Battling with Mother Nature
Head of buying Pierre Mansour on how to handle what Mother Nature throws at you in Bordeaux!
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Tasting the future by way of the past
Sebastian Payne MW has tasted a few Bordeaux en primeur wines in his time. He reflects on how different the 2017 vintage is.
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Photo Gallery
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Bordeaux 2017
Léoville Barton made textbook wine in 2017 and was one of Sebastian Payne MW's picks of the vintage
Experience trips to other countries with our buying team
France 2015
South by South-West
Marcel Orford-Williams embarks on a whistle-stop tour starting in Saumur, on to the South West, the Languedoc then hopping over to Corsica.
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Portugal 2016
Portugal Unfortified
Considering its size, Portugal can stake a convincing claim to being the most diverse winemaking country anywhere. Its non-fortified wines continue to excite us.
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Beaujolais 2016
Changing Beaujolais
PR Manager Ewan Murray joins buyer Toby Morrhall in Beaujolais and discovers a region moving away from Nouveau and into the crus.
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Piedmont 2015
Perfect Piedmont
Protected by the Alps to the north and west and the Appennines to the south, Italy's north west is one of the wine world's most exciting regions. Paul and Janet try to get to grips with the Langhe, map Barolo, understand Barbaresco and round-up the latest Barolo vintages
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Bordeaux 2017
A good year for wisteria at Château Canon!
Bordeaux 2017
Overlooking Fronsac: our buyer for Bordeaux Tim Sykes on one of the rare sunny days during the trip to source 2017 Bordeaux
Bordeaux 2017
Preparing to taste in much more relaxing surroundings than the big organised primeur tastings. Buyer for Bordeaux Tim Sykes with Stéphanie Barousse at La Dauphine
Bordeaux 2017
Old school optical sorters! Photo courtesy of Basile Tesseron at Château Lafon Rochet
Bordeaux 2017
Entrance to Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou
Bordeaux 2017
Spotless winery at Château Phélan-Ségur, Saint-Estèphe
Bordeaux 2017
A more modern optical sorter at Phélan-Ségur. The machine photos each berry as it passes rejecting those that are less than perfect
Bordeaux 2017
Time to taste at Château Giscours, Margaux…'Full, rounded and with plenty of body and the structure to age…notes of mulberries and cedar combine with layered, grainy tannins to ensure a long life and plenty of pleasure to come.' Says buyer Tim Sykes…