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Wine Regions

Sangiovese

A Grape to Rediscover Sangiovese has long been the main grape grown in central Italy and, though some put it to good use, a much larger number were using it to make cheap, bulk wine with little varietal character. There has been a great deal of change in the last 40 years and, thanks to some …

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Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana

A Walk Through Champagne

Our guest contributor, Patrick Brady, is back, this time with a gentle stroll through Champagne. It is hard to believe that you can be in one of the world’s greatest wine regions in less than three hour’s drive from Calais.  Past the endless flat plains of Northern France, through the Department of the Somme, the battlefields …

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Champagne Vineyard

Claret For Drinking Now

Well-aged Claret offers characteristics that are hard to find in modern, young wines. However much people try to recreate them.  Notes of leather, tobacco, smoke and spice, dark berry fruit, cassis, liquorice, toasted oak, the list is endless. And whilst other wines do hold some of these notes, mature Bordeaux (when made well) marries these …

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Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol

Italian Second Strings

Finding value from Italy’s top producers The big name producers in Italy usually gain a reputation from their high end, flagship wine but their portfolio tends to extend much further and can offer great value. Roagna, famous for its Barbaresco Crichët Pajé, also make a basic Langhe Rosso that is far from simple yet incredibly affordable. Guado …

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Roagna Langhe Rosso

Burgundy Shortage

At around 10pm one evening in September we received a text message from a friend in the Côte de Beaune advising us to quickly stock up on both red and white Burgundy as the majority of the 2021 harvest was being devastated by pelting rain. As dramatic as it sounded at the time it was a worthwhile piece of advice to take. 2021 …

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Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune Les Aigrots Blanc

Claret

Good, old-fashioned claret is sometimes overlooked. In our haste to get to know all regions of the wine world we sometimes forget the beauty and simplicity of Bordeaux. The large, elaborate Chateaux with the vineyards spread out around them provide an area that is easy to get to grips with, and a myriad of wines …

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Chateau Figeac Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe B

Exploring Burgundy

Buying by the bottle is a much easier way of getting to know Burgundy especially given the abundance of producers and vineyards and the myriad of differences they create. 2011 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey Saint Denis La Riotte Premier Cru £55 per bottle  This is a delicate Morey Saint Denis that is light in weight with plenty of …

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Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Rouge

Chablis

Chablis has always offered the best value for white wines in Burgundy but finding the quality and style desired is a little harder.  Traditionally Chablis has been seen as a specific style of Chardonnay that is recognisable thanks to the notes of flint, seashell and green apple it produces. This is mostly attributed to the cooler …

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Billaud Simon Chablis Vaillons

Sauternes

Tastes and fashions have changed considerably since the 19th century. Our penchant for sweet wines that were so revered 150 years ago has waned as has as our desire for the rich, heavy dishes that accompanied them. Gone are the days of foie gras and a glass of Yquem to start off your evening meal.  When …

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Sauternes_Château_d'Yquem_01

Barolo

Getting to know Barolo is akin to getting to grips with Burgundy these days. Every inch of land in this small area in Piedmont seems to have been given up to the vine and the talk of soil composition, aspect, altitude, modern vs. traditional dominates any conversation on the region. The myriad of single vineyards …

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Giovanni Canonica Cavour Barolo DOCG

South African Reds

South Africa was never top of my list of wine regions: over exposure to cheap, average white wines in my early drinking days and several experiences with poorly made Pinotage that tasted vaguely like old, rubber tyres cemented my feelings on the region for a while.   A chance encounter with a Hamilton Russell Chardonnay made …

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South Africa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Etna Rosso

Sicily is hot, almost desert-like, with rainfall only making an appearance for a short time in winter. Despite this harsh climate it is a surprisingly rich and diverse island when it comes to agriculture. Citrus fruits, nuts, and grains flourish under the hot sun and the influence of its many occupiers has provided for a …

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Mount Etna

A Fine Balance

Although Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a household name, the wines are not always given the respect they deserve. In recent years, since wine prices have inflated because it has become an investment product, there has been much talk (and Hollywood films) about wine fraud but this is not a completely new phenomenon.  Fraud was a serious problem for …

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Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape

István Szepsy Tokaji

Tokaji has long been a family drinking favourite at Nemo but, despite our efforts we have rarely had any really good stock available for sale (perhaps we should drink less of it!). Hopefully this is now changing with a parcel of aged Tokaji and, we hope, a more regular supply of younger vintages from Tokaji’s premier producer.   István Szepsy probably makes …

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2002 Istvan Szepsy Tokaji Aszu 6 puttonyos

Bordeaux Architecture

There is little doubt that Bordeaux has some of the best and most expensive wines in the world. However, it is not the most scenic place to visit – somewhat flat and rather dull in parts it doesn’t offer a landscape that excites.  What it does offer though, is some of the most diverse and …

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Chateau Pedesclaux

2015 Bordeaux

2015 was a good year for most of the wine world but particularly for Bordeaux. It was sunny and warm and nearly everyone got the chance to make a decent wine from their crop. There are, of course, those wines that outshone others but it was most noticeably a year where producers we don’t tend …

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2015 Chateau Capbern Saint Estephe Cru Bourgeois

Mendoza

Argentina spent the majority of the 20th century shrouded in trouble and political instability. Despite having all the key elements to create a wine industry worthy of taking on the old establishment, investors never felt secure enough to really put the time and money into the areas that showed real potential.  However the 1990s saw a …

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Mendoza Vineyard

Cornas

Camping with small children is fairly torturous. After a week in a frequently rain soaked campsite in Brittany we were in dire need of some vestige of relaxation.  A brief trip into the local town gave us the chance to investigate the local wine merchants and we emerged (after the only 5 minutes the children …

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Vineyards in the Cote du Rhone France

Rioja

Reacquaint yourself with an old friend  There’s something comforting and familiar about Rioja. It’s like the old friend you perhaps don’t see very often but when you do it’s like old times. Whether you drink it regularly or not most people could happily come up with a couple of adjectives to describe Rioja that will …

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Rioja Vineyards

New World Wanderings

We don’t spend a huge amount of time in the New World; we have a tendency to gravitate towards France, Spain and Italy because most of what we know and like comes from there. But we would be doing ourselves and the wine world a disservice if we didn’t occasionally look outside of Europe. Argentina, …

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Map of the world with a compass

Brunello di Montalcino

A classic Italian wine that has all the attributes one would expect from this part of the world – big, bold and comes with its very own scandal. Brunello di Montalcino is made from a strain of Sangiovese that was a localised clone recognised as such in the late 1800’s. It gained DOCG status in …

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Montalcino

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