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Decanter Fine
Wine Encounter 2006.
18 November 2006.
This is becoming somewhat of a habit and
an enjoyable one at that. The tenth anniversary of the
Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (third year for me) in the
Landmark Hotel in London's Marylebone proved to be its
finest yet. For me anyway, as I got to enjoy a
masterclass by my favourite MW and erudite wine writer,
Jancis Robinson.
I usually feel like a kid in a sweetshop
on these occasions, but this year more so than ever. I
suppose it's a bit like a devout catholic meeting the
Pope in person, but with infinitely better wine.
Here is Jancis handing over all three
kilos of her 3rd Edition Oxford Companion to Wine. It
will keep me company during my studies, no doubt.
The master-class, of which more soon,
kicked off the day with a round-the-world trip of 21st
century wines.
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing
the rounds of some fantastic producers. Time is always
limited and the choice bewildering. I chose to spend
some time with Gonzalez Byass, a large
Sherry producer, responsible for such famous Sherry as
Tio Pepe, the ultimate Fino Sherry.
I've got an exam coming up on 'fortified
wines', so this was an easy choice. The tasting of
GB's 'Very Rare Soleras', which have been
resting in American oak casks for at least 30 years was
quite a fascinating insight in the various sherry
styles.
Possibly the sweetest wine I have ever
tasted is the 'Noe', dark treacle with an
incredible concentration. Soft caramel and a nose that I
can only describe as iodine, sort of medicinal. I wonder
if this is the influence of the intense chalky soil and
the proximity to the sea where this wine has aged for
all that time? Anyway, this is a dessert in its own
right.
Some old favourites were back, among them
Bisol, the famous Prosecco producer whose 'Solera
style' sweet wine, Passito di Prosecco, Duca di
Dolle is now in its 14th year and as good as I
remember. I love the balance of fresh, sweet apricot
fruit with the high acidity, making this a great dessert
wine. See my notes from last year on the always
dependable
Bisol
Prosecco.
One Italian producer to really keep an
eye out for is Grotta del Sole. Based in
Quarto, not far from Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast in
southern Italy, the Martusciellos produce some stunning
wines from native grape varieties.
Their Montegauro, Riserva di
Piedirosso del Campi Flegrei 2003 won the
regional trophy a couple of months ago in the Decanter
World Wine Awards. And it's not difficult to understand
why when you taste the wine. It has a deep spicy nose of
black fruit and vanilla. A full bodied structure makes
for a seriously complex, spicy wine with a fantastic
length. It took me back to Naples, where I tried a
Piedirosso for the first time, incidentally from the
same producer. See
Wine AD 79 for more details.
Also impressive were the Falanghina
dei Campi Flegrei 2005 and the Aglianico
Campania IGT 2005. The first one is very mineral on the nose.
Lots of fresh apple and lemon fruit and a good length.
The latter is quite a serious wine with noticeable
tannin. Still very young, but plenty of blackberry fruit
on the palate to keep it going for a few years.
The one producer present from Germany,
Weingut Ziereisen, had a very busy day, especially
after Jancis Robinson had included their Gestad
Syrah 2004 as part of the master-class. That
wine, from Germany's Baden region, was the reason I had
to taste the rest of the range, which includes some very
good Pinot Noir.
Time, or lack of it, is always the main
issue at this tasting and 4.30 pm comes around all too
soon and leaves you running around at the last minute to
ensure you taste that one wine that was left on your
list. And still I feel there were so many producers I
had wanted to spend more time with, let alone visit.
Well, there's always next year.
Related articles:
Decanter FWE2005 London
Jancis
Robinson Masterclass |
