Le guide des grands Amateurs de Vin.

Wine expert Alain Marty has published what he claims is "the first wine guide in the world produced by well-informed and independenty consumers". Marty is president of the Wine and Busness Club - which organises wine-themed evenings for busness people - and presents France's only TV an,d radio shows on wine, for BFM;
  To create Le Guide des Grands AMateurs de Vin he asked 250 amateurs wine-lovers to mark bottles they drink at home.
   The typical taster buys wine at auctions or at chateaux, goes to wine fairs and has a cellar of old vintages, he says. The tipples range from à €3 Lot rosé to Château Yquem 1949 at €1,500 the latter rating an "espérance" of 18/20- a mark aplied to all wine costing more than €20, which is said to indicate its "intrinsic quality". Cheaper ones are given a value-for-money grade.
    The drinks are listed by production area and inclmude chateaux contact details and whether or not they are open for visits. Maps and photos brighten things up. Each entry shows the main grape type - useful as many AOC wine do not carry them (it xas not allowed until recently) and many drinkers have favourites. It also includes a prices guide as well as potential de garde - that is wine  will have chieved its full maturity (hang on to that Yquem until 2018 to catch it at its 69 - fear peak). If your French is reasonable you might find a section on "corked" wine interesting - a taste taint which, Marty explains, is due to a molecule that can be released by traditional corks.  The best way to avoid it is the use of a prified cork called Diam, he says. Even if your French is basic, the simple format should mean you soon find your way around.

Source : The Connexion.

Cordialement le Blad.