Producer
Inside Álvaro Palacios's L'Ermita
The story of L'Ermita, Álvaro Palacios's tiny old-vine Garnacha plot in Priorat, and how to drink the Palacios range without paying four figures.
Blog
Notes on wine, cellars, and the craft of keeping bottles until they're ready.
TastingTasting note: La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904, current release
An opinionated tasting note on La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 2016: nose, palate, drinking window to the late 2030s, and what to pair it with.
CellarStarting a wine cellar with 500 euros: the bottle list
A named 12-bottle starter cellar for around 500 euros, split between drink-now and lay-down across Spanish regions, with prices and drinking windows.
VarietyMencía: the under-rated grape behind Bierzo's frontier reds
Mencía across Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras: floral, slate-driven reds, light vs ageworthy styles, and why to serve the lighter ones chilled.
RegionBierzo: the frontier wine region and what to drink from it
Bierzo is where Mencía ages, not just refreshes. The frontier terroir, the new village and single-vineyard tiers, and the producers and bottles to seek.
VarietyGarnacha is having a moment: from Gredos to the Côtes du Rhône
How old vines turned Garnacha from a bulk grape into fine wine, told across Gredos, Priorat, Aragón, Navarra, Sardinia and the Rhône, with bottles to try.
CellarWine storage at home: five conditions that matter and four that don't
Skip the over-engineered cellar. The five storage conditions that matter, four that don't, and a tiered approach by how long you keep each bottle.
RegionSierra de Gredos: Spain's rising star for elegant Garnacha
Why Sierra de Gredos makes Spain's most elegant Garnacha: granite, high altitude, old vines, plus Comando G, Marañones and the Albillo Real whites.
PairingJamón ibérico and sherry: why Fino wins
Dry Fino and Manzanilla beat red wine with jamón ibérico. Match the cure to the sherry, with named bottles and the one red exception.
RegionRías Baixas Albariño: a producer-by-producer field guide
A field guide to Rías Baixas Albariño: the three sub-zones, six producers worth seeking from Pazo de Señorans to Forjas del Salnés, and why top Albariño ages.