Carignan the Barbarian
For centuries, the gentle giant wandered carefree amongst the foothills and the mountains of Southern France. But, not so long ago, his strong character became too much for some to bear, and he found himself out of favour with the locals. Unloved and unwanted, he had to hide himself amongst his more charismatic neighbours. But Carignan didn’t care. He believed that, once he was fully mature, his qualities would be recognised and he would once again be welcome in his homeland. One day.
Carignan isn’t the easiest grape to love. For decades it has been maligned, ignored or dug up in favour of ‘better’ varieties. I have certainly encountered some examples over the years that have been unpleasantly pungent, flabby or just plain dirty. But many Languedoc winemakers are now taking a second look at it, and seeing what can be achieved with some extra care and attention. Whenever I used to think of Carignan, I used to imagine Mr Twit from Roald Dahl’s children’s book The Twits; grubby and hairy, sporting an ominous grin. With a bit of TLC however, can it be sculpted into something more like a ruggedly charismatic Conan?
It’s not just Carignan that has been pulled up in favour of other varieties in the Languedoc. Since the early 1980s, there has been a programme to replace traditional local varieties such as Alicante, Terret Noir and Piquepoul Noir with so-called ‘improving’ varieties from other regions: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. The first three of these are traditionally grown in the southern Rhône Valley directly to the east of the Languedoc region, and Cinsault has long been cultivated in Provence, further east still.
It’s fair to say that not all grape varieties are created equal. Syrah, for example, is capable – in the right soils and the right hands – of creating some of the most wonderful wines imaginable. The same is probably not true of grapes such as Piquepoul Noir. Fortunately, the Languedoc is historically a region that blends grape varieties when making wine, so there is room for both the ancient and the modern. So in order to create great wines, it is no bad thing to have a bit of Syrah around to help bolster the overall quality of what is being produced. But it would be a shame to lose the unique qualities of the traditional varieties completely. You never know when you might need them.
Let Carignan off the leash and you’ll end up with huge crops, but poor quality juice. It may seem like a good thing to the winemaker to have more bottles of wine to sell to start with, but if the quality is no good, then it’s clearly a false economy. In France they call it ‘faire pisser le vigne’. But this was what the Languedoc was known for, before the changes of the 1970s and ‘80s; quantity, not quality. Some grapes can still perform reasonably well under these conditions, but Carignan isn’t one of them; especially when the vines are young. Perhaps this is where Carignan has got its reputation for poor quality.
On a recent trip to the Languedoc, however, a good number of winemakers were singing its praises. And after tasting a few pure Carignans, and, in particular, some Carignan-heavy blends, I couldn’t help but agree. With smaller crops, older vines, and certain winemaking practices (like carbonic maceration), some of them were very enjoyable indeed. The majority were still powerful, pungent, brambly bruisers, but not without balance and nuance of flavour.
Pierre Bories, winemaker at Ollieux Romanis in Corbières, is one of these Carignan evangelists. To him, “Carignan is a passion”. Bories posited that Carignan was just the lens through which the terroir could be perceived. This theory is more frequently put forward by Burgundian winemakers when talking about their beloved Pinot Noir. I remain unconvinced that Carignan’s broad brushstrokes will ever equal the subtle illustration that Pinot Noir can manage when it comes to reflecting precise definitions between different terroirs. But that doesn’t mean that this burly variety can’t faithfully express the more rugged landscape of its home country. In the right hands, this barbarian grape variety can actually be much friendlier than its reputation suggests.
Reds with a good dollop of Carignan in:
Château de Caraguilhes, ‘Classic’, 2010
A blend of 50% Carignan, 25% Syrah and 25% Grenache grapes from Corbières, Languedoc, France
£8.06 from Waitrose Wine Direct
A classic, slightly rustic and farmyardy Corbières. Medium-bodied, with dark brambly fruit flavours and a hint of black pepper. Good acidity, medium tannins, very drinkable. 87 points, good value.
Terres Falmet, Carignan, 2009
100% Carignan grape from Saint Chinian, Languedoc, France
£8.50 available at Stone, Vine and Sun
Damsons, dried figs, violets and lilies. Medium-bodied, with soft chewy tannins and balanced acidity. An enjoyable fresh mouthful of wine. 88 points, good value.
Château Cesseras, ‘Cuvée Olric’, 2009
A blend of 60% Syrah, 40% Carignan grapes from Minervois, Languedoc, France
£9.75 available at Berry Brothers & Rudd
A fresh plum and bramble nose with a hint of smokiness and black pepper. No oak. Medium-bodied, with gentle ripe silky tannins. All elements harmonious and balanced. 90 points, very good value.
Clos Perdus, ‘Cuvée 71’, 2009
A blend of 50% Carignan, 35% Grenache and 15% Mourvèdre grapes from Corbières, Languedoc, France
£12.99 available at Nothing But The Grape
Plum, dried fig and apple with a touch of licorice. Ripe tannins, bright, lively fruit. A touch rustic, but concentrated and very appetising. 89 points, good value.
Ollieux Romanis, ‘Cuvée Prestige’, 2008
A blend of 40% Carignan, 25% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah grapes from Corbières, Languedoc, France
£13.99 available at Les Caves de Pyrène
This is starting to develop a complex nose of blackberry and eucalyptus with hints of iodine and tobacco. Medium-bodied, with fresh acidity and ripe tannins. Well balanced with juicy fruit flavours if not hugely long on the finish. 90 points, fair value.
The trip referred to in this post was kindly organised and paid for by Westbury Communications.
Photo 1 source: http://www.canyonridgeschool.blogspot.com/
Photo 2 source: http://scifi.about.com/od/Conan-The-Barbarian-2011/ig/Gallery---Conan-the-Barbarian---1982-/Arnold-Schwarzenegger-as-Conan.-7fR.htm
Yes, THAT Lebanon
Some countries are on the fringes of wine production, and Lebanon is certainly one of them. Most wine drinkers I speak to aren’t aware this country even makes wine, but they’ve been doing it for 9000 years. Solidly in the ‘Old World’ camp, then; but many of the wines are defiantly modern in style.
Lebanon is a small country (200 miles long and 50 miles across) situated at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean, with Syria to the east and north, and Israel to the south. It’s home to 4 million people, and they make just 7 million bottles a year from a tiny smattering of 40 wineries. But production is increasing all the time.
And yes, they’ve had to endure a lot of conflict. The Lebanese Civil War (1975 – 1990) in particular set the country back in countless ways, its wine industry being just one casualty. During the rapid success of New World wines in the 70s and 80s, in some vintages it was difficult for Lebanese winemakers to even harvest their grapes safely, let alone embark on global marketing campaigns. This would have been the perfect time to get the message out about their wines, but it wasn’t to be; and so Lebanon remains relatively unknown in the world of wine.
With their incredibly long tradition of making wine, I was hoping there would be a wealth of crazy old winemaking practices still in use, unidentified local grape varieties and bizarre styles to get my teeth into. Sadly most of these have been forgotten; the majority of the wines I tasted are made from those famous ‘international’ varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Grenache (plus some Carignan and Cinsault) for the reds; Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Muscat for the whites. They do have a couple of indigenous white grapes – Obaideh and Merwah – but they are not that widely planted.
The reds seem to fall into two camps; the lighter, fresher styles made for early drinking; and the more powerful, intense, deep reds with lots of oak influence. There are enjoyable examples on both sides, but heavy-handed use of oak in the latter style often smothers the more subtle aromatics. The lighter, fresher, cheaper reds, frequently made from the Cinsault grape, are often more instantly appealing. I spoke to Michael Karam, the authority on Lebanese wines, who suggested that Cinsault could be the grape for which Lebanon becomes best known. It does seem to do very well in this part of the world, perhaps even better than in its homeland of Southern France.
The whites again broadly fall into two styles; most of them are highly aromatic wines, making the most of Viognier and Muscat, often in unison, to create weighty but perfumed wines. Again, some of the top-end bottles are too heavily oaked. Having heard some bad things in the past I didn’t expect to be particularly taken with the whites at a recent tasting, but many are fresh and attractive, and well worth trying.
Three wineries stood out for me: Château Kefraya, Château Ksara and Domaine de Tourelles. These were the most consistent producers; I did taste individual wines from other producers that were very good, but they tended to offer more of a mixed bag, with some less successful efforts mixed in with the better ones. If you are familiar with Lebanese wines, the one name you’ll certainly have heard of is Château Musar. This producer has hogged the limelight for nearly 100 years, so that’s why I’m not covering them here. They are a bit of a law unto themselves anyway, so I’ll do a separate post on them in due course.
Tasting through 32 wines from seven different wineries, I was left with the impression that for all its history, this is a wine region still in the process of cementing its own identity. I’m looking forward to watching it develop.
Some highlights:
Whites
Château Ka ‘Source Blanche’ 2010
A blend of Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes from Chtaura, Lebanon
£11.95 available at Imbibros
Pale lemon in colour, with a zesty lemon and grapefruit nose. Creamy on the palate with a touch of oak. Good intensity of flavour and freshness. Alcohol might be on the high side, but not problematically so. 88 points, good value.
Ixsir ‘Altitude’ 2010
A blend of 40% Muscat, 20% Viognier, 20% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc from Kab Elias, Lebanon
Price and stockist not yet finalised, but should be available soon in the UK
Perfumed but spicy nose. Medium to full-bodied with fresh apricot flavours shot through with good acidity. Fresh and balanced with good length and a creamy fresh apricot finish. 90 points.
Reds
Château Kefraya ‘Les Bretèches’ 2008
A blend of 79% Cinsault, 7% Grenache, 7% Carignan and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
£10.25 available at Great Western Wine
Lots of cranberry fruit, with some floral and spicy (cinnamon) hints. Medium-bodied, fresh, with good concentration of cranberry fruit and crunchy tannins. Nicely balanced. 89 points, good value.
Karam Winery ‘Maison’ 2010
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot grapes from Jezzine, Lebanon
£13.44 available at www.kingswoodwines.co.uk
More cranberries, but this time with a spicy, peppery kick. Good acidity and crunchy young tannins. Medium-bodied and well balanced, overall very drinkable. 88 points, fair value.
Domaine des Tourelles Red 2008
A blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Chtaura, Lebanon
£14.00 available at Borough Wines
Slightly rough and ready nose with cherries and some dark fruits. Medium-bodied, with expressive and open ripe fruit flavours on the palate. Nicely concentrated, with good length. Tastes not unlike a slightly riper, spicier Côtes-du-Rhône. 89 points, fair value.
Château Ksara 2007
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot grapes from Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
£17.99 available at Wimbledon Wine Cellars
Brambly fruit, liquorice and vanilla with a little hint of cola. Medium to full-bodied, with soft tannins, firm acidity and medium length. Modern in style but elegant and well-balanced, this should develop nicely for many years to come. 90 points, fair value.
Château St Thomas 2006
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Syrah grapes from Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
£21.00 available at www.lebanesefinewines.eu
Well developed, slightly gamey nose with hints of cola. Medium-bodied with firm ripe tannins and bright acidity. Medium length, slightly rustic flavours on the palate, but appetising and enjoyable. 89 points, fair value (just).
Why there has never been a better time to get into wine - or Does Decanter magazine make you blush?
There was one magazine above all that I found embarrassing to buy as a student. I used to surreptitiously snatch it from the newsstand and guiltily stuff it into a brown paper bag at the till, in the hope that no-one would see. No, not Playboy; it was Decanter. Now I casually read wine magazines on the tube at rush hour. How times have changed.
That the UK is not historically a wine-producing country has been a mixed blessing for British wine drinkers. On the one hand, we have been open to drinking wine from anywhere, with no blind patriotism holding us back. But on the other hand, because wine had to be shipped from abroad, for generations it was the reserve of the wealthy. You couldn’t just pop to the local winery to fill up like you can in France or Italy. Once upon a time, is was a real luxury. But now, most of those in their 20s and 30s have regularly bought their wine in supermarkets along with the baked beans and loo roll. But for some reason, in the minds of many, it has retained a little of its former status.
As little as ten years ago, wine was still seen by many young people as the reserve of the posh. Its image was snooty, stuffy and excluding. But things have been gradually changing since then, particularly in the last five years. Three things have helped above all others: the internet, tasting machines and big wine events.
A quick search on the web will reveal dozens of wine blogs being written in the UK alone; hundreds in Europe; over a thousand worldwide. The majority that I have encountered are produced by people in their 20s and 30s. Normal folk that you might meet in the pub or the supermarket, that happen to be into wine. They have been vital in dispelling the old-fashioned image of the monocled, strawberry-nosed old duffer droning on about claret. The internet has also made getting hold of good wine much easier. Now you can order from any good independent retailer and get a case delivered to you in no time, whether you have a good wine shop down the road or not.
If you prefer buying in person, the good news is that the last five years has seen a whole new crop of good independent wine shops springing up. Many of these are installing tasting machines as a matter of course. These chrome and glass boxes can keep bottles fresh for weeks at a time after opening, which means you can try before you buy, removing the risk of buying something unexpected. They are often self-service, meaning you can taste a whole load of samples and learn about wine under your own steam, without someone breathing down your neck and asking your opinion of the tannins.
Tasting machines have also given more people access to the finest and rarest wines. When I managed The Sampler in South Kensington we put on Premier Cru Bordeaux, Grand Cru Burgundy and iconic New World wines every week. Selling bottles fractionally opens them up to many more people to try, not just those with big salaries or big cellars.
Even better, you can go to one of the big tasting events that are popping up around London and throughout the UK. I first got interested in wine when living in France in the late 90s, where it wasn’t seen as a particularly strange thing for a young person to be exploring. When I got back to England, many of the tastings I went to would be a sea of tweed with a sprinkling of bow ties. These big new inclusive tastings are relaxed and very social, where you can try a bit of whatever takes your fancy for a small entry fee. They are attracting a younger crowd, and now jeans are far more common than suits.
It’s not that surprising really. Attitudes to food have changed enormously within the last 15 years. Before Jamie Oliver was on our TV screens, most men wouldn’t be seen dead with a whisk in their hand. Who would have thought the Hairy Bikers would have got this popular back then? And if you’re into food, sooner or later you’ll get into wine. Uncorking a bottle is easier and quicker than cooking after all. Although both can offer intense and delicious flavours to enjoy, wine offers wonderful spirit-lifting sensations to go with it.
Many years ago, there was a reason that people thought wine was something reserved for the privileged. It was. But it’s not any more. There is nothing inherently stuffy or formal about wine, just like there is nothing inherently stuffy about whisky, beer or coffee; it’s a drink, not a rulebook. If anything, wine is the opposite of stuffy – hand out a few glasses at a social gathering and the atmosphere tends to loosen up, not stiffen. It encourages relaxation, conversation and laughter. Try if you like to stay serious, it won’t last long.
We’ve come a long way in the last five years, and it’s brilliant that those out-dated notions that have stopped people having a good time are finally being left behind. Sure there’s a little way still to go. But at least now I can buy Decanter without blushing.
First published as Does Decanter magazine make you blush? on www.timatkin.com
Wine Drinking No. 2: Biodynamic vs. Conventional, this time in Manchester
Last Friday, I made my way from a foggy London up to Manchester by train with a clinking suitcase full of bottles, the whites wrapped in ice packs. I needn’t have bothered cooling them because it was icy when I arrived into a strangely deserted station. Call it some kind of sixth sense if you like, or some kind of alignment in the heavens, but I had this funny feeling that we might get exactly the same results as my previous Biodynamic vs. Conventional drinking (full write-up here), held in London two weeks ago…
But they were completely different. Just as a quick recap, we all got together to see if a group of non-expert wine drinkers could taste the difference between biodynamic wines and normal ones. In contrast to the London crowd, almost everyone had actually heard of biodynamics. Again, before the tasting they said they felt as if they wanted to like the biodynamic wines more. But this time, the favourite wine from all but one of the five blind pairs of wines was made conventionally.
There was some disparity between the two groups as far as which bottle from each blind pair of wines was the considered the best. With three out of the five pairs of wines, both Manchester and London agreed which was the winner, but on two they did not. Attitudes towards one of these disputed pairs were particularly divergent: the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (New Zealand) from Seresin (biodynamic) was the most highly scored wine of all in London – in Manchester it was the opposite, where it came last and was actively disliked. Its opposite number, a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc by Kim Crawford, came 6th in London – in Manchester it came 1st (though I should point out it was a different vintage). There was no bottle variation between the two Seresins that I could detect, and there was little vintage variation between the two Kim Crawfords. Compared to the more restrained Kim Crawford, the Manchester crew considered the Seresin too intense and overpowering, but this assertive trait was seen as a positive attribute in London. It's often the case with Marlborough Sauvignon – though very popular over the past few years, it can be made in a very pungent style that's not to everyone’s taste.
One wine that was universally disliked was the Chianti Classico ‘I Colombi’ 2009 by Castello di Querceto (Italy). Although generally considered a good estate, it came second from bottom for both groups. It does have prominent oak influence, and it seemed to be this character in particular that many seemed to find unappealing. Perhaps this oakiness will fade with time to reveal more fruit flavours, but at present it seemed out of balance.
At the other end of the scale, one wine was enjoyed very much by both groups (coming 2nd in Manchester, 4th in London), despite being the cheapest of all - the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine ‘Les Grands Presbytères’ 2009 by Nelly Marzelleau (Loire, France). This is a cracking Muscadet made from 50 year old vines with concentration of flavour and a refreshing, dry, mineral finish. Muscadet is never hugely intense in flavour, but is crisp, fully dry, and works well with food – and is often relatively inexpensive. In the North you can buy it at Corks Out for £11.50 and in the South you can get it from Wholefoods Market for £10.99. Highly recommended.
On both occasions the crowd guessed the biodynamic wine correctly with just six out of ten wines. So it seems that average drinkers can’t really tell the difference between normal wines and biodynamic ones from the taste alone. But it's certainly fun trying.
| Score /100 | Preferred wine | Bio or Conv | Overall Rank | Price | ||
| Wine 1 | Vouvray Brut, Non Vintage, Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau, France | 61.5 | Bio | =7 | £16.99 | |
| Wine 2 | Vouvray Brut, ‘La Dilettante’, Non Vintage, Catherine et Pierre Breton, France | 68 | Winner | Conv | 3 | £14.99 |
| Wine 3 | Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, ‘Les Grands Presbytères’, 2009, Nelly Marzelleau, France | 76 | Winner | Conv | 2 | £10.99 |
| Wine 4 | Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, ‘Expression de Gneiss’, 2009, Domaine de l’Ecu, France | 63.5 | Bio | 6 | £14.99 | |
| Wine 5 | Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Seresin, New Zealand | 59.5 | Bio | 10 | £16.95 | |
| Wine 6 | Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2011, Kim Crawford, New Zealand | 77.5 | Winner | Conv | 1 | £14.95 |
| Wine 7 | Bourgueil, ‘Cassiopée’, 2009, Domaine de la Chevalerie, France | 61.5 | Bio | =7 | £11.99 | |
| Wine 8 | St Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil, ‘Les Mauguerets’, 2009, Domaine de la Cotelleraie, France | 66.5 | Winner | Conv | 5 | £13.99 |
| Wine 9 | Chianti Classico, ‘I Colombi’, 2009, Castello di Querceto, Italy | 60.5 | Conv | 9 | £13.95 | |
| Wine 10 | Rosso Toscano, ‘Monteleccio’ 2008, Sesti, Italy | 67.5 | Winner | Bio | 4 | £16.95 |
Big thanks going out to Yasminah Beebeejaun for suggesting we do the drinking at her place. Additional thanks to Nicola Headlam (@gastroporn1977) for supplying excellent grub to mop it up, especially the macaroons so moreish they were renamed ‘crackeroons’. Any ideas for themes for the next one in the box below please!
Wine Drinking No. 1: Biodynamic vs. Conventional
A week ago, a bunch of us got together with the intention of opening a load of bottles. I prefer to call it a ‘wine drinking’ rather than a ‘wine tasting’. For obvious reasons. The excuse theme was ‘Biodynamic vs. Conventional wines'. Of the 15 people in the room, the majority were normal drinkers and not experts – only a couple of us were really into wine. And we were the only ones who had even heard of biodynamics. I thought it would be interesting to see if we could spot the difference between the normal wines and their more mysterious counterparts.
I chose five pairs of wines, each pair from the same region, of a similar age and around the same price: one biodynamic, the other conventional. Each pair was served blind and marked out of ten. That way, we could see if we could tell which were biodynamic and which were conventional, and which ones people liked the most. Hardly the most scientific of experiments, but certainly a fun one.
In case you don’t know what it is, there is a good description of what biodynamics is all about here and here. In the briefest of terms, biodynamic practices are based on the teachings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861 – 1925) and consist of seeing the farm or vineyard as a self-sustaining unit. The only fertiliser comes from reared livestock and there is a commitment to organic practices. What its critics love to ridicule are the more esoteric and scientifically unproven practices of working by the phases of the moon and stars, and other more mystical elements that create ‘balance’ in the vineyard. What cannot be denied is that some of the best vineyards in the world have converted to these methods of production.
I asked a few biodynamic winemakers to describe how these wines taste different to conventional wines, and the same things were stressed time and time again as being more evident in biodynamic wines: freshness, minerality, and gôut de terroir (sense of place/origin). These are the things we tried to look out for when trying each one.
We chose to do the experiment on a ‘fruit day’, the best day to taste wines according to the biodynamic calendar. Additionally, it was a full moon in Aries. The constellations are referred to by biodynamic winemakers when going about their work. When asking one whether he ever checked his horoscopes however, he called astrology a load of nonsense and looked at me like I was an idiot. One of those things is almost certainly true.
Unsurprisingly the results were inconclusive. But it did throw up a few interesting points. After finding out what biodynamics was all about, everybody admitted they wanted to like the biodynamic wines more. This was not always the case however. Of the five pairs, 3 of the winning wines were biodynamic, 2 were conventional. I totted up the scores and in absolute terms, the wines ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 10th were the biodynamic ones. So, although they were either very much liked or not at all, broadly the biodynamic ones were preferred over the conventional.
But what perhaps is more telling, is that aside from the conventionally produced Nelly Marzelleau Muscadet, which was 4th favourite but the cheapest of all, give or take a few pence, the amount the wines were enjoyed was directly proportional with their price. The one thing this experiment did prove is that truism about wine that, for some reason, many people don’t want to believe: you get what you pay for.
I’m going to repeat this wine drinking in Manchester on Friday with a different group of people. I wonder if we will get the same results?
If you’d like me to add you to the mailing list for events like this one, leave a comment below with you details, or send me an email. I'll also advertise them on Facebook and Twitter. You don’t need to know anything about wine to join in, it’s all just for a laugh really. All welcome.
The Results:
| Score /100 | Preferred wine | Bio or Conv | Overall Rank | Price | ||
| Wine 1 | Vouvray Brut, Non Vintage, Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau, France | 73 | Winner | B | 2 | £16.99 |
| Wine 2 | Vouvray Brut, ‘La Dilettante’, Non Vintage, Catherine et Pierre Breton, France | 69 | C | =7 | £14.99 | |
| Wine 3 | Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, ‘Les Grands Presbytères’, 2009, Nelly Marzelleau, France | 71 | Winner | C | 4 | £10.99 |
| Wine 4 | Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, ‘Expression de Gneiss’, 2009, Domaine de l’Ecu, France | 70 | B | 5 | £14.99 | |
| Wine 5 | Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Seresin, New Zealand | 74 | Winner | B | 1 | £16.95 |
| Wine 6 | Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Kim Crawford, New Zealand | 69.5 | C | 6 | £14.95 | |
| Wine 7 | Bourgueil, ‘Cassiopée’, 2009, Domaine de la Chevalerie, France | 64.5 | B | 10 | £11.99 | |
| Wine 8 | St Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil, ‘Les Mauguerets’, 2009, Domaine de la Cotelleraie, France | 69 | Winner | C | =7 | £13.99 |
| Wine 9 | Chianti Classico, ‘I Colombi’, 2009, Castello di Querceto, Italy | 65 | C | 9 | £13.95 | |
| Wine 10 | Rosso Toscano, ‘Monteleccio’ 2008, Sesti, Italy | 72.5 | Winner | B | 3 | £16.95 |
Corison: elegant, drinkable, remarkable
For a producer with a well established, albeit understated, reputation, we were surprised to find such a small winery. It lies between Rutherford and Oakville, just next to the main motorway that runs through the Napa Valley, Highway 29. The timber-framed Victorian-style building is the antithesis of some of the flashy modern estates that populate this region. This quiet authenticity was an ongoing refrain throughout our visit.
We walked upstairs, through a hall strewn with props from the recent school play, to a balcony from which we could survey winemaker and owner Cathy Corison’s pride and joy, the Kronos vineyard. Its boundaries were obvious due to the old-fashioned wide-spaced planting of the Cabernet vines, still planted on their original rootstocks. These are some of the oldest in Napa – at a middle-aged 40 years. This year will mark her 25th vintage. The three vineyards that she farms, all on bale loam (deep stony alluvial) soils, are organic. The wines are made with minimum intervention with the intention of “letting the vineyards speak”.
Her wines are in contrast to most other Napa Cabernets that we tasted during our visit. The cliché about Napa Cabs being very full-bodied, with very ripe fruit flavours, lots of oak influence and high alcohol often rang true. But none of the above could be said of the Corison Cabernets we tasted. They were medium to full-bodied, with ripe but not overripe flavours, with integrated oak and medium levels of alcohol. We were lucky enough to taste a number of the big names from the region, and they all had something special. The crafted purity of Dominus; the imposing power of Heitz ‘Martha’s Vineyard’. But Corison’s wines had something greater still: they made me want to drink them. Not just a taste, or a glass; a bottle. ‘Graceful’ is a word often used to describe a fine wine, but in itself, that descriptor is hard to explain and expand upon. It is not just about balance in the wine; Shafer’s wines are big, with high-everything, and as such they are balanced. But not as graceful as Corison’s.
Cathy Corison has steadfastly been making her own style of wine for a quarter of a century; or perhaps more accurately letting her vineyards express themselves, and bottling the result. Ahead of her time, she has largely been ignored by Robert Parker, and, as such, has been outside of the PR machine that surrounds The Wine Advocate. Her wines are delicious, and, importantly, drinkable. I suspect we will begin to see more wineries create wines in this style now Parker has turned his gaze away from the region. Perhaps it is Corison’s turn in the limelight. It is well deserved.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Corison, 2004
100% Cabernet Sauvignon grape from Napa, California
Approximate UK price £50.00, hard to find: Bibendum Wine should be able to help
This still looked young; opaque, with a purple rim. Intense but mellow blackcurrant, vanilla and a hint of mint. Silky texture, medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and a long fruity finish. 92 points, fair value.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Corison, 2005
100% Cabernet Sauvignon grape from Napa, California
Approximate UK price £45.00, hard to find: Bibendum Wine should be able to help
Not as open as the 2004, with aromas of dark-skinned fruits and a touch of tar. Just over medium-bodied, again with a silky texture and medium ripe tannins. Well balanced overall, with fresh acidity. Very long, very impressive. 93 points, good value.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Corison, 2006
100% Cabernet Sauvignon grape from Napa, California
Approximate UK price £45.00, hard to find: Bibendum Wine should be able to help
Highly aromatic blackcurrant on the nose. Young, fresh, bright and minty. Some attractive vanilla also, but the oak is integrated and not overdone. Juicy fruit flavours, tannins still quite prominent and a touch grainy, but these should settle down. Very pure. 92 points, fair value.
Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Kronos Vineyard’, Corison, 2006
100% Cabernet Sauvignon grape from Napa, California
Approximate UK price £70.00, hard to find: Bibendum Wine should be able to help
Lots of dark fruit, especially blackcurrant. Some tea leaf and dark chocolate. Very aromatic. Lots of ripe tannin giving it an intense and grippy mouthfeel, but retaining a soft silky texture. Full-bodied, but with balanced acidity. Great purity and a long mineral finish. 94 points, fair value.
Wine Rack: Back to the Future
Unwins; deceased. Threshers; defunct. Victoria Wine; departed. The era of the off-licence chain is over. Like Crocs, they died out in the Noughties. And since the Threshers insulting ‘3 for 2’ non-deal of their final years, few of us have looked back. Caught between the low prices of the supermarkets and the good ranges of the independent merchants, they had little to offer. So how come Wine Rack are back with 21 stores, with their eye on doubling that?
Wine Rack was one of the numerous off-licence brands owned by the First Quench empire. When they went bust in 2009, an independent drinks wholesaler called Venus snapped up the brand and the top performing 14 Wine Rack stores.
Since then, over the past two years, they have been quietly opening more stores and improving their range. They are all located in the south of England, from Bristol to Kent. They plan to have three more open by Christmas. With “75% of stores doing well” they must be doing something right.
So what has changed? On the surface… not much. Though their range is better than I remember, many of the mass market branded wines remain. Though looking fine in the Loire, much of their French selection still needs attention. Portugal and Germany are practically ignored, and their range from the USA is a bit sorry. Most other countries are represented by some reliable producers (Cape Mentelle, St Hallett and Wynns in Australia; Errazuriz, Montes and Casa Silva in Chile; Invivo, Villa Maria and Mudhouse in New Zealand; Vergelegen and Meerlust in South Africa; CVNE, Riscal and Murrieta in Spain).
Two areas in which they excel are spirits and beer. Their spirits range, though not terribly exciting, is at least broad enough to cover everything you could ever need. It is huge, and contains around 250 different products. Their beer and cider range is also extensive, with around 130 lines. Both of these are tucked away at the back of their price list, but they are real strengths. I wonder why they don’t make more of them.
They seem to be trying to inhabit that precarious ground between the supermarkets and the independent merchants that has proved so treacherous in the past. Their range of drinks is wider and better than the average supermarket, though not quite so cheap. There is a lot of choice at the cheaper end compared to your typical independent merchant, and on some items their prices are quite reasonable. If I was on my way to a friend’s house for dinner, I would go to a Wine Rack before a convenience-sized supermarket any day.
It’s not clear what lessons have been learnt, and therefore what changes have been made, since its last incarnation. Perhaps the lesson is that there is nothing inherently unworkable about off-licence chains after all, as long as they select their sites carefully and don’t grow too large. But how large is too large? I hope for their sake there’s more than one way to find out.
Some highlights:
Sparkling
Crémant de Bourgogne Brut, Simonnet-Febvre, 2007
100% Chardonnay grape from Burgundy, France
£15.99 available at Wine Rack
Attractive nose with apple, pear and oyster shell. Full, soft fizz and cleansing acidity. Medium length, nicely balanced. 89 points, good value.
Red
Côtes-du-Rhône, Chantespan, 2009
A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault grapes from Rhône Valley, France
£6.99, down to £6.00 if you buy 2 bottles from 14th November 2011 to 8th January 2012, available at Wine Rack
Simple red fruit aromas, strawberry and raspberry, with some hints of spice. Nicely balanced, medium to full-bodied, with succulent, fresh fruit flavours and a touch of vanilla. Savoury earthy finish. 88 points, good value.
Meerlust ‘Red’ 2009
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes from Stellenbosch, South Africa
£10.99 available at Wine Rack
Intense blackcurrant bush, burnt spices and roasted meat aromas. Full-bodied and smoky, this is far from subtle, with big tannins and loads of acidity. A powerful, unmistakably South African red. 88 points, good value.
Chianti Classico Riserva, Poggio al Mandorli, 2007
A blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes from Tuscany, Italy
£10.99 available at Wine Rack
Bright cherry, licorice and dried herbs. Quite old-fashioned, with powerful acidity and assertive tannins. Attractive aromatics, but I wouldn’t drink this without food. 88 points, good value. (NB I would avoid their Sangiovese IGT 2007, whose tannins are aggressively high.)
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Vergelegen, 2005
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes from Stellenbosch, South Africa
£15.99 available at Wine Rack
The cassis, cedar and cigar box nose point at first to a Bordeaux (Pauillac), but something about the intensity of fruit flavours on the palate suggest a warmer climate. Medium-bodied, with velour tannins and good length. Very elegant, very good. Highly recommended. 92 points, good value.
White
Riesling, St Hallett, 2009
100% Riesling grape from Eden Valley, Australia
£9.99 available at Wine Rack
Lime skin, apricot, and a bit of that ‘rubber bands’ smell you get in a lot of Aussie Riesling. Dry, with medium body and firm acidity. Fruity finish. 89 points, fair value.
Sauvignon Blanc, Invivo, 2010
100% Sauvignon Blanc grape from Marlborough, New Zealand
£10.99 available at Wine Rack
Classic Marlborough Sauvignon, with gooseberry, asparagus and freshly cut grass. Fruity, not too herbal or vegetal. Balanced and dry with good acidity. 90 points, good value.
Montagny 1er Cru ‘La Grande Roche’, Louis Latour, 2009
100% Chardonnay grape from Burgundy, France
£14.99 available at Wine Rack
Pretty, floral nose (hawthorn blossom). Very dry and lean, but with a touch of honey and some richness of texture on the palate. Medium length, with good acidity and a mineral finish. This is a winning example of what can sometimes be an austere and unloveable appellation. 89 points, fair value.
Sancerre ‘Monts Damnés’, Fournier, 2010
100% Sauvignon Blanc grape from Loire, France
£19.99 available at Wine Rack
Pronounced grassy and attractively herbal nose. Lean, medium-bodied, with a spicy acidity. Very dry and still quite tightly wound but this is very good and will continue to improve in the short-term. 91 points, fair value.
Anything to avoid?
There were a good number of wines out of the 75 I tasted that, if I had bought blind, would have been a bit disappointing. Their ‘house’ Champagne, Autreau, was not great (non vintage 86 points, rosé non vintage 85 points) and neither great value. And:
Chardonnay, Septimo Dia, 2008
100% Chardonnay grape from Mendoza, Argentina
£10.99 available at Wine Rack
Burnt pie crust on the nose. Pineapple and coconut, with lots of dark caramel on the finish. Not that bad really, but very heavy on the oak. 85 points, not great value.
Pinotage ‘The Owl Post’, Neethlingshof 2010
100% Pinotage grape from Stellebosch, South Africa
£14.99 available at Wine Rack
To rename this ‘The Fowlmost’ might be a little harsh, but there was definitely a hint of that ‘fag ash and blood’ thing that Pinotage can exhibit when it’s in a sulk. Not entirely unenjoyable, but compared to the Vergelegen at almost the same price, I know where my money would go. 86 points, not great value.
Château d’Anglès ‘Rouge Classique’ 2008
A blend of 40% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre grapes from La Clape, France
£11.99 available at Wine Rack, reduced to £9.99 from 14th November 2011 to 8th January 2012
Full-bodied. Damson, plum and cooked strawberry fruit. A bit sweaty and dirty. Noticeable, unbalanced level of alcohol. 85 points, not great value. (NB the alcohol level on their Blanc Classique 09 also seemed unbalanced.)
Lea & Sandeman: Classic but up-to-date
Charles Lea and Patrick Sandeman set up their first shop 23 years ago, and now they have four, all dotted around the posher parts of London (Chelsea, Notting Hill, Barnes and Chiswick). If you have one around the corner from where you live, you can consider yourself lucky. Not just because you are probably quite rich, but also because these are excellent shops that stock some thrilling bottles of wine.
They are essentially a small chain of classic independent wine shops. On the surface there is little to mark them out as particularly innovative, but they have nailed the most important thing – their range. It is interesting, authentic, drinkable and much of it relatively affordable. By Patrick’s own admission, it reflects what he and Charles like to drink. And what they like to drink is the wine of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont and Tuscany. Over half of their reds, and just under half of their whites, are made up of these four areas. All the other main winemaking regions are in evidence to some extent as well, and they aren’t afraid to experiment with little-known sub-regions and obscure grape varieties. If the New World is your thing, however, there is less to choose from.
Another reason for the Old World focus is that 90% of the wines they sell (not including Bordeaux or big name Champagne) are sourced directly by them, and not bought from UK agents or shippers. This makes for a very interesting selection, much of which you won’t find available elsewhere. It also means that many of the producers might be unfamiliar, but in my experience the staff tend to be more than willing to help describe the wines and offer guidance.
With high street rents so high there are no immediate plans to open any more stores. This is a pity, as they are great examples of classic but up-to-date wine shops.
https://www.leaandsandeman.co.uk/
Some highlights:
Sparkling
Benedick Grand Reserve Brut Non Vintage
A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes from Champagne, France
£19.95 available at Lea & Sandeman
Spicy green apple and some red apple on the nose. Soft, pleasant sparkle. Balanced and fresh with crisp acidity and a bit of toastiness on the medium to long finish. 88 points, very good value.
Red
Dombeya ‘Boulder Road’ Shiraz 2007
100% Shiraz grape from Stellenbosch, South Africa
£12.50 available at Lea & Sandeman
Meaty, smoky, peppery, gamey. Quite developed, and not one to hold on to for much longer, but at the moment this is very tasty. Lots of sweet fruit, good acidity and soft ripe tannins. The Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from Dombeya are also worth a go. 89 points, fair value.
Acústic Vinyes Velles Nobles, Bodegas Acústic 2009
A blend of Garnacha (Grenache) and Cariñena (Carignan) grapes from Montsant, Spain
£14.75 available at Lea & Sandeman
Juicy strawberry and blackberry fruit overlaid with smoke, meat and tar. Bright and juicy cranberry, strawberry and blackberry on the palate with firm tannins and acidity. Long finish. Their white was brilliant, too. 90 points, good value.
Barolo, Andrea Oberto, 2007
100% Nebbiolo grape from Barolo, Northern Italy
£28.95 available at Lea & Sandeman
Very aromatic nose with violets and dried orange peel. Tannic, with high acidity. Powerful and young still, but like so many of the 2007 Barolos this is lush and approachable now thanks to lots of sweet ripe fruit. 90 points, good value.
Brunello di Montalcino, Collemattoni, 2006
100% Sangiovese grape from Tuscany, Italy
£31.50 available at Lea & Sandeman
Wonderful inviting aromas of cherries, dried herbs and tar. Very dry, with mouthcoating tannins and intense, sweet fruit. Lovely balance, pure and delicious. 92 points, fair value.
White
Touraine Les Sauterelles, Domaine de Pierre 2009
100% Sauvignon Blanc grape from Loire Valley, France
£9.95 available at Lea & Sandeman
Very fruity for a Touraine Sauvignon, with lots of gooseberry, kiwi and passion fruit. Dry, with long pure flavours. 89 points, good value.
Fié Gris, Domaine de l’Aujardière 2010
100% Fié Gris grape from Loire Valley, France
£15.50 available at Lea & Sandeman
This unusual grape variety (aka Sauvignon Gris) is rarely seen, but going by this example you wonder why. Gooseberry fruit with hints of pine, oyster shell and smoke. Medium bodied and ever so slightly musky on the palate. Well balanced with a fresh finish. This has lots of interest and complexity, worth a try. 91 points, fair value.
Galea, I Clivi, Colli Orientali del Friuli 2008
100% Friulano grape from Friuli, Northern Italy
£17.95 available at Lea & Sandeman
Fascinating wine by I Clivi from a great but lesser-known white wine making region. Pale gold in colour, with hay, honey, baked apple and spice on the nose. Also a slight oxidative hint that lends it complexity. Full-bodied and quite viscous in the mouth but without sacrificing freshness. Dry, with more apple and melon flavours on the palate. Creamy, grippy texture that seems to take precedence over the actual flavours. No oak though. Rich, intense and very long. Not one for everyone, but this is unusual and rather wonderful. 93 points, good value.
St Aubin 1er Cru ‘Les Frionnes’, Domaine Hubert Lamy 2008
100% Chardonnay grape from Burgundy, France
£27.50 available at Lea & Sandeman
Less well-known than Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet, St. Aubin can often be overlooked as an appellation for white Burgundy, but can be the source of some great wines. Close to a Puligny in style, this has lots of lime, honeycomb and flowers on the nose along with a whiff of smoke. Medium bodied and toasty, with lots of citrussy acidity and a lick of gingerbread. A classic St. Aubin from one its best estates. 91 points, fair value.
Anything to avoid?
Having tried around 100 of their wines, very few didn’t make the grade, but if I was going to avoid anything it would probably be:
Rey don Garcia, Crianza, Bodegas Ruconia 2008
A blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) from Rioja, Spain
£10.95 available at Lea & Sandeman
Smoky red and black fruits. High, slightly unbalanced acidity, and a bit lacking in body and concentration. 84 points, not great value.
Tesco Wine Fair: the good, the bad and the ugly
I’m not going to lie to you. The masochist in me just couldn’t wait to go to the Tesco Wine Fair. I’ve been before. I always go; usually alone. It’s my naughty little secret.
This is the ticketed event they put on every year for their customers. It costs between £6 and £10 to get in, and they have either one or two sessions during the course of a day. I went to one of the London sessions, at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster. Previously the Fair had called at Manchester, Bristol, Brighton and Edinburgh, spending two days in each city. Every session on every day sold out. The queues to get in are biblical.
Once inside, there are about 80 stands. I must admit that I tasted a lot of wines that were pretty average. But there were several very good wines on show as well that I would be more than happy to buy and drink. Over the coming festive months, if I happen to pass a Tesco on my way to a party, I’m sure I will. But sure enough there were wines at the other end of the scale… I think it’s fair to say that most of the worst wines on the market are made by big commercial wineries – and a good number were in attendance here.
Working in wine, you get spoiled. It would be easy to lose touch with the average wine drinker. There are multiple industry tastings on every day, many exhibiting unusual, rare or valuable wines. The Tesco press tasting will, of course, only show what they consider to be their very best wines, but many of these will be limited to their bigger stores. I want to taste the other stuff they sell too. The big names you see in all the supermarkets. The ones that are often on promotion; which are the wines most people in the UK take home and drink. So every year I go to the Tesco Wine Fair to see which brands are improving, and which are sliding downhill. There are always a few surprises.
Consistency of quality across whole brands was rare. Many producers only offered a small number of wines from a large range. As such, it is difficult to generalise here about the entire production of any particular brand. For each brand, I tasted all the wines they had on show. Next time you find yourself in Tesco in need of a decent bottle I hope this is a useful page to pull up.
Needless to say, it’s not just the big brands that you can find at Tesco. Many of their Finest range are very good, and they also stock some quality wines by some interesting smaller producers. The Tesco Wine Fair I attended was packed, and it was well organised, with useful regular 20 minute smaller guided tastings on specific topics. It’s great to see so many people, and so many different types of people, all getting stuck in and tasting. As a beginner it’s not such a bad place to start – after all, these are the wines with the widest distribution. It’s good to know which ones are good – and which ones are not.
The Good
Wolf Blass
The Chardonnay, though admittedly not the cheapest, was one of the best wines I tasted all day. The sparkling wines were less successful.
All prices quoted are in-store prices per bottle when off promotion.
Silver Label Chardonnay 2009 £13.00: 89 points, good value
Silver Label Shiraz Cabernet 2008 £13.00: 88 points, fair value
Sparkling Rosé NV £9.49: 85 points, fair value
Sparkling Brut NV £9.49: 84 points, not great value
Jacob’s Creek
Another very good Chardonnay, one of the best sub-£10 wines on show. Their Moscatos, while interesting to see they are experimenting with this style, tasted a bit confected, especially the rosé.
Reserve Chardonnay 2009 £9.99: 88 points, fair value
Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2010 £9.99: 87 points, fair value
Moscato 2010 £7.49: 85 points, fair value
Moscato Rosé 2010 £7.49: 82 points, not great value
Hardy’s
These two were relatively elegant compared to many of the Australian branded wines I tasted, not overdone.
Nottage Hill Chardonnay 2010 £7.99: 87 points, fair value
Nottage Hill Cabernet Shiraz 2010 £7.99: 87 points, fair value
Penfolds
Reasonably solid stuff, particularly their dry Riesling.
Koonunga Hill Riesling 2010 £8.54: 88 points, good value
Koonunga Hill Retro 76 Shiraz Cabernet 2009 £8.54: 87 points, fair value
McGuigan
One of the most consistent ranges I tasted, not brilliant but not at all bad.
Classic Chardonnay 2010 £7.79: 87 points, fair value
Classic The Semillon Blanc 2011 £7.79: 86 points, fair value
Classic Shiraz 2010 £7.79: 86 points, fair value
Classic Merlot 2010 £7.11: 86 points, fair value
Classic Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 £7.79: 86 points, fair value
Classic Pinot Grigio 2010 £7.79: 85 points, fair value
Oxford Landing Estates
Consistently decent quality cheaper options.
Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2009 £6.99: 87 points, fair value
Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £6.99: 86 points, fair value
Chardonnay 2010 £6.99: 86 points, fair value
Merlot 2009 £6.99: 86 points, fair value
Oyster Bay
Their white wines are definitely their stronger suit.
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £9.79: 87 points, fair value
Marlborough Chardonnay 2010 £9.79: 87 points, fair value
Hawkes Bay Merlot 2010 £9.79: 85 points, not great value
Sparkling Cuvée Brut NV £13.00: 84 points, not great value
Marlborough Pinot Noir 2010 £10.79: 83 points, not great value
Casillero del Diablo
Though not as good value as they once were, the quality is still pretty good.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 £7.79: 87 points, fair value
Malbec 2009 £7.40: 86 points, fair value
Sauvignon Blanc 2010 £7.79: 86 points, fair value
Pinot Grigio 2010 £7.40: 85 points, not great value
Trivento
Pretty big wines as you would expect, but with some complexity of flavour.
Golden Reserve Malbec 2008 £10.99: 88 points, fair value
Reserve Malbec 2010 £9.00: 87 points, fair value
Canti
If you need some cheaper options, you could do worse than opt for the first two here. The more expensive wines aren’t worth the extra.
Negroamaro Zinfandel 2010 £4.55: 85 points, good value
Catarratto Chardonnay 2010 £4.99: 85 points, good value
Pinot Grigio Veneto 2010 £6.48: 85 points, not great value
Merlot Sicilia 2010 £6.99: 85 points, not great value
The Bad
Arniston Bay
With better quality and value elsewhere, though not awful, these have little to recommend about them.
Orginals Chenin/Chardonnay 2010 £7.29: 83 points, poor value
Originals Cabernet/Merlot 2010 £6.99: 83 points, not great value
Originals Pinotage Rosé 2010 £6.79: 83 points, not great value
Black Tower
There was something about these wines that tasted unnatural.
Black Tower Silvaner Pinot Grigio 2010 £5.79: 82 points, not great value
Black Tower Rosé 2010 £5.68: 82 points, not great value
Black Tower Fruity White 2010 £4.58: 82 points, not great value
Blossom Hill
Confected flavours, and surprisingly expensive really, especially the White Zinfandel.
Vineyard Collection White 2010 £5.99: 82 points, not great value
Vineyard Collection Red 2010 £5.99: 81 points, not great value
White Zinfandel 2010 £6.29: 79 points, poor value
The Ugly
Gallo Family Vineyards
I can understand the appeal of these in as much as eating a bag of sweets. The wines are all in fact slightly sweet – not in itself a bad thing – but the flavours are reminiscent of jelly sweets. And hey, I like jelly sweets. But at the end of the day, there are more delicious, more authentic and more nourishing things to eat, if you know what I mean.
Sauvignon Blanc 2010 £6.48: 84 points, fair value
Pinot Grigio 2010 £6.48: 82 points, not great value
Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 £6.48: 81 point, poor value
Merlot Rosé 2010 £6.29: 81 points, poor value
Summer Red NV £6.16: 79 points, poor value
Last, and indeed least:
White Grenache 2010 £6.48: an unprecedented 78 points, poor value
The future of wine packaging part 2: Bag-in-box, bang up-to-date
In yesterday's post, I mentioned a company called Sfuso who supply a couple of the shops in London that offer wine refill services. I met with the owner, Marina Janković, to taste through her small range of wines in her shared office space in East London. The company sprang from her experiences living in Italy buying ‘sfuso’ wine i.e. taking refillable containers direct to the winemaker to fill up straight from the tank, much like the French ‘en vrac’. Compared to buying bottled wine in the UK, it was much cheaper, and much better for the environment. Her aim is to supply wine like this direct to businesses and individuals in the UK.
The company’s strong ethical stance is at the core of everything it does, so to begin with, the winemakers are paid a fair price for their produce, and all their wines are organic. They work with ‘anti-pizzo’ (anti-mafia) co-operatives to ensure the payment finds its way to the right pocket. To reduce the weight of the containers, and therefore the carbon footprint, bag-in-box is used as opposed to the more typical hard plastic containers (it also helps keep the wine fresh for longer). The unbleached cardboard boxes are sent flat-packed to the wineries along with the internal bags, who then fill them up, and palletise the boxed wine. These are then shipped by train from Italy to the UK to further minimise carbon use from shipping.
But what of the wines? They are akin to the wines you would refill your plastic container with at the local winery; relatively simple quaffing wines, but with authenticity and a sense of place. Perfectly decent for mid-week drinking or for big parties. Often the complaints about bag-in-box wines on the market is that they are mass-produced, anonymous, characterless or poorly made. This is not the case with these examples.
Like bag-in-box, the screwcap was long a pariah amongst wine drinkers, mostly because it was indeed a sign that what was in the bottle was crap. This was until some forward-looking producers, convinced of its value, started using it, and we drinkers caught on to its benefits and learned to love it. Surely this is the future story of bag-in-box – it keeps wine fresh for weeks, and ecologically speaking, clearly is a better option than heavy glass bottles that take huge amounts of energy to manufacture and transport. But the quality and value of what is in the package is paramount – and Sfuso have just about nailed it. Fine wines for long ageing will continue to require glass bottles and corks for the foreseeable future, but these top-end wines are only a tiny proportion of global wine production. As long as what is in the box is good quality, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t see more everyday wines moving in this direction in the not-so-distant future.
For more on bulk wines, Andrew Jefford has recently written this excellent article on the Decanter magazine website.
The wines:
Red
Organic Rosso Toscano IGT 2010
A blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Tuscany, Italy
£22.19 for 3 litre bag-in-box (£5.55 per bottle equivalent) available at Sfuso (www.sfusowine.com)
Bright ruby colour with an attractive perfume of cherry and red fruits. Medium-bodied with good acidity and medium levels of chewy tannin. Fresh, with some depth of red and black cherry fruit. 87 points, good value.
Organic Nero d’Avola IGT 2010
100% Nero d’Avola grape from Sicily, Italy
£23.99 for 3 litre bag-in-box (£6.00 per bottle equivalent) available at Sfuso (www.sfusowine.com)
Plummy, with some black cherry and a hint of tar and licorice. Medium-bodied, fairly light in tannin with medium acidity. Fruity yet savoury finish. 86 points, fair value.
White
Organic Bianco Toscano IGT 2010
100% Vermentino grape from Tuscany, Italy
£22.19 for 3 litre bag-in-box (£5.55 per bottle equivalent) available at Sfuso (www.sfusowine.com)
Floral, slightly herby peach and apricot on the nose. Medium-bodied, with a silky mouthfeel. Well balanced. 86 points, good value.
Organic Catarratto IGT 2010
100% Catarratto grape from Sicily, Italy
£23.99 for 3 litre bag-in-box (£6.00 per bottle equivalent) available at Sfuso (www.sfusowine.com)
Medium yellow-gold in colour. Perfumed apricot with a hint of peach and orange peel. Small oxidative element, no more than you would expect from a natural wine from this region due minimal sulphur use. Medium- to full-bodied with a slightly chewy texture. Appetising, with good balancing acidity. 86 points, fair value.