The flavor of hay in wine of Aragatsotn

Southern Rhône 2021 overall vintage rating: 2/5 Fresh, bright, intense white wines throughout the region. A hard frost reduced yields and produced a fragile harvest for reds. Quality is mixed; many wines lack ripeness, but there are some very good wines in a lean, fresh style with relatively low alcohols. ‘In this chaotic, unpredictable and atypical vintage, buying by appellation, or even producer, isn’t a reliable strategy.’ Southern Rhône 2021 red wine of the vintage Château de Beaucastel, Hom ...

Last chance: You can still buy tickets to watch this E Guigal LaLas virtual masterclass and taste the wines, via the Decanter at Home series – book here A so-called ‘vertical’ tasting is of the same wine, but over multiple vintages. A ‘horizontal’ tasting is of different wines, but in the same vintage. That’s what makes the Decanter at Home tasting particularly special – it’s both horizontal and vertical. Not only do we taste the three jewels in Guigal’s Côte-Rôtie crown; La Mouline, La Tu ...

Most Côtes-du-Rhônes are juicily drinkable on release, but certain Rhône appellations produce wines that go on developing for decades. ‘We are lucky,’ says Vincent Avril of Clos des Papes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, ‘we can make wines that can age – so I think we should.’ Young wines offer vibrancy, brightness and refreshment, but only in maturity do they reach their full aromatic complexity and textural harmony. Scroll down to see Matt’s top 10 mature Rhône wines for drinking this Christmas { ...