Walls' hidden gems: Domaine François Merlin & 12 wines tasted
The tale of a northern Rhône master...
Matt Walls is an award-winning freelance wine writer and consultant, contributing regular articles to various print and online titles including Decanter, where he is a contributing editor. He publishes the blog mattwalls.co.uk, for which he was named the 2015 International Wine & Spirit Competition Blogger of the Year.
His first book on wine, Drink Me!, won Best Newcomer at the 2013 Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. In addition to writing, Walls advises restaurants on wine lists, hosts tastings and judges at food and wine competitions.
He was previously fine wine manager at UK importer Mentzendorff, and bought wines for the flagship store of London’s The Sampler.
He writes about all areas of wine, but specialises in the Rhône, for which he was Regional Chair at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2019.
The tale of a northern Rhône master...
A week in the life of a Rhône correspondent during en primeur...
Châteauneuf on a budget... if you know where to look...
Matt Walls on why these Viogniers inspire winemakers far and wide...
Where to get your Rhône fix in the UK...
Not familiar with Rasteau? This is the vintage to start with...
A chat with Alexandre Fréguin on his life story so far and advice for wine pairings...
Cairanne is the source of some of the southern Rhône’s finest whites...
Revisiting this hot vintage now the wines are in bottle...
A red grape of ‘delicacy and power’ that’s also full of local terroir expression...
Meeting a new wine talent in Côte-Rôtie...
The results from a 109-wine panel tasting...
A guide for where to eat and drink well in the Rhône...
A new generation takes over...
Top-tier Côtes du Rhône wines...
Fantastic verticals of a red and white wine worth seeking out...
A new name worth having on your radar...
What determines how long a wine will age?
A cooperative success story...
Where to eat and drink, and the wineries to visit.
A name and wines to know...