Quite the prettiest location in Bordeaux, Chateau la Tour de By lies in the Northern Médoc where the vineyards are overlooked by the impressive folly - at the top of which you can survey a great stretch of the Gironde estuary.

When we visited Bordeaux in November '09 (see our current Bordeaux offer) we decided the 2004 was too good to leave behind, exhibiting as it does bold well structured currant and light mint flavours - making it the perfect accompaniment to the Sunday lunch lover who dreams of nothing better than a few slices of prime rare, roast beef (preferably fore-rib!) and a dollop of creamy horseradish sauce.

In fact, that's just what we did this last Sunday - and it's when the picture to the left was taken. So, Sunday lunch lovers everywhere, get your luncheon Claret here.

Binomio - it sounds like a character from the Godfather movie trilogy, doesn't it?

But actually it is rather stunning Montepulciano d'Abruzzo that we got to try today when Michael Palij MW, it's UK importer, popped into the office to show us some wines and discuss some upcoming promotions.

I'm not going to try and put into words what the winery can do best itself:

'Binomio is the brainchild of two old friends: Stefano Inama from Azienda Agricola Inama in the Veneto and Sabatino Di Properzio from Fattoria la Valentina. The idea was simple and born from their conviction that Montepulciano is a native Italian grape of extraordinary potential. High yields and sloppy vinification had robbed it of character in much the same way as Garganega’s talents had been squandered in Soave. The Binomio vineyard – a stunning plot of old vine Montepulciano planted exclusively with the low-yielding ‘Africa’ clone in 1971 – was purchased in 1999. 2002 marked the completion of the Binomio cellars complete with the latest steel fermentors and a spacious, climate-controlled barrel room. Binomio 2001 was hailed by Wine Spectator as the greatest Montepulciano made and awarded 95 point; vintage 2002 was hailed 91 point. The unique combination of mountainous terroir, old vines, and a strict selection have allowed us to produce a wine which, displays the concentration and complexity for which Montepulciano is famous.''

Have you tasted this wine? What do you think? Why not rate it on Snooth? Then we can all read about it. Or better still, rate it on Snooth and comment here too!

I'd almost forgotten about this post that I had saved as a draft back at the beginning of January - I think I was waiting to write up with wines tasted while snowed in at home, but that somehow didn't happen. Never ever enough time!

Last night, while catching up on all the furore of the new iPad I downloaded some new apps for my iPhone, including the very nifty PhotoShop Mobile. Found lots of other less useful but highly enjoyable ones too - like Real Racing GTI (this free version sponsored by VM) and ZenBound. But it was the PhotoShop one that had me doffing my cap in admiration for those programming geniuses that develop these clever little apps - so much functionality in such a tiny little bit of software. I just had to share it with you here! Oh, and I definitely can't wait to get me one of those iPad thingy's either - perfect for surfing for wine from the comfort of your sofa

 
The first pic just shows a very snowy house and garden. The second one is using the PhotoShop application from the app store, working in sketch mode on that same tree you see on the left. Interesting effects with a few deft touches of the pointy figure.

Oh, and the wine was very good too - the recently arrived Crozes Hermitage Georges Reynaud from Domaine de Bruyeres. perfect with that evening's meal of rib-eye steak and garlic butter. Well, we had to keep warm somehow!

Can't believe where the time goes! (Blog title in honour of a beautiful song by Fairpoint Convention - and title of Sony award-winning documentary my lovely wife co-produced with the irrepressible Bob Harris last year. An award that was one of the high-lights from the last year for us.)

So, another New Year is here already, and snow again. 2009 ended with lots of the white stuff, hampering real life (and at just the time when we needed it least, trying as we were to get Christmas wine and gift deliveries out in time for the festive season!) 

Last year ended with us (well, more correctly, ME!) being pretty poor on the blogging front - but no excuses this year! Just need to be more organised and make better use of technology (just invested in extra iPhone batteries and chargers so we can keep everyone updated on all this years excitement, wherever we are)

So, first offer of the New Year: Bordeaux. I don't normally think of Bordeaux as natural Surf4Wine territory as I've always considered that others in the UK wine trade are better placed than us, doing it bigger and better. But bigger isn't always better, and with some new connections and introductions since our move to new offices and warehouse in Hampshire, I've had my head turned.

There are some stunning wines from good to very good recent vintages that just aren't about in the main-stream wine retailers, and which Surf4Wine is ideally placed to introduce you to.  So, In November we sent a buying team to Bordeaux to unearth some of them and bring them back for us to introduce to you here. Plus, in April this year we'll be travelling to Bordeaux to be right in the heart of the action as this years Bordeaux en primeur campaign for the 2009 wines kick off - and we'll be telling you all about it right here!

One of my wine predictions for 2010 is that the Bordeaux '09 campaign will be huge, even within the context of a world economy struggling to come out of recession without slipping back into another one - and Surf4Wine will be helping you to get the best wine bangs for your buck throughout 2010 - so stay tuned!

In fact, although Surf4Wine is often perceived as a very new-world orientated wine business, my wine back-ground is very much rooted in the traditional wines of France. I was last in Bordeaux in 1991, lucky enough to spend a week travelling around, tasting and meeting people while based at the beautiful Chateau Loudenne. All part of spending 7 very happy years tasting and drinking some of the finest Bordeaux wines possible while working for one of Oxford University's ancient College's.

Therefore, a fitting title for our first offer of 2010 is very definitely Back to Bordeaux - the best place to get your Bordeaux taste-buds wet ready for the coming 2009 excitement later thus year.

A long day of writing producer profiles, adding new products and catching up on blogs - plus following the goings on at the start of the European Wine Bloggers Conference via Twitter.

Suddenly realised that I hadn't eaten all day, and given that the fridge was empty a quick dash into Overton to forage for food was in order. We are lucky to have such great foodie havens as Laverstoke Park, Manydown and Newlyns farm Shop (location of Caviste Odiham) right on our doorstep, but in the village itself we also have one of those rarities of the modern high street, a good butchers shop. They sell spell-bindingly good (well, I thought I'd better get a Halloween reference in somewhere!) Game Pies. So lunch was a large slice of this, some amazingly tasty tomatoes (given the time of the year) and a glass of the Chamonix Rouge 2007 that we had open for customer tasting.

'Classic Bordeaux-blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Cassis and wafts of cedar and cigar smoke lead to a ripe, rich palate with soft tannins and a tasty finish.

I think it is wines like this that really do show what good independent wine merchants are all about - good value, good wines and great advice.

Today is the start of the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Lisbon - even if you are not a wine blogger and just enjoy finding out more about the wines you drink, it is definitely worth taking a look at the various live feeds, tweets and videos (look under EWBC). These guys are looking at the very latest ways to get information from wineries and retailers out to you the wine drinking public with blogs, videos, Twitter and all sorts of other exciting and innovative communications forums.

One of the most important points in this kind of PR is authenticity - be true to yourself and your 'brand'.

Which made for a very special kind of irony when I was sent this link earlier today. Two types of communications on the same day. Couldn't be more different. One a win, one a fail. I leave you to decide which works best...

We're having a bit of an Oz wine fix here on the blog at the moment, having just written up two reviews for Pete Schell's Spinifex Esprit.

Pete is one of a new generation of Barossa winemakers making stunning wines blending passion, tradition and sense of place. Tim O'Callaghan who makes the Diggers Bluff wines that I've just added to our Australian portfolio is another.

These two new wines, Diggers Bluff The Watchdog and Diggers Bluff Top Dog, manage to combine the spirit of the Barossa with an innate sense of place, at once being very Australian, but also very different to the vast majority of Australian wines that are out there.

If you haven't had a chance to try any of our recent Australian additions yet, then maybe our new Spinifex and Diggers Bluff wines will tempt you to take the plunge.

Exciting day in the bunker here with the latest arrival of one of our favourite wines: Ridge Monte Bello 2006.

I think we began selling Monte Bello with the 1996, so this is the tenth vintage of our career in selling this remarkable wine from one of California's most respected wineries. In fact, I'd go so far as to call Ridge one of the first growths of the Californian wine industry, given Paul Draper and his teams ability to turn out such impressive wines year after year.

Ridge is an unusual new world winery in many ways, its wine being marketed by the vineyard location from where they are produced - a very old world idea. This puts lots of emphasis on soil, location, micro-climate and a mix of grapes planted there that suits that particular and unique location.

After all, these are the people that stunned the wine world with their success at the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting (now also a film 'Bottle Shock' starring Bill Pullman, Alan Rickman and Chris Pine), with their 1971 Monte Bello winning first place against some of the very best that California and Bordeaux had to offer. In fact it is testament to the quality of Monte Bello that when the tasting was repeated in 2006 for its 30th anniversary, Ridge Monte Bello again came out top.

Once a 100% pure Cabernet varietal wine, Monte Bello has been Cabernet dominated since 1975 with various other typical Bordeaux varieties included in the blend to add complexity, structure and interest.

Ridge Vineyard's ethos of letting the vineyard do all the hard work, followed by minimal intervention in the winery, lets the fruit do all the talking for them. End result: silky smooth red wines with fine tannins and wonderful fruit concentration.

This 2006 vintage is another great example to add to the pantheon of previous vintages:
'Complex mix of ripe mountain bramble, cassis, and currant fruits; dark chocolate, toasty oak, licorice, exotic spice. Full-bodied, with elegant chalky tannins, sensuous balance, integrated oak. Pure Monte Bello.'

Two great write-ups for one of our favourite Barossa producers: Spinifex

First up, Matthew Jukes in MoneyWeek talking about the Spinifex Esprit 2006.

'Pete Schell is the guy behind the Spinifex label. He is a quiet chap and a contemplative and very astute wine maker. He set Spinifex in 2001 with the idea of making truly great wines from some of the oldest vines in the Barossa valley. My favourite of his current releases is '06 Esprit - a 34% Mataro (Mourvedre), 31% Grenache, 30% Shiraz, 5% Cinsault blend, which conjures up bonfire nuances, well-hung game and masses of macerated, oozing blackberries and plums. Seemingly tailor-made for hearty, autumnal recipes and able to scare the living daylights out of a Chateauneuf du Pape at twice the price, this is a stunning wine.' (By the way, he also was very keen on the Schwarz Wine Company Nitschke Block @ £21.50)

We look forward to scaring some of our Chateauneuf du Pape producers, it is nearly Halloween after all!

The second review is from Country Life, a magazine with a great track record of fine wine writing with the likes of Edmund Penning-Rowsell as a past wine correspondent.

'Spinifex Esprit 2006 mixes flavours such as mocha, chocolate, fresh tobacco, wild cherry and prunes. Spot on with big-flavoured dishes such as braised oxtail or venison.'

Two great reviews for a wine that is a perfect partner as we move towards the Winter months.

Early October saw Dan Standish from the Barossa (Massena and The Standish Wine Company) visit us for a customer tasting and dinner in the Caviste Overton shop.

In this interview we catch up with Dan and his thoughts on the England Ashes win and wine making in the Barossa.

Dan Standish October 2009

Interview by Ali Booker, freelance journalist and Jack FM presenter