The flavor of honeysuckle in wine of Rabat/Casablanca

Last year, there was much mirth on wine Twitter about a particularly excruciating tasting note. You’re right. The wine trade needs to get out more. But still… this one was a beauty. It began well enough – really quite beautiful, in fact. But before long the imaginative descriptions were getting more ornate and strained. It moved from poetic to meaningless before finishing with a reference to Burnt Norton – the first of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets – that put it firmly in Private Eye magazine’s ...

Prima & Ultima – meaning ‘first and last’ – showcases whiskies that are exactly that: either the first or the last of their kind. The eight single malts in this year’s line-up were chosen by Diageo master blender Dr Craig Wilson, following in the footsteps of previous Prima & Ultima creators Maureen Robinson and Dr Jim Beveridge OBE. The whiskies include the final Brora bottling from 1981, and spirit from the last two casks of Port Ellen filled in 1980, as well as single malts from Royal ...

Not so long ago, most Hermitage was a blend of different vineyards from across the hill. However, since the 1990s we’ve seen an increasing range of single-vineyard wines being made. Getting a handle on the most important sites will help guide you to a style you enjoy, and even if you prefer blended wines, becoming familiar with the individual Hermitage lieux-dits will enrich your drinking experience. Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for seven wines from Hermitage lie ...