“I am a legend!”

The great Ben Collins is indeed a Bibendum legend. He’s been here from the very beginning, half his life in fact, selling fine wine to the great and the good around the country. On Monday night more than a few Bibendumites gathered upstairs at our local The Lansdowne to celebrate his 60th birthday. As befits a fine skier, it is, as Ben himself put it, all downhill from here.

For a man pickled in Pauillac, he is looking remarkably well as he heads into his dotage. Don’t rule out him trying to flog you Bordeaux 2031 en primeur.

The rules of admission were very simple: you needed to bring a more than decent bottle and a story or two about Ben. Neither were in short supply.

So what did we choose to drink in honour of one of our best loved colleagues?

Bastianich Vigne Orsone Friulano 2010
Besserat de Bellefon Brut Rose NV
Echezeaux Bouchard Aine & Fils (no-one seems to be able to recall the vintage of this one)
Catena Zapata Malbec Nicasia 2007
Barolo Bricco Rocche Ceretto 2004
Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2010
Chateau Batailley 2004
Chateau Batailley 1990
Chateau Batailley 1996
Chateau Belle-Brise 1995
Chateau Cissac 2000
Chateau d’Esclans Esclans Rosé 2010
Chateau Lagrange 2004
Chateau Paveil de Luze 2007 – in multiple imperiales
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron 2004
Cuatro Rayas Verdejo 2010
Dr Burklin-Wolf Trocken Riesling 2009
Nuits-St-Georges Henri Jayer 1998
Howard Park Chardonnay 2007
Vouvray Clos du Bourg Sec Huet2009
Cote Rotie Jamet 1994
Katnook Estate Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Sancerre Les Hospices Paul Buisse 2010
Les Tourelles de Longueville 2003
Long Meadow Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 1996
Marotti Campi Luzano 2004
Maison Roche de Bellene Puligny Montrachet Les Referts 2008
Barolo Paolo Conterno 2005
Bourgogne Pinot Blanc Vieille Vigne Patrick Javillier 1997
Petit Chablis Patrick Piuze 2010
Petaluma Adelaide Hills Viognier 2009
Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2009
Prophet’s Rock Pinot Noir 2009
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut Jeio Bisol NV
Quinta do Vallado Douro Tinto 2003
Valpolicella Classico Superiore Quintarelli 2001
Rex Hill Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2008
Rolly-Gassman Gewürztraminer 2007
Meursault Clos des Poruzots Domaine Roux Pere & Fils 2008
Rully Clos des Mollepierres Domaine Saint Abel 2007
Cotes du Rhone Saint Cosme 2010
Gigondas Saint Cosme 2009
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo San Calisto 2005 (I think)
St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2007
Brunello di Montalcino Talenti 2005
Vieux Chateau Certan 1993
Villa Russiz Collio Friulano 2009
Villa Russiz Collio Merlot 2009

There were quite a few of us after all.

Personal highlights included the VCC, the Jayer, the Jamet and the Huet. No surprises there, perhaps. I didn’t even see the Quintarelli or the Talenti at my end of the table. The last drop of Prophet’s Rock swigged from an all but empty bottle boded well for 2012’s drinking. It will arrive in our warehouse in the New Year.

As someone said to me over a restorative lunch yesterday, few people are lucky enough to work somewhere where 50 or so colleagues can come together for an amazing evening of great food and wine. That it was in honour of a true wine trade legend, just made the claret taste even better.

Happy Birthday, Ben.

It is a common thought that fine wine is red. This is due to the fact that the most complex and long–lived wines are red, but a lot of people do not drink red wine, preferring the freshness and drinkability of white wine instead.

The understanding becomes more intricate when the testing ground is a rosé wine. Rosé is often considered a “silly wine” because it is neither white nor red, and also because the consumption of rosé wine is ‘a summer thing’.

Another general thought is that rosé is a woman’s drink, which frequently does not catch the attention of men. All this is moot, but there are exceptions as in every case.

I am not a rosé wine buff, but as far as I am concerned wine is wine, and I have never precluded myself the chance of tasting new and different wines, and I have never judged a book by its cover.

It happened a few months ago that when I was invited for dinner by Louis Barruol, the owner of Chateau Saint Cosme, a jewel winery in the Rhone, that I tasted the Garrus Rosé 2008  from Château d’Esclans. It is without doubt the most expensive rosé I have ever tasted.

Sacha Lichine is one of the most interesting people in the wine industry. Born in Bordeaux and educated in the United States, Sacha grew up in the business working with his father Alexis at Chateau Prieuré-Lichine in Margaux. In 2006 he took on the most fascinating challenge: producing a top rosé. He teamed up with Patrick Léon, one of the most important winemakers in the world having worked for Mouton Rothschild, Opus One and Alma Viva.

The winery is in La Motte (Provence) and boasts some of the oldest vines in the region. Garrus is a blend of Grenache (70%) and Rolle (30%). Both sets of vines are 80 years old, and the soil is composed of chalk and clay. From harvest up to the vinification the grapes are extremely well looked after and maniacally scrutinized three times to maintain the highest standards. The grapes are then slightly crushed to avoid coloration as maceration does not take place. The alcoholic fermentation occurs in new and second year demi muid (600 litre barrel) for 10 months.

The wine itself shows a wonderful pale pink colour. The nose is intriguing with rose petals and raspberry notes, a bit of sweet spice and slightly nutty on the finish. The palate is creamy and velvety with good acidity and a savoury finish. I must say it is a great wine and despite the fact that it is at least £120 to buy a bottle in a restaurant, this is no gimmick.

Check out more wine writing from Luigi Buonanno at Doctor Wine

Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting

They say that Pinot Noir is the heartbreak grape, and I would agree with that. No other wine seems to bring out the same levels of passion, debate and controversy than this famously fickle grape variety. When it’s good, boy is it good – producing some of the finest wines in the world – but when it’s bad it can be downright awful, producing wines that can be stewed and jammy, or, even worse, thin, tart and insipid.

The inaugural London Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting brought together 12 of the very best examples from around the world for a fabulous event at Australia House (or Gringotts bank from the first Harry Potter film as it is also known). Hopes were high for some amazing wines.

The Line up at the Stonier International Pinot Tasting

This tasting has been going in Melbourne for a number of years, and involves Stonier pitching one of its own wines against top-quality Pinots from around the world. This is the first year it has been held in London and we were in for a real treat. We tasted the wines semi-blind in that we knew what the 12 wines would be but not the order in which we would taste them. We debated their relative merits, and chose our favourites before discovering which one was which.

The Line Up

…and what a line up it was:

In order to compare like with like as far as possible, all Southern Hemisphere wines were 2008 and all Northern Hemisphere wines were the 2007 vintage. This was also the same line up that was tasted at the Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting in Melbourne last autumn.

Full credit must go to Stonier for organising an event like this. Not many wineries are confident enough to allow its wines to be tasted blind up against the best in the business. Although there was some informal voting and choosing of favourites, the event wasn’t really a competition at all but a celebration of one of the world’s most exciting grapes.

What’s exciting about the Stonier International Pinot Noir tasting?

Before the tasting I managed to grab panellist Tim Atkin MW to ask him what excited him about the tasting:

The Panel

The evening was chaired by Bibendum’s very own Willie Lebus with a panel made up of Tim Atkin MW, one Britain’ leading wine writers, Matthew Jukes who was also on the panel at the Melbourne Pinot Tasting and Mike Symons, winemaker at Stonier.

Stonier Pinot Noir Tasting - The Panel

The Tasting

We started with a rather stunning Blanc de Noir, produced in tiny quantities at Stonier, which unfortunately is not available for export, I did suggest sending over a couple of cases just for me – but apparently that’s a no go!

Stonier Fizz - Something special to start with

To say there was controversy and debate around the wines tasted would be somewhat of an understatement. I think this is what Pinot Noir fans love about this grape – it certainly brings out passion. As Matthew Jukes said, Pinot Noir is a personal and stylistic choice, what one person likes and finds appealing may not be the same as another. Pinot Noir has more flavour components than any other grape variety, thus there is much to divide a crowd.

During the tasting, debates raged at every table about things like: is fruity too simple? Are the wines too young? Is the acidity or alcohol too high? Does brettanomyces add complexity or is it a fault? What makes ‘a good Pinot’? Have Oregon and Otago matured as regions? Have new world Pinots improved in recent years and what has driven those improvements? And most importantly which wine is your favourite and where can I buy some!

Stonier Tasting - Debating the merits of Pinot Noir

The panel provided some useful insights particularly into the increasing quality in New World Pinots. Apparently when this tasting first started in Australia in 2002, the New World Pinots were much easier to identify. Tim believed this is down to better clonal selection, more travel and collaboration between New World and Old World winemakers, site and soil selection, but most importantly the maturity of the vines. Many are now past the critical ten years Tim believes are needed to produce complex and quality Pinots.

The Stand out Wines

Well, where do you start with a line up like this? All the wines were a real joy to taste. Though there was a few that seemed to unite the room. The wine of the night was pretty unanimously the Jean Jaques Confuron. At an RRP of around £76 a bottle, it certainly wasn’t the cheapest but it was far from the most expensive wine of the night. Other stand out wines included the Dujac Gevrey-Chambertin, the Argyle Nuthouse and the Stonier Windmill, my table also seemed rather partial to the Bouchard Pere et Fils.

Interestingly, whilst the wines had opened out more since the Melbourne tasting (according to those who attended both events) the results were remarkably similar.

Stonier now have plans to try and repeat the tasting, but once the wines are 10 years old – all I can say is please can I reserve my spot now!

Views from audience member on the tasting:

After the tasting I caught up with Charles Metcalfe and Peter McCombie MW to get their verdicts on the tasting.

Find out More…

More about the Stonier International Tasting Down Under on Bibendum Times

Buy Stonier’s wines online
Stonier’s web site
Watch more videos from the International Pinot Noir Tasting on Bibendum Times channel on YouTube
More Pictures of the tasting on Facebook

I love reading wine tasting notes in Italian. I always want to sing it back. For example, what is a vino da meditazione? It’s an intriguing term often seen in Italian wine notes.

It looks like the word “meditation”, but it’s not quite.

Coined by famous Italian gastronome, Luigi Veronelli, meditazione is often used to describe sweet passito wines or red wines aged for a long time such as Barolo or Brunello di Montalcino. From my readings in Italian, a vino da meditazione can mean:

1. Calm, sweet wine (without bubbles)

2. Important red wines

3. Wines with a long vinification process from vine to bottle such as Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (at least 5 years in oak), Barolo Riserva (5 years) or Vin Santo (8 years in oak)

4. A way to drink these wines with an attitude of understanding its complexity:”Stop and slow down – this wine should be approached calmly, reflectively to understand its complexity and composition”

Holy Wine

A classic vino da meditazione is Vin Santo (holy wine), a Tuscan sweet wine, which became popular during the Renaissance when Florentine Wine Merchants heavily marketed it to customers in Rome. These strong sweet wines were also popular for Church services as the high sugar levels and acidity mean they can be kept open for up to a year without a cork.

Like entering a dark Italian church filled with incense coiling up to a ceiling of shimmering gold in mosaic, the awe-inspiring Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC from Azienda Agricola Crociani is a classic vino da meditazione. From a winery that dates back to the 14th century in the heart of Montepulciano in Tuscany, the Crociani Vin Santo is aged for 9 years in oak before it is released. Amber in colour, it has extreme depth and amazing layers of raisin, hazelnut and a light caramel toffee. The excellent backbone of acidity across the palate holding the byzantine complexity together means it can be aged for up to 200 years.

A vino da meditazion commands quiet, respect and contemplation. Even in the most busiest of restaurants, or lives, this wine urges a pause to enjoy complexity and history in the glass.

No wonder it’s a concept not easily translatable into English.

Image: Bacchante on a Panther by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1855)

If you’re after a refreshing yet knowledgeable wine blog, look no further than Juel’s recommendations and general wine muses on her winewomansong blog.

Last night I cracked. After 6 long years of resistance it all fell apart. Or, like the King would put it, “6 years down the drain”. I watched Sideways last night.

These were six difficult years. As a sommelier, pretty much every conversation started or ended with questions about fucking Merlot. At first I didn’t get it, then I learned to nod and smile. But it just wouldn’t stop. Then it finally hit me. Sure it’s very nice to know all of Bourgogne’s Grand Crus or even to differentiate Asili from the Montestefano vineyards in Barbaresco, but if you can’t recite Miles’ words of wisdom you ain’t got what it takes. I lived in a lie and learned to fake, my career was now safe, I was about to make it.

It all changed a few days ago. I was caught off guard, revealed the lie and promised to change. I was conscious, I knew what I was doing and can’t blame anyone but myself. Two nights of fierce self debate and then —> PLAY.

One scene made up for the average rest. Towards the end of the movie and almost tired from life Miles does one thing I have always wanted to do. He takes his precious Cheval Blanc 61 to a local diner, pours it into a plastic cup and sip it graciously. His food matching is as good: an oily burger with some fine onion rings. The supreme anti-wine geek move.

Miles, I salute you and apologize for ignoring you all these years.

Gal is a former sommelier, ex-editor of Bibendum Times and now the social media guru behind the Haidu.net. Based in Tel Aviv, you can read this post and all his other work at the Haidu blog or follow him on Twitter @zoharwine

Everyone knows blind tasting is tough. It is a vinous minefield that can damage reputations and ego in equal measure. One is reminded of the old Harry Waugh story, when the legendary stalwart of the British wine trade was asked when he had last confused Burgundy with Bordeaux: “Not since lunch” came the reply.

Down at Imbibe 2010 last week, two of the UK’s heavyweight merchants joined forces with leading sommeliers to put their reputations on the line in a blind tasting challenge billed as Viniversity Challenge. In the blue corner we had Liberty MD David Gleave and Galvin La Chapelle sommelier Andrea Briccarello. In the bright pink corduroy corner we had Bibendum’s very own Willie Lebus alongside Zuma’s Alessandro Marchesan. Keeping the peace in the middle was Peter McCombie MW.

The concept was simple: three wines served blind with a series of questions to follow. The wines were anything but simple: a blanc de blancs NV Champagne, a Semillon/Assyrtiko from Greece and a Tempranillo-led blend from Costers del Segre in Spain. Points were not easy to come by.

Team Lebus took an early lead by nailing the blanc de blancs only to see Messrs Gleave & Briccarello peg them back with some smart guessing on the second two wines. Both teams initially thought the Greek white was from Bordeaux and went twice round the world (South Africa? Tuscany? New Zealand? Mendoza?) before getting anywhere close. Happily for all concerned, the contest finished in a dead heat with honours shared and reputations intact.

Before the tasting had started, I asked the Andres Iniesta of the wine world, Spanish Sommelier of the Year Bruno Murciano to identify the same three wines Willie & Co were tasting on the stage. He managed one out of three – and even thought the Spanish wine was red Bordeaux. Proof – if any was needed – of how hard blind tasting really is. If Bruno can’t pick a wine, what chance do the rest of us have?

What I’d like to hear about is your bind tasting nightmares and triumphs: when was the last time you nailed a wine right down to the producer and the vintage? And when did you confidently declare a wine to be from Burgundy only to be told it had Barossa on the label? Just last week in the office, I mistook a Menetou-Salon for an aromatic Alsace white (the shame!)… but I prefer to remember the time I correctly picked out Hamilton Russell Chardonnay from a line-up of New World lookalikes in a mock Diploma exam.

Share your stories in the comments.

The Spanish idolise the bull, the Toro is hewn into their collective subconscious like no other nation.

1942 when Miguel Fariña started making wines might as well be in the era of the Aurochs for all the wines resemble those of modern Toro.

Harvest was on the 12th of October every year, no one stopped to question why, it always was. The wines from the partially raisined berries frequently reached 17% alcohol, indigenous yeasts had evolved that coped with the high alcohol, the locals isolated from most of the rest of Spain on the high and arid plateau of the lower Douro drank what they’d always drank. The Galician cod fishermen were regular customers, the high alcohol meant that it survived the lengthy journeys, but beyond that it wasn’t a wine for the modern world.

Like the Marquis’ de Riscal and Murrieta before him, Miguel saw the light in Bordeaux, and came back preaching the new gods, stainless steel tanks, new French oak and most importantly bringing the harvest date forward by about 3 weeks.

Fast forward to the 00’s and the name Fariña isn’t that well know in the UK, why, well as international demand rose along with the bodegas standing in the domestic market, well there simply wasn’t enough wine to go around, and someone had to be left out.

Returning to the UK market now that newer plantings have reached sufficient maturity, we look at Toro in a different light. Robert Parker has been effusive in his praise with the 04 Numanthia Termanthia gaining the elusive 100 points (admittedly not from Parker himself) and many others scoring extremely highly. One is brought to mind of Robert Bakewell the 18th century British cattle breeder who pioneered cross breeding and intensive fattening and brought the world its first overly muscled engineered cattle finding fame through out the land. There’s a reason his name has been relegated to the foot notes of history.

Fariña has always endeavoured to plough a more elegant path, avoiding excess hand time and extraction in favour of freshness balance and sensibly applied oak, and this really showed when we tasted the wines over dinner.

The fame of Toro has been built on the Tinto de Toro, a regional variant of the Tempranillo grape, albeit one that is noticeably different with much smaller berries, a higher skin to pulp ratio and a much deeper colour, and one that makes wines that sing of violets and dark fruits rather than the bramble and red berries of it’s Riojano cousins. However there are still plantations of old vine Malvasia lurking about, tucked into corners where people haven’t got around to top grafting them to more profitable uses, so fittingly for a bodega used to swimming against the stream we started with a very small production methode champenoise Malvasia, lean, mineral and with a satisfying leesy finish it certainly brought to mind dusty Spanish plains.

The Collegiate Malvasia 08 brought for me a step up in complexity, showing an almost Chablis like minerality on the nose, pebbles and a hint of stone fruits, on the palette the salty minerality was swaddled in a ripe stone and tropical fruit cloth. My only complaint was that for me the alcohol seemed to manifest a touch on the finish, though others at the table compared it favourably with the Viognier style (with which I often have the same problem).

To the reds, the Collegiate (named after the village’s church) 09 was revelatory, at the £6ish price point I was stunned, great balance, lovely dark red fruit, very aromatic, just a touch savoury, vinified with no oak it was both refreshing and very satisfying. It’s elder brother the Gran Collegiate Crianza 06 had spent 9 months in new French oak, and initially wore it’s breeding somewhat heavily. Though time in the glass brought out more of the aromatic florality and suave dark fruits that lay at its heart, my feeling was that another 9 months or so would be enough for it to really start to sing.

At this point we were served the Tinto de Toro 1973, the year of Miguel’s son’s birth, what with all the general bustle of a new born, a business and an estate to be run, some of the wine was forgotten about. Thank god for over stretched parents.

The wine had been made using a vertical destemmer which tends to damage the skins of the berries, this brings much higher oxidation risks, but enables quite heavy extraction. The 3 weeks or so of maceration probably didn’t do anything to affect this either. The wine was bottled with no oak contact, and I should imagine was close to undrinkable on release..

Christmas pudding, opulent spicing, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, caramelised raisins, autumnal forest undergrowth, mature red fruit. It reminded me of solera aged Banyuls, but with enough of a mature wine character to drag it back into the realms of normal drinking. A delight, and when I spoke of my sadness that a wine like this would probably never be made in the modern world I was surprised to hear Miguel say that his son was planning a micro cuvee copy, something he could serve to his son in 39 years time..

Traditionally in Toro, each grower had a favoured site, and each year he’d leave the grapes on the vine until they were shrivelled and rainsined, once the wine had slowly fermented the precious juice would be added to the barrel that sat in the back corner of the bodega. Weddings, christenings, funerals and last rights would all call for a small measure of this most precious of wines to be drawn off. A unique and noble wine style.

The Dulce de Lece is Fariña’s version of this, raisined grapes, 120g per l residual sugar and aged in a solera for 4 years, it finished the dinner with a swarthy panache of salty acetyl earth, rancio caramelised raisins a rough hewn and defiantly unshaved sneer at modernity and its limits.

I left the evening impressed at what for me was another facet to a region that I already held in high regard.

Why is it that over the years wines produced from Chardonnay have got a bit of a bad rep? Why is it that we consider more positively and ‘affectionately’ enjoying a bottle of white Burgundy, as opposed to a ‘New World’ Chardonnay? Perhaps you have not realised it yet, but when you are enjoying a bottle of Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet, you are in fact drinking Chardonnay. Chablis is made from Chardonnay too. But where does it say the varietal on the label? French vignerons, being very mysterious and due to their appellation controlee system prefer to put the region, village and vineyard name on the label. This, of course, is known as ‘Old World’ nomenclature. However, does this more traditional approach actually assist you in your vinous education and learning about grape varieties? Does it help you understand the individual personality of the wines and the locations from where they are produced. We have not even got started yet on the controversial topic of ‘terroir’.

I frequent many wine tastings and the followers of this blog will know that I have travelled all over the world and have visited many vineyards. For instance, a talented winemaker in Australia or New Zealand may remark that his Chardonnay is ‘Burgundy-style’ or has a similar mineral expression to Chablis. Burgundy has always been the ‘benchmark’ for most winemakers wish to aspire. What does all this mean? I have much admiration for the likes of Michael Brajkovich MW at Kumeu River, Tim and Judy Finn at Neudorf, Blair Walter at Felton Road, the Cullen family or Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River, Western Australia, Rick Kinzbrunner at Giaconda in Beechworth, Victoria or Jim Clendenen at Au Bon Climat in Santa Barbara or Flowers, Kistler, Chalk Hill and Dehlinger in Sonoma for their wonderfully-crafted Chardonnays. In the very same (highest) regard, I consider Anne-Claude Leflaive, Dominique Lafon, the Ramonets, the Gagnards and Niellons with equal proportions of high esteem and genuine affection. Why is it that most of these so-called ‘iconic’ New World wines have embraced the screw cap closure, even for their single vineyard and most premium wines, even for their entire selections, whereby in the same breath it would be considered unacceptable for a white Burgundy? Screw caps in Burgundy – perish the thought…

Recently, I was invited to a wine tasting at Bibendum Wine Merchants to taste a range of wines from Thierry Matrot. In addition, Thierry himself was there to host the masterclass and present six of his wines.

The village of Meursault is situated in the wine region of Cote d’Or in Burgundy to the south of the town of Dijon. The village is in the heart of the Cote de Beaune, reputed for its great white wines (e.g Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet) and also for its supple and elegant reds (e.g Beaune and Volnay).

The Matrot family has owned vineyards in Meursault for three generations. Their domain now extends to 19.35 hectares in the communes of Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Monthelie and Auxey-Duresses. 1983 was Thierry Matrot’s first vintage.

Thierry Matrot has used every possible organic techniques in the cultivation of his vines. The soil has benefitted from organic manure and ploughing. In addition, the vines are never treated with insecticides or pesticides. As a result, the domain’s wines have a purity, character and a genuine sense of terroir.

In general, the wines are aged in oak casks for around 11 to 12 months to develop the full character of the vintage. It is this rigorous work in the vineyard and the cellar that gives the wines of Domaine Matrot their uniqueness. Thierry normally prefers not to use new oak. However, he does make four exceptions for this rule. He believes that new oak is essential for the structure, expression and character of his Bourgogne Blanc, St Romain, St Aubin and prestigious “Quintessence” Puligny-Montrachet. The latter is a blend of two Puligny premier cru vineyards – Garenne (noted for its minerality) and Chalumeaux (known for its elegance and delicacy) framed in new oak. The first vintage of the “Quintessence” was in 2003.

Thus, apart from these ‘cuvees’, he likes the purity of (old) Alliers oak and a soft toast, as it does not impart the vanilla flavours often present in other Chardonnays, especially those from the New World. After all, he wants to make beautiful, well-integrated and elegant wines not vanilla ice cream!

The average age of his vines are 35 years old. With his Chardonnays, all of them display their own individuality, not only of the varietal, but genuinely of the appellation. For instance – his village Meursault ( a blend of 11 parcels) has classic nuances of honey and beeswax, which develop beautifully between three to five years in bottle. The Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru is delicious, more tense and nervous, and has a Puligny-like minerality. The Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru is known for its fat richness and power while the Meursault-Perrieres 1er Cru is noted for its finesse and vinosity. Thierry’s various Puligny’s are more delicate, floral and mineral and the ’simpler, less noble’ of appellations such as St Romain and St Aubin are noted for their freshness, minerality with hints of spice and almonds.

Moreover, he sincerely believes that screw cap closures and the use of a little new oak is very appropriate for this more delicate style of earlier-drinking Chardonnay wines. I used to serve his St Romain (screw cap) by the glass whilst at Orrery restaurant. Not only did I get a positive response from my guests, because the wine delivered on every level (taste, quality and price), but the screw cap obviously has its advantages. According to Thierry Matrot: “Screw caps are the future”.

Now working for Bibendum Wine Merchants, sommelier James Lloyd (formerly of Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road) co-hosted the tasting and masterclass. We tasted the following six white wines:

2006 Meursault Thierry Matrot – dry, tight-knit structure, needs time, yet should develop beautifully. Powerful elegance

2004 Meursault 1er Cru Blagny – had evolved wonderfully in the bottle. Displayed all the characteristics of the 2004 vintage, delicate, delicious, very well-balanced, expressive floral notes and minerality.

2002 Meursault 1er Cru Blagny – a wine really in its prime, slightly tense, yet you still feel that there is something left in the tank in reserve. Will age for a further five years no probs…

1999 Meursault 1er Cru Blagny – a delicious example of a mature Meursault, yet still with plenty of freshness, elegance, balance and acidity. Spot on and ticked all my boxes.

1996 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux – had evolved very well into maturity and displayed all the typical nuances and charm of a top-class Puligny. Floral and mineral notes beautifully pronounced.

1992 Meursault 1er Cru Blagny – exotic, complex, mature, nutty with that ‘quintessential’ Meursault beeswax character.

To summarise, in my opinion, Meursaults such as these and in particular the wines of Thierry Matrot will always be amongst my favourites and will go on to be regarded as the epitome of white Burgundy. Many thanks to all concerned.

With experience as a sommelier, wine buyer, photographer and traveller Robert is a complete blogger. You can check his food and wine journeys at http://robertfoodwinetravel.blogspot.com

By Jamie Ford

Quite rightly ‘Green Issues’ are increasingly on the forefront of people’s minds. Questions arise such as:

How can we be more environmentally friendly?
How can we make sure our lives and business’ are sustainable?
Has my chicken burger been organically farmed?

Sometimes it’s difficult to know where to start. So I took it upon myself to compile a list of tips that would help restaurants who were wanting to get started down the green route.

First of all here’s what I’d suggest for the Front of House:
1. Check to see if any of your list includes any ethical wines including organic, biodynamic and Fairtrade and make a point of highlighting them
2. Look into making sure all your tea, coffee and sugar is Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certified
3. Why not replace your bottled mineral water with a filtered tap water system (or only serve tap water)?
4. Sign up to the Fair Tips Charter and display your service charge policy

Behind the scenes:
5. Move to paperless invoicing. Most suppliers will be more than happy to e-mail invoices rather than post them out
6. Carry out an energy audit and commit to reducing energy use by 10% http://www.thesra.org/

In the kitchen:
7. Change menus at least quarterly to reflect food that is in season http://www.eatseasonably.co.uk/what-to-eat-now/calendar/
8. Use only fish from the Marine Conservation Society’s ‘Fish to Eat’ list
9. Ensure 100% of eggs and milk are free range or RSPCA freedom food certified http://www.ciwf.org.uk/
10. Separate food waste for composting or anaerobic digestion http://www.thesra.org/

In following these tips you can ensure a much ‘greener’ restaurant experience for all involved. For more advice check out the Sustainable Restaurant Association website.

Show your unfinished bottle some love!

Apparently, there are people who open a bottle of wine and don’t finish it in one sitting. I know. I didn’t believe it either.

This concerns me on many levels, but mostly because in as little as 2 hours that lively wine will start to succumb to the ravages of Oxidation. Well-meaning Oxygen will rouse the nasty Hydrogen Peroxide who will oxidize the innocent Ethanol to produce a rather ugly love child, Acetaldehyde. The result of this hapless union is loss of colour, flavour and aroma – i.e. flat wine.

Thankfully, there are measures one can take to prevent such an outcome. A plethora of Wine Preservation Systems claim to slow (or stop) Oxidation (and in the case of Sparkling wines, preserve bubbles). I recently discovered some of these methods in doing a project for my Sommelier class and thought I’d share some of the details with you.

Interestingly, Oxidation does not take long. How long exactly depends on a few factors:

• Varietal (grapes high in phenolic compounds more susceptible)
• Age (older wines collapse sooner)
• Volume (more air than wine in the bottle = faster oxidation)
• Temperature (warmer temperature = faster oxidation)
• Light (more light = faster oxidation)

The quick-fix approach to addressing the last three of the above factors is recapping/re-corking the wine and sticking it in the fridge. When stored upright and tightly sealed, a bottle of wine will enjoy a few more hours of life here. Its freshness can be improved further by simply transferring the contents into a smaller bottle (e.g. 1/2 bottle or water bottle) which decreases the amount of air in contact with the wine. Purpose-built products like PlatyPreserve (flexible plastic “flasks”) are based on this principle while also allowing you to squeeze excess air out and seal the pouch with an air tight cap.

Most formal Preservation Systems, at a minimum, focus on removing excess O2 from the bottle and preventing any further air from entering. (Sparkling preservation systems carry out the added task of preserving CO2.) How they accomplish this, and how much it’ll cost you, literally spans the gamut – there are hundreds of options. But all can be more-or-less grouped into one of five categories.

• Physical O2 Barriers.
• Vacuum pumps.
• Pressure pumps.
• Gas Barriers.
• Serve & Preserve Systems.

Physical O2 Barriers

Physical O2 Barriers

These are objects inserted into or over the bottle creating a physical barrier against Oxygen. The most common of these are rubber-ringed wine stoppers, used to temporarily close the bottle with a near air tight seal. Other products, like Wine Preserva, use a floating-disc device that sits on the surface of the wine inside the bottle blocking the air above (working much like floating lids on fermentation tanks). Response to this system has been very good (though some debate the 5-day freshness claim). They are biodegradable and made from recycled materials.

The consensus appears to be that these will preserve freshness for about 2 days. Great for the home and practical enough for trips.

Vacuum Pumps

Vacuum Pump

These systems withdraw air out of the bottle. The bottle is normally capped with a rubber stopper forming a near air-tight seal. A popular criticism of the manual pump is that bottles are often over-pumped removing precious aromatics from the wine along with the air.  Calibrated (automated) versions, like Le Verre de Vin were designed to address this problem by delivering an optimal pump ensuring just the right amount of air is sucked out leaving aromatics/flavour molecules intact. Vacu Vin‘s manual Wine Saver has seen ergonomic improvements over the last few years and some models, like the Concerto, give feedback (e.g. “click”) when the maximum pump is reached. Leaky stoppers, another nuisance, are also being improved.

The consensus appears to be that provided the correct amount of air has been pumped out and the seal is made air tight this method can preserve freshness for a few days – maybe more if combined with the fridge.

Pressure Pumps

Pressure Pump

Mainly for Sparkling wines, these systems purge the bottle head space of O2 and re-pressurize it with C02. Le Verre de Vin offers a pressure pump option, and other systems like Perlage use a hand-held gauge and outer glass enclosure for protection. A major criticism of C02 infused systems concerns the quality of the added bubbles. A traditional-method Champagne, for example, where C02 is created naturally (and pumped-in carbonation is prohibited), would, some argue be polluted by “fake” bubbles. Many commercial establishments are thrilled, however, as it allows them to sell the once off-limits sparkling wine by-the-glass with little to no wastage. The majority of their customers, it would seem, don’t notice, or care about differences in carbonation purity (perhaps the ones that do care, opt for the full bottle). For the home, Perlage makes a residential model, and others like Presurvac are also home-friendly.

The consensus appears to be that  if you can a) put up with the hassle of buying CO2 cartridges (or cylinders), b) you want bubbly to last more than a day and c) your palate is unoffended by pumped-in fizz, the treated wines are far better than their flat alternatives.

Gas Barriers

Private preserve

These systems spray or inject inert gas (typically Argon or Nitrogen) into the bottle forcing O2 out and ‘blanketing’ the wine’s surface with a protective shield. Spray canisters like Private Preserve or WineLife are popular, affordable options and are generally good for about 100 uses. Some people report a synthetic flavour in the treated wine and suggest aeration. There is also some debate over the non-inert properties of Nitrogen and its tendency to alter wine. Others complain that the system is just plain awkward to use citing difficulties with administering just the right amount of spray and getting the stopper on quickly enough (without losing the straw in the bottle).

The consensus appears to be that if the spray is administered correctly and bottle is swiftly re-capped this can preserve freshness for up to a week. Aeration may be required depending on gas-related sensitivities.

Serve & Preserve Systems

Serve & Preserve Systems

These systems are normally aimed at the commercial market with serious by-the-glass or try-before-you-buy programs. These are typically computerised units that preserve wine by displacing O2 with neutral gas and storing it at controlled temperatures. They offer push-button or manual-tap pouring without exposing the wine to air. Simplified Home versions like EuroCave’s SoWine (which requires removing the bottle for pouring) go for about $300, but commercial grade systems like N2Vin, By The Glass or Enomatic can run anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 (depending on bells & whistles). WineKeeper was long the main player in this space, but is gradually being superseded by more sophisticated products that offer features like customised temperature zones, card activation and administrative software. For preserving wine over longer periods these systems perform well, and the technology is constantly improving. Because the bottle is not handled, lost costs associated with spillage and over-pouring are avoided too. Cons tend to be associated with the initial price tag and ongoing costs of regular professional maintenance. Other people lament the loss of the wine-pouring ritual and find the “vending machine” approach to wine vulgar. But despite clinical and cost drawbacks many establishments are reporting swift ROIs. The systems have a strong visual impact and let customers know the establishment is serious about its wine and is handling it properly.

The consensus appears to be:  do your research. While the systems are unmatched in their ability to preserve wines over long periods, it’s a vast market. Features and functionality vary widely as does quality of workmanship and design.

We are seriously happy to have discovered Heather’s blog. Her writing is fresh,  invigorating and joins our quest in demystifying the wine world.  Heather  is also a Sommelier in training and is about to open a wine bar in Canada.