France


Domaine du Tariquet Les Premières Grives Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne 2008, South West France (£9.40 slurp.co.uk) Off-dry, fresh and zippy white, packed with fruit – peach, pear, apple – with a herby edge and a clean fresh finish. Lovely summer day wine, good with fruit salad. B+ […]

Five sweet wines – France, Chile, Spain, Australia


Christophe Cordier Viré-Clessé Clos du Château 2008, Burgundy, France (£13.51 Domaine Direct) Very forward and ripe for young Burgundy, with richness of fruit and toasty oak to the fore. But there’s also acidity, along with citrus, pear and apple flavours, and the oak’s not OTT. Good intro to Burgundy. B+ […]

Big Wine, Little Wine – different wines from the same ...


Blason de Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune 2007, Burgundy, France (£9.99 Sainsburys) There’s some light cherry and raspberry fruit here, but it’s swamped by a weird dusty/stale chocolate edge. Hope this is a bad bottle… 0 Louis Latour Givry 2007, Burgundy, France (~£12.99 Ann et Vin, T Wright, Forth Wines, Hailsham […]

Pinot Noir – the world’s greatest grape, or just its ...



Domaine du Tariquet Sauvignon Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne 2008, South West France (~£5-6) Clean, fresh, herbaceous wine, touches of tomato and gooseberry, starts of refreshing but the finish is slightly lifeless. B- Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Central Valley, Chile (£6.99 Sainsbury’s, Asda – both are […]

Four Sauvignons – but not all Blanc



The Berry Bros & Rudd 2008 en primeur tasting last week in London threw up as many questions as it answered. For example… 1) Why were the 2008s better than the 2007s at some estates whereas at nearby properties the opposite was true? 2) Why were the 2008s more expensive […]

Bordeaux gets sensible