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1 week ago | 
decanter.com | Andy Howard MW
Anniversaries seem to be arriving thick and fast at the renowned Hemel-en-Aarde producer, Hamilton Russell. A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece for Decanter on the 2021 release – current owner Anthony Hamilton Russell’s 40th vintage since he joined his father Tim at the estate. Now, in 2025, the estate is celebrating 50 years since its creation in 1975.
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2 weeks ago | 
jancisrobinson.com | Andy Howard MW
The recent spring press tastings at Waitrose and M&S presented an ideal opportunity to compare and contrast the latest wine offer at these two popular retailers. For many decades, both Waitrose and M&S were considered to ‘own’ the middle/upmarket battleground of UK national retailing. In the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, the UK market broadly divided into ‘grocers’ and ‘department stores’, with Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons, Asda and Safeway heading up the former group...
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1 month ago | 
jancisrobinson.com | Andy Howard MW
UK wine merchants Loire English wine Burgundy California Oregon Highlights from the Loire and Côte d'Or, alongside old favourites and newer names from the West Coast. The team at Au Bon Climat, pictured above after the 2023 harvest, crafted some of Jancis's favourites (image © Au Bon Climat).
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2 months ago | 
jancisrobinson.com | Andy Howard MW
Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, held its 2025 spring/summer press tasting on 25 March. While this is a significant event for consumers in the UK, it is also of interest to those in the US and Europe given the breadth of range they stock. To that end, this report focuses on wines likely to be available in many countries, while excluding nearly all those marketed under the Tesco own-brand ‘Finest’ label. The UK grocery market is estimated to be worth £231...
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Mar 29, 2025 | 
decanter.com | Andy Howard MW
French sparkling wines designated as Crémant are produced using the traditional method as practised in Champagne, involving a second fermentation in the bottle, and Crémant de Bourgogne is the leading example in this important sector. Across France, more than 100 million bottles of Crémant are produced each year, in eight regions: Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Die (in the Rhône), Jura, Limoux, Loire and Savoie.
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Mar 23, 2025 | 
decanter.com | Andy Howard MW
Andy Howard MW, Melania Battiston and Victoria Daskal tasted 203 wines, with 13 Outstanding and 125 Highly Recommended Cru Beaujolais 2022: Panel tasting scores Exceptional 0 Outstanding 13 Highly recommended 125 Recommended 60 Commended 5 Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their 2022 vintage reds from any of the 10 Beaujolais cru sub-regions (Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Régnié, St-Amour) The judges were...
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Mar 17, 2025 | 
decanter.com | Andy Howard MW
The Grand Auxerrois describes a large area in the Yonne department surrounding Chablis in the north of Burgundy. More than a century ago, this was one of the most important wine-producing areas in France, before it was devastated by the phylloxera bug and changing economic conditions. In the mid-19th century, there were more than 40,000ha of vines, but by 1980, this had fallen to less than 3,000ha (of which Chablis accounted for more than half).
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Feb 16, 2025 | 
decanter.com | Andy Howard MW
Andy Howard MW, Eugenio Egorov and David Williams tasted 110 wines, with 32 Highly Recommended Value Spanish Tempranillo: Panel tasting scores Exceptional 0 Outstanding 0 Highly recommended 32 Recommended 71 Commended 7 Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release still dry red wines of any Spanish classification (DOCa, DO, Vino de la Tierra, Vino de España) made from minimum 85% Tempranillo (or any accepted synonym, such as Tinta de Toro, Tinta del...
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Dec 26, 2024 | 
decanter.com | Andy Howard MW
Andy Howard MW, Jason Millar and Federico Moccia tasted 45 wines, with 2 Outstanding and 15 Highly RecommendedFranciacorta: Panel tasting scoresExceptional 0Outstanding 2Highly recommended 15Recommended 25Commended 3Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their non-vintage, white Franciacorta wines, in any style, though not including Franciacorta Satèn.
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Dec 10, 2024 | 
jancisrobinson.com | Andy Howard MW
From Muscadet to Chinon to Sancerre, this Loire Valley wine tasting shows off the region’s diversity, energy and talent – not to mention value! The team at Terra Vita Vinum, pictured above, produced two of the wines that most impressed Andy.
At 1,012 km (629 miles), the Loire is France’s longest river, running from the heights of the southern Cevennes in the Massif Central to the Atlantic Coast close to Nantes.
