The Winery Flower Vale of Martinborough of North Island

While some people prefer to avoid restaurants altogether on Valentine’s Day, for others it’s the perfect excuse to enjoy a romantic evening out. For wine lovers, finding venues with a great selection of bottles is an added bonus. Whether you’re after prestige Bordeaux and classic vintages or interesting and quirky bottles from less well-known producers, the selection below gives you plenty of options. We also tell you what to expect from the wine list in each venue. From Michel ...

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, ...

Lafite Rothschild 2021 was released at €470 per bottle ex-Bordeaux this morning (7 June) and was being offered en primeur by UK merchants at the equivalent of £5,808 per 12-bottle case in bond, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Lafite 2021 at 97 points, a strong performance in one of the more challenging Bordeaux vintages of recent years. ‘Surely a contender for wine of the vintage, certainly on the Left Bank. Vibrant and explosive,’ Hindle wrote. L ...