Category Archive

Of all of the Gang of Four, Guy Breton is the least well known in the UK. Jean Foillard and Marcel Lapierre have their wines listed the breadth of the country. Jean-Paul Thevenet is a bit less well-known.  This is a product of size, Guy’s domaine is a fraction of the size of Lapierre and Foillard. Today, Foillard and Lapierre have increased to around 30 hectares, Guy’s has stayed small, only about 4 hectares in total. The output of Breton and JP Thevenet is about the same (2,000 – 3,000 cases).  Although stylistically different, it’s difficult to differentiate the quality of the Morgons …

The ‘In Pursuit of Balance’ movement started by Raj Parr, Jasmin Hirsch and others declared recently that they were ceasing operations. Parr feels it’s gone as far I could: “It did what it did, open a dialogue. We don’t want to make it into a sales and market campaign. It never was that. A discussion has been started. We’ll see where it goes.” Like all oppositional movements in wine, whether notional or not, it drew its fair share of controversy. It did however, draw attention to some superb food-friendly wine styles that really shone in the spot-light the movement provided. …

The old Joseph Jamet label, from the early 1980s. Note the 73cl bottle! They changed it in the mid 1980s. Jean-Luc said the paper basically disintegrated within a few years in a damp cellar. In the early days of their rare Cote-Brune bottling they would just mix a bottle in with a case of the original. The new barrel room of Jean-Luc and Evelyne Jamet. On top of hill at St-Joseph looking out over the river towards Crozes. The vineyard on as the hill turns is Chapoutiers Varonnieres. Ludovic planting new metal staves in his Chaillot vineyard inherited from the Pierre …

When Pierre Gonon handed the estate over to his sons Pierre and Jean, he left it in good, reassuringly hard-worn hands. Like many of their generation, Pierre and Jean are more outward looking, open to new ideas and dedicated to better quality. But, unlike some of their peers, this is never at the expense of making traditional, classic and age-worthy wine. These are proper wines with a real backbone, worthy heirs to the Trollat vines that form part of their current holdings. Although typically one of the most expensive wines of the appellation, I’d argue this is one of the best value …

Thierry Allemand is perhaps the most talented winemaker in France. He makes a singular style that marries the rugged power of Cornas with unbelievable finesse and purity. Fitzcarraldo like, he moved earth stone by stone to fashion his 5 hectare domaine after and whilst serving an apprenticeship of sorts with Robert Michel. When Thierry started in the late 1980s the slopes he wanted to cultivate were considered so hard to replant and cultivate, he was blazing a trail few wanted to emulate. The sheer difficulty and sweat it took to do this, armed only with a small caterpillar for moving rocks …

We are sinking under the weight of uninformed but well-meaning opinions. ‘I think it’s a leg?’ you hear as you walk around the Tate Modern. One star reviews from disgruntled punters who took a dislike to their waiter. The last thing I want to do is add to the noise, but more for my benefit than anyone else’s, here are a few more opinions on some wines drunk over the last few months. 2012 ‘Le Mont’ Chardonnay Alexandre Jouveaux Anne-Claude Leflaive was a big fan of Jouveaux wines. She brought them every year on allocation. I can see why, they’re …