Wines of the Long White Cloud
POSTED ON 15/02/2014Confessing a general immunity to the hype normally generated by wine PR, I have to admit that New Zealand is the exception that proves the rule. At last month’s overview of the 2013 vintage, I found myself full of admiration for this relatively small wine country, whose vineyard area covers a mere quarter of that occupied by Bordeaux. Small , of course, can be perfectly formed, and while perhaps not perfect, New Zealand’s compact size, in conjunction with its maritime climate and zest for wine quality wine, has seen it become the first and only wine country to break the £7 a bottle barrier.
Is Burgundy 2012 all it's cracked up to be?
POSTED ON 08/02/2014Considerable volumes of wishful thinking and even more hot air have been expended on the ‘wonderful’ 2012 Burgundy vintage, currently on offer. Sparing you the hyperbole and cutting to the chase, Burgundy 2012 is a good vintage in which a handful of great wines have been made by a few exceptional growers. It is not a rising tide that raises all boats in the mould of 2005 or 2010.
The Orange Widow
POSTED ON 08/02/2014Until last month, the name of Ciro Piciarello would have no more been on the lips of most wine lovers than the fizz made by this obscure Italian wine producer. But the wine news was buzzing last month with reports that the giant Champagne company, Veuve Clicquot, the widow of the yellow label, was suing the little Campanian wine company for having the affrontery to use an orange label for its 3,500 bottle fizz run. An orange label, that is, not yellow, and not for a Champagne but for an Italian vino spumante.
