I overheard many conversations that started like this when I was working with Paul. I would thank the lord I wasn’t the person trying to move a case of Champagne to a client in Barcelona the next morning. It’s not easy. And when complications happened, as they always do, he was there to agitate, push along, and make sure the customer got what they wanted, when they wanted it. Now I don’t know who’s going to deliver that uncompromising service because Paul has left Roberson Wine for new horizons. We duly battled our way through the freezing London cold to …
The Very Singular and Very Endangered Wines of Colares
As I finalised my order last week, taking wines from the cellar of a winery that are never going to be replenished, I thought about scarcity, and just what happens when a wine region simply runs out of wine. Usually, it’s not a problem, as older vintages disappear, the constant stream of new ones starts the cycle again. Prices go up, prompting new players in the market, or they fall and the region suffers. In Colares, a tiny wine region on the far west, windy and wild edge of Portugal faces a different problem. The vines dug deep into the …
Leon Barral and the Concrete Engineer
Leon Barral: “I met one person who changed everything for me. His name was Pierre Martin. He came into my cellar, about 25 years ago, and when he tasted the wine, he could tell immediately if the wine was artificially yeasted, if it had sulphur added, the maturity in degrees of alcohol — everything. Because me, at the beginning, I didn’t know if the wine had sulphur added. Now, I know. It was his visit that changed everything for me.” “Who the hell was this guy?! Was this guy a winemaker? “No! He was a concrete engineer! He was a …
6 Portland Road
Kensington is lovely, of course it is. But it is also very boring. So is Notting Hill, if a little less so, and at least they get the occasional excitement of piss-filled cans of Red-Stripe being thrown around every year at the carnival. The area has suffered in recent years. Residentially, it is too expensive for the young creative set who used to hang out in Chelsea and Notting Hill and who now locate themselves in the East. Culturally, it houses some grand institutions but the vibrant new openings have long since dried up. Restaurant wise, there are some good high-endish …
Lafite Who?
Scene: Natural wine bar, brick walls. wax capsules. etc After a long discussion about wine from Jura. Me: “It’s great, it reminds me of Michel Lafarge” Him: “Who?” Me: “Michel Lafarge, you know, top producer of Volnay?” Him: “Never heard of ‘im” I can’t remember who it was, I think it might have been Gianfranco Soldera, reminiscing a few months back about his vinous education. He was remembering the great wines that became the key reference points for his memory bank of what wine was capable of aspiring to. Mouton 1949, Armand Rousseau 1985, etc, etc. He wanted to make wines …