Wednesday Wines

Wednesday Wines – Episode 150 – Three extraordinary Aussie wines

I recently returned from a whirlwind five-day trip Down Under, where I tasted a couple of important preview portfolios, conducted my annual The Great Australian Red competition with Tyson Stelzer, and attended a magnificent 60-year celebration of Henschke’s Hill of Grace.  I will elaborate on these extraordinary events in due course, but today I…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 149 – A preview of 2005 Billecart-Salmon, Le Clos Saint-Hilaire

2005 Billecart-Salmon, Le Clos Saint-Hilaire, Champagne, France (the 2006 vintage is £450 at www.thewhiskyexchange.com   This is a preview note as this wine is not yet released for sale, but Goedhuis & Co. (www.goedhuis.com), Berry Bros & Rudd (www.bbr.com), Hedonism (www.hedonism.co.uk) and Whisky Exchange (above) have all taken…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 148 – A preview of 2019 Quinta da Leda, Casa Ferreirinha, Douro, Portugal

Some 51 episodes ago, in Wednesday Wines, I wrote a fairly comprehensive overview of the top-flight wines from Casa Ferreirinha.  You can click here to read this article.   The other day, the brand new vintage of Quinta da Leda was dropped off for me to look at, and I must say that it completely captivated my senses. Made from a blend…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 147 – A preview of 2018 The Eye of Rã by Ben Glaetzer

2018 The Eye of Rã by Ben Glaetzer, Unfiltered Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia - The UK price for the 2016 vintage of The Eye of Rã is £1000 for 3 bottles in bond.   The 2018 is soon to be released. I was privileged to be the first person in the UK to taste the 2016 vintage of The Eye of Rã and a preview of the 2018 vintage of Ben…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 146 – A Preview of 2020 Ornellaia

2020 Ornellaia, Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC, Tuscany, Italy Released for sale on 1st April 2023 I was honoured to be invited to join the world online launch of 2020 Ornellaia yesterday. This was the first time that the 2020 vintage was tasted, and it was also the moment when the art collaboration for this vintage was announced. First, here is some…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 145 – Three Sensational Italian Whites

2023 has kicked off in style, and the big showcase wine importer tastings have so far received record attendees.  Yesterday’s Hallgarten & Novum Wines event showed no fewer than 765 wines, and a good number will find their way into my columns over the next few months. I have three of the finest Italian white wines to kick off this collection.…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 144 – 2021s from Edouard Delaunay

As a post scriptum to my Members-only 2021 Burgundy En Primeur notes, which you can read on this website under the Taste banner, the kind folks at Edouard Delaunay sent me a collection of their wines, and here are my favourites, including one coveted QP wine. The pricing stated is a guesstimate from France, including duty and VAT – in effect,…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 143 – 2020s from the Dourthe Portfolio

After tasting a large number of very youthful wines of late, it was nice to jump into a flight of juicy 2020s from the Dourthe portfolio, augmented by a couple of impressively structured 2015s. 2020 Château Belgrave, 5ème Cru Classé, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France (£28.33, www.millesima.co.uk).   Belgrave has always been one of the trade…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 142 – First Taste of 2022 Whispering Angel Rosé

2022 Whispering Angel Rosé, Caves d’Esclans, Sacha Lichine, Côtes de Provence, France  (approx. £20.00, on sale from February)   There are precious few annual wine ‘moments’ left in our beautiful business.  Beaujolais Nouveau day is an actual annual event with its very own date.  The third Thursday of November has always been…
Read more

The most delicious #DRYJAN imaginable with Jukes

The Finest Alcohol-Free Drinks on Earth! All Jukes drinks are available at www.jukescordialities.com and you can find a large collection of retailers here  In addition, there are a number of merchants who sell Jukes retail and online listed below Fortnum & Mason - Jukes 1 The White Classic box of 9 x 3cl bottles £35.00 https://www.fortnumandmason.com/jukes-cordialities-number-1-gift-pack Selfridges …
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 140 – Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection 2020

The wonderful folks at the Gimblett Gravels Wine Growing District in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand sent me their 13th release of wines, this time focussed on the 2020 vintage. Andrew Caillard MW selected 7 Blended reds and 5 Syrahs from this highly rated vintage, and I have further drilled down to the finest four wines below.       2020 Church…
Read more

Wednesday Wines – Episode 139 – New Zealand New Releases

  The 2022 New Zealand New Release Tasting took place a couple of weeks ago, and 99 wines were on show. Some were indeed new and others not so, as you will see below, but it was a fascinating tasting, and I found 18 tremendous wines. These wines mentioned below gained scores of 18/20 and higher in my notes. I have noted the recommended retail…
Read more