The flavor of earth in wine of Rheintal

Ardbeg single malt whisky, based on the southern shores of Scotland’s island of Islay, has recently unveiled Fon Fhòid: the latest in a number of highly unusual experiments. Back in 2014, the distillery team lead by whisky creator, Dr Bill Lumsden and former distillery manager, Mickey Heads (now retired) took the highly unusual approach of burying two already matured casks of Ardbeg underneath the peat bogs themselves, (burning peat smoke is normally used to dry the malted barley during producti ...

The patchwork of Burgundy‘s landscape, varied appellations and associated terroirs is as complex as it is enticing. Home of internationally renowned Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Burgundian wines are often regarded as the global benchmark for these varieties, with Old and New World styles habitually compared and contrasted. Famed for its Premier and Grand Cru wines and centuries of winemaking tradition, Burgundy is known to produce some of the most expensive wines in the world, but its also a ...

An electronic dart was tossed at us recently by Decanter reader Tim Frances from Kent. It landed on the screen of our magazine editor Amy Wislocki; Amy lobbed it across the virtual room to me, suggesting a column-length reply. ‘Here’s a poser,’ Tim began. ‘How do your experts grade a wine that they find intellectually well made, but that they truly madly deeply dislike? I’ve tasted wines I can admire dispassionately, but would stab my feet with forks rather than drink them. Must be a conundrum f ...