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"Regional winery guides"
 Languedoc
profiles
"A logical step to give these 100+ visited or sampled wineries and estates their very
own five minutes of Languedoc fame. The more ground I cover, the more it made
sense to chop them up into areas; hence the
Thunderbird-themed headings below."
Click on any coloured link
to peruse these guides...
Languedoc 1
Coteaux du Languedoc zones - La Clape, Pic-Saint-Loup, Pézenas, Terrasses
du Larzac, Grés de Montpellier, Picpoul de Pinet, St-Georges d'Orques,
La
Méjanelle, Saint-Christol, Montpeyroux, Frontignan:
latest! Sainte-Cécile du Parc.
Languedoc 2 Corbières
& Fitou.
Languedoc 3
Faugères
- Saint-Chinian - Minervois - La Livinière.
Languedoc 4 Limoux
- Cabardès -
Malepère.
Languedoc 5 Vin de
Pays Oc etc.
Languedoc 6 Sommières & Nîmes.
Click here to
view Languedoc 1-6: A to Z by producer.
Roussillon
French
Catalonia
 "My slowly mushrooming regional guide with 100+ winery blurbs and 850+ wines from Maury to
Rivesaltes, Perpignan to Collioure and Banyuls via Les Aspres (the bit in the
middle)."
Click on any underlined link below
to read this guide...
Roussillon 1 A to C.
Roussillon 2
D to L: latest! Laguerre.
Roussillon 3
M to R: latest! Clos Perdus,
Ch. de Rey.
Roussillon 4
S to Z: latest! Schistes,
Vinci.
New profiles/updates in the pipeline: Treloar, Mudigliza...
Click here to view Roussillon 1-4: A to Z by producer.
Winery snapshots
"A variety of flavoursome producers featured as and when they come
my way..."
Click on the blue headings below
to find out more...
 1.Burgundy: Domaine
Renaud Boyer - Meursault, Domaine Emmanuel
Giboulot - Beaune, Domaine
Goisot - Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, Domaine
Eric de Suremain - Monthélie, Domaine Tripoz - Loché, Maison
Simonnet-Febvre - Chablis.
2.Southwest
France:
Château
Les Miaudoux - Bergerac, Château Le Raz (Vignobles Barde) - Montravel / Bergerac, Domaine
Ilarria - Irouléguy, Château
La Colline - Bergerac, Domaine
du Tariquet - Gascony,
Château
de la Ligne - Bordeaux, Domaine
de Lauroux - Gascony,
Domaine Cosse-Maisonneuve - Cahors.
3.South
Africa, Lebanon & Austria: Lazanou Vineyards - Wellington,
Waverley Hills & Dixon's Peak - Tulbagh, Waterkloof Estate -
Stellenbosch, Golden Kaan, Heritage
- Bekaa Valley, Lebanon;
Weingut
Pfaffl - Weinviertel, Austria.
4.Spain: Terroir
al Límit, Priorat - Viña Ijalba, Rioja -
Bodegas Parra Jimenez, La
Mancha - Parxet/Marqués de Alella/Bodegas Tionio, Catalunya
& Ribera del Duero - Can Bonastre, Catalunya - Ètim: Montsant, Catalunya
-
Palacio de la Vega, Navarra -
Raimat, Costers del Segre. Coming soon:
profile on family Cava winery Llopart.
5.South &
North America: New! Argentina:
Bodega Septima, Mendoza -
Las Piedras Pura Vid, Mendoza -
Bodega Calle, Mendoza -
Domaine Vistalba/Fabre Montmayou,
Mendoza & Patagonia - Orfila,
Mendoza.
Frey Vineyards: Redwood Valley, California - Viña Ventisquero &
Pangea, Chile - Viña Tabalí: Limarí Valley, Chile - Viña Casa Marín: San
Antonio, Chile - Clos
du Val: Napa, California.
6.Australia &
New Zealand:
Yabby Lake, Mornington Peninsula -
Wakefield, Clare Valley - St Hallett:
Barossa Valley, Eden Valley - Pirie, Tasmania
- Mitchelton, Nagambie
Lakes - Knappstein,
Clare Valley - Greenstone, Heathcote - Clonakilla, Canberra - Paxton, McLaren Vale
- Petaluma:
Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley, Coonawarra - Cascabel, McLaren
Vale - Taltarni, Pyrenees -
The Lane, Adelaide Hills - Tallarook, Upper Goulburn Valley -
Keith Tulloch, Hunter Valley -
Peter Lehmann Wines, Barossa Valley -
Auntsfield Estate, Marlborough NZ -
Mount Donnybrook, Western Australia.
7.Rhône valley & Provence: Domaine
Clusel-Roch, Côte-Rotie - Clos du Joncuas, Gigondas
- Chapoutier, Hermitage - Ogier/Clos de l'Oratoire, Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Domaine du Grand Cros, Côtes de Provence
- Château La Nerthe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (pic.) - Domaine La
Fourmente, Visan.
8.Sicily:
Ottoventi
- Cristo di Campobello - Brugnano - Santa Anastasia - Ceuso - Mimmo Paone - Casa
di Grazia - Murgo - Limonio. From this feature on Sicilian wines...
9.Portugal:
New! Herdade dos Lagos, Alentejo
- Terras d'Alter, Alentejo -
Herdade São Miguel, Alentejo
- Quinta
dos Vales, Algarve - Regis
Causa, Douro Valley - Adega
Vila Real, Douro - Porto
Quevedo, Douro - Quinta Dona Matilde, Douro - Quinta do Portal, Douro - Caves Aliança: Dão,
Douro, Beiras, Alentejo.
Cava: "creative Catalan bubbles..."
Click on the picture below to view my sparkling mini-guide!
 "I'm
not going to bore you with the full monty geographical or technical
stuff, the Cava region is quite vast and extends beyond Catalunya...
This gradually expanding page, originally published in 2008, is more about bringing your attention to a few lesser-known
sparkling gems and
hopefully also to encourage you to explore beyond
Barcelona and the region's nice beaches and coastal towns, out
into real Cava country...
head for those green hills!" Includes these
10 stand-out Cava wineries: Llopart, Carles Andreu, Perelada, Parxet, Raimat,
Bach,
Lavernoya, Mont Àrac, Blancher, Parató. Last updated August 2010: Bach Extrísimo
Brut Nature revisited. And coming soon: profile on family
estate Llopart, following a summer daytrip, with latest vintages...
More features
here from 2006 - 2008
e.g. "Nebbiolo, Barolo, Barbaresco..."
"Biodynamic
growers worldwide:
return to terroir"
"Tour
of Tokay - Tokaj
&
Budapest"
"Languedoc & Roussillon: top reds over €10"
"Touring
Crozes-Hermitage country"
"New Wave Spain awards"
"Gérard Bertrand: "king of the Languedoc?"
and lots more besides...
 Terrassen-Mosel
"Slanted-slated (as in stone rather than stoned) tour of mega-steep Winninger Uhlen and Bremmer Calmont:
expect plenty of right-angle Rieslings, extreme vineyard walking and
vertigo vistas... They say the dividing line between madness and genius
is often a very narrow tightrope. When you stand at the bottom of this
vineyard and look up and up in awe, you're not sure at first which word
applies. But tasting the intense pure Rieslings that derive from it soon
convinces you of the sheer brilliance at work here..."
Featured estates: Fries - Richard Richter - Domgartenhof -
Kröber -
Heymann-Löwenstein -
Knebel -
Freiherr Heddesdorff - Vinitorum
Quaterni -
Reinhold Franzen - Stein - Laurentiushof - Klitzekleine Ring - Melsheimer - Müllen
- Vollenweider - Böcking - Staffelter Hof - Moog. Click on the terraces
to read the full story! Published January 2009.
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"Wine tasting & travel features"
Coming soon-ish! The Ardeche: unknown southern
Rhone, or "Ardèche méridionale" in French which has a "sexier
south" ring to it somehow...
 New!
Argentina: Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon
Malbec and Cabernet at a glance: my notes and ratings, for your pure
pleasure, of twenty diverse reds made from arguably Argentina's forte on
the variety front - varietals or blends of the two (or sometimes with a
third grape such as Merlot)... Highlights: 90-pointers from Septima,
Piedras Pura Vid, Calle, Vistalba/Fabre. Tango tango! (Click on the pic:
a bit of a cliché, I know.) Extracted from these new Argentina profiles: "winery snapshots
page 5."
 New!
Eastern Slovenia: "taking on New Zealand"
"Yet another catchy-titled tutored tasting...
featuring wines from eastern Slovenia, which threw up several lively and/or
unusual aromatic white wines... Slovenia has perhaps grabbed a bit of attention
for certain intense styles of "macerated" and "natural" whites
from the west... bordering northwest Italy and trendy regions such as Collio..."
Expect Renski Riesling, Laški Rizling, Šipon, Sauvignon Blanc,
Gewurz... Favourite wineries include Protner, Valcl, Kupljen, Steyer and Simčič...
Click on the nice photo (right) to reveal all!
 Focus on Portugal: Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and beyond
Over 50 smouldering Atlantic
wines reviewed including a fascinating "Douro masterclass" with its diverse white, red, pink & Port
styles... eight featured producers from the Douro, Alentejo and Algarve plus the odd
Vinho Verde thrown in too. Best wines: Crasto, Favaios, Graham's, Duorum, Lagos, Outeiro Mouro, São Miguel, Quevedo,
Dona Matilde. Click on the graceful storks!
Also see "winery snapshots page 9" for more detailed
Portuguese "profiles", below left.
 Spotlight on Sicily
"My notes on a broad cross-section of
36 Sicilian wines, including a few intense fruit liqueurs too (made by Limonio), which
must pretty much represent all conceivable styles you'll come across from this
island of mystery..." My top wineries: Ottoventi, Cristo di Campobello, Brugnano, Santa Anastasia, Ceuso, Mimmo Paone, Casa di Grazia, Ferreri... also starring
the local celebrities Zibibbo, Grillo, Inzolia, Catarrato, Nero d'Avola and Nerello (not just "for local people"). Click on the
photo (right) for the works on Sicily, and "winery snaps
page 8" for 9 profiles...
"Larging it in the Languedoc"
 Vignobles Jeanjean and Mas La Chevalière
Focus on Mas de Lunès and Devois des Agneaux d'Aumélas in the Coteaux du
Languedoc, Domaine de Fenouillet in Faugères, Mas Neuf in Mireval (sweet and dry
Muscat) and Domaine Le Pive in the "Sables du Golfe du Lion" on the sandy edges of the Camargue;
plus all the latest vintages reviewed from Mas La Chevalière in "Béziers
Hills." Click on the rolling vineyards for the full story...
Languedoc 2009 vintage
tasting report
 "Following
hot
in the footsteps of their inaugural 2008 vintage showcase
last year, the Languedoc wine people held a marathon week of
tastings of the 2009 vintage in March 2010. With all the frenzied talk in
Bordeaux of yet another vintage of the century..." My 100
favourite 2009 Languedoc rosés, whites and reds from La Clape, Picpoul de Pinet, Limoux, Malepère, Minervois
La Livinière, Corbières & Boutenac, Faugères, Saint-Chinian & Berlou, Terrasses
du Larzac, Montpeyroux, St-Georges d'Orques, Saint-Drézéry (who
what where?)... "Talking
of prices, is the Languedoc getting just too trendy given how expensive some of
these wines are?" Click on the snowy photo to view my full
commentary. "Top-30" at a glance: Hospitalet,
Mire Etang, Félines Jourdan, Lauriers, Rives Blanques, Antugnac, Astruc, Belvèze,
Sainte Eulalie, Laville-Bertrou, Aussières, Lastours, Trillol, Sainte Croix,
Saint-Esteve, Fontsainte, Liquière, Estanilles, Grange Ain, Bagatelle, Pin
Marguerites, Borie Vitarèle, Grange Leon, Cazal Viel, Jullien Olivier, Brousses,
Thérons, Villa Dondona, Puech-Haut, Guizard...
Australia
focus
 50
"world-class" Chardonnays: Oz versus the rest
"Well, I'm lying: half that many actually. I didn't feel like tasting all fifty especially as there was a lot to taste and winemakers to talk to at Wine
Australia's modestly titled London show (Feb 2010, billed as "World Class Australia"). The plan: "a blind tasting showcasing the breadth of the
Australian category" (don't you just hate that marketing-babble word) which grouped the mystery wines into three styles: "crisp &
refreshing, fine & elegant and rich &
complex." The line-up included France, Italy, New
Zealand, South Africa, California although mostly from Oz... My top Chardys: Penfolds, Petaluma, Yabby Lake, Paxton, Bruno Colin, Ramey.
Conclusions?" Click on the label... plus all my reviews.
Also: "varietal obsessions" click here for a dozen Rieslings
and 20 Shirazes -
10 winemaker profiles: Yabby,
Wakefield, St Hallett, Pirie, Mitchelton, Knappstein,
Greenstone, Clonakilla, Paxton, Petaluma (see "winery
snapshots6"); and a "consumer top-20"
selection.
 Relentless
Roussillon: strange goings-on in Maury...
Featuring
Department 66 ("the
Americans," pic.), La Borde Vieille ("the Mexicans"), Les Enfants
("the Swiss"), oh... "the English" (Jones, Bee, Pertuisane...)
and "French"
too (Deveza, Mudigliza, Petite Baigneuse, Serre Romani...). "There's nothing new about a high-profile "outsider investment"
story round these parts: Calvet-Thunevin's stark statement winery fashioned from
blocks of orange Gard stone was the boldest testament to this up until now, and
has somewhat altered the view on the way into town..." Subscribers log in here
to read this article or click
on the picture above if already logged in.
Bordeaux: Côtes de Bourg and Listrac-Médoc
 "Côtes de where? Not the favourite coastal or
riverbank
hang-out for Jean-Luc Picard's scariest enemy, but a lesser-known "Right
Bank" appellation... it's surprisingly easy
to get your geography in a twist on this side of the river and forget you're
actually
opposite Margaux..." Notes on 40 wines
including these favourites: Fougas, Clos du Piat, Relais de la Poste, Coulée de Bayon, Améthyste de Génibon,
Haut-Guiraud, Labadie... plus thoughts on image, tasting grapes, Malbec
and wine travel tips..." And "...challenge yourself while savouring
the imperial grandeur and wines of these handsome properties in Listrac-Médoc: Fourcas-Dupré, Fonréaud, Lestage, Fourcas-Hosten..."
Click
on the serious Château to read this feature!
Roussillon:
Saint-Bacchus 2009 winners reviewed
 "The award-winning wines from this annual French Catalan taste-off
were billed as "the finest representation of the Roussillon region,"
which it probably isn't although there are some super wines to
pick from here. As in any competition, the winners are only as good as
the wines submitted in the first place... it appears the majority of the
Roussillon's best growers didn't/don't actually enter the Saint-Bacchus.
Why don't they?"
A few highlights: 1974 Terrassous "Rancio", 1993 Muscat Les Pins, 1995 Maury "Vieille Réserve", 2007 "Kerbuccio"
Saint-Roch, 2006 Arguti, 2008 "Centenaire" Lafage... Click
on the SB logo to check out this report.
Castilla y León
 "Undiscovered Spain: from Valladolid to
the
Portuguese border and north beyond León..." Featuring the following
Bodegas with restaurant and
hotel tips: Pilcar (Cigales region), La Setera (Arribes del Duero), Cenit
(Tierra del Vino de Zamora), Zamoranas, Otero (Valles de Benavente),
Agribergidum (Bierzo),
Margon (Tierra de
León) plus get to know your
Juan Garcia, Prieto Picudo, Mencía and Godello; grape varieties, that
is... The vast evocative Castilla & León region, which lies roughly between Madrid and the north coast
stretching almost from Rioja across to Galicia and Portugal, isn't exactly
"undiscovered," for Spanish wine lovers at least. Hip Ribera del
Duero needs little introduction and other areas such as Toro and Rueda, which are found to the east, south and west of
Valladolid, appear to
have gained some ground in the recognition stakes.
But on this tour, we travelled resolutely west..."
Click
on the big ham to read the full article!
Photo © Brett Jones "the Wine Maestro":
thewinemaestro.co.uk,
brettthewinemaestro.blogspot.
More pics on
shutterfly.com.
Languedoc 2008
vintage tasting report
"Jumping the gun on the Bordeaux lot, Languedoc winemakers had the bright
idea of showcasing their 2008 vintage wines (or "representative
samples" of) en primeur in March 2009 to, well, make a
point really..." Includes my favourite reds and whites from: Reynardière - Abbotts -
Sauvaire - Langlade - Granier - Bru - Haut Lirou
- Thélème - Lancyre - Chemin des Reves - Zumbaum Tomasi - Augustins - Laroque - Lascaux - Serres - L'Aiguelière
- Bastide Oliviers - Renée Marie Giner - Pountil - Séranne - Causse d'Arboras
- Brousses - Alain Chabanon - St-Jean d'Aumières - Fabregous
- Paul Mas - St-Jean Bébian - Ferri-Arnaud - Soleilla - Pech Redon - Ricardelle
- St Jean Noviciat - l'Engarran - Nines - Flaugergues
- Abbaye Valmagne - Croix Gratiot - Lauriers - Belle Mare - Félines Jourdan
- Grangette Ste-Rose - Mouries - Gérard Bertrand - Stella-Nova - Lascours.
Click here to view the full report. |
Millésime Bio
2010