James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

After a short delay (the car broke down just outside Montelimar so we hired a car for a few days and had a few bonus days in the south of France - can't really complain!), we have returned from Easter in the Vaucluse where I visited most of the estates I work with and a few new ones. Universally superb although, to be fair, I probably tasted only a couple of hundred wines, all from good producers, so there are probably some duds out there. I was particularly taken by Laurent Brusset's wines which, when I tasted them at Christmas, were unsettled. Now, just a few months on, Domaine Brusset 's "Le Grand Montmirail" 2007 is going to be a superb value, even with the exchange rate falling through the floor. The fruit is quite well evolved already with none of the young fiery Grenache character that can be misleading (you never quite know whether it is going to develop properly or if it is overcropped) and some additional warmth from the second and third year barrels. A...

Not strictly a post from today but this is from Oz's 2009 guide... "Intelligently chosen, reliably individualistic wines from estates in France, Italy and Spain. A list worth reading, full of information and provocative opinion – and they’re not overcharging." Oz Clarke's 250 Best Wines Wine Buying Guide 2009 Wines included in the guide: Domaine des Anges , Cotes du Ventoux 2004 "L'Archange" Xavier Vignon "Xavier" Rouge Xavier Vignon "Xavier" Blanc Moulin de Gassac , VDP de l'Herault - Sauvignon Blanc

Oz Clarke's 250 Best Wines 2009 contains the usual emphasis on wines available from the big players and the multiples (fair enough really: that's where most people buy wines). A quick count suggests around 100 of the recommendations are wines not available in the supermarkets or from Oddbins and The Wine Society so we are feeling rather proud to have three of these available exclusively from BRW. Domaine des Anges ' "L'Archange" 2004 Rouge and Xavier Vignon 's Rouge and Blanc were the three wines selected (click on the wines to see Oz's notes). Oz also wrote this about BRW: "Intelligently chosen, reliably individualistic wines from estates in France, Italy and Spain. A list worth reading, full of information and provocative opinion – and they’re not overcharging." Oz Clarke's 250 Best Wines Wine Buying Guide 2009

The Guide Hachette des Vins 2009 recommends Domaine de Mourchon 's Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Tradition 2006 also highlighted in the forthcoming editions of Le Grand Guide des Vins de France (Bettane & Desseauve), Guide des Vins (Gilbert & Gaillard - also recommends the 2005 Grande Reserve) and the Wine Spectator 's September edition.

Dulwich Wine Society tasting. Ten wines from the Southern Rhône, eight red and two white. For me, the stand out wines include the extremely pure and fruity Côtes du Rhône from Domaine de la Charité , Domaine de Mourchon 's mature and mellow 1999 Séguret and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2007 Blanc from Domaine de Cristia which came as a refreshing, fruity finale after all the rich reds.

The Revue du Vin de France has named Domaine de Mourchon's Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Tradition 2005 as bargain of the month.

Back to Cahors again for our summer holiday, having discovered the delights of the region over just a couple of days last year. It really is a charming area with lots of oak trees and beautiful countryside and it's not overrun with tourists. The wines are rather pricey though in some cases (we tasted at one estate where the wines started at 19€; the more prestigious cuvée was 48€ and, after we had made appropriately appreciative noises about that wine we were permitted to taste the 84€ top cuvée - they seemed a little surprised when we declined to buy any of that one). Visits to Lamartine and Cedre were both good though with the former producing some really good wines at sensible prices. Cedre is a little pricier but the wines are astonishingly good so worth it. On to Madiran briefly - not an area to explore so much, except for the wines. A visit to see Didier Barre at Berthoumieu was very worthwhile. His "Charles de Batz" is my sort of wine - strong, robust, fruity - ...