Noble Rot, Blind Faith - Issue #29

Noble Rot Issue #29, Blind Faith, is a print magazine of wine, food and culture from the London team behind the Noble Rot restaurants.

Founded in 2013 by Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew, the magazine set out to write about wine the way music writers cover records — with opinions, jokes and no particular deference to received wisdom. Blind tasting is the spine of this number, with Keeling making the case for taking the label away before forming a view. Around it run profiles of Sherry, Vin Jaune and the wines of Crete, and Rob Walters on two Champagne vintages that changed the region. Róisín Murphy, Louis Theroux and Alice Feiring all appear. The artwork, always half the appeal here, is among the strongest the title has printed.

A good one for drinkers who like their wine writing with a pulse: argumentative, funny and happy to go deep when the subject earns it. It also solves the present for a friend who owns every reference book and none of the gossip.