WineWriting.com by Richard James

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Winewriting.com
by
Richard James

Mendoza - winesofargentina.org

Rasteau: old vine Grenache, seriously stoney and chalky

Welcome to the wine world according to RJ. We try our best (especially as its "only me") to conjure up a variety of wine tasting features stamped by my take on (hopefully) a rawer side to planet wine and some of the people who populate it. There are lots of wine reviews and winemaker profiles below and on the right, with particular focus on the south of France and Catalonia: just click, click, click. The wine words page reveals a selection of my articles published in/on various magazines and websites plus some exclusively on winewriting.com. This site is also guaranteed not to mention the Romans, as "what did they ever do for us?" Apart from plant vines across Europe...ah, but the Greeks did it first or was it the Phoenicians...blah blah, who cares. By the way, I'm still rebuilding the site so please bear with me if things are missing or look a bit odd. It'll be gran reserva when finished (cue 2010, a wine odyssey).

Wine press
Check out this page for a random selection of news and events from around the globe: click on the title above or links below. For the latest stories from Decanter.com: read their news-feed on the blue column, right. 'La Cuisine' at Domaine Cazes - Previous wine press.

Richard's wines of the moment
Updated regularly or occasionally as fits the mood, these everyday wines, new releases and sporadic superstars caught my attention for one reason or another. Not exactly a wine of the week or month but could be, hopefully more spontaneous than that. Click on the hottest summer finds: 2000 Dry River Gewurztraminer.

Winery snapshots: A variety of flavoursome producers featured as and when they come my way. From Spain & Catalonia - Australia - New Zealand - South Africa - Provence - Austria - Gascony - Chile - Portugal - California - Lebanon. Latest: Parxet / Marqués Alella / Tionio.

Languedoc snapshots: A logical progression to provide these visited and/or sampled estates with their very own five minutes of fame. So far covers Corbières - Limoux - Minervois - Saint-Chinian - Fitou - La Clape - Pays d'Oc - Pic St-Loup - Pézenas - Terrasses Larzac - Grés Montpellier - Cabardès - Malepère - Picpoul Pinet. Latest: Familongue, Saint Sever, Stella Nova, Bousquette, Canet Valette, Chabanon, la Prose, Grange d'Aïn.

Roussillon - French Catalonia snapshots: personal guide to over 60 estates and co-ops across the region from Maury to Rivesaltes, Perpignan to Banyuls via Les Aspres. Including my favourites from Fenouillèdes wine show 2007, Millésime Bio 2008 and Vinisud 2008. Click here: page 1 A to L or here: page 2 M to Z. Latest: Treloar, Saint Georges, Mas Rous, L'Ou, Jorel, Marcevol.

Tasting features 2008
Long hours and fresh incentives are required to keep this site alive and up-to-date (subtle hint to potential sponsors: click there to view latest site stats and rates). But remember: "These things take time..." as the poet Morrissey once sang. As well as eventually recreating all tastings from the old site, the following new features are in the pipeline (also browse below and right-hand columns, 2005-2007 now up-to-date): Millésime Bio - highlights from this year's organic wine show, held in Perpignan, are profiled (watch out for FBI serial killers) under Languedoc & Roussillon 'winery snaps' above. Vinisud Montpellier - err, ditto. Alimentaria Barcelona - spotted the pattern here? Check in to winery snaps above and Cava guide below. New Wave Spanish wine awards - my favourites and comments gleaned from this recent UK taste-off will be posted soon(ish)...

Cava guide: creative Catalan bubbles
"...This mini-guide is more about bringing your attention to a few lesser-known sparkling gems I've enjoyed (in moderation of course)...and hopefully encourage you to explore beyond Barcelona and the region's nice beaches out into real Cava country... Isn't it about time that the better quality and more unusual Cavas, which you find everywhere in Catalunya, got more of a look-in...?" Click on the big bottle to read my complete rant plus fizzy reviews: stars of the show (90+ pointers) include Llopart, Lavernoya, Perelada, Bach, Blancher, Raimat, Andreu, Parató, Triada, Parxet, Mont d'Àrac.

Last year's features at a glance:
1907 winegrowers' revolt: the Roussillon 100 years on!: "...This event was orchestrated by Vins du Roussillon in Nov 2007... we shouldn't forget people died in that tragic historic year... read the feature I wrote for Decanter magazine... tasting of award-winning wines from the Saint-Bacchus competition 1997-2007, some of them now quite rare..."
Chile: Viña Ventisquero & Pangea: "Tutored tasting by head winemaker Felipe Tosso Bruna and John Duval, slightly well-known consultant for their Pangea "icon wine" (to use the marketing babble-speak)... for launching the 2005 vintage..."
Touring Crozes-Hermitage country: "Crozes-Hermitage literally stands in the imposing shadow of the Hermitage hillside vineyard, but do the wines lag far behind in its awesome wake..?" Or cut straight to my Completely Crozes tasting A to Z...
Languedoc & Roussillon: top reds over €10: "Difficult to turn down Michel Smith's invitation to taste '50 of the region's best red wines...' But were all the wines worth the money and deserve their reputation..? My 'top reds': Clavel, Singla, Bizeul, Rouaud, Ollieux Romanis, Mazelet, Rimbert, Borie Blanche, Tour Boisée, Lignon, Amiel, Liquière, Silène, Henry, Etoile Matin, Balmettes, Prés-Lasses, Sylva Plana, St-Antonin, Alezon, Grandes Costes, Aussières, Lacroix-Vanel, Augustins, Bagatelle..."
Grüner Veltliner galore: "More than thirty of Austria's signature variety tasted and reviewed 'so you don't have to...' Grüner broadly falls into two styles: racy zesty and peppery or richer creamier and concentrated... Stars of the show include Prager, Angerer, Graf Hardegg, Wieninger, Bründlmayer and Gritsch Mauritiushof..."
Spain: Rioja free zone!: "Probably a good way of making sure I don't get invited to Rioja... decided to shun Spain's best-known region in search of a few different things... around 25 red and rosé wines from Toro, Jumilla, Yecla, Alicante, Ribera del Duero, Campo de Borja, Navarra, Terra Alta..."
Clare Valley Riesling report: "Fifteen 2006 vintage Rieslings from 'Planet Clare' (as Freddie and his B52s almost said)... Including Grosset, Annies Lane, Jeanneret, Jim Barry, Kilikanoon, Knappstein, Koonowla, Leasingham, Mitchell's, Mount Horrocks, Neagles Rock, Olssens, Petaluma, Sevenhill, Skillogalee, Wakefield, Tim Adams..."
Alsace Riesling, Corsica and Tuscany: "A little eclectic... three main themes to stay organically focused at Millésime Bio 2007. Why Riesling..? Abbatucci is one of the best producers... when will Corsica as a whole fulfil such great potential? Some of the Tuscan estates were typical of everything you'd want from seductive Sangiovese..."
Lots more tasting features: cruise the links on the right-hand columns (several still missing).

More wine words
NEW! 'Straining at the leash': "The Roussillon's strict regulations are forcing producers to work outside the AOC. Who's in the right and is this new creativity paying off, asks Richard James..?"
The Roussillon, present and future: Master of Wine or master of methodology? A flawed mini-thesis...
Climate Change and Wine, Barcelona: “If average temperatures increase by over 2°C, we’re not sure what will happen..." (Dud dudder derr derr, Stingray Stingray...)
"Crozes-Hermitage literally stands in the imposing shadow of the Hermitage hillside vineyard, but do the wines lag far behind in its awesome wake?..."
'CRAV - 100 years of protest': “We’re at the point of no return. Be the worthy successors of the 1907 revolt, when some died to allow future generations to live off their land...”

Wine translations / traductions viti-vinicoles: I offer a professional translation service from French into English on all aspects of wine (and more) from viticulture, technical, business to lifestyle... Je propose des prestations de traduction professionnelles et diverses du français en anglais sur tous les sujets viti-vinicoles (et plus): viticulture, technologie, business, mode de vie...

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wine scores wine jargon book reviews Coming soon: Red the e-novel links (under repair)

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