Press
Two of Vine Trail's wines from the Loire featured in the £10-£20 section of Hamish's article in the TELEGRAPH MAGAZINE 10TH JULY 2010
HAMISH ANDERSON Bacchic beauties - The best of summer drinking
2009 Sancerre Rosé - Gérard Boulay Loire Valley £14.50
2008 St-Nicolas de Bourgueil ‘Les Graviers' - Domaine du Mortier, Loire Valley £11.25
In a World of Fine Wine tasting (Issue 27 July 2010) of Malbec wines from Argentina and Cahors, Gérard Basset, owner of Hotel Terravina and now winner of 2010 Best Sommelier in the World nominated Domaine La Bérangeraie's Cahors Les Quatre Chambrées de la Bérangeraie Cahors AOC 2008 the best wine.
The tasters - Tim Atkin, Gérard Basset and Anthony Rose blind tasted 41 wines (21 from Cahors). Read more for their comments on our Cahors (£11.28 exc VAT bt) ......
JANCIS ROBINSON ON COTE ROTIE CLUSEL-ROCH AC 04
From www.jancisrobinson.com 25 June 2010
A strong, gamey nose peppered with cumin and caraway seed. Sweet dried fruit steeped in strong tea. A palate that builds and unfolds in the mouth, unabashedly vigorous. Lots of savoury dried leaves and autumnal spice. A wine that reminds me in a long line, that the first duty of a wine is to be drunk, not tasted and judged. £25.32 exc VAT bt
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Issue 149 March/April 2010
In a tasting of Sancerre & Pouilly Fumé from 107 growers, 2 of Gérard Boulay's Sancerres were rated joint best and the whole range did exceptionally well. 93 was the joint highest mark of all Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumés in the tasting.
Hand picked in the Rhône
19 Apr 2010 by Jancis Robinson (taken from Tasting Notes on jancisrobinson.com)
Here is a selection of Jancis's tasting notes following our recent Rhône tasting at The Ambassador on Gripa, Gonon, Murinais, Duclaux, Durand, Robert Michel, Le Sang des Cailloux, Raspail-Ay and Domaine de Ferrand......
'The excellent UK importer Vine Trail, which hand picks the wines it offers on the basis of detailed research in French cellars and vineyards, showed off many of its current offerings from the Rhône valley recently and below are my enthusiastic notes. Their 2005 Côte Rôtie showed particularly well.
I already made the most obvious bargain a wine of the week but there are many other wines worthy of your attention here. And I urge you to look at the background to them all on Vine Trail's website.'
Jancis Robinson's Wine of the Week 30 Mar 2010
Martinelle 2007 Côtes du Ventoux
Here's a cracker, a wine that puts many more expensive bottles in the shade. It's basically a Côtes du Rhône-Villages that just happens to come from an enclave classified as Côtes du Ventoux near the village of Barroux. It certainly has all the richness of a fine southern Rhône: warm, rich and thoroughly welcoming - and really quite a lot of complexity for the money. This is the sort of wine that makes you wonder whether other French wines, especially the more expensive ones, shouldn't just pack up now...
Jancis Robinson allots 18/20 to Larmandier-Bernier, Vieille Vigne de Cramant Grand Cru Extra Brut 2004 Champagne in a recent article on her website www.jancisrobinson.com on champagnes:
Fine, complex nose. There's a bit of putty on the nose and this style nicely splits the difference between super funky and user friendly. Dry, very tightly laced and intense. Nervy. Good stuff! (Drink 2010-2020)
John Livingstone-Learmonth picks 2 Vine Trail wines from the Rhône in an article in Decanter's February 2010 issue on best value wines of France -
Domaine Gonon's St Joseph Rouge 2006 (rated 17.5) and
Domaine Oratoire St-Martin's Réserve des Seigneurs, Cairanne Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages 2007 (rated 17.5)
Peter Liem on Jérôme Prévost
from The World of Fine Wine Issue 25 2009
CHRISTMAS 2009 - RECOMMENDATIONS Champagnes:
Lilbert Brut Perle Grand Cru NV Champagne, Blanc de Blancs
Bérèche, Chartogne-Taillet, Larmandier-Bernier George Laval & Lilbert champagnes
Reviewed by Hamish Anderson & Tim Atkin & Jancis Robinson
DECANTER SOUTHERN RHÔNE 2007 TASTING (JANUARY 2010 ISSUE)
5 star award (& best value) for Domaine Raspail-Ay Gigondas
‘Bouquet forming gradually: some grilled notes, black fruit, leather tang - great potential. Good black fruit present, nice juiciness backed by lively tannins. Fruit persists on aftertaste. From 2010.' (John Livingstone-Learmonth)
4 star award for Domaine du Grapillon d'Or Gigondas
‘Fine, pure, dark plum aroma. Nice meaty plum fruit, warm and roasted notes. Chewy tannins. Good length of flavour. Will need a year or two to settle. From 2011.' (David Wainwright)
In Anthony Rose's weekly wine column in the Independent (23rd August 2009) he recommends the list of growers' champagnes stocked by Vine Trail "a Bristol-based company with a brilliant website"