Author: Stuart George

  • Cuneiform: 2004 Contino Reserva Rioja

    This is the first of a very occasional series on bottles that have caught my eye for whatever reason. Compañia Vinícola del Norte de España – or CVNE, as it is commonly known – is among the most senior Rioja producers, run by direct descendants of its founders. It has three arms that embrace the…

  • Su and Sardinia: Su Sazzagoni in Hackney

    Thanks to the good offices of Martin Kyran at Foal Brand Grooming, I was able to visit recently Su Sazzagoni restaurant in Lauriston Road, Hackney, with my friend Jane Egginton. Opened in January 2009, Su Sazzagoni is a Sardinian trattoria in trendy Victoria Park Village. As well as the restaurant there is also a delicatessen…

  • California Dreamin'… In Paris

    On Wednesday 24 March I was in Paris for a tasting of “Vins et Spiriteux des Etats-Unis” at the US Ambassador’s residence on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Such a tasting would be unlikely in the UK: The best wines are shown via their agents rather than at a generic gathering like this. I have been…

  • Wine by One

    On my way back to London from Bordeaux yesterday I spent the afternoon in Paris, visiting a tasting of US wines at the Ambassador’s Residence on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré (more on this later) and then meeting a friend for a drink and chat. David Cobbold is an Englishman who has lived in Paris for over…

  • Bordeaux 2009: The hype begins… Here!

    I was in Bordeaux earlier this week for a flying visit to see some paintings and to try some wines! The en primeur circus begins next week though some UK writers were already assessing the 2009s… I have never been involved in the en primeur campaign and have always felt that it is quite ridiculous…

  • Project Front Foot update

    A message from Vic Mills: It’s close to a year since I first wrote to you about Project Front Foot. Much has happened in the intervening months. I am, in fact, just back from a second successful trip to Mumbai where I was able to deliver a further 140 kilos of kit to our various…

  • In search of Monica Bellucci: Afterthoughts on Barbera Meeting 2010

    As one of the now notorious Barbera 7, I tasted all the wines at the Barbera Meeting 2010 event held 8-11 March in Asti. Late arrival at lunch was due to conscientiousness rather than lack of hunger! With the other tasters I got a very good overview of current Barbera styles and winemaking in Piemonte.…

  • A new dawn? Barbera d'Alba at Barbera Meeting 2010

    Happily, this morning’s tasting of Barbera d’Alba from the 2008, 2007 and 2006 vintages has confirming my pre-match expectations that Barbera d’Alba would prove to be the best of the wines tasted this week. Here is the evidence that Barbera planted on the privileged terroir of Barolo and Barbaresco can reach heights scaled nowhere else…

  • Monferrato Mon Brave?

    Mercifully we had to taste only 24 wines this morning rather than the 60+ of the previous two days. There were still far too many wines that had been botoxed by oak and lacked freshness but on the basis of this selection Barbera del Monferrato is richer and more powerful than Barbera d’Asti. Two wines…

  • Paradise Lost? Barbera Meeting 2010

    As I sit this morning in the splendid Piazzo Zoia in Asti, the snow falls like tears from a cloud. There has been six or seven inches overnight here; in Alba there is over a foot, I am told. Last night my fellow bloggers and I tasted 30 or so examples of Barbera d’Asti from…