'You must come back and taste the 2009s', was the common refrain when I visited the Rhône Valley last month. I was there to taste the 2008s, which was a strange exercise as, the more I tasted...

These and other tasting notes supplement Rhône 2008 - the overview . We finish on a top note with tasting notes from some top producers. Note that a number of these wines are from older...

Halfway through my tasting of several hundred 2008 Châteauneufs, I realised there was something familiar about these juicy, attractive, but rather light fruity reds. Of course! They reminded me...

See Rhône 2008 coverage – a guide for a brief introduction and links to related articles, including the second tranche of tasting notes M–V and the final tranche of Chave, Clos des...

See Rhône 2008 coverage – a guide for a brief introduction and links to related articles, including the first tranche of tasting notes A–L and the final tranche of Chave, Clos des Papes,...

Three years ago Juliana Grigorieva, a diminutive 27-year-old Muscovite, had never tasted wine. Last year she won Russia's second-ever national sommelier competition. The first time it was held,...

Rain makes vignerons sad and truffle hunters happy so make what you will of my damp experiences filming here. I don't think I have been offered Alba's white truffles quite so profusely ever...

Over the weekend of Les Trois Glorieuses in November, when the world arrives in the Côte d'Or, there was much talking up of the 2002 vintage with the emphasis on ripeness levels - rescued...

We have already augmented the collection of about 600 tasting notes on Rhône 2009s since we published them with tasting notes on some of the wines currently on offer from Bibendum Wine in the...

In a move that is unlikely to make her many friends among other producers of Hermitage, Caroline Frey, Paul Jaboulet Aîné's winemaker and daughter of the owner, has decided not to produce a 2008...

Thierry Manoncourt of Ch Figeac in St-Émilion will be given the Légion d'Honneur at the château tomorrow. He will be made an Officier, which is apparently one up from a Chevalier. All of this...

Michel Chapoutier is a journalist's dream because he loves to perform via relatively outrageous pronouncements. He came to London recently to present the first showing of his Rhône...

Yesterday I went to a most enjoyable tasting of mainly cask samples from the new regime at Jaboulet organised by UK importers Liberty Wine at Theo Randall's restaurant in London's Intercontinental...

Philippe Guigal pictured here at Ch d'Ampuis, son of Marcel and general manager and winemaker for Guigal, gives a realistic account of  the 2008 vintage in the northern Rhône. After weather...

Along with its neighbour Dão, Bairrada is one of Portugal's most classic red table wine regions. Douro has been catching up fast and Alentejo is a hotbed of experimentation (hardly classic)...