Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i Decanter

Ever thought about investing in Tuscan wines but don’t know where to start? The latest in our series of Fine Wine Collector’s Guide articles, which are exclusive to Decanter Premium and available in pdf format via the Premium app, takes a deep dive into the current market for wines from this central Italian region. Written by Chris Mercer, the guide focuses on the investment potential for the top Sangiovese and SuperTuscan wines, vintages to look out for and names to have on your radar . Charles Curtis MW had the rare chance to revisit the Bordeaux 2004 vintage with a retrospective tasting of 23 wines, including all five of the first growths. Read his assessment of the wines and see which are still going strong after two decades. In the…

The notion of quality is no longer enough. Wine has to be interesting.’ Deep in the catacombs of Jean-Louis Chave’s cellars in the northern Rhône, we were discussing the characteristics of great wine. And although firstly ‘good quality’ is what we all seek, it’s not that simple any more. For a growing contingent of wine lovers, finding a producer whose values chime with their own is a second key criterion. And there’s a third prerequisite that the best wines all share. They must have personality. Fifty years ago, winemaking wasn’t so refined; faults that even us drinkers know all about today were dimly understood by many winemakers. With improved professional training and the proliferation of consultants and laboratories, quality is far more reliable now. Successive bad vintages, like those that…

No Bordeaux growing season is without its complications and challenges nowadays, and weather conditions certainly had an impact in 2023 – although resources, judicious decision-making, terroir and luck also all played a part in creating the vintage at different estates. Bordeaux’s 2023 vintage has emerged as the second warmest growing season on record, yet it wasn’t so sunny (see ‘weather at a glance’ box); this is not a ‘solar year’ in terms of wine style. There was the worst attack of mildew since 2018 – about 90% of Bordeaux’s vineyards were affected, albeit to wildly varying degrees, and very few estates experienced crop loss. Conversely, thanks to successful flowering and fruit set, many produced some of the highest yields in recent memory. Harvests were both early and much longer than…

In the province of Siena, in the heart of Tuscany, lives the ‘white queen’ – Vernaccia di San Gimignano – whose name is taken by both the DOCG region and its key grape variety. Her vineyards gaze up to the striking hilltop skyline of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed medieval ‘city of towers’ (there are 14 that remain visible today) of San Gimignano. To taste Vernaccia di San Gimignano is to be transported into a historical tapestry of art and culture; lauded by poets, popes and aristocrats, this wine’s long, noble recorded history dates back to at least 1276. Covering some 750 hectares, the denomination’s production has been steady for decades (the register of vineyards closed in 1998) at about 5 million bottles, but its value has increased. ‘We have seen…

English sparkling wines are starting to command the attention they deserve, on restaurant lists and shop shelves, with the message hitting home that these are wines to take just as seriously as Champagne. And there’s no better way of taking a deep dive into the current scene than spending time in English wine country. Sussex is an ideal destination – two years ago it became the first area in England (combining the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex) to gain appellation status – as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). It accounts for more than a quarter of England’s vineyard plantings, and is home to wineries large and small, new and long-established. Many are located in or near the South Downs national park or a ‘national landscape’ (what was…

I’ve attended dozens of vertical tastings in Bordeaux, in art-filled château dining rooms, grand restaurants, chilly négociant warehouses, brand new eco-friendly cellars, and more. But the sight of rows of polished glasses, each holding a different vintage of the same wine from the same producer, never fails to excite. These line-ups give me insight into place, time and weather, and prompt questions. How has a specific vintage evolved over the years? What behind-the-scenes dramas of frost, hailstorms or heatwaves have found their way into tastes and aromas? I treasure surprises, such as a wine from a scorching, heatwave vintage that is still fresh after a decade, and what that tells me about the site it comes from. What ties the bottles together is the vineyard. An analytical deep dive into…

Château La Mission Haut-Brion is situated next door to the Bordeaux 1er Grand Cru Classé Château Haut-Brion, in the rather unlikely location of Talence, a residential suburb about 20 minutes from Bordeaux city centre. In many vintages, it rivals (and in certain years, exceeds) its more famous neighbour. Yet La Mission continues to fly ‘under the radar’ – a mystery as the quality at La Mission places it at the level of an unofficial sixth first growth. A recent visit to the Pessac-Léognan estate, in the illustrious company of Domaine Clarence Dillon’s president, HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg (pictured, right), and deputy managing director Jean-Philippe Delmas, demonstrated the quality here with a memorable tasting of La Mission en magnum. Delmas introduced the wines as ‘the finest vintages we produced in…

Bordeaux’s Crus Bourgeois du Médoc classification is often pushed to one side amid all the excitement and glamour that surrounds the official ranking of its more illustrious neighbouring properties: the Médoc Grands Crus Classés en 1855. But quality at this level is on a high, with the most recent Crus Bourgeois classification in 2020 identifying 249 estates that are permitted to carry the designation. With a combination of a run of good vintages and friendlier price points than the Bordeaux cru classé wines, it makes sense to see how these wines stack up in the market now. The tasting considered 50 wines available in the UK from high street, supermarket and independent retailers, with prices ranging from £14 to above £50 per bottle. Importantly, they were tasted blind, with limited…

ACCOMMODATION Château Bellefont-Belcier Visitors can delight in the estate’s prestigious guesthouse, recognised for its historic charm and tranquil countryside setting. A 2023 regional winner of the Great Wine Capital Accommodation award, the château’s main building can also be rented out for exclusive use. vignoblesk.com Château Grand Barrail 4km northwest of St-Emilion, this château is a luxury five-star hotel featuring beautifully appointed rooms, an amazing spa and wellness facility, gourmet dining options and panoramic views of the surrounding vineyards. grand-barrail.com Château Troplong Mondot With incredible views over St-Emilion, Troplong Mondot offers a host of luxurious accommodation options, including renting the entire 18th-century château or the two-bedroom Vineyard House, nestled between rows of vines. troplong-mondot.com RESTAURANTS L’Atelier de Candale A beautiful restaurant from the family-run Château de Candale set on the edge…

Top Bordeaux châteaux have cut prices on their 2023-vintage en primeur releases, in a relatively early campaign. Château Haut-Brion 2023 was released by Bordeaux négociants at €312 per bottle, down 39.5% versus its 2022-vintage release, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. It said Lafite Rothschild 2023’s ex-négociant price fell 31.7%, with Mouton Rothschild 2023 down 37.2%. UK merchants offered Haut-Brion, Mouton and Lafite 2023 at £3,780, £4,068 and £4,920 respectively for 12x75cl in bond (ib). These are potential 100-point wines, said Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, after tasting barrel samples. Year-on-year price discounts for the 2023 wines reflect a challenging market, although some 2022-vintage releases were also relatively expensive. UK merchant Armit Wines said: ‘Price cuts in excess of 30% are being well received [by customers] as this likely makes…

‘We met on the day that the news broke about the Covid situation in China, in February 2020. Phil was on holiday, and I was in Mexico to host a Staglin wine event. In the year that followed, we toured southern England. We wanted to find a house, and we had both dreamed about owning a vineyard. While staying locally, we saw Fossebridge House advertised for sale in Cotswold Life. We’d looked in Devon and Sussex also, but fell in love with this house, and the location. ‘The house came with three hectares, and around half of it is now under vine. It was a huge clearance job – there were nettles up to waist level, and we removed 100 tonnes of wood. We carried out soil tests to make…

If this month’s travel feature (see p76) inspires you to explore English wine country, June is the perfect time to do so. In theory, the weather will be conducive to a road trip, it’s not yet peak tourist-crowd season, and there are a host of events planned during English Wine Week (15-23 June). These include special tours, among which are food and wine pairing at Rathfinny in Sussex, and a Tale of Two Terroirs tasting and lunch at Gusbourne estate, which features a guided tour, tasting of wines from both Sussex and Kent terroirs, and a seasonal three-course lunch. The Vineyards of the Surrey Hills Summer Spectacular on 15 & 16 June sees events taking place at wineries across the region, while English Wine Week concludes on Sunday 23 with…

Encircled by the azure expanses of the world’s oceans and existing within the obscurity of their isolated locales, islands are often overlooked when it comes to wine production. Yet a growing interest in indigenous varieties and distinctive terroirs is bringing about change, along with improvements in quality. Vineyards on islands often perch on dramatic landscapes – from the igneous expanses of Santorini, Lanzarote and Pantelleria to the sun-drenched shores and mountainous inland terrains of Sardinia and Corsica. Rocky outcrops and volcanic soils impart a distinctive minerality, while proximity to the sea and elevation contribute to refreshing acidity and purity of styles. As a result, these wines are not only vibrant and expressive but, when crafted with care, also garner acclaim from some of the world’s most esteemed wine experts. The…

When it comes to sourcing some of his coastal gin botanicals, James Harrison-Allen finds himself in a rather unusual position – he has to apply for a permit from King Charles III. The founder and director of Still Wild, a vermouth and gin distillery based in Pembrokeshire, Wales, forages a large proportion of his ingredients, and has to get permission from the King in order to source the seaweed that he uses. ‘If you want to [forage] any wild plant for any kind of business, it always has to be done with permission, and technically the royal family owns the area of the seabed up to the high-tide mark,’ he explains as we contemplate his diminutive production facilities in the south of the county in southwest Wales. ‘So we have…

Ask Decanter Each month our experts answer your burning wine questions. Email your queries to editor@decanter.com DOES MORE EQUAL LESS? Do higher yields mean lower quality? Belinda Wilkinson, by email Andy Howard MW, Decanter contributing editor, replies: Yield (in wine-production terms) is a measure of either the mass of grapes or the volume of wine produced per hectare of vineyard. Many believe that low yields equal higher quality, and high yields mean lower quality. But is this the case? The subject of yields is a complex one that relates to many factors. A lower yield could be the result of deliberate actions in the vineyard (such as leaf thinning or vine-planting density) that may encourage better ripening. But lower yields can also be the result of climatic conditions, the age…

Whether you’re a fan of Bordeaux wines already, just starting your Bordeaux journey or planning a trip to the region soon, this year’s guide is packed full of great wines to seek out, suggestions for bottles to pull out of the cellar, as well as top tourist tips and advice. Should you choose to run a tasting with those bottles, you can even find out how to identify the wines, thanks to the insight you’ll glean from Natasha Hughes MW’s in-depth article on how to blind taste Bordeaux (see p14). Part of the allure of wine is visiting the region in which it’s made. This year’s guide highlights both the Entre-deux-Mers (p88) and St-Emilion (p92) as top destinations to visit and enjoy tasting your way through. For producers to have…

People like me aren’t supposed to like Bordeaux. I’m a Millennial from Ireland, and I didn’t grow up with a wine cellar. I wasn’t around for the fuzzy yesteryear you sometimes hear about, when a case of Château Lynch-Bages cost a few pence and Latour a few shillings. As I write, I’m trying to make the maths work on my upcoming wedding and buying my first home; filling a cellar I don’t have with wines I presumably can’t afford feels far-fetched. And yet, Bordeaux is the mainstay of my humble wine collection (that is, the wine rack I inherited from a neighbour). How do you figure that, then? Bordeaux rubs some people the wrong way. So-called Bordeaux bashing is nothing new. I get why people think Bordeaux is elitist. Certainly,…

The 10-year-on mark is always a good time to stop and evaluate top-class Bordeaux. From perceived ‘good’ or ‘bad’ vintages, the wines will usually have lost some of their baby fat and be well into their stride in terms of drinkability and approachability. Following on the heels of three less than stellar vintages, 2014 was certainly the best so-called ‘off vintage’ since 2005, ranked alongside, or just ahead of 2001, 2006 and 2008, and generally superior to 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011 and of course 2013 (assessed by Stephen Brook in the Decanter Bordeaux guide last year). The 2014 growing season in Bordeaux was characterised by erratic weather patterns, including April sunshine but a wet and chilly May. Enough sun prevailed in June for the crucial flowering period, but a…

People drinking less in US and Europe, report shows World wine consumption has hit a 27-year low, new figures suggest, but the picture on the ground appears more nuanced in the biggest market, the US. Global wine consumption fell 2.6% in 2023, to 221m hectolitres (mhl), estimated the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). That’s the lowest level since 1996, although still equivalent to nearly 29.5bn bottles (22.1bn litres). The data suggested people drank less wine overall last year in each of the world’s five biggest wine markets – US, France, Italy, Germany and the UK – said a new OIV report, albeit while emphasising the preliminary nature of its numbers. ‘Inflation has been a key factor in the past two years, because it has significantly increased production and…

Ancient, gnarly cork oaks stand half-naked in the midday sun. And then come the vineyards, as far as the eye can see. Welcome to Portugal’s Alentejo region, home to the country’s first and smartest wine resort, L’AND Vineyards, a 50-minute drive from Lisbon. Opened in 2011, L’AND Vineyards boasts a five-star hotel, two restaurants, a spa with vinotherapy, serviced residences, vineyards and a winery, all scattered around a large wild-swimming lake. Joining the 10 original Sky View suites – featuring private patios, plunge pools and retractable roofs – are 11 new Lake Sky View suites, with interiors straight out of the pages of Architectural Digest: black slate floors and eucalyptus wood finishes, Tom Dixon lights and hand-woven striped rugs, and fire pits outside. Six hectares of vineyards surround the suites,…

Now here’s a wild idea. Let me try it out on you. It was my neighbour at a wine dinner, Laura, who suggested it. ‘Do you think,’ she asked me, ‘that different sorts of wine affect you in different ways?’ We set off into the subject, agreeing that part of the pleasure of wine was mood-enhancement: relaxation, changed perspectives, lubricated conversation, emotional engagement, a wider view on life. Moderation is essential, but there’s no denying that in drinking wine we’re looking for mild inebriation and the fun it brings. ‘I’m not advocating getting drunk,’ said Laura, ‘but we have to accept that wine has alcohol in it, and that it’s ok to allow yourself the beauty of inebriation. Otherwise it’s like dating without allowing that you might fall in love.…

Without Volnay, there is simply no joy,’ declared historian Claude Courtépée in his 18th-century work on the Duchy of Burgundy. The delights of the wine from this village have been known since before the dukes constructed their château there in the 11th century, while today’s wine lovers are discovering them again thanks to the able work of a new generation of winemakers. While generational change is always occurring, it seems there are currently an unusually high number of fresh faces in Volnay, including the young winemakers Clément Boillot, Pierrick Bouley, Thomas Bouley, Marc-Olivier Buffet, Thibaud Clerget and Maxime Dubuet-Boillot. To this, one should add Clothilde Lafarge, although father and mother Frédéric and Chantal are still very much involved in the family domaine. Domaine Lafarge is in some ways the link…

The 160km drive from Barcelona to the French border via Girona takes little more than 90 minutes. Driving up the efficient and clinical motorway, you’d never know you were passing through one of the most rugged, individual and below-the-radar wine regions in Spain: Empordà. Empordà’s history, kinship, language and terroir are shared with Roussillon in southern France as much as they are with Spain. The cold Tramontana wind blows from France south across the border into Empordà – so strongly at times that anyone behaving strangely is said to be tocat per la Tramontana (‘touched by the Tramontana’). The Catalan region is roughly split in two: the higher-altitude Alt Empordà reaching up towards the Pyrenees; and Baix Empordà, extending south and towards the bright, blue Mediterranean sea. Empordà was first…

So much has been written in recent years about growing consumer demand for lighter, lower alcohol wines, and at the same time, according to the ‘Focus’ report released by the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) in early December last year, white and rosé now account for more than half of global wine consumption. Such a backdrop perhaps gives context to a decision by Bordeaux’s Médoc region, so long celebrated for its world-class reds, to be jumping on the bandwagon with an application to introduce regulations for white wines as part of the existing wider Médoc appellation. Opinions vary, it must be said, over a ‘Médoc Blanc’ designation, which is currently still under consideration by the French national appellation authority INAO. The Médoc has long been known for its…

Nestled amid the rolling hills of the Bordeaux wine region, the small, picturesque town of St-Emilion is steeped in history and revered by wine enthusiasts around the globe. Here, the art of winemaking is not merely a trade but a sacred tradition passed down through generations, shaping the identity of this enchanting destination. The story of this UNESCO World Heritage site dates back to the first planting of vines back in Roman times. Over the ensuing centuries, monks meticulously tended the vineyards, perfecting the art of winemaking and laying the foundation for the prestigious wines that bear the town’s name. Today, St-Emilion is more than just a wine destination – it’s a pilgrimage for wine lovers, drawn to the region’s rich cultural heritage and profound connection to the land. What…

When it comes to getting bang for your buck on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, many in the know choose to start in the appellations of Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac. Situated 35km northeast of Bordeaux and 4km northwest of Libourne, these Merlot-centric sister sub-regions are inevitably overshadowed by their renowned Right Bank neighbours St-Emilion and Pomerol, and the wines have generally lower price tags as a result – despite similar soil types and taste profile. Both appellations have winemaking histories that date back to Roman times. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, when Bordeaux was occupied by the English, their wines were popular in London. In 1925, some of the local growers divided into two syndicats – the Côtes de Fronsac and the Côtes de Canon-Fronsac – along local geographical lines (the latter…