Decanter November 2021

EDITOR’S LETTER b2b or not b2b? Decanter is not a business-to-business publication (or b2b, as publishing folk call it). Decanter is for normal people who love excellent wines. However, we wouldn’t get many of those excellent wines without the people who make them, market them, ship them and sell them. The trade, in other words. So in this issue we’ve tried to recognise that. Our annual Decanter Hall of Fame winner this year is a winemaker – and marketer – of great talent and renown. Our inaugural Rising Star award recipient is one of those behind-the-scenes genii who shun the spotlight but make a huge difference to wines. And we’ve also highlighted the greatest of the UK’s retailers – those people who advise you, guide you, help you explore new…

Meet the Decanter experts JEANNIE CHO LEE MW is a wine writer, author and professor. Made a Chevalier in France’s Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur in 2021, her third book The 100 Burgundy (Assouline, 2019) won a Gourmand Award in 2020 ANDY HOWARD MW is a Decanter contributing editor and a DWWA Regional Chair. A former wine buyer, he now runs his own wine consultancy, Vinetrades, focusing on wine education and sourcing OZ CLARKE OBE is a world-renowned wine writer, awarded author and broadcaster. Once a professional singer, he is still performing concerts around Britain with Armonico Consort. Find his work at ozclarke.com ANDREW JEFFORD is a contributing editor to Decanter magazine, and a Co-Chair overseeing all judging at the DWWA. His journalism and books have won many awards, and…

Uncorked Fine wine boost as UK drinkers spend more on home buys A snapshot of what’s happening in the world of wine COMPILED BY CHRIS MERCER & JULIE SHEPPARD More people in the UK have turned to fine wine as an ‘affordable luxury’ in the past 18 months and the trend may be here to stay, new research has suggested. Nearly three-quarters of UK adults questioned by researchers said they had been spending more money on wine since the beginning of the first Covid-19 lockdown, in March 2020. About half of the 500 respondents started buying fine wine to enjoy a little luxury at home, found the survey, commissioned by merchant Bordeaux Index and conducted by market research group 3Gem in August 2021. While there is also evidence of diners…

JEREZ LOOKING AHEAD AS REGULATIONS CHANGE Significant changes to Sherry DO regulations are set to be introduced, after having been approved by the wine region’s ruling council. Among the expected changes, unfortified wines may be included in the Sherry DO, but they must meet other existing production rules, such as minimum alcohol and ageing criteria. Other changes include a single zone for production and ageing, new fino viejo and manzanilla pasada categories, expansion of the Jerez Superior geographic area, as well as DO recognition for six ‘traditional’ grape varieties once more widely planted. They are Beba, Cañocazo, Mantúo Castellano, Mantúo de Pilas, Perruno and Vigiriega. Spanish wine expert Sarah Jane Evans MW, Co-Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards, said the changes are encouraging and ‘reflect the fact that Jerez…

Lorenzetti snaps up St-Estèphe 4th Bordeaux’s Château Lafon-Rochet has been sold to businessman Jacky Lorenzetti, during a busy month for winery deals from Napa to Tuscany. Lorenzetti already owns Châteaux Pédesclaux in Pauillac and Lilian Ladouys in St-Estèphe, with a 50% stake in Château d’Issan in Margaux. He is also president of Paris rugby club Racing 92. Emmanuel Cruse, co-owner of d’Issan and general manager of Lorenzetti’s Bordeaux estates, praised Lafon-Rochet’s great terroir. ‘When you have an opportunity [like] Lafon, you have to go for it,’ he said. The fee was not disclosed. Before a handover takes place, current director Basile Tesseron will oversee the 2021 harvest at the St-Estèphe fourth growth, which his family had owned since 1960. Elsewhere in Europe, Italy’s Frescobaldi winemaking family has bought the Corte…

IN BRIEF Stay up to date with the latest wine news on decanter.com, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @Decanter • A fuel partially made from French wine ‘residue’ could power cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race next year. TotalEnergies said its bioethanol fuel made using wine industry leftovers, such as lees and grape pomace, would be offered to teams during next season’s FIA World Endurance Championship. ‘This fuel should allow an immediate reduction of at least 65% of the cars’ CO2 emissions,’ TotalEnergies said. • US wine lovers have a new American Viticultural Area (AVA) to explore after Virginia Peninsula’s AVA status was approved by federal officials in August. About 80km long and 8-24km in width, the new area is in the southeast of…