The Château Haut Pical of Libournais of Bordeaux

Château Angélus’ announcement that it is withdrawing from the process to create the 2022 St-Emilion Classification has sent shockwaves through the region and raised questions about the ranking’s future form.  With Châteaux Ausone and Cheval Blanc having announced their withdrawal last year, three of the top-ranking ‘Premier Grand Cru Classé A’ estates from the last edition of the St-Emilion Classification in 2012 will not be candidates for the revised ranking, due this ye ...

Severe drought in northern Italy has led to the country’s government declaring a state of emergency in several regions, including Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto. Funds of €36.5m (£31m) would be made available to these regions for drought relief, the government said. Agriculture body Coldiretti said last week that the Po river, which flows across northern Italy to the Adriatic Sea, was almost unrecognisable. Drought in the Po Valley threatened around 30% of n ...

New stocks of Château Latour 2010 were released from the Pauillac-based First Growth’s cellars on 13 September. Latour 2010 is regarded as one of the best Bordeaux wines of the 21st century so far, and has received two 100-point Decanter scores in the past three years. It’s also more expensive than many other Latour vintages, but analyst group Wine Lister said it expected buyers to show interest. ‘There is no doubt that this release will see demand, especially for merchants rel ...