Jefford on Monday
Provocateur at the egalitarian fair
[Andrew Jefford] Mindful that any serious Premier Cru white burgundy now costs over 500 euros for a 12-bottle case, I thought I’d take a look at the Loire valley’s most credible alternative to white burgundy: Savennières.
Jar shock
[Andrew Jefford] Anyone who visits wine cellars regularly will have noted clay, concrete or earthenware jars of various sizes and forms stealthily invading the world’s wineries, both modest and grand.
Heading south
[Andrew Jefford] Those deciding on Cabernet, Merlot or Shiraz want to run a sound business; those planting Pinot usually hope to make the best wine in the world.
Battle of the bulles
[Andrew Jefford] France is in the felicitous position of having 26 per cent of that world market to itself. Given that, it’s not illogical for all French winemakers, wherever they might find themselves, to consider making a little sparkling wine.
Carrots, celery – and Shiraz
[Andrew Jefford] Will there, one day, be a Department of Terroir Studies at a leading academic institution?
Remembering Serge
[Andrew Jefford] Just as there is no wine quite like Château Musar, so there will never be another winemaker like Serge Hochar. Let me try to explain why.
The strange case of the railway line and the mist
[Andrew Jefford] A ‘death warrant’, apparently, had been drafted for the wines of Sauternes and Barsac; a ‘terrible menace’ was thus hanging over Yquem, Rieussec, Suduiraut and their like.
Lessons the bottles taught me
Some wines please; others both please and inform. The 8 wines listed are some of those which taught Andrew Jefford most this year.
Lucky us
[Andrew Jefford] Lucky us: still together, and with wine in our glasses.
Wine Pride: Is France coming out?
[Andrew Jefford] France badly needs a dose of Wine Pride. It might, just might, be on the way back for 2015.