The Morning Claret

Simon J Woolf & Friends on Wild and Wonderful Wines

merlot

6 minute read

Molto Forte biodynamics, mezzo-forte wine

Wineries can soak up a lot of money – as per the popular industry joke “How do you make a million in wine? Answer: Start with two million”. The landscape is littered with vinous vanity projects created by wealthy industrialists, Read more

Pigs cheeks are go, at Stolen supper club
4 minute read

Graves doesn’t have to be serious

Who doesn’t love a joyful, everyday wine – especially if it’s fairly priced Bordeaux. There’s an unfortunate view, particularly prevalent in the UK, that Bordeaux wines fall into only two categories – those sold at super-premium prices for the obscenely Read more

That Gruner won't bite, Pete!
10 minute read

Oh Balls! (Or how customer service saved the day)

Picture the scene – four old friends, and we’ve just passed a convivial evening in a restaurant. It’s Thursday night, 9.30pm, no-one’s ready to go home but at the same time a change of scenery is called for. Oh yes, and Read more

Green and Blue's Kate Thal
5 minute read

Feeling (Green and) Blue

You don’t expect to end up on the dance floor with the proprietor at the end of a wine tasting, but that’s what happened at last Sunday’s wine and music matching event at Green and Blue. The concept seemed simple Read more

Super Istrian in a super heavy bottle . . .
3 minute read

Super Istrian meets Southern Plavac

The Morning Claret is delighted to be going on a brief sojourn to Istria later this week. Having travelled a couple of times in the Southern part of Croatia, I’m fascinated to see what the North of the country has Read more

Colourful labels on the Hagymasi Pinceszet stand
8 minute read

Smoke on the water – Hungarian Wine House tasting

Any bon-viveur worth their salt will be familiar with Hungary’s most famous vinuous export – Tokaji Aszu. This luscious yet refreshing nectar has assured Hungary’s place on the international wine map for the last 400 years. Additionally, those of a Read more

Hot but not bothered – Phélan Ségur 2003

It’s always interesting to re-taste the wines from Bordeaux’s 2003 heatwave. There was much scaremongering at the time – the wines were flabby, they might fall apart before reaching maturity, they were largely atypical of the region, and so on. Read more