The Don Quixotes of Brixham
A fishing trip off the coast of South Devon, a haul of scallops, and two bottles of William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru to wash them down.
Must you taste it to believe it?
A tasting game to test your convictions…and your intuition.
Match the right sensations to each stage of tasting. Between oenological precision and misleading clues, can you tell what’s what?
Dragons, roses and ladybirds
Untangling fact from folklore in the world of wine.
Deep-rooted traditions or ideas with no real basis? From Gregorian chants to the shape of a bottle’s base, here’s a look at some of the stories, rituals and myths that surround the world of wine.
The order of the vine
Inside the Commanderie du Bontemps: where ritual, belief and community meet.
An old rite gives you a glimpse into why, even in 2026, the world of wine still believes in the power of the collective.
Terroir beyond dogma
Adapting our understanding of terroir for a warming climate.
Olivier Trégoat, Technical Director for Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, argues for a more flexible understanding of terroir, one freed from rigid dogma, to adapt to the realities of climate change.
The taste of history
Pairing food and wine can be an exercise in diplomacy.
From the Élysée Palace to the coronation of King Charles III, Château Rieussec and Château Lafite Rothschild have taken centre stage at some of history’s most prestigious tables.
Blending notes
Behind every great wine lies a series of choices, doubts, and shared intuition.
In the cellars of Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, the 2024 blending process demanded careful listening—and a great deal of passion. This is the story, from up close, of those who taste, debate, compose…and ultimately hear the wine speak.
A fruitful encounter
RECIPE - From market stall to table: where the sea meets the cellar.
In each edition of The Journal, we share recipes that bring flavours and stories together. This time, the journey takes us to Bordeaux and Chablis, where Olivier de Butler and Mathieu Crosnier reflect on the fruits of their labour at Bonne Mer. They create a dialogue between the briny depth of black mullet, the crisp freshness of R de Rieussec, and the saline tension of William Fèvre’s Grands Crus.
A very eloquent nose
An interview with assemblage expert Alexandre Schmitt.
Alexandre Schmitt made a dramatic shift from the world of haute parfumerie to another field equally bound to aroma: wine blending. He shares the essence of his sensory-driven approach—and explains why training your nose is essential to tasting wine.
2025: a Five-Star Vintage
The grape harvest, that annual event, a story that is halfway human, halfway fruit.