Images of Vaison-la-Romaine and Puyméras
September 21, 2019
Images of Vaison-la-Romaine The town of Vaison-la-Romaine. The old town - off to taste some wine. Vincent Rochette of Domaine Roche-Audran. Looking east towards the town of Vaison-la-Romaine from the appellation's most westerly commune, St-Roman-de-Malegarde. This is effectively the north-facing slope behind Cairanne. Villedieu, one of the five communes that make…
Images of Gigondas
September 6, 2019
Domaine du Cayron 2011, 1991 and 1971 - the year it was awarded its own appellation The Faraud sisters of Domaine du Cayron; Delphine, Rosaline and Cendrine Gigondas village, surely one of the most picturesque in France Louis Barruol of Chateau de Saint Cosme in the new Grenache conservatory The new winery at Domaine Santa Duc Yves Gras of Domaine…
Shortlisted for a Roederer!
August 1, 2019
I heard this week that I've been shortlisted for an award - Online Communicator of the Year for the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards. I was asked to submit a couple of articles from work that I published last year, so I chose The kingdom of the blind and Undeniable class - the panel must have enjoyed them. Since the awards are international in scope there is a lot of…
Images of Laudun and Chusclan
July 5, 2019
Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Laudun The village of Laudun, from the valley floor Sandy soils of Laudun, and drip irrigation - an increasingly common site in the Southern Rhône Joséphine Arnaud of Château Courac in one of their vineyards Roman artefacts that have been dug up in the vineyards of Château Courac - a coin minted in Sicily Côtes-du-Rhône…
Images of Cairanne
June 28, 2019
Denis Alary of Domaine Alary with a map used during Cairanne's promotion to Cru One of Domaine Alary's galet-strewn vineyards on the Montagne Romain Roche, Domaine Roche Alluvial soils of the Garrigue It does rain here occasionally... Bruno Boisson, Domaine Boisson Lighter gravelly clay soils of the Terrasses de l'Aigues Loïc…
Images of Sablet and Plan de Dieu
June 21, 2019
Images of Sablet The village of Sablet The sandy soils of lieu-dit La Piaugier near the village Thibaut Chamfort, Domaine La Verquière Cheval Long towards Séguret Les Briguières towards Gigondas Images of Plan de Dieu Endless vines, looking towards Mont Ventoux (centre) and the Dentelles de Montmirail (right) Ancient river…
The Rules of BYO
June 14, 2019
Many of us have a few ‘special’ bottles in our collections but finding the time to drink them can prove surprisingly tricky. We don’t all have the skills or the space to cook a meal for friends at home, so one solution is to open treasured bottles in a decent restaurant. But with different policies, corkage charges – and with some restaurants refusing outright – what’s the best way to proceed?…
Images of Valréas and Visan
June 7, 2019
Images of Valréas Looking north to the town of Valréas Caroline Bonnefoy in full mistral! Atop the Massif de la Côte, looking south Jacques Coipel, Mas de Sainte Croix L-R: Paul-Henri Bouchard, Domaine des Grands Devers; Emmanuel Bouchard, Domaine du Val des Rois; Aurélie Lardet, Maison Lavau; Julien Coipel, Mas de Sainte Croix; Stéphane Vedeau, Clos…
Images of Tavel
May 24, 2019
AOC Tavel - 100% rosé. Limestone soils to the west of the village known as Lauzes Raphaël de Bez, Château d’Aquéria, joined his father and uncle at the estate last year Christian and Nadia Charmasson of Balazu des Vaussières, whose natural Liracs and Tavel are now in Vin de France Les Vignerons de Tavel, cave co-operative
Beaumes de Venise: the hidden red of the Southern Rhône
May 17, 2019
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – and her sister, Pippa. Andy Murray – and his brother, Jamie. Beyoncé Knowles – and her sister, Solange. Having a more famous brother or sister can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it brings the benefits and opportunities of a star-studded surname. On the other, cynics may doubt the depth of your talents and it’s hard to escape the shadow of your sibling. So…