Johnson - Hugh johnsons pocket wine book 2014

Hugh Johnsons Pocket Wine Book 2014

Edited and designed by Mitchell Beazley,
an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Limited,
Endeavour House, 189 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London WC2H 8JY

An Hachette Livre UK Company
www.hachette.co.uk

Distributed in the USA and Canada by Octopus Books USA:
c/o Hachette Book Group USA, 237 Park Avenue,
New York, NY 10017

www.octopusbooksusa.com

Copyright Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2013

First edition published 1977

Revised editions published 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 (twice), 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (twice), 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-845-33744-5

The author and publishers will be grateful for any information that will assist them in keeping future editions up to date. Although all reasonable care has been taken in preparing this book, neither the publishers nor the author can accept any liability for any consequences arising from the use thereof, or from the information contained herein.

General Editor Margaret Rand
Editoral Director Tracey Smith
Commissioning Editor Hilary Lumsden
Project Editor Jo Wilson
Proofreader Jamie Ambrose
Deputy Art Director Yasia Williams-Leedham
Designer Jeremy Tilston
Production Manager Katherine Hockley

Mitchell Beazley would like to acknowledge and thank the following for supplying photographs for use in this book.

Alamy A La France; Joerg Lehmann/Bon Appetit; Ian Shaw; Jrgen Wiesler/imagebroker; Peter Horree; Stockfolio; Au Bon Climat; Cephas Kevin Judd; Corbis Doug Pearson/JAI; John Miller/Robert Harding World Imagery; Steve Lupton; Domaine Drouhin; Domaine de la Romane-Conti; Felton Road; Getty Images John Foxx; Lonely Planet/David Wall Photo; Melanie Acevedo; Owen Franken; Russell Illig; Weingut Keller; Octopus Publishing Group Adrian Pope; Shutterstock Robert Kneschke; Thinkstock Hemera; Stockbyte

This store of detailed recommendations comes partly from my own notes and mainly from those of a great number of kind friends. Without the generous help and cooperation of innumerable winemakers, merchants and critics, I could not attempt it. I particularly want to thank the following for help with research or in the areas of their special knowledge:

Sarah Ahmed, Helena Baker, Susie Barrie MW, Nicolas Belfrage MW, Philipp Blom, Jim Budd, Michael Cooper, Terry Copeland, Cole Danehower, Michael Edwards, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Rosemary George MW, Caroline Gilby MW, Anthony Gismondi, Annie Kay, Chandra Kurt, James Lawther MW, Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, John Livingstone-Learmonth, Wes Marshall, Campbell Mattinson, Adam Montefiore, Jasper Morris MW, Fabricio Portelli, Margaret Rand, Ulrich Sautter, Eleonora Scholes, Stephen Skelton MW, Paul Strang, Marguerite Thomas, Larry Walker, Philip van Zyl

The top line of most entries consists of the following information:

1. Aglianico del Vulture Bas
2. r dr (s/sw sp)
3.
4. 96 97 00 01 02 (03)

1. Aglianico del Vulture Bas
Wine name and the region the wine comes from, abbreviations of regions are listed in each section.

2. r dr (s/sw sp)
Whether it is red, ros, or white (or brown/amber); dry, sweet, or sparkling; or several of these (and which is most important):

Its general standing as to quality: a necessarily rough-and-ready guide based on its current reputation as reflected in its prices:

So much is more or less objective. Additionally there is a subjective rating:

4. 96 97 00 01 02 (03)
Vintage information: those recent vintages that can be recommended; and of these, which are ready to drink this year, and which will probably improve with keeping. Your choice for current drinking should be one of the vintage years printed in bold type. Buy light-type years for further maturing.

The German vintages work on a different principle again: see .

Other abbreviations & styles