Christmas Extravaganzas, Chile, Henschke Masterclass, Medal Winners, a Festival of Fizz, Top Class Riesling, Rosé and fine Austrian wines.
It has been a while since I added to the blog so I have summarised below all the tastings since my last posting.
We maintained a busy schedule of events – both live and via Zoom – and attendance has been terrific in both formats so thank you for all your support!
For details of the wines, and prices, see the wines we have tasted page.
Christmas Extravaganzas at Richmond & Teddington
The Christmas tasting is always a bit special as we push the boat out and taste some rare and unusual wines. This year was no exception and highlights were fabulous Shiraz from John Duval and Henschke, a very rare Spanish red – Arrebatacapas from Telmo Rodriguez and the amazing Vin Santo from Capezzana in Tuscany. We had a huge turnout in November and December – fortunately before Omicron became a lot more than just a letter of the Greek alphabet……..
The Wines of Chile
Chile continues to pioneer, innovate and build on its success as a wine producing nation. Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon have been the bedrock of consistency and reliability and a number of super premium wines such as Sena have established themselves in the pantheon of Internationally renowned wines. However, I wanted to show a different side and focus on some lesser known styles and regions and reflect on the resurgence of lesser known varieties and the redevelopment of old abandoned vineyards.
Warming up with a couple of contrasting Sauvignon Blancs which showed how Chile is embracing cool climate viticulture with great success, we moved on to the wines of Pedro Parra – an amazing viticulturalist with an eye for the unusual. His Chablis style Chardonnay, unusual Pais, delicious old vine Carignan and stunning 2013 Malbec all caused a stir. Very individual wines which challenged perceptions and were far removed from the standard impression many have of Chilean wines. We rounded off the evening with the amazing Purple Angel from Montes which is predominantly Carmenere and another Chilean icon.
Henschke Masterclass
This ranks as one of the most impressive line-ups we have ever presented at a Masterclass dinner – at Bacco in Richmond and on Zoom. Henschke need no introduction as one of the best Australian wine estates, family owned and with the legendary Hill of Grace as their flagship wine. We tasted through a comprehensive selection of wines – Stunning Riesling, elegant Chardonnay, rich Semillon, before moving on to their reds. Their super premium trio of Cyril Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Edelstone Shiraz and the HOG (Hill of Grace) were all quite young but eminently demonstrated their class while the Pinot Noir and GSM blend offered great value. All washed down with a delicious Italian dinner – this was definitely a night to remember.
Trophy, Platinum and Gold Medal Winners
September and October are traditionally the months where we focus on the best wines judged at the International Wine Challenge (IWC), Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), Sommelier Wine awards (SWA), Wine Merchant 100 (WM100) and International Wine & Spirit Challenge (IWSC). We focus on the top awards – Trophy, Platinum and Gold which reflect the absoluter crème de la crème of what is available in the UK at the time of judging.
Highlights of this years tasting were a fabulous Petit Chablis from Louis Jadot reflecting the sublime quality of 2019 in Burgundy, Albarinos from Bodegas Garzon in Uruguay – quite the revelation in quality, plus great Cab Sauv from Australia, delicious Pinot Noir from Aconcagua in Chile and an utterly delicious small production Amarone. As always, the quality, balance and harmony of the wine making shows through at this level of award.
Austrian Fine Wines
I was absolutely delighted with the number of bookings for this Austrian Fine Wine event on Zoom. Not only did it give me the chance to showcase a brilliant selection of wines but also to demolish forever the prehistoric memory of the antifreeze scandal of 1985 – yes – that long ago!
Austria is now renowned for producing world class Riesling and Gruner Veltliner and increasingly Chardonnay from Kamptal and Wachau to the north west of Vienna, utterly fabulous Sauvignon Blanc from Styria – close to the border of Slovenia and unctuous sweet wines and fascinating reds from the eastern Neusiedlersee. With wines from Freddie Loimer, FX Pichler, Brundlmayer, Sattlerhof and Heidi Schrock, you could simply not be anything than impressed with the quality of the wines. It cemented the reputation of Gruner Veltliner as a top class grape variety and revealed an Austrian wine industry that is oozing talent and class. Roll on our trip to Austria in May…..
Top Class Riesling
Another very well attended Zoom event allowed us to delve deep into the world of Riesling and definitively prove the quality of this most noble of grapes. A couple of maverick styles from China and the Finger Lakes opened proceedings and set the tone for the variety we might expect. There followed an eclectic mix from Australia, New Zealand, Alsace and the Mosel covering a range of styles from bone dry through to the delightfully sweet Cordon Cut from Mount Horrocks which brought back great memories of our visit there in 2019.
A sublime highlight was the F Series Riesling from the excellent Framingham estate in Marlborough. Deliciously dry and textured – this is a wine I will be buying more of.
A Festival of Fizz and Rosé from around the World
Summer allowed us to venture into the ever popular world of sparkling wine and a first – in 30 years of wine tasting an event totally devoted to Rosé.
The sparkling wines included some lesser known examples from Lombardy and Abruzzo using Pignoletto and the unknown Cococciola (try saying that after a few glasses!) grapes. The UK delivered some fine bubbles from the new kid on the block – Rathfinney and the famous Nyetimber, while Tasmania and Spain served up some interestingly different styles.
Our Rosé event was long overdue given the growth that this sector of the wine industry has achieved in recent years. France delivered an eclectic selection from the Loire, Bandol, Languedoc and Provence with Italy, Portugal and Spain providing some contrast.
We concluded that while the quality was high with a great depth of different styles, pink wine (perhaps with the exception of Champagne and the occasional Bandol) is never going to hit the highspots of white and red.
