négociant

The fascination and frustration of Bordeaux

The fascination and frustration of Bordeaux

By Andrew Black Back in the late 1970s, looking for my first job, I sent a letter to several prominent London wine merchants, saying that I had a passion for wine. Could they help? One of them, Laurence Hayward, responded with a short but encouraging message. “Anyone with a passion for wine”, he said, “deserves an interview”.  And so my career in wine began, but not quite in the way I imagined after receiving that letter. My interview was short and Mr Hayward was to the point. “If you want to understand wine…Read more
Have we fallen out of love with Bordeaux?

Have we fallen out of love with Bordeaux?

By Fiona Morrison M.W. As I sit down to write this, Bordeaux is in the middle of “en primeur “ week at the end of March/beginning of April.  This is the moment, when Bordeaux presents its new vintage, worthy of viewing or not, to the wine world.  The quality of the vintage, indeed the question of whether a vintage should be purchased “en primeur” has become rather irrelevant. So important is it to see and be seen in Bordeaux that if you wanted to keep a foothold in the business, you join the masses…Read more
The fall and rise of Garnacha in Aragon?

The fall and rise of Garnacha in Aragon?

By Norrel Robertson  As I write the 2014 harvest in Aragon is drawing to a close for what has been an up and down vintage where we have seen possibly the largest quantity of Garnacha in Spain since the 2004 vintage. Quality is likely to be determined by those who were brave enough to drop crops before veraison and to avoid the risk of disease, especially botrytis, which attacks over cropped, tight and compact bunches that Garnacha produces when intervention is eschewed in favour of kilos. For many producers, growers and wineries this has…Read more