jamie goode's wine blog

Must drink more Alsace: Trimbach Riesling

2009-07-05T21:43:00.002Z

A coincidence. This afternoon, before driving down to Devon to drop older son off at school, I put a bottle of Alsace wine in the fridge. Then, on the way back home, I heard Jancis talking on BBC Radio 4's Last word about the late Jean Hugel. A sign: I must explore Alsace wines further, because they are brilliant, even if I keep forgetting about...

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What have you done to my dog? And a good Valpol

2009-07-04T13:17:00.004Z

Rosie went to the dog groomers yesterday. 2 hours and �36 later she came out. But with some bizarre 80s haircut. She now looks really stupid. Maybe we will get used to it. Above is a before and after shot. Very nice Valpolicella this lunch time - chilled lightly, it's a delicate, beguiling red. Shame it's not a few quid cheaper, which would bring...

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Biodynamic-ish Sangiovese from California

2009-07-03T23:17:00.003Z

A conundrum of a wine. It's from Randall Grahm's Bonny Doon operation. It's mainly from a vineyard farmed biodynamically in San Benito County, yet it contains an ingredients list that most emphatically is not an indicator of typically natural wine making. Yet you have to respect the honesty and integrity that led to that list appearing on the...

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The future of wine publishing: the Gault Millau war

2009-07-02T23:44:00.004Z

Interesting situation developing in Germany. It seems that one of the most influential German wine guides, Gault Millau, has asked producers for a voluntary fee of 195 euros (see here). I suppose, should the guide be in real trouble, then you can understand the pass the plate approach. However, the response of an elite group of producers (see...

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2009-07-02T17:08:00.003Z

Here's my Pinot Noir, as it looks today. The berries are starting to form, and you can still see the remains of the flowers. It's a bit less advanced than the same variety in Burgundy, but not too far off. [One Alentejo winegrower twittered today that their vines were going through veraison already!] Last night was good fun. I met with the fellow...

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Burgundy (3): Clos du Tart

2009-07-02T15:21:00.003Z

My final day in Burgundy was a brief one: just time for one appointment before heading back to Dijon for the train. But what an appointment! It was at Burgundy's largest Grand Cru Monopole, Clos du Tart. I'd recently tried a whole bunch of the wines in London, so it was fantastic to be able to visit this famous estate. I was shown round by...

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In Burgundy (2)

2009-06-30T20:22:00.002Z

Incredible day's tasting and visiting today. We began in Meursault, with Jean-Philippe Fichet - really impressive wines, tasting back to 1992. Now I remember why I love white Burgundy. Below is a view over Meursault Tesson towards the village. Staying in Meursault, we visited Domaine Pierre Morey, where we were hosted by his daughter, Anne Morey...

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In Burgundy (1)

2009-06-29T22:30:00.004Z

Took the Eurostar to Paris, then headed to Dijon, and now I'm in Beaune. There's something thrilling about Burgundy. Just one visit today - Joseph Drouhin. We met with Jean-Francois Curie and Philippe Drouhin and tasted through a large range of wines, including a wonderful 2007 Clos des Mouches Blanc and the excellent 2007 Montrachet. Then it...

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Off to Burgundy

2009-06-28T22:44:00.002Z

Excited to be off to Burgundy for a short trip tomorrow morning. Some nice visits planned: Drouhin, Fichet, Coche Dury, Cathiard, Louis Latour and Clos de Tart. And the weather forecast is fantastic.

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Wimbledon and dressing up

2009-06-27T22:31:00.002Z

A quick blog post before I retire to bed, tired from a busy day. Fiona and I were off to Wimbledon, courtesy of Beaujolais. It's the first time I've been, and it was exciting - since my childhood, it has been the one tennis tournament that we've watched avidly every June/July. It's wonderful that in this modern world there's still a major tennis...

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Seriously fun day's cricket with the wine trade team

2009-06-26T21:39:00.002Z

No work today at all. Spent the day playing cricket for the wine trade XI versus the Hampshire Hogs down in Warnford. It was a great day. We batted first under gray skies with high humidity, and were quickly reduced to 10-2 as their quick bowlers moved it around a bit. But then a mega-partnership between Charles Taverner and Mike Henley, who both...

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Two Gimblett Gravel reds

2009-06-25T21:50:00.003Z

Tonight's drinking: two red wines, both from the same remarkable patch of land. That'll be New Zealand's Hawkes Bay region, and more specifically the Gimblett Gravels - a relatively recently discovered terroir that makes lovely red wines, both from Syrah and also Bordeaux varieties. These wines aren't the very best that the Gimblett has to offer...

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Grange versus Bin 389, a masterclass

2009-06-24T22:16:00.002Z

Very interesting tasting this afternoon. It was held at Australia House (where they have the annoying rule that if the invitation says 3.30 pm, you aren't even allowed in the building until 3.30 pm), and it involved a vertical of two Penfolds wines: the iconic Grange, and its sibling the Bin 389. There was a good turnout, including cricketing...

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Three great value, easy to find wines

2009-06-23T21:27:00.003Z

Back in March, I published my Top Ten Supermarket Wines list (here). I'm currently tasting three excellent wines that should be added to this list. As a wine journalist I'm always delighted to find wines that I can recommend to people that they can actually find and buy without too much trouble. Asda Extra Special Shiraz 2008 Vin de Pays d�Oc,...

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Riesling is hard to get, I reckon

2009-06-22T21:16:00.004Z

I'm drinking Riesling tonight, sitting outside just after the light has finally faded and the temperature has dipped into the late teens. It has taken me a long time to 'get' Riesling, to the point where I actually really enjoy it, rather than just appreciate it. I've joked here before that Riesling is the one variety that, once you are in the...

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Napa Cab on a summer's eve

2009-06-21T22:00:00.002Z

Where can you find world-class Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines outside Bordeaux? Australia does a good job in Margaret River and Coonawarra (and I'd add Clare Valley, too), but perhaps the leading contender is California's Napa Valley, where the leading wines compete in price with the very best from Bordeaux. Tonight's wine, on a glorious summer's...

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My vines are flowering!

2009-06-21T16:27:00.002Z

For the last few days my back-garden vines (Bacchus, Phoenix and Pinot Noir) have been flowering. We've had brilliantly settled warm weather, too, which is so important during this process, and which means that fruit set will probably be quite good. The pictures show what grape vine flowers look like. They're small and not terribly pretty. You...

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Two mad dogs from the Barossa

2009-06-20T19:18:00.003Z

Fellow blogger and Barossa grape grower Matthew Munzberg recently sent me two vintages of his own wine to try. It's a Shiraz called 'Mad Dog', and is brilliantly packaged. I like the wines a lot: typical Barossa style, with lots of character. Matthew makes 400 cases from the best of his 35 hectares of vineyards in the heart of the Barossa, and the...

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Lunch in Kingston: Jamie's Italian

2009-06-19T16:03:00.002Z

Fiona and I headed off to Kingston for lunch today. We checked out Jamie's Italian (www.jamieoliver.com/italian), one of the restaurants in the neighbourhood Italian chain that Jamie Oliver is in the process of building. I was expecting to be mildly disappointed, but came away enthused by the quality of the food. It was really delicious: well...

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Taste of London

2009-06-18T22:27:00.002Z

Had a reasonably busy day today. I began by meeting with Aussie wine scientist Richard Gibson, who runs a wine consultancy called Scorpex (http://www.scorpex.net/). We discussed closures, and oxygen and wine. Then it was off to Taste of London (www.tastefestivals.com/london) to present a couple of masterclasses on behalf of Codorniu. I did the...

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A nice walk followed by Semillon

2009-06-17T21:49:00.002Z

We took advantage of our child-free status to walk in the countryside. The walk? One of the Guardian's series on British walks, this one in the Oxfordshire countryside focusing on the white horse of Uffington - here. It was really enjoyable, and the directions were clear and unambiguous. We completed the 10 mile route in 3.5 hours, and for most of...

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Victoria Moore on Terroirs

2009-06-17T19:13:00.002Z

There's a wonderful piece by Victoria Moore on Terroirs, the natural wine bar that's shaking the London dining scene, on the Caves de Pyrene website. This originally appeared in the ES Magazine, but it deserves a wider readership, which is why I'm plugging it here.

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Portuguese wines reviewed in WOFW 24

2009-06-17T08:49:00.005Z

The World of Fine Wine issue 24 arrived on my doormat today. It's an expensive publication (�30/$60/E50 for a single issue), but it's unbelievably rich in content (disclaimer: I write for it). I love the way the tastings are run, with three expert tasters chosen for each, and the comments of each plus their scores reproduced in full. This issue,...

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A lovely day in the country, followed by GruVee

2009-06-16T18:17:00.003Z

It has been one of those summer days that England is so good at. Temperatures in the low 20s, just a few high clouds, and a gentle breeze. Warm but not hot. Easy. We went for a walk to Holmbury Hill in the Surrey Hills, which is a really beautiful spot. You can wander through Hurtwood for miles, and dip down to Holmbury St Mary for a pint of beer....

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Lunchtime fizz: Philipponnat non dose

2009-06-15T22:04:00.002Z

Fiona and I have a few days without children. This is almost an impossible luxury, and we were planning to go away for a few days somewhere exotic. But RTL is in season, and there's nowhere we can leave her, so we're staying put. The only solution is to drink wine, good wine, and in quantity. We made a good stab at it this lunchtime, beginning...

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