The flavor of bitter almond in wine

There has been buyer and trade enthusiasm for California’s 2018-vintage releases, yet there is still a sense of the region finding its way on the international fine wine market. Releases of top Cabernet Sauvignon and ‘Bordeaux blend’ wines from the 2018 vintage have added some spark to the California sector of the market this year. ‘We’re seeing much stronger demand for blue-chip 2018s than we did for the 2017s,’ said Ryan Woodhouse, domestic wine buyer for K&L Wine Merchants in the US. Scar ...

Berry Bros & Rudd has reported a 13% year-on-year increase in online sales for the two-month period ending 31 December 2021 (internal data). Moreover, online sales soared 107% versus the same period in 2019, according to the fine wine and spirits merchant. Average online order value increased by 19% year-on-year compared to 2020, with Berry Bros & Rudd’s online fine wine exchange [BBX] reporting a 25% increase. The strong online results helped sales across the business increase by 2% yea ...

The unnamed collector is set to receive 440 bottles of single malt in total from ‘Cask No. 3’ – 88 each year over the next five years, giving her a vertical series of 1975 Ardbegs bottled at 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 years old by 2026. The sum paid equates to more than £36,000 per bottle, and is more than 16 times the record amount paid at auction for a single cask of whisky – set in April this year, when a private buyer from the US paid £915,500 (hammer price) for a 1988 Macallan cask. However, pri ...