This year, perhaps
more than any other, solace has been found in transportative bottles of great
wine.
Without recourse to travelling, it has come down to the willingness of
producers to send samples, and in that regard I’ve been blessed with some very
accommodating winemakers who have been happy to fire bottles across the seas for
me to taste in the comfort and (occasional) peace of my own home. In truth,
there are many bottles that stand out as bright sparks of excitement in the
muddle of 2020; Germany features heavily, so does Champagne, a little bit of
South Africa, plenty of California, a handful of momentous, or just perfectly
timed Burgundies and one particularly lovely bottle of single vineyard St
Joseph that sang next to chicken with clementines, fennel and Pernod. What
follows is a handful of especially bright spots – wines that made, to
paraphrase Mr. McCartney, all our troubles seem so far away…