I have to admit that sometimes I get things wrong.
I don't know if it is because Warden Abbey Vineyard is on my doorstep in Bedfordshire, so perhaps I took it for granted. Or possibly because as it was planted with germanic cross bred varietals back in 1986 (or perhaps I should say re-planted as it had been a vineyard planted by Cistercians up until the dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536), and I am a great lover of the riesling; I turn my nose up a bit at most of these clever hybrids and crossings. Or maybe because I was brought up when the dreadful Liebfraumilch was being shipped in vast quantities from Germany, made so often of these cross bred varietals, then left with a huge dollop of residual sugar to mask a multitude of at best dull flat boring tastes.
Perhaps I am just an appalling wine snob, or perhaps on my first tasting of these wines some time ago they were not as good as they are now.
Anyway, last week I met Sir Sam Whitbread, the owner of the estate on which Warden Abbey sits and whose wife Jane was instrumental in the project, and he encouraged me to come along to their Christmas fair and taste the recent vintages.
I was also keen to talk to Derek Smedley who as a fellow Master of Wine has advised the Whitbreads on the vineyard since it's inception twenty five years ago, and Sam said he would be there.
I have to say from being the worst sceptic about English wine, I have now become a great fan. Sparkling wine was really what changed my view, particularly when I saw how good the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based wines have turned out. The quality and I dare say price and therefore profitability of these sparklers has undoubtedly had an improving influence on the still wines. It is the case that with our duty and VAT, English still wines which need to be £7 plus a bottle to cover overheads, were not very profitable and they were difficult to sell against a multitude of good quality and often cheaper imports. If sparkling wine subsidises making better still wines, then so be it , good.
I have no reservations in saying I was impressed by the Warden Abbey wines; I tasted the whole range from the 2006 to the 2008 vintages. They were clean and well made, with pure natural fruit flavours, reasonable body, and good fresh acidity. They all had the green apple and grapefruit aromas one associates with English wines. For me the malic apple says cool climate England, and grapefruit says sylvaner (Warden Abbey has the Muller Thurgau a cross between riesling and sylvaner). I particularly liked the Abbott 2008 for its very bright acidity on the finish and clean purity, and I bought some. The sparkling wine from 2007 was also very good, with some minerality and good body, and I could see it would make a good party wine, and with it's Eton pale blue label I can see it catching on in all the right houses!
There is also a blend of all the grape varietals on the estate called Celebration, made just in 2006 to commemorate 20 years. It immediately grabbed me how fresh this was for a five year old wine, showing how well these wines can last, I would judge with a tad more residual sugar than the other wines and being a bit richer in flavours, I can see this being a wine with more general appeal than my rather purist approach, favouring purity and high acidity.
I know it has been hard work to get to this point for Warden Abbey, and it has probably cost a few bob also, but it is clearly worth it. The Whitbreads should be congratulated on their persistence. Bedfordshire folk should be proud of their local vineyard.
Quietly I would love to see a trial of a few pinot blanc, chardonnay and even pinot noir plants, just to see what turned out. I suppose it might be folly and a bit of an indulgence and my old MW friend Derek Smedley would say I was completely wrong to even think about it. I don't mind being proven wrong again and then nothing ventured…….!
Christopher Burr MW December 2011
PS to read move about this vineyard and the delights of rural Bedfordshire see http://www.wardenwines.co.uk
Now the fifth largest wine producer in the world, it wasn’t until the 1990’s we started to see Argentine wine exported for the rest of the world to enjoy. Nowadays a mouth watering Malbec or a fresh glass of Torrontes are a wine tasters staple, but nothing can compare to acquainting your taste buds to the local flavours quite like visiting the vineyards themselves. Here are three of our favourite places to stay on a wine fuelled trip to experience a truly unique Argentine wine experience.
Cavas Wine lodge
Sitting just 30 minutes outside of Mendoza – Argentina’s most famous of wine regions – Cavas Wine Lodge is nestled beautifully between 900 of Argentina’s finest Bodega’s (Vineyards). Worth the
trip for the stunning setting alone, this chic boutique hotel has a truly fantastic wine cellar showcasing 250 carefully selected wines from the local region. And for those wanting to find a new way with wine, Cavas Wine Lodge even offers a range of amazing wine based spa treatments – Crushed Malbec Scrub anyone?
Vinas de Cafayate
Cafayate is a lesser known yet stunningly beautiful wine region in Argentina’s North West region in the province of Salta. This up and coming region is becoming famous for its delightfully crisp Torrontés with help from the low humidity and mild weather of the valleys. Stay at Vinas de Cafayate, our favourite hotel at foot of the majestic San Isidro Hill, and the perfect base to visit the best wineries in the area - from the traditional and prestigious Etchart to small and premium wineries such as Finca Las Nubes de José Luis Mounier and El Porvenir.
I received one of these to try and can confirm it most certainly is a capsule... it is also very good at keeping wine fresh that little while longer between daily glasses!
Wine collectors know all too well the challenge of removing old and crumbly corks in aging fine wine bottles. Even with the best corkscrews, it is never easy to completely remove the corks in one piece. This calls for a better corkscrew and the Durand takes up the challenge.
The Durand is a full patented corkscrew designed to remove old and fragile corks from prized vintage wines. It has been tested by wine lovers and sommeliers and the general consensus is that they do remove the cork intact.
If you have any feedback on these openers then please let us know in the comment feed.
Last week I attended a Decanter Education Event on ‘Understanding Bordeaux’ hosted by Steven Spurrier. For those of you who don’t know Steven Spurrier, let me tell you that as well as being an authority on wine of the highest level, he’s also had a Hollywood film made about him – enough said?
I didn’t have a chance to ask him his opinion of the film, Bottle Shock, or whether he felt that Alan Rickman had portrayed him well. I didn’t have a chance to ask because when Steven Spurrier takes the time to talk to you about Bordeaux, it’s time to listen: to listen and learn.
Spurrier is part of a family tree of wine authorities that stretches back to the great Harry Waugh and includes the masterful Michael Broadbent MW. His encyclopaedic knowledge of Bordeaux, its people and its vines, is imbued with this depth of understanding and tradition. However, what makes Spurrier so well worth listening to is that he easily blends this perspective with pithy, three or four word assessments of the wine that are unfailingly accurate.
In the evening, we were shown the full spectrum of Bordeaux, both in the wines we tasted and in the full sweep of information that was shared along the way. Not only was Spurrier able to (off the cuff) list the significant vintages in Bordeaux going back to 1929, he also shared with us the scope of change in the area over that period and the reasons for the recent, dramatic improvements in the wines of the area. I’m normally the first to head for the door when I hear a list of years and vintages, but Spurrier brought this to life and made it memorable and fun to hear about.
We began by tasting a white Bordeaux, before moving on to the reds, the main event: a trip through the communes of Margaux, Pauillac, St Estèphe, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol, St Emilion and St Julien and vintages from 2005 to 2001.
As a guide to the wines, Spurrier shared his distinction in describing the tastes and flavours of grapes. To him they are either spherical or vertical.
A spherical profile describing a grape that is rich, plush, fruity and round – such as merlot.
A vertical profile describing a grape that is firm, elegant and higher in acid – such as cabernet.
It’s a useful reference point when tasting wines that are blends of those two grapes to see how one cedes the stage to the other and the impact this has on the wine – whether it’s a slightly austere wine with hidden power or a more obviously fruity, opulent wine.
The wines were all well chosen and supplied by The Wine Society – membership of the Wine Society is still one of the best investments you can ever make in wine. My personal favourite was the Chateau d’Angludet, Margaux 2005 – delicate, perfumed and harmonious – which says as much about my love of Margaux as anything else. The ‘best’ wine of the bunch was the Chateau Trottevielle, St Emilion 2001 – lovely sweetness and concentration – narrowly outclassing the Chateau Langoa Barton, St Julien 2001 which was perhaps still a little young.
To finish we were treated to the excellent sweet Sauternes Chateau Suduiraut 2007 an amazing wine which had the ‘honey and fire,’ that marks all great sticky wines and according to Spurrier, it also would make an excellent breakfast wine – who am I to disagree?
As we pored over the wines, Spurrier guided us, opening doors of understanding as he went. At one point made a remark about an experience he’d had when he was learning the wine trade, only to stop himself and state that he is still learning the wine trade. Modest words indeed and sincerely said. I’d offer that if Steven Spurrier is still learning the wine trade, then we all are; we can all continue learning. If you want to take the opportunity to accelerate your learning, then wine courses are an obvious route to take and I’d suggest that you go and grab yourself a ticket (if you can get your hands on one) to an event that he hosts – not only is it fun, it will save you lots of time!
I got a call the other day from a friend of mine, Rob, who wanted to know what wine he should order when he takes his new boss out for dinner.
He was in a bit of a bind: he wanted to choose something suitable, impressive even, but he didn’t want to spend too much money and added to that, his boss is a bit of a wine nut. I also know, because he’s told me, that in his industry (advertising) knowing how to choose a good wine is seen as being important.
His question, pulls into focus one of the potentially most awkward elements of going out for dinner. How do you pick the right wine from the abundance of choice that a modern restaurant will offer.
It wasn’t always this way. Big wine lists once existed only in the province of fancy restaurants. Neighbourhood restaurants and brasseries (…my spellchecker suggested I change that to brassieres) tended to have less choice than they have now.
The first restaurant I worked in, when I was a student, had only four wines on the list. There were a pair of French wines – red or white – and a pair of Californian wines, again red or white. The service of wine was very simple. When someone ordered wine, they’d always try and order the French (which was cheaper) and our only job was to persuade them to buy the Californian wine (which was more expensive.) Once we’d sold them the wine, we had to get it, take it to the table, take the cork out, leave the bottle on the table, un-poured and basically run like hell.
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As unfamiliar to me as the word claret was, I had anticipated that I’d have to use it. Using it seemed to confer a certain savvy, it hinted at time spent by the fireside at a grandfather’s knee and gave the impression that the user was familiar with sixth form meals at public school and had spent time in the clubs of St James’s.
I could live with using the word claret, even though at first it only tripped awkwardly forth. Luncheon was another matter.
I just didn’t get it. We didn’t have breakfast wines, so why have luncheon ones? The only way to get over my reluctance to use the word would be through some form of behavioural therapy – where I’d use the word and in the process get used to using it. For that to work, however, I’d have to get round the word first and I’m admitting now that I couldn’t. I could never get the word out. Until, that is, yesterday.
I have just returned from Champagne visiting the team of 'My Man In Champagne', a new PR and marketing business set-up in the heart of the Grand Cru Champagne producing area of Verzy. The team, led by Jiles Halling is taking a very dynamic approach to a very unsung area of the fine Champagne market.
Concentrating on Grower Champagne's (wines produced by smaller Champagne Houses), Jiles and the team at MMIC are about to expose some delightful truths. These are namely that much of the really good Champagne wine produced in the region never touches our lips. Add to that the fact that we are too obsessed with big labels and being so dims our view. Although many of the big famous brands do offer wonderful quality and a consistent house style, this is often easily matched and often surpassed by a number of smaller producers putting a great deal of effort into a far smaller yield.
Whilst in Champagne, MMIC Operations Director, Edmund Sherman treated us to a tour of Reims and a stop off at a local Champagne bar. The focus remained resolutely "grower Champagne" and my gaze was corrected when it drifted to a larger producer. One of the joys of the visit to Champagne was the choice in the styles of wines on offer. Given that one cannot be expected to know in advance what these wines are going to taste like, the fun very much resides in the adventure of tasting as many as possible. One wine that really stuck in my mind was the 2005 Grand Cru from Penet-Chardonnet. A deliciously fruity nose and very fine acidity made my spirits very effervescent indeed! The day before Penet-Chardonnet owner, Alexandre offered a taste test showing two wines with different dosage (dosage referring to the amount of sugar added to the wine to affect sweetness). The first wine was not quite ready for release and was especially tart. The dosage was evidently low but something about it really caught the imagination. All I could think of was platters of oysters and langoustines. After that we were given another unmarked bottle and asked to comment on the differences and say which we preferred. This second wine was certainly rounder and immediately offered more descriptive possibilities (I'll save you the deluge of notes, flavours, components and colours). The difference between the two wines was that the second bottle had 4 grammes of sugar added and the former had no sugar at all. At first dosage seems to do the wine the world of good where approachability is concerned but then after a while I couldn't help thinking about the first wine and the dreams of food it conjured in my mind. Different wines for different times!
All in all a great trip and one I would encourage everyone to take. Champagne is not far away and offers a world of adventure for those who are bubbly minded! Keep a look out for My Man In Champagne that will be launching very soon.
I have to admit that sometimes I get things wrong.
I have to say from being the worst sceptic about English wine, I have now become a great fan. Sparkling wine was really what changed my view, particularly when I saw how good the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir based wines have turned out. The quality and I dare say price and therefore profitability of these sparklers has undoubtedly had an improving influence on the still wines. It is the case that with our duty and VAT, English still wines which need to be £7 plus a bottle to cover overheads, were not very profitable and they were difficult to sell against a multitude of good quality and often cheaper imports. If sparkling wine subsidises making better still wines, then so be it , good.
Now the fifth largest wine producer in the world, it wasn’t until the 1990’s we started to see Argentine wine exported for the rest of the world to enjoy. Nowadays a mouth watering Malbec or a fresh glass of Torrontes are a wine tasters staple, but nothing can compare to acquainting your taste buds to the local flavours quite like visiting the vineyards themselves. 
Vinas de Cafayate 
I received one of these to try and can confirm it most certainly is a capsule... it is also very good at keeping wine fresh that little while longer between daily glasses!
Wine collectors know all too well the challenge of removing old and crumbly corks in aging fine wine bottles. Even with the best corkscrews, it is never easy to completely remove the corks in one piece. This calls for a better corkscrew and the Durand takes up the challenge.