Looking like something out of a Goya etching, a light well brings a splash of sunlight into the pitch-dark chalk cave underneath the cellars of Champagne Taittinger in the city of Reims, France. The seal on the wall celebrates the house’s exceptional Comte de Champagne bottling. INSTRUCTIONS:Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting “save link as” or …

Bodega Bat Gara, Lezama, with the Sierra Salvada mountains to its west. According to the DO Getariako Txakolina (in the Basque language, otherwise Txakoli de Getaria), the first bylaws of Spain’s northerly Basque province of Gipuzkoa were drawn up in 1397 to include item 18: anyone destroying the local vines could be sentenced to death. It is a pointer – …

Emanuel Pesqueira is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) Emanuel PesqueiraEmanuel Pesqueira Emanuel Pesqueira is a highly-experienced management professional with extensive expertise in food, beverage, and hospitality services. He has held various management and Sommelier roles. These have included being the Food and Beverage Manager at The Oxford and Cambridge Club and Head Sommelier & Maître …

La Poja is a single-cru vineyard at the top of the La Grola hill in Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, in the Veneto region of Italy. The romantic explanation of the origin of the name is that it derives from ‘Pojana’, a bird of the falcon family which hovers over the crown of the hill. More prosaically, it might come from the …

Decanter’s Rhône correspondent, Matt Walls, at Château Rayas. Credit: Matt Walls What feeling does an exceptional wine create when you drink it? It’s difficult to answer, as the greatest bottles give rise to all sorts of different sensations, insights and emotions.  It makes writing a ranking of this nature tricky, as not all the wines are being measured on the …

Rebecca Gergely Ohayon is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards. Rebecca GergelyRebecca Gergely Ohayon Born in Paris, Rebecca’s career started in 2006 after graduating a Master’s degree in Economics from the Sorbonne. Before applying to jobs related to her studies, she followed her boyfriend (now husband) to California and applied for a few summer jobs including one …

Mike Best MW is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Robert Mathias MWMike Best MW Mike Best MW is a wine product manager at Boutinot, working principally with wineries in Spain, Portugal, USA & England. Previously, he was employed by the WSET, working with programme providers and industry groups to grow wine education in the South-East of …

Lauren Denyer is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Robert Mathias MWLauren Denyer Lauren Denyer is the Diploma Events and Enrichment Manager at WSET School London, where she organises and hosts events and learning opportunities for the Diploma students. She also teaches all levels of WSET wine qualifications. She has extensive teaching experience having worked as …

Robert Mathias MW is a judge at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Robert Mathias MWRobert Mathias MW Robert Mathias MW works as senior fine wine buyer for Bordeaux Index. Previously, he was a wine buyer at Bibendum PLB, London, where he is responsible for sourcing wine from France, Central and Eastern Europe and the Far East and managing …

Christmas marks the time of year when marketing hype goes into overdrive, encouraging us all to part with our hard-earned cash for everything from the latest kids’ toys to wifi-enabled washing machines.. For many of us, it’s the one occasion every year we will spend above our comfort zone on a few bottles of wine. But there’s no need to …

Rare 19th-century Château Latour and Burgundy have lit up the auction scene in Hong Kong in recent weeks, with Château La Mission Haut-Brion starring in London. A Christie’s auction of wines sourced from estates owned by Artémis Domaines – controlled by French billionaire François Pinault – saw a bottle of Château Latour 1865 sell for HK$812,500 (£80,500), including buyer’s premium. …

Single malt is far from being the sole passion of Glenmorangie Master Distiller Dr Bill Lumsden. The arch experimenter (sometimes jarringly dubbed the Willy Wonka of whisky) also has a penchant for high fashion, early Alan Partridge – and fine wine. He’s equally at home discussing Sassicaia as he is Speyside. Scroll down to see our selection of 12 perfect …

‘Organic Spanish wines with a Dutch heart’ – this is how the project, founded by Dutch entrepreneur Derrick Neleman in 2014, defines itself. There is indeed an incredible sense of place in all the wines produced by the eponymous winery, while the brand’s identity is infused with creative wonder and entrepreneurial spirit – perhaps showing that it is sometimes easier …

A beautiful, harmonious white, with a round core of honeycomb, white flowers, ripe melon and chamomile cruising alongside fresh green herbs and bitter white tea tannins. Almost waxy in feel, with a buttercream note lingering on the well-framed finish. Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc and Clairette. Drink now through 2028. 2,500 cases made, 500 cases imported. Source : 8d401b7dc5151790d5f34a1b476fa936

From left: Daniel Landi and Fernando García with a Garnacha vine in the Rumbo al Norte vineyard in the Sierra de Gredos mountains. The things you love are the things you invest time in.’ That’s the motto Daniel Gómez Jiménez-Landi and Fernando García have lived by and largely explains the evolution and success of Comando G, the project they founded …

Do We Believe In Prohibitionism, Yet? No, absolutely not! We do not believe that Prohibition will circle back, again! Can you even imagine our legislators allowing this to happen? Alcohol and the Southern states have been in bed for a very long time with their spirits. In fact, when I threw this out there, I […] The post Best Press …