My wine travels have taken me to Provence, and more specifically to Bandol. This is quite a small appellation on the Mediterranean coast, and lies between Marseille and Toulon. This wine is a blend of 95% Mourvèdre and 5% Grenache. The nose is brooding and backward: earth, dried herbs, some ...

I know nothing about Barletta, or the eponymous brothers, and their past is safe for the moment as Google doesn’t seem to know much about them either. I do vaguely recall enjoying a GSM blend of theirs a few years ago. Some browning. The nose shows black caramel, almost treacle, ...

This is another cru Beaujolais. Light cherries and plums, a bit of cinnamon and cloves, maybe bubblegum – is that possible? Lots of nuances and interest - I am kind of surprised.; it’s like walking along an unfamiliar mountain trail and turning a corner to be greeted with the most ...

This wine is really blossoming in the glass and I would love to see it over a longer period of time but I have to get cracking. It has had 1.5 hours in the glass to come up - but some wines really need plenty of time. Aromas of crushed ...

... it along to dinner the other night. He is a Gamayist, and I knew nothing about it at all, except what I...

... earth and spicy flavours. Not expansive on the palate - it runs along a narrower track than other...

Another wine from Olssens in the Clare Valley. I am slowly working my way through the range. This one is a Primitivo, and it is probably the only such example produced from the Clare. No doubt I am wrong, as I am about many things. It was aged for 12 ...

... not be as well known as Cab and Merlot, but Spanish reds are gaining in popularity. In order ... reds has been building due to the efforts of modern importers Jorge Ordoñez and Eric Solomon.  For years they have individually specialized in bringing new fruit-forward high-alcohol Spanish reds...

Located in northwest Italy, east of Monaco and in from the sea, Piedmont is known for Barolo and Barbaresco, but this under-$15 perfumed red also hails from the region.  It comes in the heaviest 750ml wine bottle you've ever lifted, while inside is a trendy Italian-style red with lots of ...

The second vintage of Pillar Box Red tastes like another hit.  Like the first vintage (2004), there is a plethora of fruit, but the 2005 seems to be a bit more "built". Pillar Box Red is a collaboration between Henry's Drive winery of Padthaway, importer Dan Philips of Grateful Palate ...