The Winery Principe delle Baccanti of Falanghina del Beneventano of Campanie

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 ...

Niagara’s summer? It’s hot, and sticky. I tried a walk near my hotel in mid-July but could only find a large retail mall. It was early; the shops were still shut. Even so, I had to dodge from awning to awning, avoiding the prosecuting sun. I’ve been there in autumn, too, which happened to be mellow and easeful – though it can also be wild, wind-whipped, rain-drenched. The ‘shoulder seasons’ are feared here: you never know what’s coming. The first time I went it was deepest winter. That made an i ...

Springtime brings the so-called ‘Caldaia di Maggio’ to Barolo, a noise similar to a kettle simmering that is caused by evaporating water in the soils. This year, however, it’s unlikely that this phenomenon will occur. Drought is affecting the entire north of Italy; predominantly the Langhe but also Valpolicella and Franciacorta. Not even Tuscany is spared. The vineyards are lacking the reserves of water that their soils usually contain at this time of year. Winter passed without snow in almost a ...