Wijnnieuws

Tasting notes on wines from Laurent Ponsot's innovative négociant label – and some provocative views. Since leaving Domaine Ponsot in early 2017, Laurent Ponsot has been busy building up the new négociant brand that bears his name. Asia is a particular focus for him, and he recently visited Singapore to introduce his latest releases. Happy to

Alistair Cooper MW, scouting the new wine fair in Paris on behalf of Australian importer United Cellars, reports on what was good and bad about the experience. Wine trade fairs have played a key role in sustaining a thriving industry throughout the years. They offer the chance for producers and buyers to connect and to conduct much of their

Some recent releases from New Zealand, with gaps. Julia writes All hail Nigel Greening of Felton Road, who consistently sends all his wines, even the most expensive single-vineyard bottlings, to the annual London tasting of new releases from New Zealand.  So many top names do not, which is a real shame for those of us who would like to get a

Our man in Burgundy Matthew Hayes files this report on Burgundy today and the connotations of its most important road. As you drive south out of Dijon you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a Steinbeck novel: an endless strip of down-at-heel tyre shops, empty furniture stores and a desperately forlorn miniature theme park. But if you

In this sixth part of an exploration of the tastes of the eight Masters of Wine most closely associated with Spain, Ferran quizzes Fernando Mora MW. See also Ferran's introduction to this eight-part series. Fernando Mora is a winegrower and has undertaken one of the most exciting projects in Spain: putting Aragón on the map and, in particular

Alder explains how the US wine business has dodged the 100% tariff bullet but is seriously suffering from the 25% tariff imposed last October. The US wine industry just received a bittersweet Valentine. On 14 February, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the decision to refrain from applying tariffs of up to 100% on

Nick meets Spain's culinary hero. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. I have known Ferran Adrià, the exceptional Catalan chef, ever since 1996 when I first ate at El Bulli (or elBulli as it has been styled since 2000), the restaurant on the coast outside Roses, north-east Spain, which he made so famous.  Since then

If you haven't tried dry Furmint, you really should. See also Furmint – Hungary's trump card? A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Did you know that this is Furmint February? You may well not even know what Furmint is. Not a breath freshener nor a sweetmeat but the signature grape variety of Hungary’s most famous wine

In this fifth part of an exploration of the tastes of the eight Masters of Wine most closely associated with Spain, Ferran quizzes Andreas Kubach MW. See also Ferran's introduction to this eight-part series. Andreas is a German–Spanish MW whose Spanish sounds native. He is a person who transmits the greatest professionalism. A reference. He is

Richard recommends a northern Rhône Syrah that delivers great bang for your buck. 2018: from €29, 36 Swiss francs, £127 per case of six ib older vintages: from €27, £24, $30, 400 Swiss francs per case of 12, 235 Danish kroner, HK$1,805 per case of six, SG$400.69 per case of six, NZ$69.50, 447.70 Norwegian kroner  Find these wines One of

Ex-restaurateur and father of a restaurateur Nick explains in this updated version of an article we published in 2004. The combination of Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday may lead outsiders to speculate that this will mean bumper takings for the world’s restaurateurs – but they would be mistaken. Restaurants will undoubtedly be very busy

13 February 2020 We're republishing free this excellent guide to Tokaji producers and dry Furmint to be read in conjunction with today's Furmint – Hungary's trump card? 21 February 2019 Tam goes Mád about Hungary's signature grape variety at Wines of Hungary's tasting in London to celebrate Furmint February, and does some Furmint food pairing as

A grape until recently largely devoted to nobly rotten sweet wines has had a makeover. More about the Furmint phenomenon on Saturday.  Merchant Taylor’s Hall in the City of London seemed very far from the hilly, volcanic Tokaj wine region in the far north-east corner of Hungary but 32 wine producers from Tokaj came there at the end of last month

Richard takes a sardonic look at wine’s (mis)fortunes in Asia and elsewhere If, like me, you’re a horse, then I’m afraid it’s going to be a bad year. Our only crime was to be born in 1978 (or 1942, 1954, 1966, 1990, 2002 or 2014), but that is amply sufficient to be doomed in the year of the rat (the simple explanation being that the rat is

The second half of Walter's report on the just-released vintage of Brunello di Montalcino. See also his tasting notes on 126 regular bottlings and his introduction to the 2015 vintage in Montalcino.  This year’s tasting of the so-called Selezione Brunello 2015s showed that the category is morphing from a special selection – of the best grapes or

Walter's tasting notes on well over 100 regular bottlings of the latest vintage of Brunello should be read in conjunction with his overview Brunello 2015 – too perfect? Tasting notes on the Selezione wines follow tomorrow. Walter took this picture from Montalcino during the tasting he describes below. The 126 regular Brunello 2015s are listed in

Walter picks over what’s good and bad about this latest vintage. See his tasting notes on 127 regular bottles of 2015 Brunello di Montalcino. An assessment of Selezione bottlings follows tomorrow. I am never one to immediately write up my assessment after a comprehensive tasting of any new vintage because I like to take my time to reflect, but I

In this fourth part of an exploration of the tastes of the eight Masters of Wine most closely associated with Spain, Ferran quizzes David Forer MW. See also Ferran's introduction to this eight-part series. David is a sweet and friendly man. This energetic and renowned Canadian recently moved to Barcelona. The reason? To acquire a promising

A new restaurant in old hands by Tower Bridge in London. The origins of chef Theodore Kyriakou’s passion for sourcing and cooking the freshest fish are not that difficult to fathom. Firstly, he is from Greece, a country with a long coastline and many, many islands. Then he was with his country’s merchant navy until, in 1987, he was

The annual Southwold-on-Thames tastings were exceptional this year. Here we all are, hard at work, overlooked by François Mitjavile of Ch Tertre Roteboeuf. A slightly shorter version of this paean of praise is published by the Financial Times. Links to my 250+ tasting notes are in this guide to Bordeaux 2016 coverage. I have just had the