Highlights: Franck Balthazar Cornas 2022 Northern Rhône, France
A beautiful low-intervention Cornas. It’s an appellation with just 110 hectares, and in the past people dismissed the wines as
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syrah
Minimalist Wines, the exciting South African Syrah-focused winery of Sam Lambson
Website: https://www.minimalistwines.com/ I popped into Flint Wines to meet a South African winemaker that everyone is talking about. Sam Lambson
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Spotlight on Saint-Joseph: tasting 39 different wines from this northern Rhône cru
It was back in 1956 that Saint-Joseph became an appellation, and the original classification was expanded in 1969 from the
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Domaine Colombet: impressive wines from Saint Joseph in the northern Rhône
Website: https://domainecolombet.fr/ Nicolas Colombet is an eighth-generation winegrower, farming 6 hectares of vines at the Condrieu-adjacent border of the Saint
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Crozes-Hermitage and its new generation: exploring the largest of the appellations in the northern Rhône
Early on in my journey into wine I fell in love with Syrah from the northern Rhône. The problem was
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Highlights: Dard & Ribo Crozes-Hermitage 2020
Dard & Ribo Crozes-Hermitage 2020 Northern Rhône, FranceI can’t remember ever having a bad bottle from Dard & Ribo, the natural
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Highlights: Chapoutier Saint-Pierre Cornas 2019 Northern Rhône, France
A real treat to try this new Cornas lieu dit from Chapoutier. It’s brilliant. There’s some sternness and structure, but
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A spotlight on Hermitage: exploring the famous hill and tasting 25 examples
The appellation of Hermitage, in France’s northern Rhône wine region, is a place of wine pilgrimage, because this is where
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A focus on Australian Shiraz: freshness, diversity and a sense of place
I took part in an international virtual tasting of some top Australian Shiraz wines last week, hosted by Mark Davidson
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Two new high-end wines from Iona (Elgin, South Africa): Kloof and Solace
Elgin-based producer Iona have released two new wines from special terroirs. I review them here. Iona Solace Wine of Brocha
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