A quick and necessary reminder: the name of the family and estate is Ponce, pronounced ‘pon-thay’. I think it is definitely worth stressing that once more, but, perhaps more importantly, the fact that I think their wines are truly world-class; Bodegas y Viñedos Ponce brings out a rare distinction in Bobal, the grape variety em...
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I regularly get asked if I have tasted anything surprising or if my wine world is dominated by styles and producers that I know well. The latter is certainly true, but I am always keen to taste new things and dig out wines that might easily be overlooked. I actually held a blind tasting for some clients just recently and it was a joy to showcase...
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One of the revelations of 2020 for us was a number of wines made in northern Italy from the Timorasso grape variety. We offered the 2018 vintage of Walter Massa’s Timorasso Derthona in September 2020. It was such a success and in such ongoing demand that we bought more to offer again in May 2021.
In late June this year, ...
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In April this year, Eric Guido wrote: “In my opinion, the real thing to be excited about within the topic of Friuli reds is Schioppettino (which is pronounced skee’ohp-peht-TEE-noh), Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, and Terrano in the Carso, which is a separate variety of Refosco from Croatia. Each time I revisit Friuli, I find more to l...
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If you have not already tasted wines from the Sicilian grape, Nerello Mascalese, you may well have heard of it; after all, we have been banging the drum about it for some time. Of all the examples we have tasted, there seems to be one standout producer, namely Benanti.
Certainly, the profile of many Etna-based estates has rise...
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Let’s face it, a lot of simple, anodyne rosé are offered as soon as the summer arrives – there is nothing wrong with that. There is clearly a huge demand for refreshing, light rosé destined to be drunk outside without us needing to ponder the qualities on show.
That said, it always seems odd to me tha...
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