HOUSE NOTES
Notes from 105 Piccadilly, Mayfair.
Our editorial wing and candle-lit corner of conversation. This is where the cork comes out and the stories begin to breathe: dispatches from dinner tables, conversations on travel, taste, art, and the odd beautiful mistake along the way. Think of it as the after-hours lounge of House of Decant — and everyone is welcome.
226 articles
- Advice
Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Thirteen Grapes, One Winter Red
The southern Rhône makes the warmest, most generous red in France. Here is what Châteauneuf-du-Pape actually is, how to drink it, and where the real value hides.
- Advice
How to Get Into Whisky (Without the Snobbery)
The wall of bottles is built to intimidate you. It should not. A no-nonsense guide to getting into whisky: what to ignore, where to start, and the two malts to buy first.
- Advice
Best Bourbon: What to Pour as It Turns Cold
A short, opinionated guide to buying bourbon well: what the word guarantees, how to tell it from Tennessee and rye, and which bottles to open as it turns cold.
- Advice
How to Drink Barolo Without Waiting a Decade
Piedmont's king of wines has a reputation for making you wait. It doesn't have to. A field guide to Nebbiolo and Barbaresco for the season of fog, truffles and long dinners.
- Advice
How to Drink Burgundy Without the Fear
A clear-eyed guide to drinking Burgundy: the four-rung ladder, the growers worth trusting, serving temperatures, food pairings and five facts for the bar.
- Places
Beaujolais Nouveau Is Coming. Drink the Grown-Up Version
Beaujolais Nouveau lands on 19 November, but the real story is the serious cru Gamay worth drinking all winter. What it is, why it is back, and where to start.
- Advice
How to Drink Vermouth (Not Just in a Negroni)
Vermouth spends its life being splashed into other people's drinks. Poured cold over ice with a twist, it turns out to be the perfect low-key autumn aperitivo. Here is how to drink it properly.
- Advice
What Is Brunello di Montalcino (and Where to Start)?
What is Brunello di Montalcino? Italy's great cold-weather red, the Rosso-to-Riserva ladder, traditional versus modern, and which bottle to open first this autumn.
- Advice
What Is a Super Tuscan (and Where to Start)?
What is a Super Tuscan? The story of Tuscany's great rule-break, the two styles to know, and the smart place to start, with two in-stock icons to open this autumn.
- Advice
How to Drink Sherry (and Why It's Having a Moment)
The bottle that used to live at the back of the cupboard is suddenly the most interesting thing on the list. From bone-dry fino to syrupy Pedro Ximénez, here is how to drink sherry.
- Advice
What Is Calvados? Normandy's Great Apple Brandy
Normandy's orchards, distilled and rested in oak. The apple brandy the French reach for when dinner is done, and why it belongs in your glass now the nights are drawing in.
- Advice
Islay vs Speyside: The Two Souls of Scotch
Smoke or sweetness? Islay's peated drams against Speyside's orchard-and-sherry elegance, and how to choose the right single malt for an autumn evening by the fire.