Taste of the Grape – September and October Part I-Report from London
The autumn arrived bearing gifts. First came Georgian wines from the large estate of Tbilvino, just outside the capital Tbilisi. I am a great fan of Georgian food with its crushed walnuts, khachapuri bread and khinkali dumplings. When it comes to wine, the Georgians have been behind the revival of the use of ‘qvevri’ or big earthenware amphorae for fermenting and ageing wine. It is a method that goes back to Ancient Greek times and is described in Hesiod. Unlike wooden casks, terracotta does not flavour wine, and allows for a very gradual oxidation. The result is more taste of the grape, less of the cask.
At Tbilvino, they use both terracotta and oak as well as stainless steel tanks. Steel is used for the lovely zippy white Mtsvane, named after the grape variety, which is a hit with its dense cooked gooseberry taste. The best-known green grape is Rkatsiteli, which goes into qvevri. It has a more minerally, salty character.
The mainstay of Tbilvino’s production, however, is Saperavi, one of the ‘staining’ teinturier varieties. It predominates in Georgia. At Tbilvino it is aged all three ways: stainless steel, oak and qvevri. The basic 2022 Saperavi – dark chocolate with a pinch of salt – is just £9 from M & S, and very good value. After that the best for me were the 2021 qvevri (£19.99 from Laithwaites), which was much more concentrated with a bit more sweetness and tang, and of course the more expensive twin and single vineyard wines (both 2022). The twin vineyard wine is part aged in oak. Best of all was the single vineyard wine, which was pure qvevri and very luscious. It is 15%, but wears its alcohol lightly.
Earlier in September, Hallgarten held a wine tasting in the City. There were good wines from the Château de Saint Cosme in the Southern Rhone. I was told that the owner was married to an English woman, hence the curious name of the Rhone blend: ‘Les Deux Albion’, which comes in white or red. I particularly liked the red – coffee and chocolate. There was a good 2022 St Joseph and an impressive Châteauneuf, but the real star was a 100% Grenache wine from Gigondas.
Jaboulet is no stranger, indeed, while he lived, I considered Gérard Jaboulet a proper friend and I was reminded of the fact that it has been too long since I have visited Jaboulet’s old-fashioned office in Tain. In recent years my enthusiasm for some pure Syrah northern Rhones has waned a bit. I miss that smell of peonies and carnations, the slight smoky bacon taste which seems to be less and less present. Also, prices have leaped up. Among the white Crozes, Les Jalets was a nice evocation of salted almonds, while its red confrère had a little whiff of bacon still. Domaine de Thalabert is the bigger (more expensive) Crozes. They weren’t showing Hermitage La Chapelle, but had La Maison Bleue (formerly La Petite Chapelle). The 2021 showed considerable promise. Also lovely was the 2020 Condrieu Les Cassines.
And so to Italy: Vietti in Piemonte makes the usual list of ‘B’ wines from Barbera to Barolo as well as a nice sappy white in the form of the Timorasso ‘Derthona’ from the Colli Tortonesi. The Barbera ‘Trevigne’ is a very enjoyable wine and there’s a long, tarry Nebbiolo ‘Perbacco’ which is all black cherry fruit. There are two top wines: a 2021 oaky Barbera d’Alba ‘Vigna Scarrone, again with lovely cherry fruit and a long, peppery 2018 Barolo ‘Castiglione’.
We used to drink gallons of Sardinian Sella & Mosca Cannonau (Grenache) in this house, then, prices crept up and the local shop stopped selling it, but I am relieved to find it is still a great wine. This was a chance to taste other wines from Sella & Mosca: a lemony 2023 Vermentino, Cala Reale, and a superior Vermentino di Gallura Monteoro. Then there was a tarry Cannonau rosé: Alghero Rosato Anemone before I tasted the 2021 Cannonau Riserva I knew and loved. What was new to me was the 2023 Medeus, another Cannonau wine with lots of liquorice and cream, which seemed lighter and fresher than the Riserva.
My friend Peter McCombie directed me towards La Collina dei Cillegi in the Veneto which at 800 metres is the highest estate in Valpolicella. It uses stainless steel and amphorae to age its wines and makes a stunning (but pricy) 2021 Bianco Verona. The rest is Valpolicella, starting with the excellent Formiga, then a sweeter 2020 Ripasso Superiore Macion, a concentrated 2019 Superiore Peratara and a 2019 Amarone tasting of coffee and cherries. There was also a delicious sweet recioto.
Another old friend is the Quinta do Vallado in the Douro Valley. Reliable reds are the thing here: Douro Red, Douro Superior and an excellent Touriga Nacional.
At the Vineyard Vibrations tasting of Languedoc wines, we were subjected to music in the idea that it might alter our perception. The first stage of the tasting was free and unmusical. The whites that I enjoyed were the 2022 Domaine Ortola and the 2022 Clos Constantin Strate, both of which fitted my feeling that southern French whites need to go easy on oak and alcohol. The same is true of rosé, where the best were the strawberry-scented 2023 Eclat de Garrigue from the Château de Lascaux and la Baume Rose from the Domaine de la Baume, which smelled of rosewater.
Reds tend to be the best bet here: the 2022 Artisans Partisans Cuve No 102 was redolent of Syrah, the 2022 Classique Rouge from the Château d’Anglès is a natural wine calling for food, the 2022 Castelberry Col du Vent was ample on the palate if a bit short on the nose, the 2022 Mas des Cabres was pleasantly spicy (cloves), and the Mas de Clanny’s 2023 Vaille que Vaille was quite goaty and gamy (I like that). Then came the sensory test with 2022 Trescol from the Domaine de l’Astier. We had to listen to three bits of music that were decidedly not to my taste. When forced to hear music I don’t like, I become agitated, I want to turn it off and I can’t concentrate on the task in hand. I suspect that makes me taste badly. The music you need is something that calms you down, and this didn’t. But I liked the wine for all that, it was chunky and figgy.
Hungarian wines have been getting better and better, not just Tokay, but many dry whites and reds. Hungary is a country that has benefitted from climate change because in the past the acidity of many of its wines was often stratospheric. Hotter summers have softened it.
The volcanic soils of Somló make wonderful dry white wines with a pronounced mineral taste. Even the generally floral Harslevelu grape is quite austere here. The Furmint from Kancellar was a little tamer, the best being the 2020. Schieber is in Szekszard, near where a part of my family hails from. This is red wine country, and Schieber makes nice, fruity Kadarkas and Kekfrankoses, but best of all his 2021 Bikaver which combines the last two cultivars with Bordeaux varieties. Schieber also makes a Cabernet Franc called ‘Patina’ with a pleasantly gamy character.
Sauska in Tokay also makes an impressive Cabernet Franc. Patricius sticks to the usual things, and its 2021 Katinka November Harvest uses the leftovers from the nobly sweet aszú bunches to produce a gorgeous apricotty wine. That they make good aszú was not in dispute: the 2008 6 puttonyos was quite lovely: oranges, apricots and honey. The Maison aux Pois is an odd name for a Tokay house. They made a sweet 2021 Szamorodni (‘as we get it’): all tinned peaches, cooked pears and fresh oranges. Their 2019 aszú had a massive 283 grams of residual sugar.
Hetszőlő’s 2011 Furmint is a demonstration of how high Furmint acidity can go, and it also shows how long a dry Furmint can last! Of course, it is the aszú wine that seduces, and the same producer’s 2010 Furmint 5 puttonyos is a case in point. With 140 grams of residual sugar, you need a high acidity to balance it out. This one does it superbly. Gizella is another Tokay house. Perhaps I have a weakness for it because so many women in my family have been called Gisela? They also had a lovely 2019 aszú: honey, peach and apricot with a scattering of salt.
Disznókó is one of the best wineries in Tokay. The 2019 5 puttonyos aszú was slightly earthy. The real treat was the 2014 5 puttonyos. Again, it was a little salty but then came the apricots (botrytis) and honey. Dereszla makes a sparkling wine. Once more, high acidity suggests sparkling wines and Hungary makes some very good ones. Dereszla’s best wine was its 6 puttonyos. Lastly there was Béres with an impressive 2023 Birtok dry Furmint tasting of pears and salt and two gorgeous 6 puttonyos aszú wines made from Furmint and Muscat: from 2013 and 2016. The first had 7.45 grams per litre acidity, the second 13! It tasted of oranges and apricots and stole the show. Acid can also be a gift.
Ends