Catalan Wines

“Carinyena”, the original Carignan now free to be itself

by  |  29-11-2018

Carignan doesn’t see a whole lotta love. It’s most certainly no Pinot Noir nor Chardonnay nor Cabernet Sauvignon in terms of name recognition nor pan-global wine enjoyment. It’s not even at the level of Grenache... more »

In The Glass: Bodegas Roda – Sela 2015

by  |  29-07-2018

I’ve been following the evolution of this Sela from Bodegas Roda for some time now and you can read up what I wrote about the 2013 and 2014 vintages. For anyone unfamiliar with the winery,... more »

Coming to terms: Vicente Gandía – Bobal Único 2015

by  |  16-07-2018

I’m not terribly old yet (I think) but I’m sure I’m already starting to repeat myself. I meet a lot of people and I give a lot of talks on things so I just get... 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 »

Another hit of El Escocés Volante: Manda Huevos 2014

by  |  30-05-2018

Coming round to another of the wines from Norrel Robertson’s El Escocés Volante gives me the chance to link to two previous articles, this one which talks more about Norrel and his project as well... more »

Celebrating single grape diversity: Grenaches du Monde 2018 & Grenache³

by  |  15-04-2018

Today closes the 6th edition of Grenaches du Monde, an event that, much like Grenache itself has been a roving vagabond, seeing itself set up shop wherever Grenache has made its presence known. While starting... more »

Great Scot, he flies! Also, El Puño Garnacha 2013

by  |  09-02-2018

Sorry, there were just too many options in the title not to take a crack at something “clever”… -ish. The more tame (and probably smarter) option was “When a Master makes a wine”. The reason... more »

The 4€ Bierzo Mencía experience

by  |  12-10-2017

I have something of a Modern Art-like fascination with the grocery store chain, Lidl. The implementation of their stores varies wildly from one country to another and in some stores, such as those in the... more »

A further tasting of Bodega Otazu

by  |  10-10-2017

When the mega top-end “Vitral” by Bodega Otazu was announced earlier this year, I wrote a critique of the overall approach of creating what is for all purposed a “cult wine”, one which is created... more »

Neither “whole” nor “food”, Don Simón in a healthy place?

by  |  23-09-2017

Whole Foods Market has been in the news a great deal recently as it was purchased by Amazon. More market-driven minds than mine have picked apart this deal to no end, so there’s little reason... more »