morey-Coffinet at 09h00 this morning. Why shouldn't he be? His family own a beautiful house over large vaulted cellars (where one Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/129/Day-2-in-Burgundy-Touring-the-Cote-de-Beaune/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/129/Day-2-in-Burgundy-Touring-the-Cote-de-Beaune/ Etienne Grivot on sparkling form as we taste his 2009 vintageI flew into Geneva from London City airport last evening and what an excellent service. City airport is easily accessible via the DLR and inside is quiet and a quite reasonable place to while away an hour or so as one waits to depart.Havin Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/128/First-Day-in-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/128/First-Day-in-Burgundy/ A waterfall in the Dubai MallArrived in Dubai late on Friday night to find the temperature up at a muggy 33 C or so and things have continued in much the same vein.Yesterday I lunched in a restaurant called Eau Zone at the Royal Mirage One and Only Resort, my fellow luncher a New Zealander who is Sun, 10 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/127// https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/127// The River Test at Wherwell where trout run bigI am lucky to have fished the River Test twice in the last month or so, in the first instance at Broadlands, where the lower river is broad and, on our visit, brightly sparkling under clear skies and bright, late summer sunlight.These are tricky condit Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/126/Trout-More-Harping-and-the-Tasting/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/126/Trout-More-Harping-and-the-Tasting/ A merry, if slightly liverish, band by the black waters of the FindhornThe dust has settled; the fallout, having attained its half-life, now outwith its span of toxicity. The mighty John Buchan Food and Wine Society has convened for its annual get-together in the midge-infested Far North...and Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/125/Midge-Infestation-A-Great-Deal-of-Wine-and-a-Rolled-Pigs-Face/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/125/Midge-Infestation-A-Great-Deal-of-Wine-and-a-Rolled-Pigs-Face/ Calycanthus floridus, a relative of Magnolia, the spidery flowers of which smell of wine vinegarI have been playing a bit of golf recently, on one occasion carrying my bag for a full 18 holes. Killing time on the driving range until tee-off the next day, I felt my beleaguered spine go and limped Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/124/Back-Lull-and-an-Imminent-Journey/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/124/Back-Lull-and-an-Imminent-Journey/ A Greek chapel, a pond full of frogs - cacophonous at night - and the Med beyondBack, finally, we are from our Grecian holiday and I must say that, four days after returning home, the general feeling of well being/relaxedness/regeneration is still tangibly present. (I should, of course, quantify thi Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/123/Bordeaux-Hand-Foot-and-Mouth/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/123/Bordeaux-Hand-Foot-and-Mouth/ Ride for the smaller children at Robin Hill on the Isle of WightWe have just returned from our annual long-weekender on the Isle of Wight with the entire Bowes clan. Saturday was rather mis, weather-wise, and demanded indoor things to do with the children, but Sunday afforded an opportunity to visit Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/122/Wightian-Wine-Music-Musings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/122/Wightian-Wine-Music-Musings/ I have been eating exceptionally well in Hong Kong. Access to the Hong Kong Club is access to excellent Famp;B of high quality and I have visited a number of times, not least of which was a dinner in the Jackson Room the other evening that was very jolly.It seems ages ago - but in reality is but a Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/121/Cuisine-Molecular-Plus-Ovaries/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/121/Cuisine-Molecular-Plus-Ovaries/ Not been out and about with my camera, so all I can offer is another - rather dour - view from my hotel window.People have been telling me for some time what a good option New Zealand Air is to Hong Kong, so this time I took the plunge and booked my flight with them. They turned out to be cheaper th Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/120/Flying-with-Kiwis-A-SoupLike-Air-and-Suckling-Pig/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/120/Flying-with-Kiwis-A-SoupLike-Air-and-Suckling-Pig/ Pulsatilla vulgaris Alba like a plate of eggs levitating above the lawnWe are, this evening, drinking a bottle of the Roussette de Savoie that was recently despatched as one half of the April Daily Drinker mailing and, boy, it's a goodie. I appear to have opened it at exactly the right level of chil Tue, 4 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/119/New-Note-on-a-Recent-Daily-Drinker-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/119/New-Note-on-a-Recent-Daily-Drinker-Wine/ The sort of weather we had all week in ObergurglTwo days after returning from Bordeaux we headed out, en famille, to Austria and the slopes of that country's highest skiing resort, Obergurgl.Not being the scion of a skiing-obsessed family, I must confess to being an utter neophyte at this strangest Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/118/Demented-Sliding-a-Masticated-Bee-and-Warmer-Whites/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/118/Demented-Sliding-a-Masticated-Bee-and-Warmer-Whites/ A panning shot on the drive of La Mission Haut Brion, taken on Thursday morning.Back home at last and pondering a week of interesting tasting and an assessment of a vintage the qualities of which are far from clear cut.My last morning, I rose and breakfasted quickly and set off for St Emilion, there Sat, 3 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/117/A-Last-StEm-Fling-and-the-Journey-Home/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/117/A-Last-StEm-Fling-and-the-Journey-Home/ My tasting at Evangile this morningWeather apart (rolling and heavy showers have been waterlogging the soils of St Emilion and Pomerol for most of the day) today has proved a rather easier tasting session.I left early for my first appointment at Vieux Chateau Certan fearing the morning traffic, so a Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/116/Petrus-Pine-a-White-Horse-and-Much-Else-Besides/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/116/Petrus-Pine-a-White-Horse-and-Much-Else-Besides/ An especially gnarly old vine at Chateau Smith-Haut-LafitteMy working day started and ended in traffic. I drove south on the rocade - Bordeaux's ring road - towards the suburb of Pessac, leaving the hotel a little after 8am for my tasting at La Mission Haut Brion. Straight into the teeth of the rush Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/115/A-Double-Rush-Hour-and-Sticky-Hands/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/115/A-Double-Rush-Hour-and-Sticky-Hands/ The view from the tasting room at Chateau Pontet-CanetThe storm which everyone had been predicting yesterday finally pulled up overhead as we were finishing up our dinner at La Tupina (a deeply south-west French, goose fat-and-haunch-of-badger-type restaurant in the old docks of Bordeaux) last eveni Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/114/Day-Two-Footsore-and-Happily-Sticky/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/114/Day-Two-Footsore-and-Happily-Sticky/ Lamprey huts on the banks of the Gironde near PauillacThe sun has been bounding around the Medoc today. only occasionally interrupted by high and delightfully sculptural cloud formations.I flew into Bergerac last afternoon having cancelled my BA flight to Bordeaux, not knowing whether one of our dom Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/113/Day-One-with-the-09-Vintage-in-Bordeaux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/113/Day-One-with-the-09-Vintage-in-Bordeaux/ Louvre under leaden skiesIt's been a busy few days in a social sense. Last week found me enjoying the hospitality of the Travellers' Club once again, again through the kindness of a friend who has put me up for membership of that esteemed establishment. The occasion was the election committee recept Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/112/Ones-Jib-Commons-Charity-and-the-Champagne-Train-to-Paris/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/112/Ones-Jib-Commons-Charity-and-the-Champagne-Train-to-Paris/ The photogenic dead, somewhere in the Cote de NuitsI attended a tasting the other day at a Michelin starred restaurant near Newbury. It was a Bordeaux tasting and present to discuss their wines were Patrick Maroteaux - owner of Chateau Branaire-Ducru in St Julien - and Stefan von Niepperg, tha Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/111/Glasses-Tastings-and-a-Market-Slog/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/111/Glasses-Tastings-and-a-Market-Slog/ Fallow deer in the snow during a recent shootI do sometimes wonder whether we will go down in some or other annals as the generation that dumbed wine down. In my opinion, the greatest single thing that will lead to us being recorded as such is the practice of scoring the stuff.The problem with scor Wed, 3 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/110/More-Tetchiness-Largely-Aimed-at-Journalists/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/110/More-Tetchiness-Largely-Aimed-at-Journalists/ Typical bit of neat burgundian dry stone wallingSo what makes a Burgundy vintage good? Is it simply a matter of lots of sunshine and a little bit of rain? Which are the best vintages of the last decade or so? What do we look for in the best red burgundy?As ever, this is a region that presents more q Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/109/Burgundy-Musing-Born-of-a-Mild-Tetchiness/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/109/Burgundy-Musing-Born-of-a-Mild-Tetchiness/ And another...Having arrived in glorious weather, hardly less himid than Singapore, but clear and sunny with it, the weather has turned in this Special Administrative Region. I wake this Monday morning to find it very Monday-ish i.e. grey, wet and looking not unlike the sort of Monday morning that'l Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/108/Turning-Weather/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/108/Turning-Weather/ The view from my hotel roomThe transition from one country to another creates a doorway that closes when one arrives in a new destination, thus Singapore already feels more than a couple of days away. Travelling on the MTR - Hong Kong's underground system - with its open carriages down which one has Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/107/Au-Revoir-Singapore-Bonjour-Hong-Kong/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/107/Au-Revoir-Singapore-Bonjour-Hong-Kong/ What with the rapid turn-around between our London tasting and my departure for Burgundy, I never got 'round to penning anything about the former, an event which had been causing some small trepidation in the weeks following its announcement due to the fact that we had not only managed to hit half h Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/106/Old-Tasting-News-New-News-from-Singapore/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/106/Old-Tasting-News-New-News-from-Singapore/ Oppressively lovely weather in the vineyards of MarangesI had the luxury of being picked up from my hotel at 08h30 yesterday morning. Emma's family have for years represented some of Burgundy's finest domaines in the UK and she was to lead me through a day of tasting. We drove five minutes down the Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/104/More-Than-One-Frisson/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/104/More-Than-One-Frisson/ Meursault in the mistWhat a way to start the afternoon! A visit to the cellars of the Domaine Lafarge in Volnay is always a treat. My appointment was at two and I rang the bell as the church clock chimed the hour.I descended with Frederic Lafarge into the cellar and tasted an utterly faultless range Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/103/Colour-Mist-Mazzers-and-Minerals/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/103/Colour-Mist-Mazzers-and-Minerals/ The starlings' share. Clouds of the birds circle over the vineyards at this time of year knowing that a fruity meal is on the cardsI turned off the light shortly after 10pm last evening and did some serious catching up, sleep-wise. I had dined in the hotel. I am glad that I won't have to again. I me Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/102/The-Morning-After-the-Sleep-Before/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/102/The-Morning-After-the-Sleep-Before/ Chassagne and yet more sunshineLast night I wandered into town - mercifully close - to seek out a venue for dinner. I was hungry, having had a roll and a yoghurt for breakfast and a meagre filling station sandwich for lunch. The closest opportunity was presented by Bisoh, one of Beaune's two Japanes Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/101/A-Lucky-Meeting-and-Another-Glittering-Day/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/101/A-Lucky-Meeting-and-Another-Glittering-Day/ Vosne in the morning sunI drove to Bristol airport yesterday afternoon in a haze of tiredness. For various reasons - largely child related - I had accumulated three partially sleepless nights and I had car windows open as I drove along the A420 towards Bristol. The road cuts high over the valley in Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/100/Silver-Mist-A-Late-Arrival-and-a-Bevy-of-Tastings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/100/Silver-Mist-A-Late-Arrival-and-a-Bevy-of-Tastings/ The first of my captures: a hen fish of c. 8.5lbI travelled to Wales on Wednesday for a few hours of fishing the upper Wye. I have known this stretch of river for many years - since I was 16 or so - and it is where I started to learn to fly fish. It is also where I caught my first salmon.I had been Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/99/Three-at-the-End/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/99/Three-at-the-End/ A kune-kune pig at our local farm. The breed is considered maori and was very rare until it found a sponsor who bought as many as possible in New Zealand and started a breeding program. Beautiful they ain'tWe've been tasting/drinking more wines that have appeared on Bowes Wine offers in the past. It Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/98/New-Notes-for-Old-Wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/98/New-Notes-for-Old-Wines/ Daymer Bay, looking up the estuary towards PadstowThe road to Cornwall from north Wiltshire is paved with many things, not least some pretty ropy old tarmac. But it is also hemmed in by what seems to be dozens of National Trust properties and, being members of that venerable organisation, we decided Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/97/The-Nuts-Roll-to-the-End/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/97/The-Nuts-Roll-to-the-End/ The ghillie tails a hen salmonGoing to Scotland for a single day's fishing in the expectation of grassing a salmon is optimistic to say the least, so it was in anticipation of a good meal and some fine wines, as well as a session of casting practice on the River Tweed that I set out for London, ther Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/96/A-Train-North-A-Train-South-Wine-and-Fish-Between/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/96/A-Train-North-A-Train-South-Wine-and-Fish-Between/ Isabella was fascinated by Victoria's tasting of a glass of chewy South American Tannat earlier this afternoon, so V dipped her finger into the glass and gave it to Isabella - aged 11 months - to suck. A moment of deep thought passed. Presumably she was trying to assess whether it was an Old World o Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/95/Wine-Baby/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/95/Wine-Baby/ Down river from Vauxhall BridgeWednesday morning found me in Pewsey station carpark in light rain. The queue for the ticket office (the machine tasked with dishing out prepaid tickets being, as ever, out of order) was long and lasted just long enough for me to get to the window as the train for Padd Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/94/A-Trip-to-London-Piemonte-and-Chile/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/94/A-Trip-to-London-Piemonte-and-Chile/ Over the past year or so we have sampled a number of wines that Bowes Wine has offered in the past. Whilst Caspar would like to have cases in his cellar of all the wines he has ever selected for Bowes Wine offerings, sad to say it is just not possible.Here's a mixed bag of wines we've pulled from Ca Tue, 1 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/93/New-Notes-of-Bowes-Wine-Wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/93/New-Notes-of-Bowes-Wine-Wines/ This seemingly innocent, Scanda-wegian-looking landscape hides a ghastly plagueThe common Scottish midge is capable of causing at least as much misery as any other animal on earth. Many's the time I've been fishing and would have happily accepted a crocodile emerging from the river's depths and clam Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/92/Teeth-With-Wings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/92/Teeth-With-Wings/ The pulpit-like rock from which one can - should one be so inclined - launch oneself into the chill waters of the River FindhornTo set off on a blast up the motorway north from Wiltshire is to launch oneself on a magical journey with the promise of excitement at its end. The threat of sticky jams ' Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/91/Blat-Up-the-Blacktop-Black-Pools-and-Wine-After-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/91/Blat-Up-the-Blacktop-Black-Pools-and-Wine-After-Wine/ Green woodpeckers, his 'n' hers, on the lawn. In the foreground, Campanula pyramidalis, which has suddenly decided to be white after years of flowering blue We are surrounded by yaffles. They swoop down onto the lawn and probe about for the ants that live there. And they meet with great success; ou Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/90/Yaffle-habits/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/90/Yaffle-habits/ A merry - if hot and jaded - band being amply fed and watered in the garden of the Hinton Parva Village HallYesterday dawned bright, close and very warm. Mid-day found me wandering into the village hall at Hinton Parva from a steamy car park. The building's interior shade and relative cool was very Thu, 2 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/89/Ceramic-Birds-in-a-Barbecue-Basin/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/89/Ceramic-Birds-in-a-Barbecue-Basin/ Somerset House, a newly exploited venue for wine tastingsToday's been a little cooler: a relief for chubby, overheated babies and their (only slightly, in some cases) less chubby siblings and parents. The garden has started to take on that baked appearance, looking like it's high summer.Some weeks a Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/88/WoodFired-Woodcock-and-Hot-Babies/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/88/WoodFired-Woodcock-and-Hot-Babies/ The summer dawnInveigles its wayPastDoorman curtainsCircumnavigating its way'RoundThe guest listAltogetherFrom a drawer by my furrowed bedMy fingers fumble eye shadesBehind twice-weary lidsThey gather the darkAgain, my mind - the empty pageOn which dreams are drawn Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/87/05h42-Late-May/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/87/05h42-Late-May/ A wiggly glass thing in the fantasy world of the Atlantis Hotel lobbyI hosted a wine tasting for the Dubai Caledonian Society the other evening in a large room in the Dusit Thani Hotel. Completing their AGM at 8.45 or so, the combined throng were then ushered next door for nibbles and the staff set Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/86/Mainly-on-Slooshing-and-Reading/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/86/Mainly-on-Slooshing-and-Reading/ Those dancing fountains in a Dubai duskI headed out onto The Palm for lunch yesterday. This man-made island is shaped like a palm tree and, when finished, will feature a massive array of residential property, as well as hotels, shops etc.I was to meet a client at The Atlantis Hotel, an extraordinari Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/85/A-Whale-Shark-Some-Reading-and-a-SemiImpromptu-Tasting/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/85/A-Whale-Shark-Some-Reading-and-a-SemiImpromptu-Tasting/ The view from my hotel room balconyI landed in Dubai last night at 23h30 to find temperatures of 32 degrees, which makes a very welcome change from Wiltshire, a county that's been struggling to slough off the last of winter's skin.I'm staying at the Palace Hotel in The Old Town: something of a misno Sat, 9 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/84/Dancing-Fountains-and-the-Worlds-Biggest-Everything/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/84/Dancing-Fountains-and-the-Worlds-Biggest-Everything/ A swan fly-past on the River Tweed at Lovers' Leap on Rutherford beatI have returned from a few days in the Borders: our annual pilgrimmage for the John Buchan Food and Wine Society. And it's going to take a day or two for my system to return to its usual steady tick-over after such devil-may-care d Tue, 5 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/83/Swans-Marrow-and-a-Corkscrew-Harvest/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/83/Swans-Marrow-and-a-Corkscrew-Harvest/ Chateau Climens, where en primeur tasting involves dipping into 8 or more barrels, all quite differentThe 2008 Bordeaux campaign is going with something of a swing and it was highly instructive to visit London today to taste a selection of chateaux who were showing their 2008, 2007, 2006 and i Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/82/A-Review-of-Some-08s-and-Welcome-Gazebo-Experiences/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/82/A-Review-of-Some-08s-and-Welcome-Gazebo-Experiences/ Carisbrook Castle, where Charles I was caught escaping through a windowThe Priory Bay Hotel on the Isle of Wight is a fine place for children and parents alike, having its own beach, small golf course, swimming pool (as often enjoyed by the local duck population at this time of year as the reluctant Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/81/The-Chasse-the-Twitter-and-the-Exiting-Spleen/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/81/The-Chasse-the-Twitter-and-the-Exiting-Spleen/ A classy joint spotted in the Medoc during my visit; atmosphere not includedWell, who'd a thunk it? A Bordeaux en primeur campaign kicked off by Chateaux Angelus and Latour. Further, an en primeur campaign offering wines at semi-sensible prices. Sacre mouflon d'amour. What's goi Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/80/The-Long-Long-Days-of-Email/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/80/The-Long-Long-Days-of-Email/ Chateau Ausone this misty morning. Note the vineyard roofBucking the trend, this morning dawned very foggy. The rocade - the ring road around Bordeaux - was slow, but cleared once I was across the Pont d'Aquitaine and I landed in St Emilion with time to spare.It's always going to be a good morning w Thu, 2 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/79/Wines-with-Tannin-Dogs-with-Bones-Cats-with-Stripes/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/79/Wines-with-Tannin-Dogs-with-Bones-Cats-with-Stripes/ The larval stages of the 2009 vintage at Chateau Smith-Haut-LafitteI have just wandered back from dinner at the Brasserie du Medoc in Blanquefort where one can obtain a gesiers-filled salad starter followed by confit de canard and chips for Euro20. It's just as well there's a 10 minute walk back f Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/78/Duck-Lemon-Meringue-Pie-and-Chalk-Marks/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/78/Duck-Lemon-Meringue-Pie-and-Chalk-Marks/ Chateau Gruaud-Larose, seen from Branaire-DucruAnother crisp morning, but this one after a semi-sleepless night and an unwilling awakening. Sleep left me at 01h45 an I struggled to get back under for the next three hours, eventually resorting to reading my book for a while. Whether this was the effe Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/77/So-Tired-Sauternes/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/77/So-Tired-Sauternes/ It's a bikini wearing, ice-cream eating cat that greets tasters at Ducru-Beaucaillou. That's all I can tell you.The day dawned bright, sunny and cold. There's was ice on my windscreen that took 5 minutes to clear before I could set off up the Medoc.First appointment was at Chateau Montrose. I was la Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/76/Cats-in-Bikinis-Brontosaurs-and-Birds-in-Black-and-White-Suits/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/76/Cats-in-Bikinis-Brontosaurs-and-Birds-in-Black-and-White-Suits/ It seems an age since I crawled aboard my flight home from Hong Kong. In reality, it's been just over a week, but a week in which I've been to London for a giant tasting at Lord's cricket ground and been furiously scribbling not one but two Rhone offerings, the second of which - relating to the unmi Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/75/Au-Revoir-Hong-Kong-Bonjour-France/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/75/Au-Revoir-Hong-Kong-Bonjour-France/ A(nother) view from my hotel, with the Yacht Club in the foreground, the Exhibition Centre (the white cockroach in the middle ground) and IFC2, towering in the distanceI climbed into a taxi on Saturday evening and, in turn, the taxi climbed, ever higher, up The Peak. Atop that illustrious mountain, Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/74/Lofty-Views-Towering-Tastes-and-Golf-Carts/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/74/Lofty-Views-Towering-Tastes-and-Golf-Carts/ Hong Kong park: an oasis of calm amidst the skyriseToday dawned as clear and bright as I have seen Hong Kong for a long time. Cool too. I almost wished I had a pullover on as I walked through Hong Kong park.I become increasingly fond of green tea and the tea museum in the park is just the place to s Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/73/Food-All-Good/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/73/Food-All-Good/ I hate running late for a flight. I left home in what I thought was plenty of time and quickly hit a band of sleet, which soon afterwards became snow. Not long after that, I was in a blizzard and traffic had started to move more slowly. On the M3, it stopped.I dumped the car in the long stay and hop Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/72/Departure-Just-Arrival-Herring-and-Liver/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/72/Departure-Just-Arrival-Herring-and-Liver/ Isabella's glad to see her dad after a week awayI am sitting at my desk sipping a most unusual wine and one that's a sure fire contender for The Daily Drinker. Victoria's gone out to play tennis, the children are in bed asleep and I have taken the opportunity to open a sample bottle. It's one I've t Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/71/Venerable-Muscadet-Tastings-and-Birth-Control/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/71/Venerable-Muscadet-Tastings-and-Birth-Control/ Old vines beneath, moody sky above and in between a very pretty Provencal town, the name of which, sadly, escapes me. This view was captured half a mile down the road from Tempier and the vineyards are those of BandolAt last I have time to sit down and compose the final blog of my week in France. I Sat, 7 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/70/Bandol-and-a-Roundabout-Way-Home/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/70/Bandol-and-a-Roundabout-Way-Home/ Steam cleaning a tron conique at BeaucastelI had a moment of clarity yesterday morning on the way to Gigondas. We had stopped to snap off a few photographs - the sun's rays breaking through the lowering cloudbank; the morning light falling on a distant church: all very Wordsworthian stuff - when I s Thu, 5 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/69/Tastings-Planned-a-Tasting-Unexpected-a-Drive-South/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/69/Tastings-Planned-a-Tasting-Unexpected-a-Drive-South/ The view from the top of The Dentelles de Montmirail above GigondasDinner last evening was taken at Le Sommelerie, one of the two best hotels in and around Chateauneuf-du-Pape. On the road to Roquemaure, one can be assured, within its walls, to experience good food and a testing period of rumination Wed, 4 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/68/Good-Gig-Beneath-the-Teeth/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/68/Good-Gig-Beneath-the-Teeth/ La Mere Germaine: a fine Chateauneuf establishmentIt's been a mild day in the southern Rhone and a damp one, yet it's amazing how the best wines can dissolve the heaviest cloudbank, at least metaphorically.It's good to be back in Orange and, of course, to be exploring the wines of Chatea Tue, 3 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/67/A-Cascade-of-Bud-Blasters/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/67/A-Cascade-of-Bud-Blasters/ Pond-smooth water does move - just slowly - byThe day dawned grey; very overcast and promising rain. It was a promise that was fulfilled!The journey up the peage to Ampuis was completed in short order and we were soon driving up the extraordinarily narrow and tortuous road out of town that of Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/66/Northern-Northern-and-Southern-Northern/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/66/Northern-Northern-and-Southern-Northern/ An industrial plant somewhere south of Paris, shot from 39,000 feet upBudget flights - at least the ones I want to take - so often depart at ungodly hours of the day. I guess the slots are cheaper at times when the birds are still examining their armpits.I woke at a little after 4am this morning, pe Sun, 1 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/65/An-Early-Start-For-a-Week-in-the-Rhone/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/65/An-Early-Start-For-a-Week-in-the-Rhone/ One of many recent burgundy tastings, this one held in the library of the Travellers' Club in Pall Mall. The man on the far right waving his arms is Bertrand Ambroise, a celebrated producer of highly individual winesIt is a cause of consternation and frequent grumbling in the UK wine trade that so m Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/64/Burgundy-Burgundy-Burgundyand-Rhandone/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/64/Burgundy-Burgundy-Burgundyand-Rhandone/ More kite flying, this time Joseph's dolphin kite on Boxing Day, looking north off Seend ridgeWe enjoyed several bottles of excellent white burgundy around Christmas time, including bottles that Bowes Wine has offered in the past. Here are my tasting notes on a couple of 2004s:2004 Chassagne-Montrac Fri, 2 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/63/On-White-Burgundy/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/63/On-White-Burgundy/ A Christmas kite goes tugging through cloudless airI have succumbed, dammit. My smugness has backfired. Having witnessed - sympathetically, I will add -the viral struggling of more-or-less everyone I know, to each advising the use of a product called First Defence when next they feel themselves on t Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/62/Germs-the-Christmas-Menu-and-Elemental-String/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/62/Germs-the-Christmas-Menu-and-Elemental-String/ This is the classic soil of Chablis: Kimmeridgian limetone containing the fossils of tiny oysters; remnants of a time when this area was covered by the seaI am now back home and, following a period of recovery (as prophesized in my last post, minus the whale music), I have a chance to recount the t Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/61/Clotted-Cream-Moon-Chablis-and-Home-At-Last/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/61/Clotted-Cream-Moon-Chablis-and-Home-At-Last/ The moody corduroy landscape's swathed in the smoke of burning vine pruningsI climbed into bed at close to one o'clock last evening after hammering out yesterday's blog, only to wake at 05h20 after a period of restless dozing. The room is rather airless and warm - fetid might sum it up quite well - Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/60/A-Great-Many-Chardonnays/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/60/A-Great-Many-Chardonnays/ A Santenay street scene, no more, no less (oops. It's actually Meursault. I really must pay more attention)The sound of Beaune late at night is very strange. I am here sandwiched between the main tourist season and that time when a percentage of northern Europe moves south for skiing, using the town Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/59/A-Sprinkling-of-Snow-and-Fine-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/59/A-Sprinkling-of-Snow-and-Fine-Wine/ The menhir and the ivy...Before detailing today's activities, I must make note of last night's goings on.Back at the hotel, I was amazed to find an institution that had gone from sleepy to riotous. There were Americans everywhere. God alone knew what they were doing there. They can't all have been o Tue, 9 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/58/Beaune-Borders-and-Beyond/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/58/Beaune-Borders-and-Beyond/ Christophe Drag of the Domaine Jean Chauvenet uncorks a 2006 Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Bousselots at the end of our tastingI slept badly. Perhaps the lack of regular screaming from one or other infant gave rise to suspicions in my dozing mind. The pre-dawn found me scraping myself off my bleary-e Mon, 8 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/57/Day-One-in-the-Cote/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/57/Day-One-in-the-Cote/ I have just touched down in Beaune after an uneventful drive.The day started very cold in Wiltshire: minus five or so, giving a heavy ground frost and a car that needed to clear its throat on starting and then a good 10 minutes to warm through and clarify the overnight situation with its windows.Jus Sun, 7 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/56/Beaune-Beginnings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/56/Beaune-Beginnings/ The late afternoon light falls on a Powys hillI was in Wales on Monday and Tuesday this week striding out over the hillsides. The weather was messing about, forcing us to squint in crystal sunshine one minute, then blackening the sky and pelting us with hard snow pellets the next; pellets that were Thu, 4 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/55/Walking-in-Wales-with-Wine/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/55/Walking-in-Wales-with-Wine/ Reynard suspects that she has an audience, but it doesn't put her off her huntThere was a fine-looking vixen in the field behind our cottage this morning, quartering the long grass slowly, listening attentively, occasionally performing great leaps onto scurrying things that it desired for its break Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/54/Fox-Wasp-Drinking-and-a-Tasting/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/54/Fox-Wasp-Drinking-and-a-Tasting/ Beech roots and leaves at Danebury RingWe have been tasting a large number of wines of late, both at home and at various supplier tastings. Our brief has widened with the launch of The Daily Drinker, so that we are now keeping 'em peeled for yes, those wines that will rise, like loaves in the baking Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/53/Agas-Pheasants-and-BareKnuckle-Boxing/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/53/Agas-Pheasants-and-BareKnuckle-Boxing/ Joseph wants Isabella to participate in his line-dancing homework. She doesn't really like it, but capitulates under duressI've long been aware that there are heaps of superb wines imported into the UK that simply aren't selling. One can sympathise with the buyers of these wines. They're touring Ita Tue, 4 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/52/New-Service-from-Bowes-Wineand-What-Exactly-is-Marcillac/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/52/New-Service-from-Bowes-Wineand-What-Exactly-is-Marcillac/ The Paul Hamlyn Hall at the Royal Opera House not long before turning out timeIn the normal course of events, one has a couple of chances to have a look at a young Bordeaux vintage, both opportunities being organised by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux. The first nibble of the bunch occurs in l Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/51/A-Fresh-Look-at-the-2006-Bordeaux-vintage/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/51/A-Fresh-Look-at-the-2006-Bordeaux-vintage/ Isabella Jane Bowes: the fruit of her mother's labour(s)I made a fundamental mistake in my circular email announcing the arrival of Baby Bowes Mk.2. When one's offspring show a determined unwillingness to enter the world, their arrival is greeted with such an outpouring of personal relief one imagin Thu, 2 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/50/A-Fine-Delivery/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/50/A-Fine-Delivery/ Oh dear. The view from the office again, this time with some cows. Click on the image for a bigger - and prettier - versionYou know how sometimes you just feel like a bit of a change? Well, I was roaming through our wine rack last evening. It's a double-depth structure that we had made to fit perfec Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/49/One-Truly-Beautiful-Bottle-and-a-High-Flying-Prank/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/49/One-Truly-Beautiful-Bottle-and-a-High-Flying-Prank/ The River Avon at Little DurnfordLast Friday was d-day or, rather, b-day: the date on which it was predicted by the midwife that Victoria would give birth. Tension is mounting, largely in V's waistline. I am told by all and sundry mothers that Victoria is extraordinarily compact and, indeed, we meet Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/48/The-Final-Push-Some-Tastings-Some-Fishing/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/48/The-Final-Push-Some-Tastings-Some-Fishing/ What looks like the Everglades is actually a watery corner of the gardens at StourheadReading the Home Page of our website, I am shocked at how long it has been since I updated the text. The item starts, With summer finally poking its head out of the nesting box of weather that has been, to date, d Mon, 1 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/47/A-Late-Vet-and-Good-Wine-Some-Corked/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/47/A-Late-Vet-and-Good-Wine-Some-Corked/ What looks like pure Highland air is alive with the buzzing of tiny maneatersI've just returned from the north of Scotland and feel as though I have lost weight, despite the fact that we ate and drank very well in the sizeable and highly comfortable lodge in which we found ourselves staying. The rea Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/46/Teeth-with-Wings/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/46/Teeth-with-Wings/ Campanula pyramidalis comes up in a different spot every year and is a rather pretty antidote to the rainAs was summer 2007, so is the same season in '08, just without the beautiful April preceding it. The sun is an infrequent visitor, clouds our more regular heavenly companions. I look out at the Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/45/Vouvray-Another-Bowes-Wine-Tasting-Note-Fishing/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/45/Vouvray-Another-Bowes-Wine-Tasting-Note-Fishing/ We count ourselves among the lucky. We have some exceptionally kind friends. And two of them visited last weekend, bringing themselves, a trio of pretty plants for our gardens and some extraordinary bottles. The Mrs half of the couple also brought along some Hopi ear candles with which to extract bl Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/44/Two-Friends-One-Die-and-Three-Bottles/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/44/Two-Friends-One-Die-and-Three-Bottles/ Blimey. I retasted, last night, the first pink champagne that we've ever shown on our drinking wine list and, boy, it's a goodie: one of those wines that provokes a further thought or observation with each new sip. Far from being frivolous, pink champagne can offer up something of a transcendental e Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/43/New-Pink-Fizz-on-Our-Drinking-List/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/43/New-Pink-Fizz-on-Our-Drinking-List/ Joseph finds ice cream perfect for maintaining a baby-soft complexionGreece is very hot at the moment. I know this because we have just returned from a fortnight in Kos. The thermometer topped out at 37C on a day when a high wind roared up from Egypt and smothered us like a gust from the roasting ov Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/42/A-Grecian-Sojourn-and-Tasting-Notes-of-Early-Bowes-Offer-Wines/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/42/A-Grecian-Sojourn-and-Tasting-Notes-of-Early-Bowes-Offer-Wines/ Victoria grabs a bite. The salmon, sadly, don't.The clouds have cleared and it appears that we have something of a summer on our hands: a good thing for the spirits of Blighty-dwellers, lousy for our two days of fishing on the beautiful River Tamar over the weekend. Whilst the water was spot on - ri Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/41/Ros-eacute-Pregnancy-and-a-New-Approach/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/41/Ros-eacute-Pregnancy-and-a-New-Approach/ The sunset view of the harbour from my hotel window Contrary to expectations, the weather in Hong Kong is behaving itself admirably. Humidity is on the low side for the time of year and temperatures remain in the high twenties, rather than low thirties. Sure, one is only aware that it's a clear day Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/40/Hong-Kong-dining/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/40/Hong-Kong-dining/ The view from the Park Hyatt, ShinjukuMy Virgin Atlantic flight dropped into Tokyo's Narita airport under bright blue skies making a very pleasant change from Wiltshire, where it feels as though it's rained almost non-stop for months.Checking into my hotel, I made a few calls and, further to one of Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/39/Tokyo-Days/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/39/Tokyo-Days/ Global damping's been in full effect today, slowing my progress up the M4 to London; even worse on the way home, giving band after band of medium to very heavy showers. I utter a prayer of thanks on my return that our house is on a hill. Will all the people living in the valley below want to come an Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/38/Rain-Fails-to-Stop-Play-at-an-Insightful-Bordeaux-Tasting/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/38/Rain-Fails-to-Stop-Play-at-an-Insightful-Bordeaux-Tasting/ I have been holding off this post, awaiting as I was definitive news about menus and wine lists enjoyed during a recent visit to the Borders. This has become an annual event: a yearly coming together of the John Buchan Food and Wine Society. This sounds as though there might be a literature theme. T Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/37/Fishing-Eating-Drinking-in-the-Borders/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/37/Fishing-Eating-Drinking-in-the-Borders/ This morning's dawn and the beginning of a distinctly spring-like dayIt's always informative to retaste, after a period of years, a wine that one sampled in its extreme youth, especially if that wine is one that has appeared on a Bowes Wine offering in the past.Here I sit, looking out of the window Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/36/An-Early-Evening-Retaste-at-the-End-of-a-Sunny-Day/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/36/An-Early-Evening-Retaste-at-the-End-of-a-Sunny-Day/ Lascombes's cellars looking ice cool under the blue lightsUnder yet more grey skies I crossed the Pont d'Aquitaine and followed the wrong signs, approaching St Emilion via central Libourne. The town's nice enough, but it wasn't the route I had anticipated. Nevertheless (a word as pleasant to say in Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/35/Bordeaux-The-Final-Day-Spent-on-the-Right-Bank/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/35/Bordeaux-The-Final-Day-Spent-on-the-Right-Bank/ It's a good day in Bordeaux when one has tasted wines that rise above the merely good; wines that can truly be referred to as great.First appointment was La Mission. I set off early. Although I have been there numerous times before, I always have concern that I am going to get lost in the suburbs of Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/34/Day-3-Sunny-Day-for-the-Buds-/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/34/Day-3-Sunny-Day-for-the-Buds-/ A train leaves Glasgow heading for London. The first three carriages are packed with a cargo of freshly sawn wood destined for the furniture makers of the English capital. In the fourth carriage is a family of blackcurrants, perhaps journeying home after a short cultural break north of the border.Un Tue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/33/Day-Two-A-Crash-A-Slog-and-Some-Reward/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/33/Day-Two-A-Crash-A-Slog-and-Some-Reward/ The drumming I heard on the roof of the hotel as I woke yesterday morning abated during breakfast as the rain moved away. Aside from an occasional shower, the day became increasingly bright and temperatures gradually rose to a dizzying 16 degrees Centigrade.It was an early start. The Medoc's Tue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/32/Day-One-of-Tasting-in-Bordeaux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/32/Day-One-of-Tasting-in-Bordeaux/ This morning saw me - chairman of the bored - heading south-west on one of the most tedious pieces of road I have ever had the displeasure of enduring. I had gone to my bed last evening executive vice-chairman of the mildly cross, as I realised that I have brought the wrong cable for my camera, thus Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/31/A-Sunday-in-France/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/31/A-Sunday-in-France/ I am off to Bordeaux tomorrow for a week of tasting the 2007 vintage. Reports have started to filter through. Here are the first impressions of James Suckling of The Wine Spectator:I just finished my first day in Bordeaux and I am happy. Sure, 2007 is not a great vintage. It could never be exceptio Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/30/Off-to-BordeauxAnd-Drama-Past/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/30/Off-to-BordeauxAnd-Drama-Past/ Am I simply getting old? Our 2006 Rhone offer is coming together but it's been more of a slog than usual. I have, thus far, written 3.5 offers and have been underwhelmed by all of them.Choosing the wines has been the easy part: more of a case of what to leave out than what to include, as we ta Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/29/Painful-Tasting-and-Writing/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/29/Painful-Tasting-and-Writing/ Thierry Usseglio pouring a sample from a tronc conique: a very a la mode barrel in the RhoneOur last morning and we still had yet to hear about an appointment that may or may not be happening away to the south. We breakfast quickly and head out to Chateauneuf for the last time. The wind Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/28/Rhandone-Trip-Day-6-A-Final-Taste-and-a-Journey-South/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/28/Rhandone-Trip-Day-6-A-Final-Taste-and-a-Journey-South/ Laurence Feraud drawing off a sample for our delectationIt's been cold today. The Mistral has been pushing iced air down from Scandinavia and funnelling it through the narrow neck of the northern Rhone, whipping it up to dizzying speeds. An empty wine vat was found in the middle of the road in Fri, 7 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/27/Rhandone-Trip-Day-5-A-Broken-Hand-and-a-Young-Turk/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/27/Rhandone-Trip-Day-5-A-Broken-Hand-and-a-Young-Turk/ Isobel Ferrando looking unstressedA new bed (we have changed hotel to something rather more salubrious in Orange); too much heavy food. I don't know, but I slept uneasily and woke wishing it were earlier.Thoughts of our first tasting pulled me from my bed, my heels not dragging too much, motivated, Wed, 5 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/26/Rhandone-Trip-Day-4-Cat-o-Nine-Tales/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/26/Rhandone-Trip-Day-4-Cat-o-Nine-Tales/ The view from our lunch terrace over the vineyards of BandolWe plonked down in our hotel in Avignon last evening and debated what to do for dinner. Was I to drive and be circumspect about the wine I was to consume with the meal? My travelling companion had a quick word with the barman and was told t Tue, 4 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/25/Rhandone-Day-3-and-a-Long-Drive/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/25/Rhandone-Day-3-and-a-Long-Drive/ A view from the top. Cornas vineyards descending into the valley.The day dawned overcast and a bite to the morning air suggested that winter is not quite done with the northern Rhone just yet. We weren't surprised to hear from one of the vignerons we visited that there is snow due - and at low Mon, 3 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/24/Rhandone-Migrating-South-and-Tasting-All-the-Way/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/24/Rhandone-Migrating-South-and-Tasting-All-the-Way/ South from the Hill of HermitageFlying into Chambery, one has s fine view of the Alps and, indeed, it is largely with skiers that we share the 'plane. Having collected the hire car, however, it is away from, not towards, the mountains that we point the abbreviated snout of what, in modern par Sun, 2 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/23/The-Rhandone-Trip-Day-One/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/23/The-Rhandone-Trip-Day-One/ Joseph at the controls of a very large dump truck...and in heavenIt's been a while since my last post. Preparing a buying trip to the Rhone Valley, visiting friends in Essex, then Aberdeen, have all contrived to keep me from blogging. That's not to say, of course, that there's been little abou Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/22/Some-Wine-and-a-Scottish-Interlude/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/22/Some-Wine-and-a-Scottish-Interlude/ I've just signed up for BlogIt. It's a new service from Esendex where I can blog all day long from my mobile phone - for free!Mobile post from the Esendex BlogIt service Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/21/Ive-just-signed-up-for-BlogIt-Its-a-new-service/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/21/Ive-just-signed-up-for-BlogIt-Its-a-new-service/ I was very chuffed to be asked to preside, last week, over a rematch of the Judgement of Paris tasting or, rather, a similar exercise employing a more recent vintage.The tasting was to be at the RAC Club in Pall Mall and I arrived rather earlier than the 5 o'clock stipulated by the banqueting manage Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/20/Paris-Redux-cont/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/20/Paris-Redux-cont/ I'm on the train home from London after a fascinating tasting and wanted to give everyone an immediate sample of the evening's events.Eight wines, four senior clarets and four Californians, all from the notable 1990 vintage. What struck me was how easy it was to tell the French from the American, bu Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/19/Paris-Redux/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/19/Paris-Redux/ I am sitting here sipping from a glass of 2004 Pinot Noir from Central Otago, the latest address in a short line of Next Big Things all set to steal Burgundy's Pinot noir crown. And very pleasant it is too. It's quite deep in colour with a crunchy, varietal black cherry nose and offers an honest fre Sun, 3 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/18/Pinot-Ponder/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/18/Pinot-Ponder/ South from Seend ridge to the brickworks near WestburyWe batten down the hatches and wait for the snow that's been forecast for tomorrow. I'll be attending the Australia Day tasting in London: sunny inside; chilly out.Sunday night - the eve of a day in the Brecon Beacons searching for wildlife - was Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/17/Three-Reds-and-a-Noble-Half/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/17/Three-Reds-and-a-Noble-Half/ The Pedang - a sports field - with the cricket club at the far end and the financial district behind.Singapore's delightful in January. I've never been so early in the year and find that it's not too humid and the warm air feels like weightless cashmere, cosseting one and making one feel as though t Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/16/Food-drink-and-body-piercing/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/16/Food-drink-and-body-piercing/ It was with a sigh of contentment - not to say exhaustion - that I landed in Singapore. After Dubai, you just know that life is somehow about to become rather easier and, indeed, taxi rides take a fraction of the time on largely uncongested roads, the air is soft, the temperature welcoming and the s Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/15/Several-good-bottles-a-car-ride-and-a-plane-journey/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/15/Several-good-bottles-a-car-ride-and-a-plane-journey/ Day three in Dubai and the weather continues dreadful. It's been raining almost non-stop since we arrived (I am here with a trade mission from the UK) and the streets, unused to coping with such a deluge, are flooding steadily.Travelling around Dubai is never easy at the best of times (the infrastru Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/14/Damp-Presidents-in-Dubai/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/14/Damp-Presidents-in-Dubai/ I hope you all enjoyed Christmas as much a I. Christmas Eve saw Mrs B, the budding wine merchant and me decamped to the bosom of my family in the countryside of south Surrey. Joseph had 6 cousins to play with and grew ever-more excited in his discovery of the joys of present opening.Christmas Day sa Mon, 7 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/13/Continuing-in-the-Same-Vein/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/13/Continuing-in-the-Same-Vein/ Dinner last night with very generous friends provided a real fine wine and food experience, the relaxed and happy atmos of the occasion serving to underline the very purpose of communal breaking of bread and pulling of cork i.e. bringing people together, loosening their tongues, giving them a sense Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/12/Fine-Wines-like-a-String-of-Pearls/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/12/Fine-Wines-like-a-String-of-Pearls/ Above: a cold morning in Wiltshire, but the dawning of a very pretty day. The small structure in the centre foreground is a privy. I suggest that this is a morning to be glad of indoor, modern sanitation. Interestingly, there's still a loo-roll holder screwed to the inside wallI used to buy wine a Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/11/Minor-Auction-Success/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/11/Minor-Auction-Success/ Seen in the newspaper recently: a story that the managing director of the champagne house Roederer and his vineyard director have been quartering the Kent countryside examining vineyards in the belief that the changing climate may force their company to consider the desperate step of joining the ros Tue, 4 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/10/French-Migration-to-be-Caused-by-Climate-Change/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/10/French-Migration-to-be-Caused-by-Climate-Change/ Left: Meursault appears though the mistWith a train booked for 18h50 from Calais, I had decided that it would be quite possible to squeeze in a pair of tastings on the last morning of our stay and what tastings they were: Bonneau de Martray and the Domaine Guy Amiot in Chassagne, the former one of t Sat, 1 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/9/The-Final-Fling-A-Couple-of-Tastings-and-a-Sprint-for-the-Chunnel/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/9/The-Final-Fling-A-Couple-of-Tastings-and-a-Sprint-for-the-Chunnel/ Above: vines in Volnay. Wherever we go, we see fruit still hanging on the vines. These are the product of a second flowering, or were simply deemed not worthy of picking. In any event, it's a field day for the birds and I have scarcely ever seen such clouds of starlings swirling above my head throug Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/8/Wheres-my-coat-A-cold-day-in-the-Candote/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/8/Wheres-my-coat-A-cold-day-in-the-Candote/ Above: Simple Simon now offers delivery serviceWe head ever southward.This morning saw our first real foray into the wines of the Cote de Beaune with a tasting at the Domaine Follin-Arbelet. Frank Follin's a relaxed sort of guy and I like his wines. Why? Well, they're not necessarily easy or i Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/7/Day-3-in-the-Candote/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/7/Day-3-in-the-Candote/ Picture above: Whither Beaune; whither Pernand? A confusing pair of signs near a church in Aloxe.I didn't want to wake up this morning, a wakeful hour between 6 and 7am resulting in a lethargic reaction to my alarm call.But what a day! The sun has shone bright through blue skies from dawn till dusk, Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/6/Second-Day-in-the-Candote-dOr/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/6/Second-Day-in-the-Candote-dOr/ The end of the first day of another buying trip to the Cote d'Or and what a day; like many spent trooping around the cellars of Burgundy, one comes to the end of one's daily itinerary and one feels a) cream crackered, b) enlightened and c) well fed.No less than six producers seen today, all i Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/5/First-Day-in-the-Candote-dOr/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/5/First-Day-in-the-Candote-dOr/ You know how you sometimes eat in a restaurant and wonder whether the staff are putting on an accent thoroughly alien to that with which they grew up? Jean-Christophe sounds a bit like that. He speaks English with such a heavy French burr that it is easy to suspect that he might in fact be from Purl Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/4/New-Restaurant-in-North-London/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/4/New-Restaurant-in-North-London/ The results just in. 3rd prize goes to 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Vieux-Donjon; wine of the year accolade is given to 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Clos des Papes. I am happy to say that both wines appeared on our Rhone offer issued earlier in the year. The Clos des Papes is long gone, but we still have Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/3/Wine-Spectator-Wines-of-the-Year-2007/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/3/Wine-Spectator-Wines-of-the-Year-2007/ In London yesterday for a wine tasting in the rather quaintly named The Only Running Footman, a brasserie and restaurant on Charles Street in Mayfair. It has a rather approachable air to it - less formal downstairs than in the restaurant on the first floor - but I didn't allow myself to be distracte Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/2/A-Titillatingly-Diverse-and-Esoteric-Tasting-in-a-curiously-named-venue/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/2/A-Titillatingly-Diverse-and-Esoteric-Tasting-in-a-curiously-named-venue/ A number of concerned clients contacted me following my slightly provocatively titled email announcing the publication of Bowes Wine's last newsletter. The provocation was hoped to inspire immediate perusal of the document in question but, given that many of Bowes Wine's clients are too busy to take Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/1/First-Post-is-there-any-other-kind-given-the-state-of-the-Post-Office/ https://www.boweswine.co.uk/article/1/First-Post-is-there-any-other-kind-given-the-state-of-the-Post-Office/