Mauro 2022 and Mauro VS 2022   I have finished packing for my Bordeaux En Primeur tasting week and as I have just come back from Ribera, it feels like perfect afternoon to release the 2022 vintage of Mauro and VS. The vintage started with a low temperatures and low water table which slightly delayed the start of the growing season and in turn, protected the buds from the spring frosts. Sporadic rain in late spring provided perfect conditions for the flowering following which, the summer remained hot and dry allowing for very fine conditions for harvest. The dry summer …

AALTO 2023 and AALTO PS 2023   Spring seems to be in the air, so a perfect day to release wines from one of my favourite wineries - Bodegas y Vinedos Aalto Most of you are familiar with the estate and aware of my love affair with Aalto which goes way back to 2004 vintage. Briefly, Aalto was established in 1999 by Javier Zaccagnini and Mariano Garcia (ex technical director of Vega Sicilia). Some 20 years on, these wines, made from 100 % old wines Tempranillo, have grown in stature and international recognition. They are distributed in more than 50 …

Good afternoon good people and I hope you have all had a very fine summer. The time files and we are almost at the end of a very busy September. Harvest in Europe is over, the tasting season is in the full swing and I have been on the road for most of the last 3 weeks, hence no releases. But, do not worry. I have lined up few very decent releases and we will kick off with some very beautiful Burgundy.   Regular readers will be familiar Domaine d'Ardhuy, but as we have had quite a few new subscribers …

2021 Garmon in the garden outside the winery before lunch   I writing to you from the middle of Ribera Del Duero following tastings of barrels of all wineries we work with in the region. I normally do this trip immediately after Bordeaux en primeur tasting which is a very good comparison exercise as Ribera is a Spanish wine region closest to Bordeaux in style. Compared to Bordeaux, there are no bad vintages in Ribera and needles to say, the overall quality of 2024 barrel samples on display was superior to what was presented in France couple of weeks ago. …

2024 Bordeaux initial report I hope that you have all had a very fine Easter Break and enjoyed the weather as well as some good food and wine. As it had been the case for the last 30 years (where did the time go?), I have spent the week before Easter in Bordeaux at En primeur tastings. Most of you would have seen various reports by now and will probably notice that the journalists are far less enthusiastic about the vintage than it would appear from various wine merchants reports (including mine). The truth is somewhere in the middle; journalist …