A new view of Champagne regions?
Is this a new view of Champagne sub-regions?
Exton Park
Exton Park vineyards are just half an hour east of Winchester in the Meon Valley, on the opposite side of Old Winchester Hill to Meonhill Vineyard (now owned by Hambledon Vineyard).
Tore delle Signore, Verduzzo Friulano, 1992
Tasted this delicious dessert wine the other day. Remarkably fresh and flavoursome for a 23-year old white wine. The full name is a bit of a handful though.
Sherry
Julian Jeffs wrote the first edition of this book in 1961. No-one is better placed to comment on the huge changes in the sherry industry over that time.
Guigal Ex Voto, Hermitage.
Guigal is one of the iconic names of the Rhône valley in France. Hermitage is a tiny appellation of just 136 hectares on the slopes of the hill of Hermitage. Thirty producers work this land, and Guigal own two hectares of them. Guigal makes Ex Voto only in the very best years.
New Zealand shows the specificity of sustainability
New Zealand may be ahead of the sustainability game with almost all producers signed up to some sort of sustainability accreditation system, whether the country’s own Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), or certified organics, biodynamics or ISO 14001, but the situation on the ground is far from a one-size-fits-all model. Anyone hoping for a single index that measures producers’ paths towards increasing sustainability is sadly disillusioned.
The Champagne Guide 2014-2015
Australian wine author Stelzer has updated his guide to Champagne
Crus Bourgeois – five years on – vintage 2012
The release of the 2012 vintage Cru Bourgeois list, in September 2014, marks the fifth anniversary of this award. It emerged in 2010 (with the 2008 vintage) from the debacle of a legally-biased attempt at classification in 2003. The alliance of crus bourgeois has since quietly gone about its business of rebuilding trust and confidence in the crus bourgeois brand, or ‘family’, as they’ve taken to calling themselves.
Sancerre lieux-dits
The wines were part of a tiny glimpse at the world of Sancerre’s lieux dits, from three of the more widely known single vineyard site names: Chêne Marchand at Bué, le Cul de Beaujeu and la Côte des Monts Damnés, both at Chavignol.
Native wine grapes of Italy
I think it’s quite simple: Italophiles will want this reference book on their shelves.
