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Showing posts from April, 2018

A brief word about new vintages in Piedmont and the Rhone

Recently returned from our annual trip hopping across the Alps (we managed the journey over the top of the Colle Madelene/Col d'Arche which affords stunning views and around 22 hairpin bends on the Italian side - not good if you get stuck behind a camper van) having visited lots of wineries both in Piedmont and the Rhone. As every enthusiast knows, 2015 was an exceptional year throughout Europe (certainly all the major wine-growing regions of France and northern Italy where we work) with wines that often need a bit of cellaring but have the capacity to age magnificently. In the main, these are the wines we offered 'en primeur' this time last year. Now it is the turn of the 2016s. In Piedmont, I was struck by the explosion of fruit in the Langhe Nebbiolo wines I tasted from 2016. Actually, it was probably more the acidity levels in these wines which kept the fruit very much alive on the palate. Fantastic food wines. Of course, it is only the basic Nebbs that are currentl