Hints and tips:
...I was invited back to Châteauneuf last month to celebrate the centenary of the formation of the Syndicat des Vignerons de Châteauneuf and was completely amazed by the transformation of the place....
...Yet Françoise Feuillat, daughter of the owner of the famous Mercurey domaine Michel Juillot, has grown her own domaine from eight to 15 hectares, replacing red wine vines with Chardonnay....
...Violette_FR, £56 An indulgence I would never forgo is Fruité Noir olive oil from Moulin Cornille, a small mill in southern France, which I buy by the box....
...Its once-celebrated hotel and restaurant, Le Vieux Moulin, is now shuttered; there are no shops....
...Travelling round the Côte d’Or in autumn 2017, when the new appellation was being discussed, I found many vignerons reluctant to use it....
...It is true that nature did not co-operate with Bordeaux’s vignerons in 2007. Like 2011 in Napa Valley, the season looked like a complete write-off....
...Loire wine broker Charles Sydney reckons that 50 per cent of Muscadet vignerons have “either gone bust or given up since the start of the recession”....
...Many of the 2009s, especially those from the crus (in approximately ascending order of body: Chiroubles, Saint Amour, Fleurie, Régnié, Brouilly, Côte-de-Brouilly, Juliénas, Chénas, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent...
...Still youthful too. 13.5% £18.99 Majestic (or 2 bottles for £13.99 each) Ch Tour du Haut-Moulin 2000 Haut-Médoc 17 Drink 2007-15 Subtle nose with very fine texture and real succulence....
...Cave des Vignerons de Bully, Cuvée des Vignerons 2006 Beaujolais (12.4%) £4.99 Waitrose. This special bottling is admirably tangy and zesty for the price....
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