Old wine, good wine?

As wine enthusiasts, we love to go and taste the new vintages offered us by the wine producers each year. However the tasting of a very old vintage, when the wine is well preserved, is a delight for the most discerning palates. We had the pleasure of trying one such wine, last March. It was a Spanish classic, a 1981, which was still drinking at its best although it was 33 years old.

This issue features a fascinating article on these "mature" wines, and the best available in Spain, by our contributor, Federico Oldenburg. Another interesting topic covered in this issue, this time by Pedro Ballesteros “MW“, is precisely that – that of the “ Master of Wine“. How does one become a member of such an elite organisation? What does it involve?

Pedro gives us some history and explains the requirements and steps in the process, giving us a feel for what it is really like, and dispelling some misperceptions about how this globally recognised distinction is obtained.

And, as usual, along with other interesting articles and reports from our regular contributors, we feature a fine selection of wines from around the world so that, if you are curious, you can try them yourselves and see if they really are as good as we think they are. Summer is coming... sit back and enjoy.