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Bowled over by a Bobal, Spain’s other red grape
A new wine range makes its debut with a stunning Spanish Bobal. Bin #001 Altolandon Bobal 2017, from vineyards farmed organically at...
May 20, 2019


WINE OF THE WEEK: Cosme Palacio Rioja Vendimia Seleccionada 2016, Rioja, Spain
£14, Sainsbury's This has been aged in oak – and not any old oak but "lightly toasted, hand-cleft French new oak barrels from the very...
May 9, 2019


Natural wines from a garage in Catalonia
I’m not going to get into a discussion about so-called natural wine or raw wine, except to say that I'm not a cheerleader for them. That...
Apr 17, 2019


WINE OF THE WEEK: Descendientes de J Palacios Pétalos Bierzo 2016, Bierzo, Spain
£15.99/£17.99, Majestic; £18.50, Berry Bros & Rudd, WoodWinters Álvaro Palacios of Priorat and Rioja fame and his nephew Ricardo Pérez...
Mar 28, 2019


WINE OF THE WEEK: Bodegas Pazo Tizón Extramundi Blanco 2017, Ribeiro, Spain
£14.99 (£12.99 in a 6-bottle mix), Majestic; £16, Booths This is already in my Festive White Wine Guide, but it's an absolute favourite...
Dec 20, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Ramón Bilbao Rioja Edición Limitada 2015, Rioja, Spain
£12.95, Great Western Wine There are some Riojas that wouldn't be up to Christmas lunch, but this has what it takes – and not only to...
Nov 29, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Bodegas Belote Calandria Prieto Picudo 2016, Tierra de León, Spain
£13.75/£12.38, The Daily Drinker I'm delighted to find a wine made from Prieto Picudo. It's a fairly obscure red grape variety, even in...
Oct 25, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Sierra de Toloño Rioja Alavesa 2016, Rioja, Spain
£14.95/£13.50, Lea & Sandeman At the annual tasting last week of The Bunch group of six independent wine merchants, of which Lea &...
Sep 27, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama, Jerez, Spain
£11.95 (37.5cl), Lea & Sandeman; £12.49 (37.5cl), Martinez Wines Outstanding Manzanilla, aptly named and great value for such quality....
Jul 26, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Rioja Reserva 2009, Rioja, Spain
£25–£29, Laithwaites, Swig, Armit Vina Ardanza is one of the true classics of Rioja. It's been around for 76 years and each vintage has...
Jul 19, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Taste the Difference CVNE Rioja Gran Reserva 2011, Rioja, Spain
£12 (on offer), Sainsbury's Textbook Gran Reserva from CVNE, one of Rioja's most admired bodegas. Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España...
May 3, 2018


Txakoli – a must-try wine (even if you don't want to pronounce it)
The first bodega I visited on a revelatory, perception-challenging first trip to the Spanish Basque country’s Txakoli regions last autumn...
Apr 11, 2018


Expanding wine drinkers' horizons: The Daily Drinker
As it was so hard choosing between the five Daily Drinker wines for my Wine of the Week, I'm writing up the other four here (and looking...
Mar 6, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Telmo Rodríguez Mountain Blanco 2013, Sierras de Málaga, Spain
£17.95, Ocado Here’s as fine a demonstration as you’ll get that there’s more to Málaga than sweet wine. Sierras de Málaga is the DO...
Feb 15, 2018


Vermú, Vermut, Vermouth
Paso-Vermú, a new hand-crafted Spanish Vermouth made by an English couple in Somontano. The striking artwork is by Matt Sewell Strictly...
Feb 12, 2018


The changing face of Txakoli
Hot-foot from a trip to Basque Spain at the end of October, I postponed the idea of a blog enthusing about Txakoli (aka Chacolí) on the...
Jan 15, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: Màquina y Tabla Páramos de Nicasia Blanco 2016, Vino de España
£13.95, or £12.75 in any 12 bottles, Lea & Sandeman I've held off making a Màquina y Tabla white a Wine of the Week for no better reason...
Jan 4, 2018


WINE OF THE WEEK: *finest Viña del Cura Rioja Gran Reserva 2011, Rioja, Spain
£11, Tesco (25% off when you buy 6: £49.50) Wire-wrapped bottles divide Spanish red wine drinkers into those who run a mile and those for...
Nov 30, 2017


WINE OF THE WEEK: Luis Cañas Rioja Blanco Fermentado En Barrica 2016, Rioja, Spain
£12.50, Hennings Wine A vibrant, butter-smooth white Rioja that combines the best of tradition with a new-wave contemporary feel, from a...
Nov 23, 2017


WINE OF THE WEEK: Avancia Cuvée O Godello 2016, Valdeorras, Spain
£16.99/£14.99, Majestic Godello grows in the far north west of Spain, like the better known Albariño, except that Godello's stronghold of...
Oct 12, 2017
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