Condrieu Les Terrasses du Palat, François Villard 2010, by Sean Burbridge

We were lucky to taste the 2010 Condrieu Les Terrasses du Palat from François Villard in the office on Friday. Sean has written the following tasting note:

Alex Harper wins the Reh Kendermann Bursary on her MW

Huge congratulations to Alex who has just been awarded the prestigious Reh Kendermann Bursary for her Master of Wine essay addressing the question of whether Brazil is the best hope for future growth for German wine in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries after China.

Alex on a recent trip to Luigi Bosca, Argentina

She also recently won a study trip to Portugal through the WSET for her excellent results in the Diploma. There is no stopping her now!

Bancroft and Hawksmoor’s memorable visit to Argentina - Part Two, by Alex Harper

Next stop, Mendoza. Touching down as dusk painted the Andes pink.  Breathtaking.  Eyes held open by matchsticks by this point and a dip in the ice cold roof pool was the only option... much to Rob’s disappointment as obviously he couldn’t be shown up by a girl and was forced to take the plunge too. 

The Wine Doctor chooses Asiaticus Pierre Gaillard 2010 as his Wine of the Week

The Wine Doctor has chosen Pierre Gaillard's Asiaticus 2010 as his wine of the week this week.

The grapes for this cuvee come from the same historic site near the village of Seysuel where Villard grows grapes for his Seul en Scène cuvee. Asiaticus has the attributes of a modern masterpiece combining rich concentrated fruit; open, ripe, powerful and velvety with warm sweet spices. It has a classic freshness and elegance combined with exceptional, almost new world, concentration and ripeness that makes it both charming and profound. 

Visit to Argentina and Chile - Day One, by Rob Allen

After a relatively painless overnight flight, breakfast in Buenos Aires was a strong coffee in Luigi Bosca's dockside offices, before setting out to take in the sights. We are five strong, Mark & Tom from Hawksmoor, Alex & Rob from Bancroft and Soledad from Luigi Bosca.

UGC Bordeaux Trip - Days Three and Four, by Alex Robertson

Days 3 and 4 require real stamina as the tastings continue and detailed notes need to be taken for every wine. Our palates were starting to tire but we persevered with the wines of St. Emilion, Pomerol and Graves. The properties at most of the châteaux are stunning and in some cases brand new cellars had been built since last year.

Ch. Cheval-Blanc

UGC Bordeaux Trip - Days One and Two, by Alex Robertson

The Bancroft Fine Wine Team recently embarked on the annual trip to Bordeaux to taste the latest En-primeur vintage.  With low expectations of the 2011 vintage, we knew the trip would be a very different affair to 2010 where we were spoiled by superb wines across the board.  So with four days to taste over 250 wines, our first visit was Château d’Yquem, a surprisingly informal tasting and a sensational start to the trip. 

Ch. d'Yquem

Jason's Australia Trip to Schild Estate - Day Three

I am a little fuzzy on day three with sore feet and knees (too old for being on my feet all day – ahhhh!) but off to the vineyard for sadly my last day in the Barossa.

I started with a tank tasting with both winemakers Scott and Alex tasting all the 2012 whites, Riesling, Chardonnay, Frontignac, Three Springs (lightly sparkling Riesling Moscato style), Alma Chardonnay and the new Chardonnay sparkling base – all with their individual fruit flavours but the quality shone through as always.

Jason's Australia Trip to Schild Estate - Day Two

I had the same early start as yesterday (7.45am pick up) and went straight into pumping over the last open red wine vat that had been macerating for a week. Testing the thickness of the cap, cleaning into the vat a little, I caught a massive nose-full of CO2, which made me see stars for a moment! Definitely a reminder of the danger of winemaking and brought me back to my lack of disclaimer and need for a Rottweiler solicitor. 

Blisters Down Under - Day One Schild Estate Visit, by Jason Busby

After a 36 hour door to door epic journey with three stops (2 hours Dubai, 2 hours Singapore, 3.5 hours Melbourne), several films, a few interesting wines, lovely food and great service from the Emirates crew I arrived in the Barossa, an hour outside of Adelaide.

I was collected by the General Manager of Schild Estate Casey Mohr, who looks after exports, amongst other things. I had a quick winery visit to meet the team and then checked in with the evening off to catch up on work and get over the jet lag.

Schild Estate

Schild Estate 2012 Vintage Report

Schild Estate reports on the 2012 harvest in the Barossa Valley, Australia:

VinItaly - Days Two and Three, by Mike Unsworth

The following morning I was running around like a headless chicken. Neb phones me and says “hurry up the bus is ready to leave”. “Neb I have lost my passport” I say in dismay. “No you left it at the reception!”  “Oh yes” I cried and promptly left the room without my key to top the embarrassment off. I’m getting too old for this I fear!

Day 2 was a busy day with many appointments and new faces at some of our existing suppliers. Agriverde has fantastic approachable wines at key prices for restaurants. The Pecorino Riseis IGT 2011 was my tipple, great nose with nettle, citrus peel and a zing of acidity.

VinItaly Day One, by Mike Unsworth

I’m not a big fan of air travel at all, however with the company of Neb with whom it is almost impossible to get a word in edgeways, the time went swiftly and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the Alps and Lake Garda as we headed down into Verona. We were visiting VinItaly, one of the biggest wine fairs there is, in the search of new and exciting additions to our portfolio and to see our current growers to taste new vintages and new wines.