Articles

When “natural” comes a knockin’. Mascorrubí Heretat 1297 – Annat 2017

by  |  09-07-2018

Sometime back I was sent a couple of wines from a local region that actually had “natural” writ large upon the label. This was a new one to me as anyone producing wines of this... more »

Roussillon – The rise of dry

by  |  05-07-2018

In recent times, many words have been written about the quality revolution taking place in France’s Languedoc. The plenitude of grapevines both young and old, a favorable climate, and much lower costs to entry for... more »

Merger in DO Montsant: El Masroig & la Serra d’Almos join forces

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On June 30th, the cooperative cellars of El Masroig and Serra d’Almos announced a full merger of their two respective entities. Unlike neighboring DOQ Priorat, the cooperatives in DO Montsant still drive the majority of... more »
From such holes gold, or even platinum emerges...

Georgian wine evolution: Kvevri gold at Decanter Awards

by  |  04-07-2018

Given my living location and writing focus I’m viewed as a “Spain person” for the Decanter Awards. This is great and I’m very happy to judge these wines but I made a mention to the... more »

And that’s Albariño, Pazo Señorans Colección 2014

by  |  29-06-2018

Albariño, and to a greater extent, DO Rías Baixas has been one of the many success stories in Spanish wine. I’d warrant that if hard pressed to name a Spanish white grape, the one that... more »

The Xarel·lo grape. Or is it Xarello, Xarel.lo, or Xarel-lo?

by  |  25-06-2018

For those who may not know it, Xarel·lo is a wonderful white grape that, as far as we know, is native to the Penedès region of Catalunya. Able to give an upright, structured backbone as... more »

Old co-op, new tricks. La Vinícola Priorat’s Vi de Vila.

by  |  19-06-2018

On June 9th, La Vinícola del Priorat launched a new series of wines that are all certified under Priorat’s “Vi de Vila”. This certification establishes that 100% of the grapes from the wine came from... more »
Bellmunt del Priorat

Understanding DOQ Priorat’s village wines: Vi de Vila

by  |  15-06-2018

While it’s important to understand the Vino de Pago & Vi de Finca classifications of Spain & Catalunya as they’re region wide, one that’s actually much more interesting and evolving is that of “Vi de... more »

In The Glass: Tomàs Cusiné – Finca Racons 2016

by  |  11-06-2018

Given the new look of DO Costers del Segre, it seems a fitting moment to have a taste of a new release from the region. In this case we’re talking about Finca Racons from Tomàs... more »

A review of “The Wine Show: Season 2”

by  |  07-06-2018

Carrying on after the success of the first iteration of The Wine Show, the team got back together two years later to produce Season 2 that released to a much larger audience on Channel 5... more »