Tasting features 2002-2003 (waiting to be rebuilt!)
Summary page with listing all events posted in 2002-2003, commentary on each and links to tasting notes
 

Côtes de Provence - Massif des Maures
A day trip in early November 2003 took in a handful of wine estates dotted along the peaceful (at that time at least) coastal strip between Hyères and St. Tropez, skirting the edge of the Massif des Maures. Four of these were so-called Cru Classé properties: Château Sainte Marguerite, Clos Mireille (Domaines Ott), Château de Brégançon and Château Minuty. This dubious classification dating from 1956 holds no credible status in terms of official criteria for superiority, but it certainly pumps up the prices and the drinker’s expectations. However, some of the Cru Classé wines are undeniably very good and swim gracefully above the shoals of mediocrity found in the vast sea that is the Côtes de Provence. I also visited Château Barbeyrolles and tasted the juice of their other estate Château la Tour de l’Evêque, and additional Ott wines...
Click here to read the full feature....
And on the palm trees to view two dozen tasting notes.

Previous wines of the moment
These wines were originally featured on the home page from July 2003 onwards and had caught my attention for one reason or another, some of them also selected as recommendations for Christmas and New Year. So not exactly 'wines of the week' or 'month' but could've been: hopefully I was more spontaneous than that!
Richard James
Click here for current wines of the moment

Home magazine wines of the month 1999 - 2000
Enjoy a bit of retro chic browsing through over 200 tasting notes of my chosen wines of the month, including selections to go with the magazine's imaginative recipes.Click here for the editorial: my wine column in Home for most of the period April 1999 - Dec 2000 (the missing months are lost in the mists of time, unless you've got actual copies of all the issues!) Posted 1/11/03

Cava & Penedès Wine Institute
This annual educational course (with a little PR thrown in), which I attended in September 2001, is sponsored by Torres, including Jean Leon (now part of the family group), and Freixenet including Segura Viudas and other brands. We also got the chance to taste wines and cavas made by a few smaller, independent houses. Tasting notes put up on the site Oct/Nov 2003.
Click here for Torres Mas la Plana vertical.

Tutored tasting of CVNE and Contino old and rare Riojas by winemaker Jesús Madrazo Mateo
I only just got around to entering my notes onto the system from this amazing tasting held a while ago now, at St. Stephen's Club London SW1 on 21st March 2001. Jesús dug out several museum Riojas as well as latest releases spanning vintages from 1939 to 1996! Read my full report for more details, which originally appeared in the Circle of Wine Writers Update. Posted August 2003

Pure wine?
I tasted some initially strange wines the other day, while sharing a glass or two and opinions with a few Marseille wine folk in the interestingly-stocked wine bar & shop La Part des Anges... These wines are totally natural, if such a thing exists, in that the
growers use no chemicals, no sulphur dioxide, no fining and no filtration. The result is a bit of a shock at first and perhaps something comparable to the real ciders some small producers make in the UK. Once you get used to the fact that the wines are hazy, a little oxidised, rather yeasty to start and blatantly high in alcohol, then they begin to taste interesting and complex. Didier Barral is in Faugères but his indifference to AC rules means he labels his 'white' wine as Vin de Table. I also tried 1999 Le Mazel Cuvée Mias, which is a Vin de Pays de l'Ardèche made from Viognier. Both show real fruit ripeness and a kind of mineral purity that you'd be tempted to attribute to... terroir, even if there are a few off-putting aromas and volatile notes due to the absence of preservatives. The wines also tasted much better with food and did open up in the glass after a while, losing some of the less desirable off-flavours. It seems these idiosyncratic winemakers are gathering a bit of a following in the south of France. 21/10/03

The 19th Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Festival 2003
I've picked a selection of rosés, reds and whites tasted at this annual wine fair in Aix-en-Provence on one very hot late July afternoon. Luckily the lovely old plane trees along Cours Mirabeau provided a little shelter... Some mixed scores here, which reflect the inconsistency seen within this Appellation - not surprising given the size of it - yet often priced at a premium to other Provence or wines from the south of equal standing. At its best, Coteaux d'Aix offers first rate reds and rosés; however, many are rather ordinary.

German wine estates - more Riesling than seems reasonable!
I unearthed a huge batch of mislaid tasting notes (a whoppingly sad 130 wines) gleaned from an eye-opening visit to Germany in 1996 and a few tastings from the late 1990s. So get ready for a tongue-twisting trip around some of the country's leading wine estates. Some words too. Posted 5/8/03

Bernard Jost
While spending a relaxing week in June 2003 in beautiful (and very sunny) Alsace, I visited Bernard and his wife in their cosy old cellars and home. He’s an artisan 'proprietaire - viticulteur' based in Dorlisheim not far from Obernai. The Alsace wine business is dominated by large co-operatives - not necessarily a bad thing given the high standards achieved at those in Turckheim, Pfaffenheim and Ribeauvillé for example - supplied by member-growers who don’t make their wine. Bernard is a conscientious small grower, who spends a great deal of time in his own vineyards in the lieux-dits ‘Stierkopf’ and ‘Rangenberg’. He makes and matures the wines using very traditional methods and equipment, nevertheless, having tasted twenty different styles and/or vintages, quality is high and prices reasonable (admittedly these are ex-cellars so not including import duty). Click on the vine leaf collage to view my notes and scores.
Les Grandes Maisons d’Alsace

Les Baux de Provence
An obscure wine sub-region centred on this historic village in the Alpilles hills between Avignon and Arles, the appellation encompasses only 12 growers spread over a mere 320-340 hectares. The Baux valley boasts beautiful wild countryside (and coach-loads of tourists), several rich individual reds and full dry rosés. Here Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon harmoniously collide alongside Grenache and Mourvèdre...
At the end of May 2003, I was invited to be a taster on one of three juries at an annual competition, the Prix Noël Michelin. Here I joined French wine journalists, sommeliers and winemakers and was confronted by a rather strange scoring system, linguistically poetic and at the same time mathematically complex (how French). I was on the red panel, and the results said interesting things about national palates. I didn’t score the winner, Domaine de la Vallongue, particularly well using a silly system that allocates over half the marks to appearance and nose. However, my favourite (unfortunately the identity of this and the other 10 wines tasted blind were never revealed to me) did also feature strongly in most of the panel’s top 3. So I’ve reverted to the usual method and scoring system for my tasting notes - click on the Cité des Baux shot - which shed a degree of new light on the wines.
Over lunch following the competition, we also tried several different wines including older vintages. The best reds do age well and may justify the high prices les Baux commands, but others need to work harder to convince at this price level. Nevertheless, overall they have something very interesting here. The white wines are currently classified as Appellation Contrôlée Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, and the growers talked about moves to lobby for AC Baux status for them. When I'd first heard about this, I thought it a cynical attempt to flesh out the prices of the generally average AC whites; or at the very least a dilution of their terroir (it seems best expressed by the reds). However, the producers want to base it, if it happens, on the Marsanne and Roussanne varieties - not permitted for AC wines at the moment - and Sémillon. Tasting some of the complex, barrel-fermented Vins de Pays made from these grapes confirms their potential, and a worthy improvement on Grenache Blanc, Rolle and Clairette blends.
The majority of estates in les Baux are farmed organically, and one, Château Romanin by biodynamic principles (see my article on Château Falfas for details on this). Others tasted and worth visiting are Mas de la Dame, Olivier d’Auge, Domaine de Lauzières, Jean-André Charial, Mas Sainte-Berthe, Château d’Estoublon, Château Dalmeran, Domaine Hauvette, Mas de Gourgonnier, Domaine de Terres Blanches and Domaine de la Vallongue.

Bandol day trip
"Le rond-point des Mourvèdres. Magnificent, a roundabout dedicated to Mourvèdre: must be a good omen..." See articles for the full feature.
To browse my tasting notes scribbled during this visit in April 2003 - featuring the Mourvèdre rich wines of Château Pibarnon, Domaines Bunan/Château la Rouvière and Domaine Tempier - the big B reveals all. And while you're at it, read my article on wines from the south of France and the Rhône published in the July/August 2003 edition of HOT, Harpers on-trade magazine.

Foncalieu new releases
Foncalieu, a progressive group of co-operative growers and châteaux centred on Carcassonne, provides a good example of adapting to changing times and tastes. Their strategy of know-how in vineyard and cellar is tellingly marketed as ‘French New World attitude, 100% Languedoc.’ They produce both inexpensive varietal wines (Chardonnays particularly good) and AOC wines like Château Cazaux Cabardès...
Click here to read the rest of this article.

Mini-tour of Côtes du Rhône Villages
In April 2003 I went on a day trip to a few villages in the southern Rhône in the area around Orange, taking in a handful of varied and interesting producers. So discover the hearty red wines, and some noteworthy whites, of Gigondas, Séguret, Rasteau, Cairanne, Mondragon and Chusclan. And for further info, read my article on the south of France and the Rhône published in the July/August 2003 edition of HOT, Harpers on-trade magazine.

Bordeaux 1995 - 2001 and older vintages
I'm gradually (read slowly) entering a raft of tasting notes of fine reds from Grands Crus and other leading Châteaux, and also dry and sweet whites, comparing these varied vintages. Plus a few superlative 1990s to follow, some maturing beauties from the 80s and even Lafite 1961! All of these wines were tasted from 2001 - 2003: either at the properties in Bordeaux or nearby while on four informative trips - the last two of which were in February 2003 to Pomerol and December 2002 courtesy of Château Preuillac - at Institute of Masters of Wine tastings, or the Union des Grands Crus 2000 vintage London showcase in November 2002. A tad élitist I know, but who wants to drink and read about the other dross that comes out of Bordeaux! Both parts of my report on Pomerol are waiting for you in the archive; you might also like to read the article I wrote for Off Licence News last year. So teleport to Bordeaux... almost 100 sumptuous tasting notes with more to come!

Red Nose Day 14th March 2003
No, not a bank holiday when over-consumption of hooter-enflaming Shiraz or Port is mandatory, but the official date of the Comic Relief fundraising campaign. Wine Relief forms part of this: over a dozen retailers are promoting an individual selection of wines, where 10% of the price goes to charity… These wines are suitably highlighted by cheesy Tony Blackburn neck or shelf tags, which also convey a message about sensible drinking. After all, Comic Relief has spent over £6 million funding projects that offer help to people with drinking problems.
Wine Relief raised a massive £350,000 in 2001 for disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa, so this time round why not choose a bottle on promotion and celebrate Red Nose Day by indirectly donating 10% of its price. For my pick of these wines, click on the link below. Further details of Wine Relief activities, other events, worthy causes etc. can be found on www.comicrelief.com and www.rednoseday.com/wine

Christmas & New Year 2002-2003
Here are my recommendations offering a wide selection of wines, beers and spirits, which should provide flavoursome drinking and particularly good value for money.
Further festive thoughts...

Mas La Plana
Miguel Torres tutored a vertical tasting of his single estate Cabernet Sauvignons on 29th October 2002 in London, showing ten wines from 2000 to 1970. Click on the MLP label to read my notes from this rare and exclusive event for the Circle of Wine Writers. And for even more Torres & Catalan wines...

Wines of South Africa, London 15th October 2002
The WOSA logo takes you interfrastically to a plethora of Pinotage and other diverse Cape wines. Tasting notes and scores cover top notch bottles singled out by the influential John Platter South African wine guide (as well as me, of course); but alas there were many disappointments too...

Wines of Portugal
Avoid embarrassment by getting to know your Terras do Sado and Ribatejo from your Antão Vaz or Trincadeira... my pick of Portugal's exciting regions and grapes, from a tasting in Manchester on October 2nd 2002.
Talking of Portugal, I visited Quinta do Portal in the Douro Valley later that month: tasting notes on their whole range have been entered for your pleasure. I've also typed numerous paragraphs about this underrated country: browse through my articles.
Chilled Tawny Ports
No, I'm not mad. The Portuguese do it all the time, chill their fine Tawnies that is. Makes a lovely aperitif and goes well with blue cheeses, fruit or desserts with walnuts or pecan nuts. Once open, delicious 10 or 20 year old Ports such as Cockburn's, Calèm, Taylor's, Barros or Ramos-Pinto can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks.

Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's
You can find a few notes here on wines gleaned from their autumn 2002 press tastings, including many new bottles on the shelves. Overall impressions: M&S finally gets a proper range, JS appears to have overtaken Tesco in the interest stakes. More on supermarket wines here.

Wines of Chile annual tasting, London 10th September 2002
Selected highlights focusing somewhat on Carmenère: also features wines from Errázuriz Estate's informative presentation on this two-faced grape variety, sometimes an inspirational success, sometimes green and mean.
And click here for Chilean Pinot Noirs.

The Sand Man
Click on the shadowy caped Don to read my tasting notes on Sandeman's sherry range, sampled on several occasions during their insightful educational seminar held in Jerez in September 2002. One or two offerings at the mass-market, sweeter end headed towards the bland, but overall quality was impressive with a couple of stand-out wines, which should help shed more limelight on sherry as a whole. And for more info on sherry...

Winewriting.com Manchester tastings
This link conjures up some of my notes from tastings I held in Spring and Summer 2002, such as international Riesling, Syrah / Shiraz, Chardonnay and Tuscan reds. In addition, you'll find traditional method sparkling wines and champagnes (see below too) shown at a popular and lively tasting (the bubble effect) on August 12th 2002. The star of the show was Pirie 1996 from Tasmania.

Summer Champagnes and sparkling wines without the price tag to match
Try the Manchester tastings link above for my reviews of some of the following wines and more. Canard-Duchêne Brut N.V is consistently good - in fact better than many leading brands and it costs a few quid less. This Champagne house says it's giving away a camp cute cooler bag, when you buy a bottle from certain retailers this summer, "which is nice." Duval-Leroy Brut N.V fits the bill too, despite the slightly tacky new label with striking love heart motif! H. Blin is another decent lesser known name that sells for a reasonable price. And Veuve Borodin is currently on serious promotion at Roberson's on Ken High Street, West London. Green Point, fine Australian traditional method fizz owned by Moet & Chandon, has launched their lovely elegant 98 vintage. And one of the very best New World sparklers is Quartet from Roederer Estate in California. Spotted the latent message here?
Safeway recently held a tasting of its Champagnes, where I discovered a number of good value, small grower wines. And if you are going to push the boat out, I've included notes on classics such as Bollinger as well. So for even more summer sparkle, dive into the ice bucket! July 2002.

The 'Definitive Italian' wine tasting July 2002
The backdrop to this aptly named event was the pitch at Chelsea FC's ground, and there were almost as many wines as seats in the stadium. I couldn't taste them all but I tried very hard! So use the flashy icon to discover the exciting diversity of Italy: features Sicily's sensational 1999 Harmonium Nero d'Avola from Firriato and benchmark Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 1998 by Allegrini (there's a special focus on the province of Verona).
Click here to read one of several articles on Italian wines.

Grüner Veltliner galore
Click on the Austrian logo to see an exclusive feature on fine Austrian wines, including several made from this wonderful indigenous variety plus a few racy Rieslings too. All tasted at the London International Trade Fair in May 2002.

Wines of Australia
A regional tasting tour of Australia showcasing Nepenthe of the Adelaide Hills, Hamilton from Barossa & Wrattonbully, Katnook from Coonawarra, Stellabella & Suckfizzle from Margaret River, Mountadam in the Eden Valley and Greenpoint in the Yarra Valley & McLaren. All tasted at the London International Trade Fair in May 2002.

California dreaming - Geyser Peak, the Vineyard Cellars & La Crema
Mick Schroeter - head winemaker at Geyser Peak and Canyon Road - hosted a lunch and tasting at Manchester's swinging Restaurant Bar & Grill back in May 2002, culminating with their magnificent 1997 Reserve Shiraz from Sonoma. In addition, you can check out my reviews of the 2000 vintage releases of La Crema, also from Sonoma. Later that month at the London Trade Fair, I tasted through an impressive range from the Vineyard Cellars, including Peter Michael, Babcock, Hanzell and Flora Springs. Click on the logo.

E. Guigal tasting May 22nd 2002
Tutored by father and son Marcel and Philippe Guigal, the line up in this Circle of Wine Writers tasting included frankly superb "Grands Crus" Côte Rôtie wines from the 1998, 1995 and 1990 vintages. Also an impressive showing of the 99s and 2000s such as Condrieu, Gigondas and their first tasting of Saint Joseph Vigne de l'Hospice. Pour yourself a glass by clicking on the label!

Biodynamic in Bordeaux - Château Falfas
This fetching, subtly grand yet unpretentious and workmanlike property is owned by John and Véronique Cochran and is located near Bayon in the Côtes de Bourg appellation to the northeast of Bordeaux, on the Right Bank. This area isn’t generally known for great quality and hence its wines don’t command high prices, but that doesn’t do justice to certain individual estates who are reaching applaud-worthy heights. Château Falfas is one of them and almost unique in Bordeaux, as it has been run on biodynamic principles since 1988, thus joining such illustrious names as Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace, Huet in Vouvray and Chapoutier in the Rhône... Go to articles for the full report on this biodynamic estate. Comments on their attractive red wines can be found by clicking on the link above.

Booth’s supermarkets tasting 10th May 2002
Awarded 'overall wine merchant of the year' 2002 in the International Wine Challenge, this relaxed press tasting confirmed that Preston-based regional grocer Booth's does offer a well-chosen and good value wine range. And the sausages, cheeses and strawberries were nice too...

Fladgate Partnership vertical tasting of Vintage Ports 1966 – 2000
This spectacular tasting of Ports spanning nearly 35 years took place on St. George's Day, April 2002 to celebrate the declaration of the 2000 Vintage. Taylor's group - now called the Fladgate Partnership and also comprising Delaforce, Fonseca Guimaraens, Croft & Skeffington - put on this exclusive, educational (and promotional of course) tasting in London's Mayfair, which included the first showing of their magnificent 2000s. Click on the Taylor's logo to view my, on the whole, exuberant tasting notes and scores.

English Wine Producers St. George's Day tasting 2002
This patriotic tasting demonstrated, however, that quality is still hit or miss, but I've picked some real winners including several surprisingly good sparkling wines. You could also visit www.englishwineproducers.com for further information.

Lay & Wheeler press tasting April 2002
This famous Colchester merchant presented wines from their 2002 summer list: including new agencies and old favourites from Australia, such as Reynold's Handpicked from Orange region and the Eden Valley's superlative Henschke; and the Rhône Valley including Jean-Luc Colombo and Domaines Perrin.

Unwind?
In the face of increasing problems with tainted and faulty corks, Tesco has taken the brave step (following Clare Valley Riesling and New Zealand Sauvignon producers, amongst others) of launching a range of popular, drink-now varietals - Chardy, Shiraz etc - sealed with screwcaps, called appropriately Unwind. It'll be interesting to see how wine drinkers react, what with the image and perception of screwcaps still lost somewhere in the Dark Ages (or the 70s at least). It's just a pity they didn't put more of the price into making the wines more exciting... (spring 2002).

Mucho Español
Lots of Latino notes sourced from three tastings in Spring 2002 - Moreno Wines in Manchester, the Wines from Spain trade fair and Wines of the Canary Islands (yes that is correct). So click on the highlighted links or logo for the best from Rioja to Ribera del Duero and hot, up-and-coming areas such as Jumilla, Campo de Borja and Utiel-Requena. Plus those spectacularly spacey (or spaced out perhaps) volcanic islands - unusual wines but I'm not convinced about their potential - and a few stars from Argentina.

Chile con carne
Click on the picture to discover more than a dozen Pinot Noirs from Chile's premium region for this variety, the Casablanca Valley, tasted at a unique seminar on 21st January 2002. Includes wines from Cono Sur, Villard Estate and Viña Morandé: mostly interesting with occasional brilliance showing through, Pinot and Casablanca could prove to be a marriage made in heaven in the near future. Also the latest releases and vintages from leading producer Montes tasted (April 2002).

Union des Grands Crus Chablis tasting for the Circle of Wine Writers 21st Jan 2002
Twenty top Chablis reviewed - some of them not as grand as they should be, in view of the prices....