For the last few years now I have been organising a wine tasting for members of my amateur orchestra (Camden Symphony Orchestra) at the inimitable Theatre of Wine in Tufnell Park. I say "organising", but what I actually do is simply pick a theme for the tasting and then sit back and let the guys at the shop do all the hard work. For this session I'd set them what I thought was an interesting challenge: extreme wines. I wanted to get away from the vanilla and the mundane and look at the dark, murky, twisted under-belly of the wine world. Or something like that...
The
session was led superbly by Jason and Daniel who used their contrasting
styles to guide us expertly through the 10 wines that were on display;
Jason, erudite, articulate and evocative; Daniel, flamboyant, passionate
and, at times, outrageous. I won't detail all ten wines here as that
would take a little too long, but I will go through some of the
highlights.
We
started by tasting a Champagne-method sparkling wine from Edoardo
Miroglio in the Thracian lowlands of Bulgaria (£16), which was extreme
in that it had zero dosage (meaning that no sugar was added after the
wine has been disgorged), giving it a refreshingly zesty and springy
flavour. This would be perfect on a summer's day for afternoon sipping
whilst picnicking on a common, however to my taste I would say that it
lacked a little depth in the flavour stakes.
If this tasting was about one thing it was helping to push our tasting horizons. That's exactly what our next wine was about; a 2009 Assyrtico from Hatzidakis Nykteri, Santorini, Greece (£20.60). Santorini is an island in the Aegean set in an extinct volcanic cone. The temperatures in the summer are so extreme that they have to pick the grapes in August to stop them over-ripening. The wine was herby, musty but had a little hint of honey. On tasting the wine it was slightly off-dry, but lacked a bit of body and was a touch cloying. Not my favourite wine of the evening, but it was certainly extremely interesting.
One
area in the wine world that has seen real expansion in recent years is
the practice of bio-dynamic/organic production. To this end we were
presented with a 2011 Carrignan from Clos Fantine, Faugères, France
(£14). It was a dark, inky red, with perfumed aromas. On the mouth it
seemed to be almost effervescent, with a slightly sour, astringent
taste. I must confess that I was sceptical at the outset as I have yet
to have had a bio-dynamic wine that I have truly enjoyed, and this one
did not change my mind; however, in terms of the brief for the evening
this fitted the bill perfectly.
Lastly we came to something that was right up my street: a 2012 Riesling Spätlese from Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirscheck, Nähe,
Germany (£24.90). This is an extreme wine due to the fact that it is
picked late to allow the sugar level to increase in order to produce a
sweeter expression. There was an explosion of fruit on the nose, with aromas
of passion fruit and guava bursting from the glass; on the mouth it was bright,
acidic, vibrant, dynamic and poised. It won't surprise you to know
that I bought a bottle of this to take home!
It's
very easy sometimes to get caught in a rut when it comes to our wines,
to convince yourself that you know what you like and therefore become
reluctant to experiment and try new things. I believe, however, that we
should look to broaden our horizons wherever possible. There are
hundreds and hundreds of varieties of wine out there, with innovative
and creative wine-makers experimenting and tinkering all the time in
order to improve results and better our experience. Who knows what
you'll find if you're prepared to spend a bit of time looking?
Many thanks to Daniel and Jason for another fantastic evening!
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