Earlier in the year, when he was visiting Haro to find out more about the relationship that exists between Rioja and Bordeaux, wine expert and chef Roger Jones visited six of the top bodegas in the region – La Rioja Alta, C.V.N.E, Bodegas Muga, Bodegas Roda, Bodegas Bilbainas and Bodegas Gomez Cruzado– over the course of three days. At each estate he tasted through the entire range of wines, many of which were paired with local delicacies.
Although Victoria is Australia’s second smallest state it has more wine regions and individual wineries than any other; and there is such a diversity of climates here that every imaginable grape variety can be grown and almost every style of wine made. Australian wine expert Roger Jones gets under the skin of the many wine regions and highlights some of the many excellent producers and wines that you can discover here.
The oft-maligned grape variety Pinotage, is slowly regaining the recognition it deserves. Much of that change in perspective is down to the work of Kanonkop and its winemaker Abrie Beeslaar who visited London last month to present 13 vintages of its outstanding Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage from the years 2006 through to the current vintage of 2019. Chef and wine expert Roger Jones caught up with Beeslaar, the Krige brothers and tasted through the wines.
The Villa Maria Icon and Single Vineyard ranges were the focus of a special tasting lunch that was held to mark the 60 years since Sir George Fistonich first started one of the most successful wine brands in the Southern Hemisphere. Chantelle Nicholson’s new restaurant Apricity, a troupe of Maori dancers and a new addition to the Icon range The Attorney 60th Anniversary Pinot Noir were all part of the celebrations. Chef and wine expert Roger Jones had a ringside seat.
Clos des Mouches is one of the mythical walled vineyards in Burgundy with the influential Maison Joseph Drouhin owning half of it. Restored back from ill health, the vineyards are now at the peak of their powers as chef and wine expert Roger Jones discovered when he was invited by Frédérick Drouhin to join him for an exclusive lunch to celebrate the centenary of their ownership.
To celebrate 40 years of Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir, Anthony and Olive Hamilton Russell brought some very special bottles with them from their Hemel-en-Aarde Valley estate. The occasion was the Mentzendorff annual portfolio tasting, which was the last time they were here in the UK since March 2020 just before Covid struck. Anthony conducted a special masterclass examining the style of Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir which involved him opening two of the only five bottles he has left of the estate’s first ever vintage, the 1981 “Grand Vin Noir” made by Anthony’s father. Roger Jones had a ringside seat.
Wine consultant, chef and international judge, Roger Jones is well placed to give his verdict on the Fells annual portfolio tasting. The very full house was testament to the re-awakening on-trade, but also the generosity of the importer which always shows older vintages and larger formats to help sommeliers see where upselling opportunities may lie. Amongst the wines that Jones picks out are The Laird 2010, Tom Cullity 2014, and Vilafonté Seriously Old Dirt 2019.
Most of us in the wine trade can safely say that we have a reasonable stash of bottles. For Roger Jones, however, when he nips down to his cellar he’s going into an Aladdin’s cave of vinous delights that, when it was part of his now-closed Michelin-starred restaurant, won him the AA’s best wine list in the UK for a number of years. So, in Roger’s best wines of 2021 review, expect some rare treats alongside more recent wine releases that he has tasted wearing his various hats for Decanter, The Buyer, IWSC and the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships.
Cava has started to make some encouraging noises of late, ever since Prosecco stole its crown of ‘alternative fizz to Champagne’. But Codorníu has never dipped out of the spotlight. This winery is Spain’s oldest family-owned business and has been producing a range of cuvées such as the Ana Blanc de Blancs and the Codorníu Ars Collecta Blanc de Noirs which can stand toe-to-toe with the world’s best sparklers. Ex-Michelin star chef and fizz expert Roger Jones went to Hispanic to taste through the Codorníu range and came back positively beaming.
Judging for the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships is a little bit more committed than turning up for a day shift of tasting. It involves taking four lead judges, a reserve judge and a full administration, logistics and PR support team to Champneys in Kent and going into a strict isolation for two full weeks. There are concessions, however, with full access to the health and spa treatments and heated outside pool. Here Roger Jones, ambassador for CSWWC and reserve judge for 2021 awards, takes us behind the scenes to share what it is like being in a 14-day bubble for judges.