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Poggiotondo Toscana Bianco 2009, Italy (£8.99 Liberty Wines, Noel Young, Reserve) One of those wines that creeps up on you, initially fresh and floral with a citrussy bite, but then the taut, pine-like edge of Vermentino comes through, along with an almost volcanic minerality. B+ Raimat Albariño Viña 24 2009, […]

Assorted whites from Italy, Spain and Georgia


The 2009 vintage in Beaujolais is being touted as the best in living memory. Hype? Well, this sextet from Georges Duboeuf, the region’s most famous producer, didn’t disappoint. It’s a little early for most of these to be in the shops, and that’s no bad thing, as they’re all wines […]

2009 Beaujolais from Georges Duboeuf


Was interviewed at the London International Wine Fair by Nathan Nolan of soon-to-launch drinkprice.com. The wine in this first video is Le Champ d’Orphée Braucol 2008, Tarn PGI, which won a trophy at the recent Top 100 IGP competition – see the full list of winners here. Delicious as the […]

Interview with Nathan Nolan of Drinkprice.com



At least I had some decent grog to ease the pain… The first four wines are pairs of the regular and non-dosage cuvées from two different Champagne producers – found myself preferring the unsweetened version on each occasion. Champagne Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut Nature NV (£43-£51 Selfridges, Harrods, Jeroboams, Harvey […]

Six Champagnes on a gloomy day for English football


Just had this press release through giving details of the elevation of the red wines of Rasteau to full AOC level. Previously the mainly Grenache-based reds had to settle for being one of the named villages in the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation. Top Rasteau producers include André Romero/Domaine la […]

Rasteau reds promoted to AOC status


It’s exactly a year since simonwoods.com went from being a passive ‘click here if you want to go to a half-hearted blog’ entity to being a fully-fledged website. What prompted the move? There wasn’t one single major event, just a series of disappointing episodes over the course of three or […]

Happy Anniversary – www.simonwoods.com one year on…