Our October tastings at Richmond took us on a journey around the world – well, two journeys.
Our topic was the 45th Parallel, the ‘halfway’ point between pole and equator, on which are located some of the worlds top wine producing regions. Led by Fliss who noticed during her Diploma studies that the number 45 kept on cropping up, this was an opportunity to explore a diverse selection of wines and to contemplate the factors that make them so different.
We started in Bordeaux, it all starts in Bordeaux, where the modern wine industry took off centuries ago thanks to the favourable trade terms afforded to Aquitaine by their then English rulers. Our flight of white wines kicked off with a classic Bordeaux Blanc – rather than the modern Sauvignon Blanc driven style that the Bordelais are making to compete with the likes of New Zealand and Chile, our wine was mainly Semillon and had seen some oak during its maturation. A bonus was that it was made from top class grapes in Sauternes (most Sauternes producers now make dry wines as well), and was at an amazing price. For some it remained the favourite wine of the whole tasting!
300 miles to the east is the Northern Rhone Valley, with its continental climate of short hot summers and cold winters. Our blend of Marsanne and Roussanne from Crozes-Hermitage was a great example of the gastronomic wines of this region and could definitely be a contender to complement an entire Christmas dinner!
Beside the Black Sea, Romania is a hugely historic wine producing country, with a more unfortunate recent history. It would be fair to say that most Romanian wines we encounter in the UK are cheap and cheerful varietals, particularly Pinot Noir, but here we looked more deeply at something with more winemaking input – an orange wine from Cramele Recas, one of Romania’s top wine producers. As always attitudes to orange wines generally were somewhat cautious (mine might be called hostile) but this was a more refreshing style, with some more fruit character than many. It went pretty well with the roasted vegetable on quinoa first course that the Britannia put on.
Onto the reds, back to Bordeaux, where it all starts. Our next two wines were done side by side, both Bordeaux blends, one from a top producer from Pessac Léognan, the other from China. I had to admit I gave myself some latitude with latitude for our Chinese wine, and opted for the Ningxia province (38ºN), where around the Helan Mountain some of the most exciting Chinese viticulture is going on. This is continental climate at its most extreme – with winter temperatures dropping to -20ºC for so long that vines are buried to protect them. Having had either no or not great experience of Chinese wine we were very pleasantly surprised by our Cab/Merlot blend, although it was a bit high on alcohol and lacked the complexity and evolution of the claret. Our cod main course arrived while we were tasting the wines, and they seemed to pair fairly well, to my surprise!
Our final three wines were all from the New World, and all made from Pinot Noir, which given its fame (and big prices) in Burgundy has been a popular choice for growers setting up from scratch in cooler regions. All of our wines came from places affected massively by oceans – Central Otago in New Zealand benefits from warm currents coming down from the central Pacific, while Chubut in Patagonia and Oregon are both affected by the cold currents coming north from the Antarctic and south from the Artctic respectively. It was a great comparison – the Kiwi wine showing lovely freshness, the Patagonian wine a step up in concentration and complexity and the Oregon wine demonstrating the class act this region is. A great way to end a slightly unusual tasting, that everyone agreed was both educational and enjoyable!
For detail on our wines please go to the Wines we have tasted page.
