Articles

Two very different sides of DO Ribera del Duero

by  |  08-04-2022

This is a short comparison of the wines from Abadía de San Quirce and Bodegas Veganzones. While both are located in DO Ribera del Duero, they illustrate just how much difference there can be in... more »

I tasted these 2€ Spanish wines so you didn’t have to

by  |  04-10-2021

Spain has no problem selling its wines... as long as they're "a good value". This has become a double-edged sword given that the common perception, especially in markets like the UK, is that Spanish wines... more »

Villota, a bend in the river

by  |  22-07-2021

Laserna, Álava, at the border of Basque Country and La Rioja doesn’t offer terribly much in terms of sights. A main road narrowly winds its way through the few houses of the village, the old... more »

In The Glass: Olivier Rivière- Rayos Uva 2019

by  |  26-05-2021

I don’t know when, but someday we’ll look back from a vantage point far, far in the future and say, “So… why on earth did people think Rioja wines had to be almost all Tempranillo?”... more »

A Southern European selection of François Lurton

by  |  03-05-2021

François Lurton is but one member of the vast Lurton family, long-established in Bordeaux. If you’d like to read up on their history, I’d recommend having a look at this article as I would but... more »
Photo provided by the winery

The latest from Sierra de Toloño in Rioja Alavesa

by  |  15-04-2021

An imposing as well as important piece of Rioja’s geography are the Cantabrian Mountains in the north that act as a guard against the worst of the Atlantic Ocean’s intentions. It isn’t just one range... more »

In The Glass – Zabdi – Bonastero 2018

by  |  24-02-2021

While maybe not a universal household name in terms of Spanish wine regions (yet), the Denomination of Origin Toro in the region of Castilla y León has come a long way in a rather short... more »
Photo courtesy of Bodegas Protos

Tasting the current line of Bodegas Protos

by  |  17-02-2021

There are many great aspects of Bodegas Protos in Ribera del Duero, but for the sake of this article there are two that stand out as the most important. The first is that they make... more »

In The Glass: El Coto – Crianza 2016

by  |  09-01-2021

As has been made very clear, while we may have left 2020 behind us, 2021, the impending “Year of the Ox” on the Chinese calendar, isn’t really going to be that much different, at least... more »

The almightiest of scores: Zero Parker Points

by  |  16-10-2020

As a rehash, the whole “100 points scale” that Robert Parker “invented” is actually a 50-100 point scale that’s based upon the American educational grading system. So in essence, the lowest score a wine could... more »