The Balearic Islands (Las Islas Baleares) collectively form one of Spain's 17 official administrative regions. This idyllic archipelago Lies about 95 km east of the Iberian Peninsula in the western Mediterranean. The islands' closest neighbours are the provinces of Valencia and Murcia to the west, and Catalonia to the North. The four largest islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) are known as the archetypal Mediterranean holiday destinations.
Although wine has been produced on the islands since Roman times (vines were introduced around 121 BC), the industry is still evolving. The islands have two official DO wine designations: Pla i Llevant (introduced in 2001) and Binissalem-Mallorca, both located on the island of Mallorca.
Originally from Bordeaux, Sauvignon, or Sauvignon Blanc, is reputed to be one of the best French grape varieties for white wine. It is a white grape variety, not to be confused with Sauvignon Gris and its pale yellow color, or with Cabernet Sauvignon which produces red wines. Particularly famous thanks to Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc is cultivated as far as New Zealand, where it produces great wines whose reputation is well established.
white wines from the region of Iles Baléares go well with generally quite well with dishes of pork, rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) or spicy food such as recipes of gratin of fresh chard (green and ribs), spinach, smoked salmon and ricotta lasagne or red mullet, mackerel, tuna, salmon sushi.
Tasting the 2020 Côte-Rôties reminded me of the 2016s – while some are on the light side, the wines are ripe with a fine tannic frame. They are noticeably more slender and less potent than the previous few vintages and will drink well straight away. Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for the Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu 2020 top-scoring wines {"content":"PHA+U3TDqXBoYW5lIE9naWVyIGJlbGlldmVzIHRoZSBjb29sIG5pZ2h0cyB3ZXJlIGFuIGltcG9ydGFudCBmYWN0b3IgaW4gdGhlIGZyZXNoZXIgc3R5bGUgb2Ygd ...
The Sotheby’s New York sale of Bourbon and Rye Whiskey, held at the weekend, combined two significant collections of American whiskey, with almost 100% of lots sold and 75% of them selling for above their pre-sale high estimates. The top spot for the most expensive lot in the auction went to a bottle of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 Year Old Barrell #4, which sold for $43,750, double its pre-sale high estimate and making it the joint most valuable bottle of rye whiskey ever sold at auction. The sum w ...
Some Châteauneufs are more reliable than others. When I visit the region to taste the new vintage every year, Domaine de la Janasse’s cuvée Vieilles Vignes regularly features among the best. It’s a particularly dense and concentrated wine when young, and it always strikes me that, even for Châteauneuf, it’s a wine that needs extended ageing to show its best. I was keen to acquire a more complete understanding of how this cuvée develops, so I visited brother-and-sister team Isabelle and Christoph ...
