James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

The southernmost appellation of the northern Rhone is not a name that many wine enthusiasts know or a wine that is commonly seen on the shelves. There are some decent sparklers bubbling out, and have been since the 1820s, but now the still whites are making a name for themselves in this tiny appellation - different sizes abound on this font of all knowledge, the internet, but it seems that it is between 55 and 90 hectares (by way of contrast, Chateau Lafite claims 112 hectares). Earlier this year, I visited Pierre Gaillard , one of the northern Rhone's great risk-takers, who was clearly very pleased with his St-Peray (indeed, he has reason to be pleased with the whole range but the St-Peray seemed to be one he was especially proud of) and it was easy to see why. It is a wine grown just south of Cornas on clay and chalk, giving acidity and tension to the wine. The Marsanne/Roussanne blend give the wine delicate floral characters, complexity and balance. Yesterday, I was flicking...

It's been a while since my last post as the arrival of the British summer saw me de-camp to the continent for several weeks where wines were enjoyed but rarely intellectualised. I found that I still don't get on with Loire reds but I did find a Beaujolais I really liked, albeit one given a traditional, whole cluster fermentation followed by ageing in barriques (so, nothing like BoJo). Other wines came and went: a Ruche impressed me at lunch in Alba but, generally, I drank either wines which I import or, otherwise, wines of little consequence. Summer wines. Arriving back in the UK, it was time to start the post-arrival tastings of 2015s that have been sitting quietly in the warehouse since late June. Several wines from the northern Rhone's  Pierre Gaillard and Domaine Ste-Anne  in the south have been opened in the last week and, youthfulness aside, all have impressed greatly. From the latter estate, the St-Gervais 'Les Rouvieres' is surprisingly approachable altho...

Today sees the release of Decanter's August edition with the publication of the results of its Southern Rhone Whites tasting. We have a whopping seven wines in the line-up! As the notes show, Viognier is very much back in vogue. Chateau Juvenal, Ventoux 2015 'Ribes de Vallat' Another scoop for Juvenal, following its recent Wine of the Week (for the 2016) on jancisrobinson.com, now recognition for the 2015 - there's very little left but at least the follow-on comes highly recommended! The Juvenal Blanc is a blend of Clairette and Viognier. 'Calls to mind summer Mediterranean meadows and freshly mown grass. Peach, apricot and mango fruits dominate the palate, complemented by a rich, oily texture' (90/100, 13.5% ABV) Domaine Brusset, Cairanne 2015 'Esprit de Papet' One of two whites from Laurent Brusset and, if that's not enough, his 2015 Cairanne 'Chabriles' also scooped a Platinum Trophy for Best Value Rhone Red in the Decanter World W...

Jancis Robinson has revisited 2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape making two of our wines her Wines of the Week. She writes: 'I was reminded of how well the 2006 Châteauneufs are showing now when tasting a couple currently on offer from  The Big Red Wine Company  in the UK. I opened  Raymond Usseglio 2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape  (£24.50, 14.5% alcohol on the label) at the same time as  Domaine de Cristia 2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape   (£23, 15%) and enjoyed how they played tag in the glass. At first the Raymond Usseglio wine was the more impressive – much denser and richer – but then the Cristia came up on the outside lane and overtook it, offering more elegance and staying power, despite the alcohol level, and making the Usseglio look a little grainy and tired after an hour or so. 'But the main message is that this vintage of Châteauneuf is drinking very well at the moment and, for serious, ageworthy wines that have had almost 10 years in bottle, they are not desperat...

It's a little overdue, I know, but I hope people will find it worthwhile. There are some usual suspects on the list and a couple of new faces. On my annual jaunt to Canterbury at the end of April, a small group of tasters sampled the 2015 Brusset 'Esprit de Papet' and Raymond Usseglio's 2015 Chateauneuf-du-Pape . Both were enthusiastically received (and purchased in surprisingly large quantities). Then, last week, Jancis Robinson published her reviews of the new releases from Chateau Juvenal , one of the rising stars of the Ventoux. Needless to say, she loved the four wines she tasted. Now, to add to these three names - and to the wines of Chateau de Beaucastel/Famille Perrin which were first offered last November - we have some new names to add to the list: Pierre Gaillard is a winemaker based at Malleval in the northern Rhone. His first vineyard was St Joseph 'Clos de Cuminaille' , a wine we sold when we started the business. We are thrilled to have ...

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped off a box of wines at the London office of Jancis Robinson MW, affectionately known in the trade as HRH (she is charming, gracious and knows her stuff!). Earlier this week, I received an email telling me, 'Like the Juvenal white' and, after a few more email exchanges to get photos etc to her, it transpired she was going to make this her Wine of the Week . Them, a couple of days ago, another email asking for some more information about the red wines which were also in the box. Today, with reviews of all four wines posted on her website ( jancisrobinson.com , well worth the subscription for all serious wine enthusiasts), her WoW review is published and includes all the wines. A coup for Juvenal indeed! Here it is (published with permission): Château Juvenal is a name that is new to me. The Forestiers bought the property in 2001 and in 2011 joined forces with local vignerons the Alban family, who had until then delivered their grapes to the ...

A recommendation from someone who attended a tasting a year or so ago in Rutland lead to an invitation to present a selection of Rhone wines to a group of 80 or so people in St Albans last night. On arrival I was tested out with a radio microphone which I did everything I could to avoid using but managed to amuse and offend in equal measure (I suggested that I was rather younger than most of those present which was true but someone who was of a similar age thought I meant that everyone was considerably older than me) but, above all, inform people about the Rhone and its wines. It's often tricky in these situations since I don't know how much they know and don't want to patronise them; equally, it is a waste of their time if they go away without any greater understanding of the region. Three whites to begin with: Chateau Juvenal's 2015 'Ribes de Vallat' , an atypical blend of Clairette and Viognier, the latter grape giving the wine a sumptuous lift, followed by...