A week in wine
J Alfred Prufock may have measured his life in coffee spoons; for the Caverooni protagonists it is connecting the glasses of wine.
Monday
Sales meeting and tasting of bin ends and slow movers downstairs at Terroirs. Wines showed pretty well. I was impressed with the vinous Grillo from Fazio, Giovanna Morganti’s sinuous dark-fruited Chianti Classico Le Trame, all dark cherries, wild herbs, olives and earth, and the ballsy 2000 Barbera Vigna del Noce (meat, stonefruit and fennel) from Trinchero. Tim presented the new Aussies. The tangy Wangolina Sauvignon impressed me again, although the majority preferred the coffee-cream Shiraz. Timo Mayer’s Pinot was a bit sulky, the Pinot fruit was muffled. Although Tim thought Luke Lambert’s Syrah was showing less well than the Nebbiolo, I was enchanted by its breezy naturalness. It just hit every point of the mouth in the right place. The Neb was lovely, but almost too flattering; amidst the oodles of strawberry fruit one could have done with a tad more grip – but who’s complaining.
Upstairs to meet Tom Trolove of Framingham. We cracked a bottle of Prosecco, then tried the Framingham F Series Sauvignon, a rich Savvy that sees lees contact, (old) wood and malo. Great mouthfeel and veering away from the clichés of this grape variety. We finished with a brilliant Sancerre Rouge Raudonas from Seb Riffault. You could almost taste the iron filings and earthy grippiness.
Leaf day
Tuesday
Lunch at Terroirs with Arnaud Bourgeois, Frederic Sureau, Philippe and Eric. Chewing the business cuds and crunching the numbers. Tried some very decent new wines: Petit Clos (second wine of Clos Henri and Bel Echo). It will be interesting to see how they fit in with our portfolio.
Trebbiano Frizzante from Donati with dinner.
Fruit day
Wednesday
Wines of Chile in the former cattle market (so not much has changed) of the Royal Horticultural Halls. Depressing poor Pinot Noir, chargrilled oakjuice at incendiary levels of alcohol. In the words of Bittor Arguinzoniz: “Don’t use the bloody charcoal. It destroys any subtlety of flavour.” For charcoal here, read oak.
Fruit day
Thursday
Lunch at Terroirs with Jade Koch (formerly sommelier at the Tate and now looking to spread her wings).
Pouilly-Fume, Alexandre Bain - gooseberry, kiwi, passionfruit, lovely balance
Barbera Le Verrane, Vittoria Bera – purple, effervescent, cherry-and-plumskin
Sous Les Cailloux des Grillons, Clos du Gravillas – savoury fruits, earthy and herbs
Beaujolais, Yvon Metras – red fruits, freshness, linear
Root day
Friday
Lunch with Grant Phelps, Tina Gellie (Decanter), Jamie Goode and Philippe at Bleeding Heart Yard. Tasted a couple of Viu Manent’s whites (Viognier and Chardonnay Reserve) as well as Secreto Carmenere, two single vineyard Malbec, the Cab Sauvignon and Viu 1.
My highlights included the following:
The Carmenere was particularly good with some herbal notes, a touch of bitter chocolate and good freshness. Of the two single vineyard Malbecs, the San Carlos was a youthful powerhouse, the Malbec component of this blend being harvested from two blocks of the San Carlos Estate vineyard, located near the town of Cunaco in the Colchagua Valley, sourced from 80 year old vines.Dense purple with violet notes this wine delivers an opulent nose of boysenberry, plum, fig and tar. In the mouth wilder more exotic flavours of moist earth, bitter chocolate and mocha lead to big, rich, voluptuous tannins resulting in a long, lingering finish.
The El Olivar was beautifully floral. Dark and intense purple in colour this wine offers up a nose of blackberry, spiced plum and delicate touch of violets. In the mouth it is full of flavours such as coffee and mocha and dark berries. Its sweet and voluptuous tannins combine perfectly with a fresh acidity, giving a long and persistent finish.
La Capilla Cabernet Sauvignon comes from shallow fine volcanic ash topsoil of low fertility over a hard bedrock. This wine has an exceptional tannic structure. Intense and deep ruby red in colour, this wine offers up aromas of blackberry, chocolate and plum. In the mouth gob-smacking ripe fruit flavours of black cherry, mocha and cinnamon dominate. Ample yet well rounded tannins impart fine structure and an elegant finish.
Root day