Andrew Jefford

2 weeks ago | worldoffinewine.com | Andrew Jefford

Andrew Jefford, Anthony Rose, and David Williams taste a consistently high-quality line-up of Pinot Noirs from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Oregon Pinot Noir: Staying true to the Pinot idealWalter Scott Koosah Vineyard Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills 2021 (13.5% ABV) |93AJ | Dark black-red. Sweet, warm, rounded, and complete: very enticing aromas here. Sweet fruits and truffley depths. A touch of struck match for the hipsters.

2 weeks ago | worldoffinewine.com | Andrew Jefford

Andrew Jefford introduces a tasting of Oregon Pinot Noir shared with Anthony Rose and David Williams. Early 2025 will mark 60 years since David Lett first planted Pinot Noir in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. They weren’t the state’s first Pinot plantings—those took root in 1961 farther south, in the Umpqua Valley; while wine vines in general (notably “Klevner”) have been grown in the state since the 1880s. Few 20th-century planting gestures have been as significant as Lett’s, though.

4 weeks ago | worldoffinewine.com | Andrew Jefford

You’ll find Frapin Château de Fontpinot at the heart of Cognac’s Grande Champagne subregion—hence “Premier Cru de Cognac” on the label. Not only is it the most significant farm distillery in the region, but it’s also the only estate in Grande Champagne entitled to call itself “Château.”1 Its 240ha (593 acres) of vines make it significantly larger than any Médoc first growth.

4 weeks ago | worldoffinewine.com | Andrew Jefford

Andrew Jefford tastes 2020 Un Jour Sur Terre Clos d’Un Jour Cahors. Some wine regions bask in good fortune; others don’t. We’re all familiar with such inequalities—they’re vast in human lives, too. How gratifying it would be to redress bad luck on occasion with a few waves of the philanthropic wand. I’d wave mine at Cahors, which has been on the wrong side of history for the past 800 years. The region’s difficulties stem from physical location—its essence, in other words.

1 month ago | decanter.com | Andrew Jefford

The progress Georgia has made in the last decade is astonishing – on two fronts, in particular. The first is the country’s work with its genetic treasure chest of grape varieties. On my first visit in 2013, these seemed a research curiosity, and their widespread adoption and use in the country’s most ambitious wines was tentative. Now, a grand renaissance is underway.