News from Jancis Robinson

A grower's recommendations … (for the UK). The text exchange below is between Rachel Humphrey, head chef of London’s highly respected Le Gavroche, and her trusted supplier of many fruit and vegetable ingredients. Vernon Mascarenhas of Nature’s Choice (who, inter alia, as their website proudly announces, supply all London’s three-star Michelin

How leading wine traders and commentators were held captive by a prince, pictured above. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. On 23 March this year 27 of us wine professionals were sent the following email message: ‘On behalf of Prince Robert of Luxembourg, we are delighted to invite you for a very special tasting event

A Coleridgian tribute to an award-winning Western Australian red. From 453.75 Czech koruna, £17.95, $22.95, €21.40, AU$32.99, HK$170, 1,200 Thai baht, CA$50.70, SG$70 Find this wine At Xanadu did Glenn Goodall a stately Cabernet decree. Goodall has been senior winemaker at Xanadu in Western Australia since 2016, having joined the winery in

A new generation is using historical knowledge of where the best grapes grow to map Montalcino piece by piece. Walter investigates developments at Banfi, Argiano, Canalicchio di Sopra, Capanna and Tiezzi, whose legendary Vigna Soccorso is seen above from the walls of Montalcino. Last January, while I was in Montalcino to taste the newly released

Quite a few bargains from this long-standing UK retailer and importer, plus six vintages of Cantina Kurtatsch's top Cabernet, grown in vineyards pictured above, back to 1992. Haynes Hanson & Clark’s recent showing of their summer wines nicely confirmed what I keep banging on about: that although the focus of interest in bordeaux is on those

Finally, there is a truly delicious way to stay sober. Recently, two sets of the most seriously, and I use that word deliberately, exciting zero-alcohol beverages happened to fall into my hands. They have a number of things in common: they’re made by people who prioritise flavour over trend; they’re about indulging in pleasure rather than

Some 2021s hand-picked by a London specialist in German wine. Pictured above is the Grosse Lage Felseneck in the Nahe, source of some of Schäfer-Frölich's finest Rieslings. Sebastian Thomas of Howard Ripley Wines showed his first selection of 2021 German whites on a warm day in London last week and is asking his customers to submit their orders

(Almost) pure pleasure. Above, Franck Grux, who made some of the most impressive wines assessed below. Bless Sarah Marsh, a Master of Wine so focused on burgundy that she makes some herself. As attentive Purple Pagers may have noticed, she regularly organises horizontal tastings of mature and maturing burgundy vintages, yielding tasting notes

It's time to allow irrigation – if only there were any water. The continuing drought in large parts of northern Italy, from the alpine Val d’Aosta in the far north-west to Emilia-Romagna in the east, has triggered an emergency here in Italy. Already at the beginning of June, Coldiretti, the national association of small agricultural farmers

A fine combination of grape and year reviewed, plus a few Chardonnays. I was excited to taste recently released 2019 reds from Anderson Valley as throughout California the weather favoured most varieties, leading to a high proportion of good wines. Quality is also there for whites, though many of these have already been released. In the

English Wine Week 2022 (which should really be called English & Welsh Wine Week) started on 18 June, and here are two books that offer, on the one hand, a guide to an exciting selection of producers worth visiting, and, on the other hand, the opportunity to learn to make your own English wine (should you be mad enough). The Vineyards of Britain

Why can't more wine producers be more like Klaus Peter and Julia Keller? They are seen here at a Buckingham Palace garden party after they had donated some of their Niersteiner Hipping Riesling 2012 for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations because the wine had been served at her coronation. A version of this article is published by the Financia

What goes on behind the scenes before you pay for your meal. Your rights explained in this article of which a version is also published in the Financial Times. The restaurant bill, or check, a reminder of all that you have eaten and drunk, remains the only constant piece of paper in the business. The word ‘bill’ may have a charming origin

Five (relative) bargains out of 35 wines tasted in the cellars of 3 St James's Street, pictured above, and described below. After a three-year break imposed by COVID-19, and perhaps the company reorganisation, Berry Bros & Rudd have resumed their presentation of new finds to wine media, tastings they used to host in their historic St James’s

Rosé for summer is a worn cliché, but this rosé will be impossible to resist when the sun comes out. From €7.50, 119 Danish kroner, £14.10, 2,596 Japanese yen, $27.99 Find this wine Weingut Friedrich Becker, run by father-and-son team Friedrich and Friedrich (aka, Fritz Jr and Fritz Sr, pictured above), is known and recognised

We're delighted to announce a special Judges' Selection prize for this year's wine writing contest in addition to the prizes we have announced so far. While the winner of the Readers' prize will be chosen by you, the winner of the Judges' Selection prize will be chosen by us at Team JR. In addition to their winning entry being published, they

23 June 2022 Our dive into the archives this week produces an ideal companion piece to today's tasting article. 27 July 2020 Mountain sunshine is transformed into precise whites and reds, some notably local, by one of Alto Adige's smallest co-ops. Cantina Kurtatsch had the misfortune to be celebrating its 120th anniversary in May 2020, with

The Kellers of Rheinhessen celebrate the past and react to what's likely to happen in the future – Julia's in-depth report on a weekend there. See also K P Keller's recent, useful contributions to our Members' forum. Klaus Peter and Julia Keller are some of the most positive and encouraging people I know: always working with Nature rather than

16 June 2022 Rescued from the vaults, this article about fashions in German wines 14 years ago, which is interesting to read in conjunction with Julia's report on a recent visit to the Kellers of Rheinhessen to taste their latest releases, also published today. 5 May 2008 As anyone who has been following the debate here knows, a low-key holy war

In search of the very special character of wines from this area on the border of Oregon and Washington. At the beginning of March, when Elaine and I embarked on our Washington road trip, we stopped in an AVA that lies entirely within Oregon and yet is familiarly associated with Washington. The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater (colloquially