Grapes & Corks

16/11/2025

Photo taken on a wine tour a few weeks ago of the Sancerre vineyards in their Autumn glory with the town of Sancerre in the distance. blanc

15/11/2025

A wonderful tribute to a great wine maker who almost single- handedly raised the appellation Pouilly-Fumé to new heights.

Hommage au petit prince du vin, au regretté Didier Dagueneau. Vigneron surdoué et personnalité hors norme, il fut le premier à faire confiance à LOTEL DU VIN...

08/11/2025

Harvest time at the Domaine de la Romanée Conti in Burgundy

Aubert de Villaine nous accueille au domaine de la Romanée-Conti pour suivre les vendanges et la vinification du plus mythique vin de Bourgogne … Une visite ...

16/10/2025

It's not only the Pinot Noir varietal that makes age-worthy wines in Burgundy. Was it good? You bet. Still felt youthful so I will try the second bottle in 10 years' time.

24/09/2025

That is one hell of a wine! No wonder Raveneau's wines are so highly prized. All silky fruit and intense minerality. How does he do it?

15/09/2025

A naturally sparkling wine from one of my favorite estates in Sancerre, Domaine Fousassier. Highly recommend trying this delightfully fresh and fruity wine. And even if you are not a great fan of effervescent wines, this one may just make you change your mind!
Pét-nats are sparkling wines made in a manner that predates the “traditional method” used in Champagne. Rather than induce a second fermentation in the bottle to create the bubbles, as Champagne producers do, makers of pét-nat simply bottle the wine before the initial fermentation has ended. The result is slightly fizzy, sometimes lightly sweet from residual grape sugars, usually hazy with unfiltered yeast particles, and clean and precise.
Though this approach to making fizzy wine originated in southwestern France in the 1500s, these wines can be made from any grape variety.

31/05/2025

What a treat! An extraordinary 1990 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains signed Domaine Brocard. Beautiful to behold with a rich golden robe and a distinguished subtle nose of mushrooms, dried fruit and nuts backed by an ever so slight oxidative whiff. Very mouth-filling with surprisingly good acidity for a white wine of this age and a remarkable salinity on the finish. The guests won't forget this one in a hurry!

17/03/2025

For all you Burgundy wine lovers here's a rare one. A deliciously thirst-quenching pinot from the region's northernmost wine-growing district, the Jovinien. This Côte Saint-Jacques from the superb south/south-east facing slopes overlooking the riverside town of Joigny, is signed Alain Vignot. The soils are predominately clay with a high percentage of flint. This 'cuvée' is hand picked, and then half the the wine is raised in oak of different ages and half in stainless steel vats before being blended and bottled. The wine boasts loveLy aromas of ripe red fruit such as raspberries and cherries; and just a hint of smokiness (perhaps the flint?). The wines from this vineyard can typically age from 5 to 10 years, according to the vintage. The 2023 which I sampled was already drinking well but could probably go another 5 to 7 years easily.

07/03/2025

29/01/2025

2 for the price of one. Natural w**d control and natural fertiliser at the same time!