About Winedoctor

Winedoctor is the online home of Chris Kissack, and has been published without break since May 2000. Within I provide opinion on two of the world’s great wine regions, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley.

What’s the system?

Every week I publish a selection of articles relevant to Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, and (occasionally) other regions too. The majority of the articles are tasting reports, domaine profiles and updates, but there are also dining reviews, ‘weekend wine’ reports and two ever-growing wine guides to my two ‘specialist’ regions. Additions to the site are made every day from Monday to Friday, for about 48 weeks of the year. Most weekends also see new material added to the site, usually in the form of updates to previously published profiles, to ensure all my older profiles are up to date.

What reports can we expect?

I have a fairly firm timetable of updates throughout the year. Each April I attend the Bordeaux primeurs, so expect a detailed report on the latest vintage then. I also travel to Bordeaux for post-bottling tastings, and I endeavour to revisit a good selection of the region’s wine at ten years of age, so you can expect reviews as the wines age as well as on release. In addition I report on many older Bordeaux from my cellar, and bottles tasted in the region, aiding drinking decisions as the wines mature.

For the Loire Valley, I publish a detailed vintage assessment each year, usually after visiting the region in February. Again, I look back at recent and older vintages through the wines in my cellar, revisiting a selection of wines at four, ten and even fifteen or twenty years of age. This level of detail on the Loire is unparalleled in wine writing.

Alongside these vintage and regional reports every week I add new domaine and château profiles, or tasting updates focusing on the most recent releases. In order to facilitate these reports and updates, I visit both regions every year, typically two or three times a year for Bordeaux, three or four times a year for the Loire Valley.

What’s your style?

I’m not sure I’m the best qualified to provide an objective answer to this question, but I will try! I avoid hyperbole and the slew of perfect scores that seems de rigueur in wine reports these days. My palate favours purity and precision, and seeks out wines that feel energetic and alive in the mouth. I adore moreishness, and freshness. I find wines that are leaden and dull, dominated by over-extracted tannin and raisined fruit, which try to win over the palate with blunt force, to be wearisome. I look for beauty and charm in wine. But I can be open-minded and score wines appropriately. Don’t forget, it is just as important to read the note, as it is the score.

I’m determined to seek out value estates, especially in Bordeaux. Although I deal with the big names in detail, I also look to the little guys turning out great wines at great price points; cru bourgeois estates on the left bank, and lesser-known names in Castillon, Montagne-St-Emilion and Fronsac get a look in.

Why the Loire Valley?

The white wines of Bordeaux, dry or sweet, are always praised as the underdogs. So what does that make similar styles from the Loire Valley then; the flea on the collar? Along several hundred kilometres of the Loire Valley we have fabulous soils, wonderful vineyards and some truly world-class wines. These wines are woefully under-rated and under-reported, and yet are no less fascinating than a great Nuits-St-Georges, Barolo or Ribera del Duero.

The styles are many; dry Chenin Blanc from Jasnières, sweet wines from the Coteaux du Layon and Vouvray, minerally (and sometimes aged) Muscadet and stylish Sancerre, many of which can wipe
the floor with wines from more famous regions, and often at a fraction of the price. And there are red wines too, structured Chinon and perfumed Bourgueil, or richer wines more in the Bordeaux style if that is your thing. I can be your guide to high quality and great value in these appellations.

How many wines?

I once wrote “over 10,000 tasting notes, but I have lost count”. These days all my tasting notes are also collated in an online searchable database (click on “Tasting Notes” in the menu across the top of the page) and so I know at the last count, in mid-2023, more than 26,000 tasting notes (obviously this figure is constantly rising). These notes are the work of one palate, not a tasting team or committee. Thanks to my regional focus I know what good Savennières or Sauternes should taste like, and I’m not afraid to judge wines as I see them.

It is not just notes though. I have never had much faith in the wine critic who churns out reams of notes but can never be bothered to provide the background information. For every domaine I profile I give a detailed history, information on the people, the vineyards and the winemaking philosophies, as well as my personal opinion too. And if that isn’t enough, there are my aforementioned multi-page wine guides to give even more background information.

How much?

It depends. For professional subscribers (this means anyone in the business of making, shipping or selling wine, running wine tours, a wine bar or a wine travel business) I offer a single annual Winedoctor subscription of £90 per annum. Sign up here.

For personal subscribers (if none of the above descriptions apply, which is most subscribers), there are two subscription options. The cost of a full year’s access to Winedoctor is £45 per annum (which is equivalent to £3.75 per month). This is payable by credit card in a single annual sum, allowing access to all paywall-protected articles during the period of subscription. The fee renews each year, giving you continued access. Alternatively, access can be gained by subscribing to Winedoctor Monthly, at a cost of £4.50 per month, a fee which is collected each month giving you continued access.  In both cases subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. Sign up here.

Can we try it out?

The simplest way to try is to sign up to Winedoctor Monthly for just £4.50 and give it a whirl. You can cancel before the month is up if you wish – just send me an email and I can sort this out for you. Sign up here.

If you wish to contact me about anything on this site please do so.