News from Jancis Robinson

We begin two weeks devoted to hundreds of 2019s tasted in the Rhône Valley last month. Above are just some of the Châteauneuf-du-Papes ready for Ali's blind tastings. See also this guide to our coverage of Rhône 2019. Winemakers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape warmly welcomed this year’s return to healthy yields. The heat spikes and low rainfall mean

California vineyard workers are increasingly becoming winery owners in a story charted here by Alder, who also provides us with as comprehensive a list as he can muster. Above, the Mexican American Vintners Association's 2018 winemaker dinner. All images courtesy of their subjects. The first people to make wine in California were almost

Ali Cooper took this picture of the hill of Hermitage during his 12 days in the Rhône Valley last month. Nine tasting articles and two overviews are heading your way. Keep track of them all here, with the most recently published articles at the top. For the moment, we list only those scheduled for today and tomorrow. General articles South

What I learnt from an eerily peaceful tour of some of the Côte d'Or's finest cellars. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. Above, Cécile Tremblay, photographed by Jon Wyand. When I arrived to taste the 2019s at Meursault’s most famous wine cellar, that of Domaine des Comtes Lafon, something strange happened. Dominique

Restaurant managers have one final task every evening … A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. There have long been two pieces of paper that are far more important to the long-term success of any restaurant than its menu and its wine list. These are the restaurant’s lease and its alcohol licence. Both these documents

Memories, manifestos, what to think and how to drink – all the vinous mentorship you'll ever need in the books below. The Goode Guide to Wine A manifesto of sorts  Jamie Goode  University of California Press  ISBN 9780520342460  £15.99, $18.95  It’s a small, sturdy book, almost pocket-fitting size, with thick matt paper, a retro look to

A classic, well-priced and organic Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley. From €10.70, $21.58, £19.80 Find this wine Chinon, in the middle of the Loire Valley, is pretty much synonymous with Cabernet Franc, one of those varieties you really hope will appear in a blind tasting. It might not be quite as distinctive as Sauvignon Blanc or

This is no time to desert the magic combination of wine and carbon dioxide. We present dozens of examples, and look in detail at the 2020 vintage in Champagne as well as learning a lesson about Krug. Social media fan Olivier K (@krugoli) closes in on a Clos du Mesnil vine above. Jancis writes We present a very varied assortment of sparkling

Ideas for gifts from under £5/$12 that should bring joy and can be ordered with ease without leaving your home. Well, the most obvious gift of course is a year’s membership of JancisRobinson.com! Starting from £85 for access to: A team of international wine experts including seven Masters of Wine 200,000+ fully searchable tasting notes with

Richard revives his Spittoon column with the curious story of the Jerezanos' other business. Which traditional white wine is aged in 100% new oak for two years, only to be turned into vinegar? Millions of litres of it are maturing in brand-new barrels right now, soaking up all that expensive flavour, before fulfilling their unlikely destiny

For our coverage so far of 2019 in Burgundy, see this guide, especially Jancis’s overview of the vintage. Nathalie Theulot of Theulot-Juillot in Mercurey is pictured here with her husband Jean-Claude (image taken from their website). Charles Taylor MW nimbly adapted his annual early showing in London of the new burgundy vintage, extending the

Caroline Gilby MW surveys the world through the prism of a particularly local white wine grape. See also Julia’s Rebula – there’s gold in them thar hills. All pictures, including this view of Brda vineyards, are courtesy of D J W Bailey. There are local grapes and local grapes, and even that global traveller Chardonnay was once someone's local

In Oak – the cooper's view Matthew Hayes profiled François Frères. Here he talks to Eric Rousseau, Christophe Roumier and Dominique Lafon about oak, but first he presents two novel approaches to barrels from younger winemakers in Burgundy. Henri Boillot, Meursault Guillaume Boillot, 35, is the sixth generation of his family to manage

A selection of current Austrian releases tasted in London to complement the mainly 2019 Grüner Veltliners and Rieslings tasted in Austria in early September. As Jancis explained in the introduction to her recent article on the Macedon Ranges, sometimes a range of wines from the same country or region turns up at around the same time by chance

In the first of three articles this week about oak, Matthew Hayes shares the secrets of making, and selling, barrels. Above, François Frères' barrels-to-be. Oak is a very small word with huge connotations, especially in Burgundy. When I started in the mad, bad world of international wine-broking, Burgundy was astir. It was the golden age of

Samantha Cole-Johnson files her last despatch while looking round for a new job. I can most thoroughly recommend her wine knowledge, reliability and work ethic. We have valued her contrasting harvest reports from wineries in the Willamette Valley and the Barossa Valley enormously and hope very much to welcome her back here again. You can always

A shorter version of this article is published by the Financial Times. I have often been asked what life has been like for me as a woman in what has traditionally been seen as a man’s world. In one word: cushy. I remember once in the early 1980s being asked patronisingly at a (non-professional) wine tasting, ‘I say, do you come to these

Restaurants are about much more than food and wine. Though you wouldn't know it from this picture of an empty Chez Bruce in Wandsworth. I first encountered Gerald Diffey just over seven years ago. In October 2013 I reviewed very favourably Brooks restaurant in the heart of Melbourne, of which Diffey, born in Gillingham, Kent, was then a partner

Whether you're spiritual or political or think mythology might be a firmer reality than either, the books below are persuasive in their case that wine offers more to get fired up over than alcohol content. Our own Purple Pager, Reverend Robert Stanier, also offers food for thought on the spiritual side of wine. Firing Blancs  Peter Stafford-Bow

Madeira, the cure-all wine. From £18.99, €24.70, 733 Ukrainian hryvnia (50 cl), CA$49.08, AU$57.25, 948 Czech koruna, $42.99, 5,115 Japanese yen Find this wine As winter has drawn in way too rapidly for my sun-rooted soul and as we’ve begun to light the wood burner every evening, make soup and stews instead of salads, burn candles on