I'm not usually a Petrus tart: in the past my experiences with this wine have left me a bit nonplussed. But this 1978 is the real deal. Thrilling stuff.
Château Petrus 1978 Pomerol
Pale colour. Elegant, open, evolved nose is really beautiful, with minerals, sweet' [...]
I had lunch today at the wine bar in the Whole Foods Market store on High Street Kensington, with their wine buyer Pete Hogarth and PR person Alex Tunney, who'd invited me to come and see what they are up to.Château Lafite 1982 Pauillac, Bordeaux
Considering that we have here a combination of perhaps Bordeaux's top property and a truly great vintage, you'd expect great things of this wine. To be honest, it is a bit disappointing, although it's certainly a good drink. The nose is warm and spicy with' [...]
Screaming Eagle 1996 Napa Valley, California
This is not a big, spoofy wine. It's actually amazingly elegant and refined. Beautiful nose is aromatic and floral with spicy sweet cherry and plum fruit. Integrated, harmonious and profound. The palate is really elegant and smooth with open, midweight [...]
Podere Le Boncie Chianti Classico Le Trame 06 Tuscany, Italy
Ogier La Belle Helène Côte-Rôtie 1999 Northern Rhône, France
Just two barrels of this wine made. Aromatic, rich, warm spicy nose is complex and profound with lovely rich red fruit, cherry, spice and subtle earthy notes. It's powerful and intense, yet harmonious. The concentrated palate has [...]
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 1990 Northern Rhône, France
Warm, complex, earthy spicy nose with some lovely richness. There are hints of medicine, old wood and game, and there's a distinct sweetness to the aromas. The palate has [...]
One of the short films from my recent South Africa trip: the beautiful TMV, a biodynamically run estate in Tulbagh.
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 1978 Northern Rhône, France
This 1978 is a legendary northern Rhône wine, and so tasting it knowing what it was made being objective quite hard. But fortunately the wine did not disappoint. A relatively pale colour, it has a complex [...]
Had an incredible chance to taste some iconic wines this morning courtesy of north London wine merchant The Sampler. There's always a good range of interesting wines to taste here, courtesy of their multiple enomatic machines, but in the run up to Christmas they've put' [...]
[Continuing my brief write-ups from Napa.] I had lunch and a tasting with Barry Wiss, a charming host who had a pile of my wine science books for signing. Education is a big emphasis at Trinchero, and here they have a particular focus on wine and [...] [thinking out loud]
I love the way that internet has opened up the media.
Now, all can play.
Before, considerable power resided in the hands of a range of gatekeepers. Editors were sure of what their readers or viewers wanted, and, with an eye to the demands of their advertisers, delivered [...]
I've decided that I love Nebbiolo. It's so uncommercial, making wines that are pale in colour, brutally tannic, high in acid, complex in flavour, and generally hard to get.
Far too much serious wine talk of late. Haven't mentioned Rosie The Labradoodle (RTL) for ages. 
Over recent years I've focused a lot on Portugal, but not so much on Spain. It's something I may change: I'm tasting quite a lot of interesting Spanish wines of late, but in the past I had problems with the Spanish tendency to use too much [...] 
Just come back from a quick trip from Bordeaux with fellow wine journo Tim Atkin. We were visiting Dourthe, one of the larger negociants who own several properties spread across the region.
Last year I really enjoyed visiting Oregon for the first time, and developed a liking for Oregon Pinot Noir. Here's a really good one that I cracked open last night, and am finishing off tonight.
Really enjoying this world-class dry Riesling from Luxembourg. It's just perfectly balanced.
Americans like to eat dinner early. When I arrived at Bottega for dinner with Steve Lagier and Carole Meredith, some people we already finishing their main courses, and it was just 6.30 pm.
Just about to catch the BART to the airport on my way home from San Francisco. It has been a really fun trip. I spent this morning wandering around the city, and bought a bag, some bubblewrap, sticky tape and scissors. This was to pack three [...] 
Tonight was the last of my brief California trip. The focus today was on closures, and a large panel of technical people were gathered to discuss the structure of a forthcoming closures trial which will be sponsored by Oeneo. Actually, it's not a closures trial, but [...] 
For my next visit I was off to Carneros, the cooler-climate bit of Napa at the south of the valley, where the influence of breezes from the San Francisco bay are more keenly felt. This is where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay thrive, and Saintsbury was my [...] 
Schramsberg is my second visit. On a spellbindingly crisp, sunny morning I meet with Keith Hock, the winemaker here. Schramsberg reeks of history. When Jack and Jamie Davies brought the property in 1965 it was pretty much abandoned, and they decided to make wine here again. [...] 
I arrived at San Francisco airport on a gorgeous late autumn day, just after 2 pm. After clearing homeland security and picking up a hire car, it was already 3.15 pm – travelling with just hand luggage, something I was very proud of, hadn't really saved' [...] 
The biggest threat to the wine trade in the UK isn’t supermarket 3-for-£10 offers.
It’s neoprohibitionism. I think the moral panic surrounding alcohol is a huge threat to the drinks industry, because I can’t see it stopping.
The targeting of middle-aged drinkers enjoying a bottle of wine over dinner is [...]
I followed the recent Wine Future conference via a combination of Twitter and the live feed on the Catavino blog. I’m so glad I didn’t go. By all accounts, several of the speakers misjudged the event and simply used their slot as a promotional vehicle for their own ventures. [...]
Spent today in Leeds. It’s actually the first time I’ve been to this city, although aside from three nice pubs, I didn’t see all that much of it.
I was one of the four judges of the annual beer writers’ awards. In case you are wondering, [...]
So you've got your head round the new Chilean cool-climate regions: Leyda, San Antonio, Elqui, Limari. Here's another for you - coastal Colchagua. And this Sauvignon Blanc is the first wine to be released from this new region, in vineyards recently planted at Paredones, just six [...] 
On my last visit to New Zealand, one of the many highlights was visiting Daniel Schuster in Waipara. He wasn't there, but the vineyard was spellbindingly beautiful, and the wines elegantly European in style.
