Four solid Kiwi wines from UK retailer Marks & Spencer tonight. Three are from Pernod Ricard (Montana), and the Pinot is from Wither Hills.

Bluff Hill Brut NV, New Zealand (M&S £8.99)
From Pernod Ricard. Rich, toasty and quite complex with a lovely savoury character, backed up by good aci…

Tasting notes:Blackberry, raspberry, herbs, and pepper on the noseFull-bodied and herbal on the palateRed berries and pepper on the finishThis could be a nice introduction to Spanish wine for some folks. It’s well balanced with fruit and herbal layers. At $15 or so, you’ll be rewarded with a well-…

In response to demand, I’ve taken the 50 Great Portuguese Wines brochure and converted it from a v. large file to a smaller word document. You can access it here. Some of the formatting is lost, but the subject matter is all there, including contact details of both producers and UK importers.

[[ th…

RTL’s puppies are now seven weeks old. The first pup has already gone to its new home, a little early, another is due out tomorrow, and soon after the rest follow the weekend after. It will be sad to see them go, but at least we know they are going to lovely homes and will bring great joy (and a lot…

Lots of tasting today. I began at Corney & Barrow for the new release 2006 DRC tasting. It’s such a treat to be able to taste these wines each year. They’re absolute benchmarks of Burgundy at its very finest.
I had a chat with Aubert de Villaine, who is a total star: he’s polite, thoughtful an…

So yesterday was the 50 Great Portuguese wines tasting - the 2009 installment where I got to choose 50 of my favourite Portuguese wines to show to the press and trade at large, hosted at the Ambassador’s residence.

I was a bit nervous. While, of course, the wines speak for themselves, the selection…

Sweet ripe black berries with parsley, vegetal middle.Palate–fleeting initial cinnamon or mint, with chewy tannins with big juicy plump berries galore. that is a phenomenal wine for $6.88 at Sam’s Club and is absolutely delicious and varietal. Buy that sucker and raise a glass to awesome values o…

This Spanish sparkler has something going for it. that straw colored wine is comprised of the Macabeo 50%, Parellada 35% and Xarello 15% grapes yielding nutty cream aromas.Palate–Really packed, pin point bubbles that give your mouth a clean zing! Flavors are light with subtle notes of citrus, dry…

I’m currently writing up my Argentina trip from last year (why has it taken me so faraway? Must try to reduce lead times…) and so I thought it would be nice to open a couple of Argentinean reds. The connection within the two is that they are NOT made from Malbec. Now Malbec is a great variety, but…

Not much to say, other than to note that today is, officially, a beautiful winter’s day here in that corner of west London: blue skies, warming sun and virtually no wind. The quality of the light is just lovely.

The picture above was taken as I walked the dog that daylight. I was thinking about the…