TMG Blog

Neat rows of dark oak whisky casks stacked beneath a wooden warehouse roof, a single dram glass resting on a barrel head — One distillery, its own casks
Producer Guide

Yamazaki and why Japanese distilleries do not swap casks

Here is a problem that has nothing to do with taste and everything to do...
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Fossil flecked grey limestone fragments with tiny oyster shell imprints scattered on dark soil beside a pale tinted glass of white wine — Kimmeridgian rock shapes Chablis
Burgundy

William Fevre, Chablis and what Kimmeridgian rock does

Pour a glass of Chablis next to a glass of Chardonnay from somewhere warm and...
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A worn leather ledger and an old vineyard photograph on a wooden desk beside a glass of deep red wine — Family control still scales
Producer Guide

Torres and what family ownership changes at scale

Most wine companies that get big stop being families. The pattern is well worn: a...
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Wide rows of uniform vines stretching toward a distant chateau silhouette, a large wooden fermentation vat in front — Scale lets a large estate do more
Bordeaux

Chateau Talbot and what a large Saint-Julien estate can do

Most people picture a Bordeaux estate as something like a large garden. The reality is...
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Torn pieces of fresh brioche beside a flute of golden Champagne on a marble counter, lees visible through the base of the glass — Brioche starts in the chardonnay
Champagne

Taittinger and where the brioche note in Champagne begins

Somebody hands you a glass, you smell it, and the word that arrives is bread....
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A gentle vineyard slope descending toward a wide river in the distance, morning haze over the water — These vines can see the river
Bordeaux

Sociando-Mallet and the vines that can see the river

There is an old saying in the Medoc that the best vines are the ones...
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Rough white chalk blocks stacked beside a narrow flute of pale Champagne, ancient cellar tunnels curving into darkness — Chalk explains the lean taste
Champagne

Ruinart, chalk and why Blanc de Blancs tastes lean

Someone pours you a glass, you drink it, and your first thought is that it...
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Shrivelled golden brown grape clusters coated in grey botrytis mould, thin river mist drifting low across the rows — Fog makes the noble rot happen
Bordeaux

Chateau Rieussec and the fog that makes Sauternes work

Every autumn a handful of growers in a small corner of Bordeaux spend their mornings...
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A hillside vineyard row on a gentle slope with a simple stone marker post and a glass of pale red wine on a fence rail — Cheaper than Chassagne not worse
Burgundy

Rene Lequin-Colin and why Santenay costs less than Chassagne

Open a Burgundy list and the same village name will appear six or seven times,...
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A patchwork of small vineyard parcels divided by low stone markers and hedgerows, a folded hand drawn plot map weighted on a post — Built plot by scattered plot
Bordeaux

Prieure-Lichine and the Margaux estate built plot by plot

Picture a Bordeaux estate and you probably picture a house with a vineyard wrapped around...
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A wooden horse drawn plough resting between vine rows with a cow horn and compost pile nearby in low dawn light — Biodynamics reset a fifth growth
Bordeaux

Pontet-Canet, biodynamics and a fifth growth plateau

In 1855 the organisers of the Paris Exposition asked Bordeaux to produce a ranking of...
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Two similar dark bottles of red wine side by side on a cellar table, one cork freshly pulled, oak barrel shadows behind — A second wine has its own job
Bordeaux

Pichon Baron and what its second wine is really for

Someone brings a bottle to dinner in Wan Chai, the label says Pichon, and half...
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Recent Post

Macallan TIME : SPACE Sherry Cask and Mastery
Glass Notes
Glass Notes: Macallan's yellow case is out. Why is the red one selling for half? 黃盒上市，紅盒點解跌咗一半？
Neat rows of dark oak whisky casks stacked beneath a wooden warehouse roof, a single dram glass resting on a barrel head — One distillery, its own casks
Producer Guide
Yamazaki and why Japanese distilleries do not swap casks
Fossil flecked grey limestone fragments with tiny oyster shell imprints scattered on dark soil beside a pale tinted glass of white wine — Kimmeridgian rock shapes Chablis
Burgundy
William Fevre, Chablis and what Kimmeridgian rock does