Wines made from Merlot grapes of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

The 95th Academy Awards, more usually known as The Oscars, saw the usual glittering array of award-winning stars thanking their agents, managers and occasionally screenwriters. One former member of that last profession, though, made a cameo role in a very different capacity this year. Prince Robert of Luxembourg worked as a screenwriter in a past life, but this year he attended the Oscars to raise a glass to the film industry instead. And the wine in that glass was from one of the estates within ...

My book The Complete Bordeaux, which has been revised every five years, is soon to be published in its fourth edition. This may seem like excessive haste, given the scope of the book, but it is astonishing how rapidly changes can take place in the region. Burgundy, in contrast, is relatively stable, since most properties are family-owned and tend to stay that way. But not so in Bordeaux, where there are ample opportunities for newcomers to acquire established properties, as they have been doing ...

There’s no doubt that 2021 was a challenging vintage. Most explanatory statements or technical sheets handed out over the past few weeks have mentioned the unfavourable, oft disastrous weather conditions, the sometimes very low and disheartening yields and the slightly varied or unusual blends on offer in 2021. Difficulties faced by vignerons both inside and outside of the cellar have been explained in detail as has the raft of highly important decisions needed be made throughout the year, ...