All of our wine articles
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Terraza de los Andes Malbec 2023 Review
A Proper Midweek Steak Wine I picked this bottle up from Majestic for £17 and straight away felt like it might be in my lane. High altitude Argentinian Malbec, decent producer and a wine that looked like it wanted a bit more than just being a jammy fruit bomb. What I didn’t expect was just…
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Monte Antico Toscana 2021 Review
A New Wine Shop Find! I picked this bottle up from R&H Fine Wines in Liverpool after spending far too long staring at bottles I couldn’t quite justify buying this month. They had some proper gems on the shelves including the white Viña Tondonia and Wild Boy Chardonnay, both bottles I’ve wanted to try for…
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Ribolla Gialla Review
A Birthday Meal and a Bit of a Curveball It was my mum’s birthday, so we headed out to a local Italian called Quattros. One of those places where you already know you’re going to enjoy it before anything even arrives. I went all in. Ribs in a tangy BBQ sauce to start, lasagna al…
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Château de l’Orangerie Bordeaux Supérieur 2023 Review
A Tough one to Love! I opened this bottle of Château de l’Orangerie Bordeaux Supérieur 2023, with fairly neutral expectations. Bordeaux Supérieur can sometimes overdeliver for the price, especially in good vintages, so I was quietly hopeful. That didn’t last long. First Impressions – Brett Takes Over Straight out the bottle, the nose was dominated…
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Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2023
A Post Gig Treat There’s something about getting in after a gig, the house finally quiet, and opening a bottle just for yourself. No rush, no distractions, just seeing what’s in the glass. Tonight it was the Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2023, taken out of the fridge and left to come up slightly. Straight away it…
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Saint Émilion Grand Cru Review 2018: Close to Great but Not Quite Perfect
A Late Night Pour That Taught Me More Than Expected There’s something about getting in after a gig, adrenaline still there, house quiet, and knowing tomorrow is going to be a proper Sunday roast. Liv had already set the tone without even saying it. Corn fed chicken, potatoes prepped, veg ready to go. It felt…
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Santa Tresa Frapatto Rina Russa Review
A Light Red in the Sun That Delivered Sometimes you don’t want power. You don’t want depth or something to sit and analyse for an hour. You just want a wine that fits the moment. That was exactly the mood here. I picked up a bottle of Santa Tresa Rina Russa Frappato, stuck it in…
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Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2021 Review
There are some cracking wines out there, its just a shame that you have to look for so long to find them as is the amount of rubbish that the supermarkets have you wading through. Then there are wines like this, where the more time you spend with them, the more they reveal. The Antinori…
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The Moment I Understood What “High-End Wine” Actually Tastes Like
There’s been something I’ve been trying to describe for a while now. That high end wine flavour. I’ve mentioned it a few times, usually after trying something like Tignanello, where the wine just feels different. Not louder, not necessarily fruitier, just better. More complete. But I’ve never really been able to put my finger on…
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Vina Majestica Review
What a Collab this is! I went into Majestic in Birkdale which I do often and I picked this up because of one thing really. Its in the Definition by Majestic Range and its called Vina Majestica, The collaboration with La Rioja Alta, S.A.. I’ve had their wines before and I know exactly what they’re…
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Jam Shed Malbec Review
Why It Works (But Not For Me) Post gig, back home, and I fancied a glass of wine. Nothing planned, nothing serious, just something to switch off with. I didn’t have anything in, so I pulled into a garage and picked up a bottle of Jam Shed Malbec. Not something I’d usually go for, but…
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A £15 Cabernet, A Rack of Lamb, and a Proper Wine Moment
There are nights where you open a bottle and think, yeah this is nice. Then there are nights where everything just clicks. This was definitely the latter. I picked up a bottle of Jim Barry Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon as a bit of a midweek treat. Nothing too serious, around the £15 mark, but something…
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Orange Wine Assyrtiko Vidiano 2024 Review
Orange wine is one of those things you hear about before you really understand it. I’ve seen it mentioned more and more over the last couple of years in more of a fashion conscious sense, however when you look back at history and in particular read a book by someone like Oz Clarke, its a…
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Trimbach Riesling 2017, Thai Food and a Bit of a Realisation
I finally got my hands on a bottle of Trimbach Riesling 2017 and decided to do it properly. No rushing, no distractions, just a good bottle and some food that would actually give it a chance to show what it’s about. I’d already had a Riesling from Hugel Riesling recently and really enjoyed it, so…
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A Midweek Morrisons Rioja That Had Other Ideas – Marques de Los Rios Reserva Review
I picked this bottle up after seeing it mentioned by Tom Gilbey, who spoke highly of it and compared it to styles I’ve enjoyed before. That was enough to spark my interest, especially given how much I’ve liked wines like Viña Alberdi. What I got initially was exactly that. A pleasant nose, cherry pie and…
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What Thirsty by Tom Gilbey Taught Me About Wine
There’s a point in your wine journey where you realise you need a bit of direction. Not in a formal way. Not textbooks or exams. Just something to help you make sense of it all. That’s where I was when I picked up Thirsty by Tom Gilbey. I’d already had a few great wines at…
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Petaluma Chardonnay Adelaide Hills Review
This was one of those bottles that catches your eye in Tesco and feels like it should be a safe bet. Petaluma is a recognisable name, Adelaide Hills is a region you trust, and at around £16 it sits in that space where you expect something a little bit polished without overthinking it. I went…
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Domaine Begude Étoile Chardonnay 2023 – A Lesson in Letting Wine Breathe
I’ve been looking forward to opening this one. A Chardonnay from Limoux, a region that quietly produces some brilliant value wines, and one that came with a strong recommendation. Expectations were there, especially after hearing it described as creamy, layered and full of citrus. So naturally, I poured a glass straight from the fridge and…
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Walt Pinot Noir 2023 – A Step Up in the Journey
Tonight felt like one of those small but important moments in this whole wine journey. Not because the wine completely blew me away, but because it made me stop and rethink something I’d already scored. That’s when you know your palate is starting to sharpen. This was the Walt Pinot Noir 2023, picked up for…
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A Night with Saint-Joseph and a Realisation
I opened a bottle of E. Guigal Saint-Joseph the other night, one I’d been genuinely looking forward to. A proper Northern Rhône Syrah from the Saint-Joseph, and a chance to see what all the talk around peppery, savoury wines is really about. It went straight into the decanter. I had a burger planned for later…
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A Night That Started With a Cork… Well, a Screw Cap
Tonight’s bottle was a Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, and before I’d even poured a glass something strange happened. I cracked the screw cap and was met with a slight hiss, almost like opening a sparkling wine. A little puff escaped, almost like steam. Not something you expect from a red. Straight into the…
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Could You Build a Château in Lancashire?
The idea that wouldn’t leave me alone This all started with a thought that probably should have been left alone, but once it got in my head it wouldn’t go anywhere. What if I bought a bit of land near home, somewhere around Aughton, and built something that felt like a proper estate. Not just…
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Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva 2021 – When a Wine Wakes Up
There are some wines you enjoy, and then there are wines that make you stop mid sip and think hang on a minute, this is something else. That was exactly my experience with Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva 2021. I went into this one fairly open minded, paired it with a proper meal, and what…
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Brancaia Tre 2023 Review – Youthful Energy with a Promise of More
I’ve been looking for this bottle for a while, so there was no ceremony when I finally got my hands on it. It was open and in the decanter within minutes. Sometimes you just have to follow your instinct. This is a wine that had built a bit of anticipation for me, and it turned…
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A Mix Six That Turned Into a Lesson in Patience
I popped into Majestic without much of a plan and came out with one of those baskets that ends up teaching you more than you expected. There was a bottle I’d been looking for for months, a couple of classics, something new, and a familiar comfort pick. Five countries, five styles, and a bit of…
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Beaujolais, But Not As You Know It
I picked this bottle up without expecting too much, if I’m honest. Beaujolais still carries that reputation in the back of your mind, a bit light, a bit simple, something you don’t really sit and think about too much. But this felt like the right time to actually give it a proper go and see…
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When Mouton Doesn’t Mean What You Think
I picked up a bottle of Mouton Cadet from Tesco for £8, 2023 vintage, and I’ll be honest, I was excited to open it. You see the word Mouton and your brain immediately jumps to Château Mouton Rothschild. First Growth, Pauillac, history, prestige. You expect something with presence. What I got instead was a very…
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Why Some Wine Merchants Haven’t Changed… and Don’t Need To
Over the past few weeks I’ve come across a couple of wine merchants while searching for specific bottles. The kind you only really find when you start going a bit deeper, not just browsing the usual sites. What struck me wasn’t just the wines they stocked, but how they presented themselves. Some of these businesses…
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Beronia Reserva 2020 – A Rioja That Knows Exactly What It’s Doing
There’s something reassuring about picking up a bottle of Rioja Reserva. You sort of know where you’re going before you’ve even pulled the cork. And with Beronia 2020, that expectation is pretty much met but in a really tidy, well executed way. Straight away on the nose, this leans slightly savoury. Not in a heavy…
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The £4.99 Pinot Noir That Shouldn’t Be This Good Pebble Lane Review
Sometimes a wine catches you off guard. Not because it’s rare or expensive, but because it quietly overdelivers in a way that is quite unbelievable given how much the producers are making on the wine to be able to produce. That’s exactly what’s happened here with a 2022 Pebble Lane Pinot Noir I picked up…
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The £19 Wine That Shouldn’t Exist – Petrolo Torrione Review
I set myself a bit of a mad challenge the other day. Find a red wine under £35 that ticks all three boxes. A 17+ from Jancis Robinson, a 95+ from Robert Parker and a 93+ from Wine Spectator. In my head, this was going to be one of those nice idea, doesn’t really happen…
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We’re Learning Wine at the Speed of Light
I had a bit of a moment the other day. I’ve now finished Thirsty by the fabulous Tom Gilbey four times. Not skimmed it, properly read it, gone back to it, picked bits up I missed the first time. Alongside that I’ve spent hours watching Konstantin Baum on YouTube, really trying to understand not just…
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Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2025 Review
A Benchmark Bottle With Something to Prove There’s always a bit of expectation when you open a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. It’s one of those names that carries weight, especially with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. You almost go into it thinking you already know what you’re going to get. I opened this alongside a…
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A Blind Tasting, a Curveball, and a Lesson in Trusting Your Palate
There’s something about opening a bottle like Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc that carries a bit of expectation with it. It’s one of those wines you feel like you should love. A proper benchmark. Crisp, refined, Marlborough at its most polished. I received a bottle for Christmas from my mother in law and was naturally excited,…
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Am I Ready for WSET Level 3? I Tested Myself
There comes a point in your wine journey where you stop just enjoying it and start asking a bigger question am I actually ready to take this seriously? For me, that question has been WSET Level 3. I’ve been drinking more, tasting more, thinking more about wine than ever before. Not just what I like,…
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Mark West Pinot Noir 2023 review
There are some wines you analyse, and there are some wines you just drink. This falls firmly into the second category. I came across the Mark West Pinot Noir when I fancied a bit of a change. I’d been leaning towards fuller, more structured reds recently, so dropping into Pinot Noir territory felt like a…
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Pleasure vs Power: Why I Chose Pinot Noir Over Zinfandel (and Got It Right)
There’s a moment when you’re choosing a bottle of wine on a restaurant menu where you just stop and hesitate. Not because you don’t know what you’re looking at, but because you know exactly what each option is going to give you. And the question becomes less about what’s “better” and more about what actually…
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When Wine Just Tastes Bad (And Why That’s Actually Progress)
There’s a point on this wine journey where something a bit strange happens. You open a bottle, not expecting anything amazing, just something decent to enjoy, and it’s horrible. Not just not great properly unpleasant. That was me this week. Two bottles, both gifts, both opened with fairly low expectations, and somehow they still managed…
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Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc: More Than Just a New Zealand Stereotype
First Impressions I’d been meaning to try Greywacke for a while. It’s one of those bottles you keep hearing about, especially when people talk about proper New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. As soon as it was poured, you could tell this wasn’t your average supermarket Sauvignon. It just jumped out of the glass. In the Glass…
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Christmas Eve Wines: When Tradition Meets Discovery
Christmas Eve always feels like the perfect excuse to open something a bit special. This year I had a rough plan in my head but as it turned out, the night went in a completely different direction. And honestly, that’s what made it. What started as a thought-out selection ended up being more of a…
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Nyetimber Classic Cuvée: The Wine That Changed the Night
First Impressions This was the moment I relaxed on Christmas Eve. After a slightly shaky start with a Solear sherry that didnt land, we opened the Nyetimber and straight away, you could feel the shift, it was an excellent sparkler. In the Glass It’s got that Champagne feel to it, and I don’t say that…
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Château Musar 2018 — When Depth Becomes the Obsession
There are some wines you drink and forget about. And then there are the ones where you stop mid sip and just thinkyep this is class. That’s exactly what happened when I opened Château Musar 2018. I’ve been chasing something for a while now, and I didn’t fully know how to describe it until this…
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From “Drinkable” to “Another Sip” – What Two Wines Taught Me About My Palate
There’s a moment when wine starts to click a bit. Not in a big, dramatic way, but more like you suddenly realise what you actually enjoy… and what you don’t. That’s exactly what happened to me this week. I opened two bottles, and they couldn’t have been more different. The Côtes du Rhône That Lost…
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From Carvery Merlot to Bordeaux Complexity: Finding My Wine Sweet Spot
From Carvery Merlot to Bordeaux: Finding My Sweet Spot A very unexpected start This wasn’t meant to be a “wine night”. We ended up in Toby Carvery, and I ordered a glass of Casillero del Diablo Merlot without thinking too much about it. And do you know what it was actually really good. Straight away…
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Hugel Riesling Review: The Bottle That Properly Opened My Eyes to Alsace
There are certain wines that don’t just taste good, they make something click in your head. That was this bottle of Hugel Riesling 2017 for me. I’ve had whites I’ve enjoyed before. Albariño, Chablis, even some Sauvignon Blancs that worked well with food, but this felt different. More complete somehow. More layered. The sort of…
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From Alsace to Lebanon: A Proper Wine Discovery Day
There’s something about walking into a good wine shop when you’re not really expecting anything… and then suddenly you’re surrounded by amazing bottles That was me this week. What started as a quick browse turned into one of those moments where you realise your taste in wine is starting to take shape. Todays Bottle Hugel…
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From Lidl Bargain to Ashtray Disaster: Why This Cabardès Wasn’t for Me
There’s something exciting about finding a bottle that looks like a hidden gem and this week, I thought I’d found one. Tucked away on the shelf in Lidl was a Cabardès AOP from Famille Beynaguet, priced at just £7.99. The label looked promising, the region intrigued me, and on paper, it seemed to tick every…
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The Sauvignon Blanc That Made Me Stop and Say “Wow”
There are moments in this wine journey where something just clicks. Not in a technical way. Not in a “I think I understand this now” kind of way. Jus wow. What is that? That’s exactly what happened when I opened a bottle of 2025 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc.. A Proper Flavour Bomb From the first…
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Why I Was Completely Wrong About Sweet Bordeaux Wine
Why I Was Completely Wrong About Sweet Bordeaux Wine I’ll be honest, when I first heard about sweet Bordeaux, I completely dismissed it. In my head, it sat somewhere between dessert wine and something you’d only bring out at Christmas and even then, only if someone else had asked for it. It just didn’t feel…
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Why Some Wines Just Don’t Hit Right (And How to Find Ones That Do
Capezzana Barco Di Reale Carmignano Review There’s a point in your wine journey where things start to feel a bit confusing. You open a bottle that, by all accounts, should be good. It smells right, it tastes fine, everything lines up… but you’re just not enjoying it as much as you feel like you should….
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The Closest Wine to Tignanello for £30 (With Real Wow Factor)
If you’ve ever had Tignanello, you’ll know the problem. It sets the bar. Not just in terms of quality, but in how it feels in the glass. There’s that balance, that polish, that sense everything is exactly where it should be. And once you’ve had it, going back to normal wines can feel a bit…
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From Tiganello to Toscano Rosso: Can You Really Replicate a Fine Wine Experience on a Budget?
If you’ve ever searched for a Tignanello alternative in a supermarket, you’ll know how difficult it is to find something that actually compares. There’s a moment every wine drinker has. You taste something extraordinary, a wine that just clicks. Everything is in balance, the fruit is silky, the finish just keeps going and then you…
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I Thought My Wine Was Off… It Turns Out I Was Wrong
There’s a moment I had recently that nearly threw me off my wine journey completely. I was sat there with what should have been a seriously good wine flight. The kind of wines you build up in your head, the kind you expect to just blow you away. But something didn’t look right. The wines…
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Why Some Wines Jump Out of the Glass (And Others Fall Flat)
I’ve realised something recently. I’m not just chasing flavour anymore. I’m chasing wines that actually feel alive, the kind that jump out of the glass before you’ve even really thought about them. I was sat with a glass of Lafite Rothschild 2011 and Tignanello 2014 and a Vega Sicilia Pintia 2018 all class wines Before…
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How to Become a Wine Buyer (Without Working Full-Time in the Industry)
A few months ago I realised something. I don’t want to work in a wine shop full-time.I don’t want to be tied into restaurant hours.And I definitely don’t want to turn wine into something that feels like a rigid 9–5. But at the same time, I knew I wanted more from it. Not just drinking…
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Through the terroir: the beginning of actually understanding wine
It’s funny how quickly your relationship with wine changes once you stop focusing on what you think you’re supposed to like and start paying attention to what’s actually happening in the glass. That’s really what Through the Terroir is about. Not pretending to be a sommelier. Not throwing around complicated tasting notes for the sake…