Early Autumn is when we taste a selection of Trophy, Platinum and Gold medal winners from the various wine competitions.
Year after year, we taste a truly magnificent selection of wines that have been awarded the highest accolades and 2020 was no exception. Richmond Wine Society tasted them at the Britannia on the 29th and 30th September and 4th October, and Teddington at St Mary’s Parish Hall on the 16th October.
With the International Wine Challenge results delayed, we focussed on the Sommelier Wine Awards (SWA), Wine Merchant Top 100 and Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).
Kicking off with the Platinum winning Boizel Brut Reserve Champagne – utterly delicious – it was a high bar to start. Zibibbo (or Muscat of Alexandria to most) from the wonderful Curatolo estate we visited on our Sicily tours was next up. Wonderfully floral and aromatic, it made a great contrast to the Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc from South Africa which was also fabulous.
Two more white wines from classic grape varieties – Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in New Zealand and Chardonnay from Hemel-en-Aarde in South Africa respectively were seriously impressive and the Uco Valley Malbec was great value at a tenner.
The Applejack Pinot from Giant Steps showed great potential – another top estate we visited on the Victorian leg of Australian tour last November. International travel – who remembers that?
We finished with the stunning Passito di Pantelleria from Donnafugata. Another great estate we visited in Sicily. This dessert wine is quite awesome and deserves its price tag.
As ever, all the wines tasted showed great harmony, integration, balance and finesse and mostly great value!
All the wines are listed in the wines we have tasted page.
