News from Jancis Robinson

As the OIV announce they are moving their HQ from Paris to Dijon, Dijon resident Matthew Hayes urges us to bypass Beaune and consider a stay in Burgundy's capital, which will have its own ambitious wine and food centre next year. Dijon is on the up. Perfectly situated for a northern European weekend break, Dijon sits just five hours’ drive

How did this first growth perform during this difficult decade for Bordeaux? Above is the artwork for the label of Andy's favourite vintage, by Chinese artist Gu Gan, showing how ahead of the game they were at Mouton. A vertical tasting of Ch Mouton Rothschild is not to be sniffed at. When the vintages tasted – every vintage from 1999 back to

Julia finds even more reasons to admire Britain's oldest wine-buying members' co-operative. The Wine Society's press tasting late last month was billed as 'a preview of the Winter/Christmas list'. So I asked their head of buying Pierre Mansour whether there was any sign of people stocking up early for fear of empty shelves over the next few

It may be a bit late for Sober October, but we're now in the run-up to the holiday season and someone is going to have to be the designated driver. Tam suggests three brand-new ranges of interesting alternatives to often-dreary alcohol-free wines and beers. Back in January 2021, when I had a little whinge about the sickly and/or tasteless

A version of this article about a bordeaux vintage not to be dismissed out of hand is published by the Financial Times. Every year at fine-wine traders Farr Vintners in London there are two big blind tastings of well over a hundred of the most important Bordeaux wines attended by more or less the same group of about 16 wine merchants and wine

A new favourite in London's St James's. Perhaps I should have written about Maison François when I first ate there over 18 months ago: even then each of the food, the wine and the service was equally impressive. But then, like so many other restaurants, it has spent much of the intervening period closed and when it did reopen, it lacked many

The last of three articles reassessing the 2011 vintage. Right-bank and left-bank reds reviewed earlier this week; see also the guide to all our coverage of 2011 bordeaux. If the 2011 reds were less than thrilling, the same was not at all true of the 23 smart sweet whites that we had the pleasure of tasting blind at the end of this ten-years-on

You'll never see this wine this cheap again. Useful halves from HK$224, CA$39.16, 35 Swiss francs, €28.58, £30, SG$66, $49.99, 425 Swedish kronor, 1,170 Taiwan dollars Bottles from HK$320, $59, £44, €55, 64.60 Swiss francs, SG$127, 2,180 Czech koruna, 695 Danish kroner, 456 Malaysian ringgit, 3,100 Taiwan dollars, 9,203 roubles, AU$168, NZ

The second of three articles reassessing the 2011 vintage. Right-bank reds were published yesterday and sweet wines are still to come tomorrow; see also the guide to all our coverage of 2011 bordeaux. We were by no means thrilled by the 2011 reds – although it has to be said that a blind tasting by a crew of wine professionals who know both each

21 October 2021 For this week's Throwback Thursday we thought it would be interesting to republish this audit of the best performers in the Southwold tastings – not least because two of them did so well in this week's 10-years-on tastings. See right-bank 2011s and left-bank 2011s. Sweet whites tomorrow. 26 March 2018 Bordeaux fans may be aware

The first of three articles reassessing the 2011 vintage. Left-bank reds and sweet wines to follow; see also the guide to all our coverage of 2011 bordeaux. Above, Vieux Château Certan, whose 2011 was especially impressive. As trailed on our Members’ forum, I took part in a two-day blind tasting of 136 of the most important 2011 bordeaux

James Mayor meets two women in wine who are doing rather than talking about saving the planet. Headlines alert us to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, with the urgent agenda to secure global net zero carbon emissions by mid century, which opens on 31 October in Glasgow, Scotland. At COP26, hosted by the UK, political leaders

Just a two-hour (cheap) flight from London, the city of dragons might just be the perfect weekend getaway. It could be argued that the description ‘undiscovered/hidden gem’ is one of the most jaded clichés in the world when it comes to travel writing. But it could also be argued that Ljubljana really is one of the most overlooked jewels of the

Alistair Cooper MW gets to grips with a favourite grape variety. Pieter H Walser of BLANKbottle, responsible for two of the highest-scoring wines, is pictured above. See six other articles that focus on Cinsault. On 21 September a gaggle of Cinsault enthusiasts convened in north London for a fascinating tasting. Dubbed Cin City, the showdown

Some great wines at great prices. Overlook at your peril! Wild man Donovan Rall, winner of this year's Platter Guide Editor's Winery of the Year, is pictured above. Jancis writes London wine merchant Justerini & Brooks have now assembled a nice stable of new-wave South African producers, which includes David & Nadia, whose latest releases were

For the first time in many years, the laws governing how wineries can sell and advertise their products in California have been modified, encouraging increased sustainability, more flexibility, and greater philanthropic efforts by the industry. Understanding the byzantine nature of wine laws in the United States involves thinking not in terms of

An update on organic Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from New Zealand. 98% of Marlborough vineyards are now picked by machines, such as the one pictured above courtesy of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, te Pā. A version of this article is published by the Financial Times. There’s something archetypal about Paris and Sancerre. I associate glasses of

Nick is disappointed by the London arm of an international group of restaurants specialising in Shanghai dumplings. Like so many others around the world, I have long been a fan of Din Tai Fung. I first ate at one of their now over 150 branches worldwide in Shanghai in 2015 and I was blown away. First of all, by the size and scope of all that

Michel Tardieu and son Bastien are seen between barrels above. Below are my notes on the first major set of 2020 Rhônes I've been lucky enough to taste. The vintage is looking very exciting, especially in the north, and I think James Lawther MW, who will be tasting for us in the Rhône at the end of this month, is in for quite something. The

A jewel from the Jura's most prominent wine producer. 2018 from €22, £23, 29.90 Swiss francs, $32.95, 716 Czech koruna, HK$313, AU$71, 541 Brazilian reais 2019 from €22.90, £27, CA$39.75, 30 Swiss francs, $36.99, 339.90 Norwegian kroner, 765 Czech koruna, AU$84 Find the 2018 Find the 2019 If you don't want to splash out on one of