2022 Bordeaux Vintage Report

I find myself writing ‘surely one of the best ever vintages I have tasted from this estate, if not the finest’ on more than one occasion, and I remain hopeful that a number of these will remain attainable when prices are released. The best examples show a very rare combination of richness, balance and freshness – in fact a sense of harmony that renders them appealing to taste as young, unfinished wines. Tasting 60 different samples with a négociant one afternoon was far from the arduous task that I recall from earlier in my career. Finding harmony in young wines bodes well for future development and I will be fascinated to see how the best of the class of 2022 age...

2020 Soave Classico, Casette Foscarino, Monte Tondo

Now for something completely different…Soave, which emanates from the area around Verona, remains overlooked as a region, possibly with the sole exception of the much revered wines of Pieropan. Even with that notable exception, the image of Soave has not really recovered from being debased over the years, as it became a source of vast quantities of simple, fairly anodyne and inoffensive drinking wines. However, it doesn’t have to be that way as the dominant grape varieties are capable of producing wines of real character.

2020 Albarino III Ano from Fefinanes - a captivating Spanish white that elevates the bar

Albariño is certainly a popular grape variety, though the majority of production accounts for fairly simple day-to-day drinking wines. However, this variety is possibly one of the more characterful, indigenous, white varieties grown in Spain, and, in skilled hands and where yield is restrained, it can deliver outstanding wines with fine concentration and great character. Some of the top examples from the likes of Rafael Palacios, Zarate and Fefiñanes are capable of developing in bottle over the mid-term, gaining complexity as they mature.

Not to be missed : Two Tuscan greats from Piaggia

I tasted two outstanding Tuscan reds just recently that blew me away. Both wines come from Piaggia, an estate situated in the commune of Poggio a Caiano within the Carmignano DOCG, about 14 kilometres west of Florence. The estate was established in the 1970s by Mauro Vannucci, who was drawn to this location as he was convinced that he could produce a great Carmignano from this site, given its excellent exposure. The first vintage of Piaggia Carmignano Riserva that he produced was the 1991, and it was around this time that he supplemented the estate’s vineyard holding with an additional 15 hectares in a prime area near the centre of the Carmignano district. It is Mauro’s daughter, Silvia, who is the current owner of this 25-hectare estate, which comprises five different vineyard parcels.

2022 Bordeaux Vintage Report
2020 Soave Classico, Casette Foscarino, Monte Tondo
2020 Albarino III Ano from Fefinanes - a captivating Spanish white that elevates the bar
Not to be missed : Two Tuscan greats from Piaggia