As it has become a tradition in January, I will start the year with the release of the latest vintage of Bodegas Aalto in Ribera del Duero. The regular readers will knew that this is one of my favourite estates (after all it was Aalto back in 2004 that drew my attention to the region) and I am pleased that the winery is going from strength to strength with every new vintage.   2019 was about as classic as they get to be in Ribera; cold (down to -9 C in some high vineyards) and mainly dry winter. Mostly dry …

Good afternoon good people from a grey and cloudy Richmond.   It’s been a busy week of tastings since I came back from Barolo (more of that trip later). The highlight was tasting the top 100 Ribera del Duero wines, as selected by Tim Atkin MW and featured in the last issue of Decanter. Many thanks to all of you who forwarded me the article and, yes, I am proud to confirm that Garmon was granted the highest rating, and pretty much all of our other estates are included in the review (Aalto, Sastre, Vina Magna). Normally, I would release …

 Garmon 2017 Release Offer   Garmon 2017, we actually managed to get the stock into the country a few weeks ago, but I have been preoccupied with chasing 2020 Bordeaux samples and it got slightly neglected. And now Bordeaux can wait its turn, ‘cos. Garmon is worth it …   As mentioned in last 2 vintage releases for Garmon, it is fast getting serious recognition as one of the leading wines in Ribera del Duero. One does not often see this many critics reviewing a new winery and consistently awarding mid 90’s scores.   The vintage was characterised by significantly …

As promised long way back before lockdown, here is the first of future superstars I managed to find in Piemonte. There is more to come but thanks to travel restrictions the deals have not yet been concluded. I promise, as soon as they are happy to receive visitors again, I will be on the first plane out (hopefully within a few weeks). These wines and people who make them are more than worth it and I will do whatever I can to get the allocations. In February this year, I spent 4 great days crisscrossing Piemonte visiting 4 producers per …

PHELAN SEGUR 2019 - £330.00 ZR 16++; JS 95-96; JA 94 This is certainly an improvement to the usual hard core St Estephe one finds at Phelan. More matt than bright, but good structure, some very fine tannins and soft blue fruit on the palate, prunes and damsons all the way. This will certainly be a very decent drop of wine in about 6- 8 years. Pretty decent buy at £330 and might have an investment potential as well - the neighbour Calon was released at more than double the price. Well done, an easy 16+ with 17 potential. Another …