Chris Kissack

Called in on Matthieu Baudry to buy a few bottles. Ended up tasting all the 2024s, from vat, barrel and bottle. Plus a few older vintages, back to 2012. As you do. 😃 #matthieubaudry #bernardbaudry #chinon #cabernetfranc #wine

Great to finally get my hands on a few bottles of this; Triple Zéro Millésimé, 2014 vintage, disgorged in 2024. Absolutely delicious, with modest evolution and great freshness. Looking forward to the next bottle! #tailleauxloups #latailleauxloups #montlouissurloire #triplezero #cheninblanc #wine

Villemaine is a domaine in Thésée, on the Cher; they make a delicious Vieilles Vignes Sauvignon, but they also sell Bernache. The 2025 is delicious; sweet, but so vibrant and flavoursome. The best Bernache I ever drank? Probably. #bernache #villemaine #sauvignonblanc #sauvignon

It’s also a failure to respond to changing climate. Best parcels simply picked too late, ergo 15.5% or even 16% Chinon. Top cuvées parcellaires started going off with significantly warmer vintage starting 2015.

Great visit to see Jean-Philippe Blot at La Taille aux Loups today. A tour of Clos Michet and Clos de Mosny, the cellars, and a comprehensive tasting. #tailleauxloups #montlouis #montlouissurloire #vouvray #cheninblanc #loire #wine

Very unlikely. It was close to impossible to track down even it was newly released. I bought mine from the domaine over a decade ago. Never saw it for sale anywhere else even then.

Pithon-Paillé’s 2010 Belargus des Treilles.
A remarkable, Pithon-esque interpretation of the Coteaux du Layon appellation. Amazing and delicious! #pithonpaille #coteauxdulayon #belargusdestreilles #lestreilles #wine

A great walk around out of Luzé this morning, 10 km through gorgeous fields and wooded lanes, passing the Abbaye Royale Saint-Michel de Bois-Aubry, burial place of Yul Brynner, along the way. #touraine #randonneur #rando #walks #sunflowers #yulbrynner

Loving this. Crémant de Loire from Bonnigal-Bodet, 2016 vintage, made using slightly botrytised fruit. Gorgeous now. #bonnigalbodet #cremantdeloire #cheninblanc #loirewine #wine

Sorting the final bunches of Cabernet Franc at Charles Joguet, September 2025. An early harvest of beautifully ripe and healthy fruit, even the stems of many bunches have ripened. Can’t wait to taste the first 2025 reds! #chinon #charlesjiguet #cabernetfranc #loire #wine #harvest

The new Pierre de Tuf @la_noblaie - the sights and sounds (volume up!) of the 2025 vintage. Sorry I can’t offer the smells which are also magnificent. #noblaie #lanoblaie #domainedelanoblaie #chinon #cabernetfranc #loire2025 #loire

Lordy this is good. The first vintage of the new portfolio chez Ogereau, 500ml bottle, VinoLok closure. Caramelised velvet with very controlled development at 10 years, perhaps reflecting the closure. Stunning. #coteauxdulayon #bonnesblanches #ogereau #domaineogereau #anjou #loire #cheninblanc #wine

A white rainbow, or fogbow, spotted on a misty morning dog walk. #fogbow #rainbow #mistymorning #fog #somethingotherthanwine

No corner of the Loire Valley left unexplored. This evening checking in on an attractive Orléans Chardonnay. Corton-Thingummy it ain’t, delightfully different (from Chenin & Sauvignon) it is. #clossaintfiacre #orleans #chardonnay #loire #wine

The Cru Bourgeois Classification | Winedoctor Cru Bourgeois Classification: the history of the classification, with an account of the ill-fated 2003 reassessment, subsequently annulled, and full listings of the 2020, 2003, 1978 and 1932…

My updated guide to the Cru Bourgeois classification, now including full details of the 2025 listing (as well as the 2020, 2003, 1978, 1966 and 1932 classifications!).
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#bordeaux #crubourgeois #crubourgeoissuperieur #crubourgeoisexceptionnel #wine

Philippe Gilbert, 2025 Update | Winedoctor I report on the latest releases from Philippe Gilbert, a leading domaine in Menetou-Salon. Wines tasted in February 2025.

Read my latest tasting update, featuring ten wines from Philippe Gilbert, a report in which the red wines outdo the whites.
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#philippegilbert #menetousalon #sauvignonblanc #pinotnoir #loire #loirewine #wine

Smoke and Mirrors: Pouilly-Fumé, 2025 | Winedoctor Smoke and Mirrors: I put Pouilly-Fumé in the spotlight, with a review of the state of the appellation today, reports on the 2024, 2023 and 2022 vintages, and 60 new tasting notes. Wines tasted in…

Smoke and Mirrors; a deep dive into Pouilly-Fumé; its history, context, recent vintages reviewed and 60 tasting notes.
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#pouillyfume #henribourgeois #domainedubouchot #michelredde #loiccailbourdin #cedrickbardin #massonblondelet #sagetlaperriere #jeanphilippeagisson #wine

It’s not a great terroir for Cabernet Franc, OK for Cabernet Sauvignon, but the vintage was grim. Perhaps 87 is generous (I haven’t ever retasted it) but happily not an endorsement either. I think the note tells it like it is. Thanks for reading! 🙏

Château Cheval Blanc Bordeaux Le Petit Cheval 2023 | Winedoctor Weekend Wine: This week I return to Bordeaux to check out another of the region's white wines, this time the white Le Petit Cheval, from Château Cheval Blanc, in the 2023 vintage.

Read today's Weekend Wine report, in which I check in on the white wine from Cheval Blanc in the 2023 vintage.
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[free to read]
#chevalblanc #petitcheval #petitchevalblanc #bordeauxblanc #bordeaux #bordeauxwine #stemilion #wine

Great dinner at The Palmerston in Edinburgh. Two tip-top dishes and good cheese, and classy Chenin from Thomas Batardière. One to write up for Winedoctor - soon! #palmerston #dining #thomasbatardiere #anjou #cheninblanc #drinkchenin #wine

An ignominious end. Happily I had drained the contents before I dropped it. Phew. #richardleroy #anjou #anjoublanc #chenin #cheninblanc #loire #loirewine #loire2005 #wineoftheday

Les Jardiniers, Ligré: Restaurant Review | Winedoctor I head to Ligré, on the opposite bank of the Vienne to Chinon, for a spectacular meal at Les Jardiniers, Restaurant Potager. A dining review from October 2023, updated October 2024 and June 2025.

Read my latest dining report, on another great lunch and an eclectic selection of wines at Les Jardiniers in Ligré.
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#lesjardiniers #ligre #martinbolaers #dining #restaurants #loire #wine #dominiqueetphilippeivancic #pascallambert #domainedelepinay #closdelamolenie

The Bordeaux September Releases, 2025 | Winedoctor In this 'Beyond Bordeaux' report I take a look at more than sixty new international releases onto La Place in September 2025, including wines from Inglenook, Beaulieu Vineyard, Dalla Valle, Peter…

Read my latest article, in which I review and report on more than 60 wines released onto La Place de Bordeaux this September.
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#beyondbordeaux #septemberreleases #chevaldesandes #penfolds #morlatfamilyvineyard #almaviva #stagsleap #inglenook #beaulieuvineyard #catenazapata

Checking in on Domaine Tessier, 2025 | Winedoctor I check out the latest releases from Domaine Tessier, with Simon Tessier and Marie Drancourt. Wines tasted in February 2025.

Read my tasting report, Checking in on Domaine Tessier, featuring the latest releases from this leading Cheverny domaine.
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#tessier #domainetessier #cheverny #courcheverny #romorantin #touraine #simontessier #loire #loirewine #winestagram #wineofinstagram

A good way to end my fourth tasting trip to Bordeaux this year. Dinner at Château La Cardonne with some old vintages, and a trip west to Montalivet for some refreshing Atlantic breezes. Just a shame I didn’t bring my surfboard. 😎 #lacardonne #medoc #chateaulacardonne #bordeaux #montalivet #wine

Following the Camino: Château du Retout, 2009 - 2023 | Winedoctor I call in on Frédéric and Hélène Soual of Château du Retout, to taste recent vintages, from 2023 back to 2009. First, though, I explore in more detail the history of this property, which brings us to…

Read this week's major Winedoctor report, on a vertical tasting of Château du Retout, from 2023 back to 2009.
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#retout #leretout #duretout #chateauduretout #hautmedoc #bordeaux #wine

Domaine de la Pépière La Pépiè Cabernet Franc 2018 | Winedoctor Weekend Wine: I discover an unanticipated level of joy in my most recent bottle of the 2018 La Pépiè Cabernet Franc, from Rémi Branger and Gwénaëlle Croix, of Domaine de la Pépière.

Read my latest Weekend Wine report, as I check in on the 2018 La Pépiè Cabernet Franc from Domaine de la Pépière.
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#pepiere #domainedelapepiere #lapepie #cabernetfranc #loire #wine

A quite stunning day at Brane-Cantenac, with a vertical of 30+ vintages from 1992 to 2023, and then some beauties with a remarkable lunch, including 1928, 1945 and 1961. A simply breath-taking tasting in the company of Henri Lurton and family. #branecantenac #margaux #bordeaux

Loire 2024: First Taste | Winedoctor A report on more than 75 wines of the 2024 vintage in the Loire Valley, tasted just a few months after the harvest. Wines (mostly) tasted in February 2025.

Read my 2024 Loire First Taste report, including more than 75 tasting notes.
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#loire #loirevalley #loire2024 #wine

Great visit to Château Siran. A little vertical tasting, and a pre-harvest tour of the vines with Edouard Miailhe in his Polaris Ranger (sort of Jurassic World meets Margaux - didn’t see any dinosaurs though). #margaux #siran #chateausiran #bordeaux #bordeauxwine #wine