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Don’t be fooled by wine discounts -Small Estate Wines can deliver much better value. Wine critics over the years have pointed out that small estates can sometimes out-perform wines that cost 3 to 4 times as much. Why is that? A good location and proper matching of the grape types to the soil and local micro-climate are critical. Then the turning factor is the passion and detailed care that can be put into tending vines on a small plot. Better fruit will give better wine every time. At Bordeaux and Beyond we understand that and our local knowledge and on the ground expert tasters select small estate wines from France that are interesting and deliver value in spades....

If I can’t drink a bottle on the back deck then I won’t buy it. A big danger when selecting wines to import is that you can be drawn to the wine that stands out in a line up. So what makes a taster notice a wine after they have tasted 70 wines? Well, usually it is heavily oaked and that means for most of us who haven’t tasted 20 wines by days end, they are un-drinkable. So I have a simple test to eliminate those wines, can I drink a bottle on the back deck? Job’s done!

France is the origin of Malbec and for the last decade Argentina has become the high volume producer of this grape. There is a dramatic difference between the two because Malbec is really sensitive to terroir. The thin-skinned “black grape” is susceptible to rot, frost, and pests so ideal growing conditions are extremely hard to find and subtle differences impact the grape dramatically. Argentina’s Malbecs are plummy and fruit-forward, with a velvety texture. France’s have more structure, firmer tannins, and an inky dark, brooding quality. For centuries, Malbec played an important role in Bordeaux blends but disease problems meant over time its benefits were overlooked in favour of easier grapes. However, Malbec took a firm hold further up the Garonne...

With some food critics looking for serious wines with structure and age worthiness that don’t over-power the delicate flavours they seek, dry rosés are on the rise. It is even being paired with aged wagu beef where the chef wants to highlight its more subtle flavours. Dry rosé is defined as rosé with less than 4g/l of residual sugar so these wines have sugar levels similar to the average Barossa Shiraz but the flavours are delicate, true, persistent and not over-powering. Serious rosé is also a great way to explore the characteristics of a particular grape or terroir. Interestingly wines from Provence, France, recently took out the top 3 places in the premium bracket of the Drinks Business Global Rosé...

35 tasters including Jancis Robinson MW, Patrick Smith and Robert Joseph did a blind tasting in June this year. The tasting comprised top-end Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand, California, Chile, Australia, Italy, South Africa and Bordeaux. When the scores were tallied up: numbers 1, 3 and 5 were from Bordeaux; number 4 was Huia Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough NZ and number 2 was from South Africa. This confirms a little secret we have known for quite a while…and we went out to find the best Sauv Blancs in Bordeaux at fantastic prices. bordeaux-blanc-tops-blind-tasting