I have never hidden my view that the Barolo of Giacomo Conterno are at the very peak of production in Piemonte, whether it be Cascina Francia or the great Monfortino. The estate of Giacomo Conterno is synonymous with dramatically high quality. Across the various wines produced, whether from Nebbiolo (as in the Barolo) or the Barbera, the st...
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Given that many second wines are released once bottled, they receive little by way of a fan fare when they emerge onto the market. The concept is clear; a Château will select their finest fruit for their Grand Vin, assign fruit that does not make the cut to be used in production of the second wine and sell off a proportion beyond that...
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I will come clean and say that I am not talking about the Uruguayan centre-forward with a tendency to bite his opponents; rather, I am talking about a single-vineyard Argentinian Malbec from leading producer Trapiche which we tasted last week. Given the name, the number of puns and jokes I have heard in our office have been innumerable. ‘L...
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At Atlas we have been keen to focus on Australia, although to date you will have noted that we have been tentative with our purchasing, largely due to the fact that we favour precision over headiness and look for indivudality as well as freshness, poise and potential longevity in any prospective candidates. We know Australia has plenty to offer...
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Simon has always had an interest in New World Syrah/Cabernet blends and his hunch on one particular producer sent our buyer, Vicki, to source samples of L’Aventure from Paso Robles, California. This blend of grape varieties – which could be termed a 'sacrilege' against France’s Rhône and Bordeaux regions &ndas...
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When an opportunity arose to access the wines of Ca' del Bosco earlier this year, we did not need to be asked twice - particularly given the imminent release of their highly-acclaimed 2005 Riserva, 2009 Satèn and 2009 Millesimato, all of which stunned the team at a recent in-house tasting. Those of us who had not tasted the wines of this ...
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