Simon Reilly
- Sep 27, 2016
- 8 min
Brexit for wine lovers - the 90 day review
This article was first published on JancisRobinson.com on Monday 26th September, 2016 Three months have now past since the UK voted to leave the EU. Just after the vote I set out some initial impacts of the result for UK wine lovers. In the corporate world, when a major change has occurred, like buying a company or hiring a new CEO, 3 months or 90 days after the event is a good point to take stock of how the change has affected the overall business. Following a major change l
Simon Reilly
- Sep 25, 2016
- 3 min
London’s wine community has its own Cru
An edited version of this article was first published in Issue 11 of Root + Bone Magazine, September 2016 Rewind a few years and London's wine community revolved around the private clubs of St James. Old men in stiff suits would sit around pontificating about whether 1982 was a better vintage than 1961 in Bordeaux or boast about how many first growths they had in their cellars. For the uninitiated, wine was a scary prospect. For London's younger generation, it was a drink for
Simon Reilly
- Aug 22, 2016
- 5 min
Txakoli - not just a holiday wine
So the holiday season is drawing to a close for another summer. Hopefully you have all enjoyed trying new wines in exotic locations. Local wines washing down local food as you sit in the sun not thinking about work. Nothing beats holiday wine. But in most cases, that's how they always will be, just holiday wines. That rose from Provence tasted great by the pool over a lazy lunch but it doesn't quite hit the mark on a freezing Friday in forest hill. And as for that local white
Simon Reilly
- Aug 7, 2016
- 5 min
Andrew Edmunds - a wine restaurant
When dining out, for me the wine list is just as important a factor in picking a restaurant as the menu. A good wine list for me doesn’t just have good wines on the list. There are lots of those about. The key is the pricing. A great wine list is one that allows you to drink very well at sensible prices. A mark-up sure, but not multiplying the retail price by a factor of three, four or more. Recent trips to San Sebastian and Paris suggest that things have got a bit silly in L
Simon Reilly
- Jul 29, 2016
- 6 min
Baden's 1782 club
An edited version of this article was originally published on jancisrobinson.com on Tuesday 26th July, 2016 On a recent family holiday in Germany, I was able to negotiate sneaking away from the family for a morning of wine tasting. The other side of the deal was me agreeing to take the kids to Legoland Germany, but being a bit of a kid myself it was a bit of a win-win. I only had a few hours so the wine producer(s) had to be near to our hotel in Baden-Baden. After a bit of re
Simon Reilly
- Jul 11, 2016
- 7 min
Domaine des Accoles - home to Burgundy's latest wandering winemaker
Like most wine lovers, I have my favourite wines that I buy vintage after vintage, safe in the knowledge that I will not be let down. I will recognise the much-loved characteristics of the wine and discover new nuances every time I open a bottle. How these discoveries come about varies. Some start as recommendations in a restaurant. Some come from wine tasting events. Some come from cellar door visits. Others come from recommendations, either from the wine press or directly f
Simon Reilly
- Jun 30, 2016
- 8 min
Brexit for wine lovers updated
An edited version of this article was originally published on Jancisrobinson.com on Tuesday, 28th June Back in March, I set out what I thought might happen in the event that the UK referendum resulted in the UK voting to leave the European Union (EU) (see What does brexit mean for wine lovers?) The conclusion I came to at that point was that nobody knows what will happen in the event of a Brexit, but it is likely that the price of wine from the EU would increase for UK wine l
Simon Reilly
- Jun 23, 2016
- 5 min
Pub crawl Paris style - Juveniles Wine Bar & Willis Wine Bar
I have recently returned from a four day trip to Paris to watch Euro 2016 with 6 of my school mates in honour of a significant birthday we all share this year. Three games in 4 days meant we had one day spare when we could ease off the beer and act a bit more respectable, at least for a few hours anyway. Having spent four years living in Sydney about ten years ago I have enjoyed a lot of Torbreck's wine in my time. The first time I came across Juveniles wine bar was on the ba
Simon Reilly
- Jun 23, 2016
- 3 min
Is terroir bollocks?
Terroir is probably the most commonly used word in wine these days. Terroir is a French word which has no direct translation into English. It basically refers to everything about a specific site that makes it unique. The climate, the soil, the altitude, the direction it faces, etc. Winemakers talk about vineyards having a great terroir as if it is the holy grail. The be all and end all. They also talk about using winemaking methods with minimal intervention to allow the terro
Simon Reilly
- Jun 5, 2016
- 6 min
North Piemonte’s baby Barolos grow up in the Alps
I love Nebbiolo. Like many, most of the Nebbiolos I have tasted are from Langhe in South Piemonte in Northern Italy. Langhe is home to the world famous Barolo, and the slightly less famous, but in my view equally good, Barbaresco. It also makes some fantastic Langhe Nebbiolo, an earlier drinking wine generally made from younger wines with less time in oak. A Langhe Nebbiolo from a good Barolo or Barbaresco producer is a top tip for a good value introduction to the grape. Try
Simon Reilly
- May 30, 2016
- 2 min
Never give up on a good wine
George Benson once sang "Never give up on a good thing". I don't know what he was singing about. It probably wasn't wine. But I think his point holds for wine on this occasion. I bought a case of Domaine Raspail Ay's 2007 Gigondas en primeur, back when it was released. Probably early 2009. A wine from the Southern Rhone region of France, Gigondas is a village within a few miles of the more famous village of Chateauneuf Du Pape. The two wines are generally made from the same
Simon Reilly
- May 20, 2016
- 7 min
How good are own label wines?
An edited version of this article was originally published on jancisrobinson.com on 18th May, 2016. I like to think I am not a wine snob. However, I have to confess that I noticed a bit of wine snobbery rising to the surface a couple of times over the Easter break. The first came when we had some friends over for Sunday lunch. My mate brought me a bottle of wine as a gift, Majestic’s new(ish) “Definition Range” Pouilly Fume. I smiled, thanked him, told him he shouldn’t have b
Simon Reilly
- May 16, 2016
- 2 min
Don't be scared of the sommelier
Since I began writing Wineloon, I have noticed a change. All of a sudden my mates seem to think I am some sort of wine expert. This phenomenon is most noticeable when it comes to ordering wine in a restaurant. Before Wineloon, my mates and I would all discuss the wine list on a pretty much even footing. These days I am immediately handed the wine list. "You pick the wine, you're the expert". And then they all just look at me. Waiting. Waiting for me to select the best wine th
Simon Reilly
- Apr 21, 2016
- 4 min
Noble Rot Wine Bar, London - 2nd Visit
I wrote a short blog post about my first trip to Noble Rot in February this year (Noble Rot 1) and had not intended to cover my second trip last night. However, I had such a stonking night that I could not let it pass without a bit of a mention. I was catching up with two ex-colleagues, who are both keen wine geeks. One is a hater of natural wines “they taste like flat cider, I just don’t see the attraction”, who loves ethereal red burgundy, even though he claims to “have nev
Simon Reilly
- Apr 11, 2016
- 3 min
Tasting Bordeaux in 2015 primeurs week ...just not in Bordeaux... and not the 2015 vintage
I read with interest, but no lack of envy, countless Twitter and Instagram posts of jolly wine critics and writers in Bordeaux tasting the 2015 primeurs last week. The majority have been positive and 2015 looks like being a top vintage in Bordeaux. For all the bashing Bordeaux has been getting in the wine press for its approach to pricing, it still elicits excitement in oenophiles like no other region on earth. Either my invite got lost in the post or, more likely, I was NFI'
Simon Reilly
- Mar 28, 2016
- 4 min
Holiday wines at L'escargots Blanc,
Edinburgh
After a brutal 11 hour drive from SE London to Edinburgh on Thursday night as part of our annual family tour of duty round the Scottish Wineloon clan, we were in need of some consoling. A night out in Edinburgh on Saturday with some old friends, no children and lots of booze was needed. It started off badly. My sister suggested trying a "secret gin bar" in the west end for an overpriced, preprandial gin & tonic. This sounds cool and trendy until you get there and realise its
Simon Reilly
- Mar 24, 2016
- 7 min
What would Brexit mean for wine lovers?
An edited version of this article was originally published on www.jancisrobinson.com on 23rd March, 2016 I have a significant birthday this year. There are two main events happening as a result. One is a 5-day trip to Paris to watch the Euro 2016 football finals with 7 of my school mates in early June. The other is a long weekend in San Sebastian in September, wining and dining my darling wife to earn the brownie points required to secure approval for the Paris trip. Both of
Simon Reilly
- Mar 21, 2016
- 5 min
Greece-ing the wheels of recovery
An edited version of this article was originally published on www.jancisrobinson.com on 21st March, 2016 I have a bit of history with the wines of Greece. Our last holiday before the end of real holidays (i.e. before we had children) was to Oia in Santorini, back in 2009. A paradise of a place with great food and many great wine discoveries, the most memorable being Vin Santo and Assyrtiko. I had tried neither before that holiday and they have both become perennial favourites
Simon Reilly
- Jan 1, 2016
- 6 min
Bitter, Sweet, Sweet - a freebie at The Sampler
You know that feeling when you pay someone to do some work for you and you can't help feeling they got the better deal? Well that happened to me at the day job last week. We've paid some consultants so much money in the last 12 months that they invited a few of us out for some special pre-Christmas drinks...on them. Yes, we definitely paid them too much. Alas, this bitter sweet pill was made all the more sweeter by the fact that they at least did some homework and worked out
