Dear wine lover

This week I have been in the Languedoc, and so absorbed in unpacking 120 packing cases and working out which bit of wood or metal belongs to which bit of furniture that I almost forgot to write this despatch - most unusual.

This is not to say that I am not extremely proud of what we have published on the fiercely independent JancisRobinson.com this week (I refer tangentially to the recent news that Michelin have taken a 40% stake in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate). 

On Wednesday we published Ferran Centelles' detailed report on the bullish red wines of Toro, an article that shows just how lucky we are to have Ferran as our Spanish specialist.

On Monday, Walter reported in his usual abrasive style on the grand Italians imported into the UK by Armit and I followed this up next day with a collection of Italian tasting notes from a new group of up and coming UK Italian wine importers, both of these articles featuring many a wine you should be able to find from a retailer near you, wherever you are in the world.

I also reported on the amazing longevity of Pessac-Léognan dry whites while Richard writes today about the latest finds at Lea & Sandeman. Earlier in the week Richard wrote about a new gizmo that measures your blood alcohol level (could be useful) while Julia today recommends a top quality Portuguese Muscat going for a song. 

Recent winner of our wine writing competition Hrishi Poola wrote about how he felt on his first visit to the Douro, a special experience for anyone, let alone a wine lover. In less celebratory vein, Nick's article last week sounds a decidedly cautious note about prospects for the London restaurant scene.

Last Saturday I wrote about the recent think tank in the southern Rhône and this was followed up by a detailed submission there by champagne marketeer Christian Holthausen who ponders some fascinating paradoxes in today's wine (and food) market. 

Many congratulations to him, Julia, Richard and our occasional contributor Simon Reilly for being included on the shortlist for this year's Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards published this week. The winners will be announced in September and I'm sure all visitors to this site wish them the very best of luck.

Talking of luck, note that today is the seventh of the seventh 2017. My fingers are crossed that there will be no horrible reprisal of the London bombings exactly 12 years ago. London has suffered enough.