Day 2 of the IWC judging was a little less esoteric in nature, with quite a few classic flights being lined up. Whether it’s a weird mixture of wines from countries with very young wine industries or the sort of wines you might expect to find in an exam, I’ve yet to have a day where I haven’t learnt a great deal! Unsurprisingly, there are quite a few MW students attending these tastings, with the shadow of their upcoming exams looming larger and larger by the day… there’s rarely better places to practice than here!
NV Champagne – If your day starts with a flight of 8 Champagnes, send up a prayer of thanks to the gods of wine. Non-vintage Champagne comes with the assumption that at least a few of them will be from the big houses, so it’s also a good opportunity to have a look at the value-for-money aspect of buying Champagne. Overall, it was much as expected; very few NV Champagnes are particularly exciting without a period of time post-disgorgement and the few that are (Roederer, Heidsieck etc) are unlikely to have been entered. Having said that, there were a couple of wines based around Pinot Meunier that I thought were particularly good. The commonly accepted line is that Pinot Meunier is an early-maturing variety that is added for fresh fruit and early-drinking pleasure, but I also found these wines to display their smoky, autolytic character more readily. Coincidentally, an article in the latest edition of The World of Fine Wine attributes this to the grape itself, but I’d have to try a few more to really formulate an educated opinion on it… oh okay, if you insist I must!
Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blends – Over to Langhorne Creek in Australia next, for something a bit bigger. My bench-mark wine for Australian Cabernet/Shiraz blends is the iconic 389 blend from Penfolds, where the structure and depth of the Cabernet Sauvignon is filled with juicy, peppery Shiraz fruit and complimented by sweet American oak. Unfortunately, none of these wines lived up to that billing with quite a bit of over-extraction leading to drying tannins and a lack of drinkability, although it must be said that the alcohol was nearly always well integrated. One exception was a beautiful wine, full of cool herbs, fresh black fruits and peppery spices. Very Victoria in style and exactly the sort of wine I want from Australia these days.
Chardonnay – A short journey to New Zealand for the next flight, with 5 Chardonnay’s from Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough. I love New Zealand Chardonnay and find many comparisons with Argentina; aromatic wines with a clear stone fruit and slightly tropical profile, as well as well integrated oak. The wines were, on the whole, quite well balanced but a few suffered from reduction issues (I like a bit of gunflint in my Chardonnay, but I draw the line at cabbage!) and occasionally a lack of intensity on the palate.
Mixed Spanish – Despite trying to be as objective as possible, I always find myself rooting for Spanish wines when they come up. This was 4 wines from Rioja and Navarra, with a varietal Syrah and a mixture of Garnacha based blends. Nothing exceptional, but very few of the problems I’ve encountered with Spanish wines at blind tastings before either (microbial spoilage etc). A fair showing and I was particularly impressed by the varietal Syrah.
Shiraz blends – South Africa is experiencing something of a renaissance in the UK at the moment, particularly focused around younger, exciting producers from the Swartland and Olifants River. However, the more traditional zones have been, and are still, producing high quality wines, often at very attractive prices. These 6 Shiraz-dominant blends all hailed from the all-encompassing Western Cape, meaning that fruit was likely sourced from a variety of areas. I was impressed, with moderate levels of alcohol, fresh well defined fruits and a clear peppery, meaty character to the wines. One in particular was superb and I hope to see it go through with a good score!
Mixed Catalan whites – My fingers were crossed for a good showing for these wines, mainly based on Xarel.lo and sourced predominantly from the Penedes. I consider Xarel.lo to be the champion of Catalan white wines yet there are so many oxidised, overly oaked examples that are commercially popular, it was hard to know which would be entered. I needn’t have worried as this was likely the flight of the day! Lovely crisp, green fruits, subtle herbs and citrus characters were in abundance, and the oaked examples were very well integrated. A strong showing for Catalunya and perhaps a snapshot of just how far along wine-making has come in a short space of time.
Tempranillo – Across Northern Spain next for 9 Crianza designated wines from Rioja. The last flight I had of these last year was pretty awful, with huge problems of cleanliness and brett in the wines. Thankfully these were much cleaner with lots of sappy red fruits, light oak influences and some tertiary complexity; the best showed some of the high-toned, savoury flavours so admired in Rioja. Nothing exceptional but well made wines.
Australian rosé – Do you drink a lot of Australian rosé? No, me either, and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The difference in quality of rosé is almost entirely dependent on whether people are actually serious about making it, or whether it’s just a by-product of a red fermentation/something made cynically to benefit from the recent trend towards pink wines. Unfortunately these 7 were poor on the whole; reduced, oxidised and just a bit of a mess. The best was, unsurprisingly, a wine that was clearly the intended product from the start, with a strong impression of the grape variety (not to be taken for granted with rosé wines), lively acidity and inviting aromas. The rest… well, let’s just say they were a different sort of learning experience!
Ice wine – The days judging usually finishes with something sweet, and for us that was a flight of 8 ice wines from Canada, all made from Vidal. I find judging young, sweet wines particularly difficult as everything is turned up to the maximum intensity level and differentiating nuances can be very hard. The high levels of sugar also hide a multitude of sins, so you have to take particular care and slow your tasting down to assess the wines properly. The best wines had lovely tension between the rich, marmalade and dried peach flavours and some even displayed hints of botrytis. Sugar levels were often over 200g/l, so freshness was needed to keep the wines in balance and the worst were cloying and a bit flat by comparison or worse still, overly volatile. Still, not a bad way to finish the day!
Another days tasting, another 60 wines tasted. Stay tuned for Days 3 and 4 which will be up over the weekend!