LATE JANUARY 2012

The last week of January heralds the issue of proper 2010 Rhône offers from two highly respected sources in Britain, The Wine Society (which is a Members Society on http://www.thewinesociety.com/ and Berry Brothers of London, http://www.bbr.com/The Wine Society offer, for example, features 180 wines from North and South. These are correctly timed offers, allowing the importers main men to have assesed the wines recently, when they are closer to their final nature than they are back in October and November.

ENTERED RECENTLY: more Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2010s, including Tradition and Prestige quality wines, a visit to Château Rayas there to taste the Emmanuel Reynaud 2010s, along with a series of very good red Crozes-Hermitage. Note the incidence of w.o.w. wines at Crozes in 2010 - exactly what the appellation should produce. Visits to Côte-Rôtie estates René Rostaing and Michel and Stéphane Ogier are also included, with their 2010s showing the beauty of the year.

EARLY JANUARY 2012

More notes have been entered on the 2010s of Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape - use the Search engine and I suggest keying in at 3.5 stars or 4 stars and above. Under each domaine the LVT 2010 r code shows if a note has been posted - Last Vintage Tasted 2010 red.