Wine Reviews

The big surprise, with a capital "S", of 2013, is brought to us by two totems of the wine world, Benjamin de Rothschild and Vega Sicilia.  12 years ago they started working together on creating  new winery from scratch in one of the world's most classic wine regions: Rioja.  It is located in San Vicente de la Sonsierra to be precise, where the...
[click to continue...]

The 80’s, when Juan Carlos López de Lacalle managed the Laguardia cooperative and spent his time “swimming” through a sea of maceration carbonique, are long gone. This technique was prized and popular with the famous "cosecheros" of La Rioja at the time.  But López de Lacalle had greater ambitions and he slowly set about building the business he...
[click to continue...]

Created in 1988, under the lineage of the Gros family, this domaine is managed by Jean Gros' daughter, Anne-Françoise Gros, and is completely independent of the domaines owned by her two brothers, Michel and Bernard.  Most of the property is located in the village of Pommard, south of the Burgundy wine capital of Beaune, but there are also...
[click to continue...]

Located in the village of Negrar, in the middle of the Valpolicella valley, amid vineyards interspersed with olive and cherry trees, is the Azienda Agricola Quintarelli.  This azienda is a veritable reflection of ancient tradition and extreme purity, allied with the more "contemporary" personal aspirations of its alma mater, Giuseppe Quintarelli,...
[click to continue...]

This is one of the oldest houses in Champagne which started on its current journey in 1910. Located in Mareuil-sur-Ay, it has always positioned itself as a traditional Champagne house for connoisseurs rather than a big, international Champagne house.  As a consequence, it is not even recognized by the general public who do however know its other...
[click to continue...]

Franciacorta is located in the heart of Lombardy and stretches between Brescia and Lake Iseo.  It describes three concepts: a wine, a production method (traditional or classic) and the region where Italy’s finest quality sparkling wines are produced. The Ricci Curbastro family has over one hundred years of history behind it, its first sparkling...
[click to continue...]

This is a splendid example of a Priorat bodega, created in 1998, which quickly made ​​a name for itself in the market and which has enjoyed international critical acclaim since its first release with the 2002 harvest.  Run by the Castillo-Bairaguet husband and wife team, it is by definition a family winery which has only 10 hectares of vineyards...
[click to continue...]

This interesting business was set up in the middle of the last decade by South African, Eben Sadie and German, Dominik A. Huber, who are possibly the best representatives of what has been termed Priorat's "second revolution".  The bodega is located in the village of Torroja del Priorat and its style is distinctly Burgundy-inspired. They produce...
[click to continue...]

In the Ourense valley of Bibei, at some distance from planet Rioja, and far removed from the wine that made his brother the “re-discoverer of Priorat”, the youngest Palacios-Remondo embarked on his wine adventure just nine years ago with a noble purpose - to make the best white wine in Spain.  In a short space of  time, Rafael Palacios has shaken...
[click to continue...]