Learning about wine
Attention wine lovers, below you will find the best wine bars and restaurants in Paris. It took me a while to truly appreciate Paris. I didn't understand everyone's praise for the French capital, but now I know: it just takes...
Tasted: 2x Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Sometimes a first-world problem arises. This is one of the highest order, mind you. A few weeks ago, I received an invitation in my inbox, and my heart leaped: I got to try DRC. OMG, OMG, OMG. On July 5th....
On the tasting table: 8 vintages of Chateau d'Yquem
Sometimes you have days when you drop everything to be there. This was exactly the case when I received a message from Job Seuren of Attic . Would I be interested in attending the Chateau d'Yquem tasting organized by Bolomey Wijnimport?...
“Bordeaux is so familiar to so many of us that we almost stop seeing it.” Thus wrote Jane Anson in Inside Bordeaux – the great book on Bordeaux, published in mid-2020. I get that. For a while, Bordeaux was a trendy...
Le Club & Sommeljj's Grand Champagne Test (<40 euros)
For all my Christmas ballers, champagne poppers All those snowmen, oh pine tree lallers Let it snow white flakes, do your best It's Christmas guys, make me crazy Fortunately, we didn't have to answer this question alone. Besides Jan Jaap...
A look inside Domaine Tempier in Bandol
Writing about Provence instantly fills me with nostalgia. Ten years ago, I lived here, in Aix-en-Provence, and drank a rosé that would change my life. I feel like I've shared this story a thousand times, but it's part of it....
I first came across Adrien Berlioz's wine at Juste, a very cozy wine shop in Middelburg – Of all places . The bottle stood out because of its wax capsule, and that's always a hit with me. A wax capsule, a...
Jacques Selosse, different from the rest
In 2020, during a trip to the Loire Valley, one bottle after another was opened during lunch at a winery (Domaine Guiberteau). The bottles were placed in a sock and served blind. One of the socks contained Jacques Selosse's rosé...
A wine fan in Epernay (and Champagne)
A few weeks ago, when I was sitting on a terrace in Bloemendaal, I got a call from @sommeljj. “Shall we go to Champagne?” I didn't need to be asked twice. Let's go! I mean: on y va! With a PCR test...
It's coronavirus time and restaurants are still closed. Job, my employer, suggested: why don't you do an internship at Domaine Les Bottes Rouges in the Jura Mountains, France? "Okay, why not, sounds great!" I said. No sooner said than done....
It's Monday, time for a new article. Since I'm going to spend all day in Bordeaux at the Beurs van Berlage, I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a closer look at the main villages of the...
A promise is a promise: when I last year 10 favorites from Beaujolais wrote for I concluded "Le Club " with the words "to be continued." That top 10 wasn't complete. Impossible. But no matter how extensive that list ultimately becomes, it will...