Here follow my tasting notes from last week’s Le Caveau tasting of a selection of ‘natural’ wines, the weakest part of which was the use of the term ‘natural’. Someone is going to have to come up with a better descriptor than this. ‘Real’ isn’t great but I think it is better than ‘natural’, with all its touchy, feely baggage. But it is the wine in the bottle that counts most and these were gloriously characterful expressions of the winemaker’s art, about as far removed as they could be from the endless parade of Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Grigios and their ilk that the world is swamped with at present. If they had one thing in common it was a fresh texture allied to a commendable lack of ‘weight’ or density of flavour and, in the case of the reds, a generally lighter colour than the inky purple-black that seems to be all the rage these days. Read More...

Tags: Natural Wine, Le Caveau

My faith in wine has been restored. For weeks now, since the start of the tasting ‘season’ in September I have attended tasting after tasting, approaching them with dread and leaving them with boredom. Why do so many wines have to be so safe, so bland, so boring and so technically ‘perfect’ that they hardly warrant a single-word tasting note? There are some that could have their note written in advance and would need no more than a five per cent adjustment after tasting. I wrote of one recently: “Featureless wine, no character.” Is this what wine has come to? Read More...

Tags: Natural Wine, Le Caveau

I recently attended a ‘Family of Five’ press tasting hosted by Tesco in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin, showcasing wines from five producers across the globe. The members of the quintet are all well known: Taittinger, Louis Jadot, CUNE, Errazuriz & Villa Maria. Most of the wines were pleasant enough but this is not intended as a report on the tasting, replete with tasting notes and so forth. Rather, it is intended to highlight a pricing anomaly that defies comprehension. Read More...

Tags: Taittinger

With regard to high alcohol wines the ‘big but balanced’ argument is one that I have never bought. So what if it is balanced? That only makes things worse, for there is no hot prickle of alcohol on the finish to warn you that this one’s a monster – you will have to wait until the following morning to discover that. Masses of fruit, masses of tannin, masses of alcohol, masses of oak, masses of mass. Sure, it is balanced, but only in the sense that an Olympic super-heavyweight weightlifter is balanced. What about a bit of elegance? Read More...

Tags: Argentina, Alcohol

“We will be interested to hear what changes you notice.” I arrived back in Buenos Aires for the first time since 1999 just two days ago and I have already lost count of the number of people who have said that to me. The first and most obvious change is the dining scene. My memory of 12 years ago is of an avalanche of doorstop steaks and little else. Today, an avalanche of new restaurants sees steak still on the menu but it has been joined now by a host of other delectable dishes. Read More...

Tags: Buenos Aires, Wine