What is En-Primeur?

- 10/04/2015
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The 2014 Vintage
It is pleasing to say that the 2014 vintage is shaping up very well! It is certainly the finest since the blockbuster 2010, and was subject to a healthy growing season especially aided by transforming weather in late September, early October, and good yields at harvest. Reports from...

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Played 2, Lost 2.

- 20/06/2014
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Every 4 years, the nation gets together to share the disappointment of another World Cup campaign and 2014 looks set to go down as a textbook failure from our fearless boys in white. World Cup games do, however, provide a good chance to have dinner and a few drinks. So, last night, the Richard Daw...
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Le Soula - Terroir at Altitude

- 21/08/2013
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A recent holiday in the Roussillon was highlighted by a trip to Le Soula in Fenouilledes. Having never been to this part of the world, it was definitely a trip into the unknown for me.
 
Winemaker Gérald Standley was keen to show us the vines, saying ‘I don’t know about the wine, but we certainly ha...
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RDFW hit Burgundy: Day 2

- 09/04/2013
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8am - Coffee, croissant. 9.30am - Echezeaux 1996. We are definitely in Burgundy. Day 2 kicked off with a visit to Morey St. Denis and a tasting with Alec Seysses at Domaine Dujac. As with many Burgundian cellars, it is mind blowing to comprehend that the cluster of barrels standing before you are su...
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Daytrip to Vilmart

- 09/04/2013
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As a bit of a Vilmart fan, I was delighted to be invited to visit the property and have lunch with Laurent Champ. The sleepy, snow-covered village of Rilly-La-Montagne seemed a far cry from the madness of Epernay. Arriving at the property, it felt less like a Champagne cellar and more an intimate Bu...
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RDFW hit Burgundy: Day 1

- 08/04/2013
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8.30 Monday morning in Burgundy can only mean one thing; a quick trip south of Beaune to taste some whites. We started with a producer new to me in the form of Jean Marc Boillot; a no nonsense Rugby fan who wasn’t short of a few opinions on the state of the game. These wines, especially his whites,...
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Champagne is for Life, not just for Christmas

- 04/01/2013
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We’ve been going a bit Champagne mad at RDFW over the last month or so and January seems to be continuing this trend.

Recently we’ve been enjoying some really great Meursault-esque wines from Vilmart. These are vinous, voluptuous and really quite special. They are instantly reminiscent of the great...
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The Woolpack Inn

- 23/11/2012
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No, not the boozer in the food mecca that is Bermondsey Street SE1, very different. There had been talk amongst friends of a little pub which carries a ‘bin end’ list with very gentlemanly mark ups, so on a recent trip to Winchester an adventure to The Woolpack Inn was in order. This is a fantastic...
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Beef and mature Rhone

- 08/08/2012
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As a very kind birthday gift I was given vouchers for the Ginger Pig, one of the best butchers in London. Rather than buying a mountain of their (exceptional) Toulouse sausages, I decided to splash out on a proper rib of beef. Now I rarely buy beef, as I’m a bit of a stickler for the quality and thi...
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Fear and Loathing in Epernay….quite the opposite

- 08/08/2012
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After a ferocious 4.30 am alarm followed by a plethora of espresso I joined the team generously compiled by LVMH to visit the hallowed home of Dom Perignon. After a sedate Eurostar we headed towards Epernay in possibly the swankiest minibus available, this was no Ford Transit and luxury seemed to be...
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