Stonewines

Wine, beer and coffee

03/02/2025

Hmm, an interesting day to be tasting a range of Canadian wines. We're starting off with a dry Riesling and two Chardonnay wines from British Columbia. Excellent.

30/01/2025

Today looking at alternatives to Burgundy at the Australia & NZ trade event. More than a couple of outstanding wines, inc. Hunter's Marlborough and Kelly Washington, Central Otago both NZ wines.

22/01/2025

Second trade tasting this week and the second time a Beaujolais wine has been one of the outstanding wines on show. Interesting. Kewin Descombes on the outskirts of Morgon, nice find from graftwine

16/01/2025

First tasting of the year is Awin Barratt Siegel Wine Agencies en primeur Burgundy event. Richard Rottiers (l) and Julien Duport are Brouilly based winemakers mainly Gamay although Julienne has a Beaujolais villages white also. A real variation across their respective wines.

09/12/2024

Ok, that's a wrap! My last column this year for The Wine Merchant Magazine is a film review of Widow Clicquot.

The January diary is already filling up with a host of trade events to cover. Charles Taylor, Thorman Hunt and Bancroft get in early whilst Liberty, Jeroboams, Justerini & Brooks, Howard Ripley and Lay & Wheeler all host Burgundy en primeur tastings on the same day. Am looking forward to that one!

Over the next few days, will post highlights from the Autumn portfolio tastings that I didn't get round to covering at the time, whilst also taking it easy stuffing my face with mince pies and sampling the odd bottle too, which we'll call 'work'.

14/11/2024

More to NZ than Marlboro Sauvignon. This Riesling is low on residual sugar and packs crunchy fruit with enough acidity to cut through.

29/10/2024

A Cabernet Franc from the Lofi Winery, from Santa Barbara County, lighter than the Loire version. Less of the pencil shavings, more red fruit.

09/10/2024

Today we’re looking at Bordeaux wines from the Left Bank which are predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon based. People will pay large amounts of money for the ones pictured here and mostly couldn’t tell them apart from a bottle of Sainsbury’s Malbec bought for a fiver.

08/10/2024

Not often I attend a vertical tasting where we sample first the 2023 new releases then move back through the years. Same wine, 4 vintages. Pictured, Château Canon right bank St Emilion 1er Grand Cru. If I was gonna invest I’d go straight to the newest 2023, and wouldn’t bother aging. Drink it on release!

03/10/2024

Two varietals to get my head around this week are indigenous to Greece, the Assyrtiko and Malagousia. Once I’ve read my notes it’s entirely possible I’ll have something intelligent to say, or perhaps not.

24/09/2024

nestling in Baw Baw Shire between Bull Swamp and Tumblestone, Patrick makes the most of a cool location to make light fresh wines using Burgundy grapes although the super light Grenache / Syrah was my pick,

23/09/2024

Lebanese wine. And why not…

05/09/2024

Wine tasting season is back with WineGBs autumn event. Let’s kick the morning off with Chapel Down. The Kit’s Coty range is a step above the wines we’re used to seeing in the supermarkets. Great balance and flavour profiles.

26/07/2024

The actual size of an amphora. Kind of. Beckham Estate Vineyard wines are unfiltered and natural using terracotta vessels for neutrality in wine making.

28/06/2024

Peter McCombie hosted an afternoon at the Groucho exploring Pays d’Oc wines; couple of highlights here, an Albariño, usually associated with green Spain and a lesser known varietal Bourboulenc, both paired well with a light lunch and lend themselves to warm summer weather being lower ABV

12/06/2024

Excellent seafood & wine Ristorante O’Belau in Palau, Sardinia. Vermentino grape is dominant on the island and pairs so well with most dishes.

15/05/2024

Looking at how Cava pairs with food, asparagus, avocado, smoked salmon and cured meats.

The first is a Brut Zero, so no residual sugar, aged for 24 months and 90% Parellada grape, matched with asparagus.

The second is also zero sugar aged for 48 months so sits above the Reserva and Gran Reserva categories, Superior de Paraje Calificado. Easy for you to say! Paired with avocado and smoked salmon, savoury autolysis with a honeyed texture and stands up to the oily fish.

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