Reviews

  • Montecastro Reserva Ribera del Duero

    Montecastro Reserva Ribera del Duero

    Montecastro Reserva Ribera del Duero 2020 is made from 95% Tempranillo and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with oak ageing in the mix. It has a high Vivino score of 4.1, Parker gives it 93 points, and Tim Atkin also scores it 93. I had the decanter ready, fully expecting this to be tannic and heavily oaked,…

  • Costellore Prosecco

    Costellore Prosecco

    I picked up this wine as Aldi’s ‘Wine of the Week’, and at a sort of giveaway price it felt very much like a bottle designed to get people through the doors There’s no vintage and no mention of the producer, so I did not expect much, but it turned out to be a pleasant…

  • La Belle Angèle Sauvignon Blanc

    La Belle Angèle Sauvignon Blanc

    La Belle Angèle Sauvignon Blanc comes with an elegant label featuring La Belle Angèle, the beautiful muse of the French Impressionists. It is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc from a number of areas, from the 2025 vintage, with a gentle 12% ABV. In the glass, it has a light gold colour. Served cold, it brings…

  • Delibori Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore

    Delibori Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore

    Delibori Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore is the first of a few wines I bought on a recent trip to the Lombardy region of Italy. Lombardy seems flooded with Valpolicella in restaurants, bars and supermarkets, even though it is not actually from Lombardy, but from neighbouring Veneto. Let’s unpick the name of the wine. “Valpolicella” is…

  • Les Jamelles Viognier

    Les Jamelles Viognier

    Les Jamelles Viognier is produced by Catherine and Laurent Delaunay. The brand was created in 1995 after the couple, both from Burgundian wine backgrounds, became fascinated by the Languedoc’s diversity of terroirs and grape varieties. The winery is based at Monze, in the Corbières area near Carcassonne. This is 100% Viognier, 12.5% alcohol, from the…

  • JP Chenet Colombard Sauvignon

    JP Chenet Colombard Sauvignon

    JP Chenet Colombard Sauvignon comes from South-Western France, with a fairly gentle 11% alcohol, from the 2025 vintage. The 3l box is the equivalent of four bottles, in a fridge-friendly format. When it is properly cold, this is really citrusy, almost like a citrus wine, both in the aromatics and, even more so, in the…

  • Calvet Prestige Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée Fumée

    Calvet Prestige Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée Fumée

    Calvet Prestige Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée Fumée comes from Bordeaux, and Calvet is part of the large Les Grands Chais de France (LGCF) group. The Prestige name was chosen in honour of the very select “Diplôme du Prestige de France”, awarded to Maison Calvet in 1958. Cuvée Fumée is the key phrase here. “Fumée” means “smoked”…

  • Cepa Lebrel Crianza

    Cepa Lebrel Crianza

    I first came across and recommended this wine at a Lidl press tasting and wanted to try it again in a less rushed setting. The striking thing at that time was how great it was for just £5.79. It is 100% Tempranillo, from the 2022 vintage, with a punchy 15% ABV. Cepa Lebrel is Lidl’s…

  • Petit Pinotage

    Petit Pinotage

    This wine came to me by accident, it should have been Petit Cabernet Sauvignon, but here is the review anyway. It is from Ken Forrester Wines, right in the heart of Stellenbosch and this is the 2023 vintage. It comes in at a punchy 14%, yet still has an easy-drinking style, which explains the “Petit”…

  • Rapaura Springs Sauvignon Blanc White Edition

    Rapaura Springs Sauvignon Blanc White Edition

    Rapaura Springs Sauvignon Blanc White Edition is new and exclusive to Majestic, from one of Marlborough’s most awarded Sauvignon Blanc producers. The symbol on every Rapaura Springs label is a circle of rocks, representing the pure spring in the vineyard. The brand name and label are designed to express the estate’s connection to water flowing…

  • Vagabond London Victoria

    Vagabond London Victoria

    In early April 2026, my wife and I visited Vagabond in London as part of a birthday celebration. This is more of a mini-review of the venue itself than of the individual wines. Vagabond, now owned by Majestic, is a chain of wine bars offering more than 100 self-serve wines by the glass. The system…

  • Kew Gardens Albillo

    Kew Gardens Albillo

    Kew Gardens Albillo is by Raices Albillo from Spain’s Castilla y Leon wine region, made from the rare Albillo grape, often referred to as white Tempranillo. This is the 2024 vintage, sitting at 12.3%. In the glass it has a very light colour, almost clear. The aroma brings ripe pear and a floral lift, vibrant…

  • Opi Malbec

    Opi Malbec

    Opi Malbec comes from Mendoza and was named ‘Best Malbec of Argentina’ on its debut vintage in 2008. It is made by Opi Sadler, ‘The Malbec Magician’, as his fellow Argentine winemakers call him. In U.S. direct-wine channels, the same line is often sold as J Opi Malbec. It is 100% Malbec, with brief oak…

  • The Best Organic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

    The Best Organic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

    This has been a long-time favourite of mine. At the last Morrisons press tasting, I found that the 2024 vintage was even better than usual and it ended up being my favourite red of the whole tasting. More recently, I had to try it again when I saw it on offer, just to check it…

  • Lidl Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    Lidl Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    I came across this 2020 vintage Amarone at a Lidl press tasting, where I thought it was the best wine on show, clearly better than the previous 2019 vintage and easily the best supermarket Amarone I have come across so far. Since then, I had been keeping an eye out for it to appear in…

  • Rose & Rose Sauvignon Blanc

    Rose & Rose Sauvignon Blanc

    I first came across this wine at a Majestic press tasting and thought it was one of the best bottles on show. I had to try it again to see what it was like outside a line-up of 120 wines, how it changed with temperature and whether it would still impress. It comes from Marlborough’s…

  • ‘Tenacity Old Vine’ Cabernet Sauvignon

    ‘Tenacity Old Vine’ Cabernet Sauvignon

    Two Hands ‘Tenacity Old Vine’ Cabernet Sauvignon comes from old vines in McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, Australia. This is the 2024 vintage, produced by Two Hands, with the aim of making wines that feel softer and more approachable. The name Tenacity reflects the determination and perseverance of old vines that have become such an…

  • Les Jamelles Syrah

    Les Jamelles Syrah

    Les Jamelles Syrah is a 2024 vintage from the Languedoc region in the South of France, made by winemaker Catherine Delaunay. It is 100% Syrah. The majority of the wine is made using a traditional South of France method known as “la cocotte”, or the casserole. At the end of alcoholic fermentation, the pomace, skins,…

  • Piccini ‘Histrio’ Anfora Toscana Rosso

    Piccini ‘Histrio’ Anfora Toscana Rosso

    ‘Histrio’ Anfora Toscana Rosso, by Piccini, is a blend of Sangiovese and Malvasia Nera, given 12 weeks maturing in special clay amphorae, which is where the name comes from. As a bit of context, clay is slightly porous, so tiny amounts of oxygen work their way in over time. It behaves a little like oak…

  • Abbotts & Delaunay ‘Les Fleurs Sauvages’ Viognier

    Abbotts & Delaunay ‘Les Fleurs Sauvages’ Viognier

    Abbotts & Delaunay ‘Les Fleurs Sauvages’ Viognier comes from Pays d’Oc in southern France, specifically the Hérault and the Aude Valley in the south of the Minervois. It takes its name from the wild plants, fleurs sauvages, that grow along the edges of the vines. This is 100% Viognier from the 2023 vintage, with 13.5%…

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Did You Know?

Rías Baixas wines reached more than 107 countries in 2025 and exports represented 31 per cent of the denomination’s total sales. More

Light Strike Can Cause Wine Degradation in Just One Day. More

People actively adjust their wine choices depending on who might see them. More

In the UK, 73% of Alcohol is Bought From Retail Rather Than Hospitality. More

UK wine production reached 124,377 hectolitres that year, meaning the UK accounted for roughly 0.05 per cent of world output. More

For Crémant, grapes must be harvested by hand and the wines must undergo at least nine months’ ageing before release. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More

Local UK bottling of wine represents about 40% of imported wine. More

Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More

A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More

Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More

In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More

In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More

In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More

In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More

Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More

Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More

In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More

Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More

8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More

Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More

Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More

Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More

Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More

During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More

In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More

In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More

In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More

In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More

In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More

In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More

Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More

In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More

In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More

In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More

The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More

Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More

Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More

In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More

The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More

90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More

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