It’s exactly a year since simonwoods.com went from being a passive ‘click here if you want to go to a half-hearted blog’ entity to being a fully-fledged website. What prompted the move? There wasn’t one single major event, just a series of disappointing episodes over the course of three or […]
Yearly Archives: 2010
Advertising maven John Hegarty – sorry – SIR John Hegarty needs no introduction for those in his field of influence. And the good news is that his field of influence is spreading ever wider- he’s due to do a presentation to the Institute of Masters of Wine about how wine […]
Quite lovely Languedoc reds from an advertising legend
Recorded with unjustified optimism before the England v US game… Montana Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough, New Zealand (£7.99 Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s Morrisons, Asda) Refined, quite elegant style for Marlborough, with a lean stony character to the citrus and lemongrass flavours; good tense minerally finish too. S- De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc […]
Southern Hemisphere Sauvignon Blanc
Four wines, all made under the guidance of consultant winemaker Olivier Dauga. Based on this quartet, the Dauga style seems to be less flashy, less oaky, less ripe, less malo-in-barrel-y than that of Michel Rolland. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, merely a matter of personal […]
Four red Bordeaux all made with TLC from Olivier Dauga
McHenry Hohnen Cabernet/Merlot 2008, Margaret River (£9.99 Majestic) Surprisingly forward, rounded wine, showing just the right amount of leafy mint and eucalyptus character alongside juicy plummy fruit, hints of leather and tobacco and smooth ripe tannins. B+ Averys Pioneer Barossa Shiraz 2007 – made by Yalumba (£8.99 Averys) A lovely […]
Three Australian Shirazes + a Margaret River blend
There is a video down below somewhere but first, let’s talk brett. Brettanomyces to give it its full name is a strain of yeast that has been around for centuries, but which began to appear on the wine radar around 20 years ago, and has really sprung to prominence in […]