Posted on Dec 19, 2011 by Magandeep Singh
There is something about the Yuletide spirit that makes me want to call in sick at my AAA and maybe even buy a gift for my parole officer. Maybe you can tell me why, but the inmates at this facility don’t seem to quite understand me.
Off all my vices, I list forgetfulness as highly problematic. It doesn’t help when conversation veers towards old vintages of Bordeaux wines and I find myself
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Dec 19, 2011 by Steven Spurrier
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Nov 16, 2011 by Magandeep Singh
Recently a lot of tripe has been published about sommeliers and their irrepressible habit to upsell wine just so to maximise profits. This question has been asked of me very often recently, so I think it is time someone addressed it. Not just to justify the stance or the situation of this metier in India but also to try and wipe out the ignorance that persists on the subject.
Sommellerie is an
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Nov 16, 2011 by Steven Spurrier
In early October I turned 70, and this milestone birthday was the subject of three celebrations, one in Singapore, and two at our home in Dorset. They could not have been better and provided great compensation for being born in such a rotten year.
The first celebration was organised prebirthday by Australian Michael Hill-Smith, MW in late September in Singapore at the time of our and Hong
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (1) >>
Posted on Sep 12, 2011 by Magandeep Singh
There is a certain pleasure to be derived from being the first to taste it. A certain sense of privilege and premium attached to the notion of having experienced what others haven’t been able to reach yet. This is exactly the kind of high that lies in store for anybody at the Bordeaux en primeur tastings.
Imagine, the one wine region which is more spoken about than any other region singularly. Now
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Aug 28, 2011 by Steven Spurrier
Having had the quote “the best vintage of my lifetime” splashed across the cover of last June’s Decanter Magazine, I agree with this title from Bill Blatch’s highly regarded Vintage Report and I am happy that most of the chateaux owners are of the same opinion. While none of them committed themselves in the weeks preceding the early April tastings to saying which they preferred, during the week
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Aug 24, 2011 by Staff
The 2010 vintage is a problem. It is brilliant – radically different to the superb 2009, but just as brilliant.
As a merchant to have so fine a vintage come directly off the back of a year like 2009, billed as the finest in a century, is a problem – ‘an embarrassingly good vintage’ to quote Bordeaux expert Bill Blatch.
But the 2010 vintage is not only brilliant, it is also fascinating, diverse,
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Nov 23, 2010 by Steven Spurrier
This October, I headed up a wine tour under the title
Master Class in Southern Burgundy.
First stop was L’Hameau du Vin in Villefranche-sur-Saone, Georges Duboeuf’s magnificent creation that can rival any wine museum in the world, with its stunning collection of artifacts and the dedication to explaining this historic and under-valued region.
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Nov 22, 2010 by Staff
By Myles Mayall
The décor in the country home of the Bouard de Laforest family is a genteel 1930’s blend of bright, angular art deco period paintings, white stone Victorian fireplaces, and colourful shagpile rugs. Modern necessities, like cordless house-phones are tucked discreetly away behind miniature spaniel-shaped statues, and everything is brightly illuminated by sunlight streaming through massive, 19th Century bay windows. It’s a breezily elegant place, perfectly reflecting its patrician owners.
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Posted on Nov 16, 2010 by Magandeep Singh
They say kids take on the traits of their parents. Apart from the resembling nose, eye or jawline, they also seem to get infused with their habits, their mannerisms and general way of life. Wines aren’t too different in that sense. They are very representative of the grape that they come from (lineage) and reflect a strong sense of the place where they are grown (background). Further, they can be interpreted in a hundred different ways and are complex (like women!).
..Read More >>
Posted in: Untagged | Comment (0) >>
Blog
