Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i Decanter

Festive buys Looking to try something different or adventurous, but don’t want to make an expensive mistake? The Decanter team has done the hard work for you ahead of the festive season, picking out 34 exciting and accessible wines available in the UK priced at £20 or less Recommended by: James Button, Tina Gellie, Georgie Hindle, Julie Sheppard, Amy Wislocki and Sylvia Wu Calvet, Crémant de Bordeaux Brut, Bordeaux, France NV 90 £10 Tesco A fruity and vibrant fizz, perfect for Christmas celebrations. Made in the Champagne method, this is crisp and fresh with touches of toasted brioche, citrus flavours and fine, persistent bubbles on the palate. Great as an aperitif. GH Alcohol 12% The Emissary, Asolo Prosecco Superiore, Veneto, Italy NV 90 £17.99 The Emissary Glera…

PETRUS: AT A GLANCE Owner Jean-François and Jean Moueix through Videlot; 20% stake Alejandro Santo Domingo Size 11.5ha Winemaker Olivier Berrouet, second generation after Jean-Claude Berrouet Production About 30,000 bottles per year. There is a rarely seen separate bottling called Saute-Loup that is distributed only to family and friends (it’s labelled Réserve de la Famille), but no traditional second wine Terroir Sticky blue clay Plantings 100% Merlot (there are small amounts of Cabernet Franc in the vineyard that do not make it into the wine) Highest point of vineyard 40m Winemaking Petrus is fermented in concrete tanks with no more than 50% new oak…

Chablis vintage preview CHABLIS 2019 Welcomed as a fine vintage, 2019 will appeal both to lovers of ‘classic’ Chablis in all its complexity, and those who favour a more generous, softer style, says Andy Howard MW. Here he gives a full breakdown of the vintage with views from within the region, picking 35 of his own top wines from the new Chablis releases umming up 2019, Louis Moreau, president of the Chablis Commission of the Burgundy wine board (BIVB), said: ‘We have been able to produce a top-quality vintage.’ After recently tasting 225 samples that were shipped to London especially for Decanter, my take is that 2019 is a fine year for Chablis, and that lovers of the wines from this cool northern outpost of Burgundy can buy with confidence.…

Tesauro’s 10: best of Virginia state Slater Run Vineyards, Blanc de Blancs Brut, Middleburg 2017 90 N/A UK www.slaterrun.com Slater Run’s estate was designed by ampelographer Lucie Morton, the first American woman to attend the viticulture course at Montpellier’s national agronomy school. Made in the Champagne method with 24 months on lees, this has a terrific mousse, aromas of tart apple and yeasty autolytic notes. As it opens, the palate turns from green citrus to stone fruit flavours. Drink 2020-2025 Alcohol 12% 1 Linden Vineyards, Hardscrabble Chardonnay 2017 95 N/A UK www.lindenvineyards.com A titan of Virginia’s 20th-century rebirth, Linden is still a stalwart today. This lovely Chardonnay reveals aromas of ripe pear, hints of citrus pith and fresh herbs. The palate shows glorious acidity and texture, with the 10 months…

Leftover lusciousness: use every drop At Quinta do Noval in the Douro Valley, cook Maria João turns leftover late bottled vintage or vintage Port into a fruity, sweet sauce for pancakes. For four people you need: ‘A generous pat of butter, two tablespoons of brown sugar and a full glass of Port. You melt the butter with the sugar in a pan, when it is bubbling you add the Port. Using a wooden spoon, never stop stirring. Let the alcohol evaporate until the sauce thickens, about four minutes.’ She adds that this is ‘not an exact science and needs a little intuition’. Amontillado is a key ingredient in Bramdean pudding, a speciality passed down through generations at Davy’s London pub The Boot & Flogger in Southwark – but oloroso will…

Cognac AGEING GRACEFULLY Matured for at least 10 years in oak casks, XO Cognac is one of life’s affordable luxuries. Laura Foster explains how it’s made and recommends top XOs to buy Photograph: Justine Trickett Of all the spirits categories, Cognac, with its clearly defined tiers of products of different age specifications, is one of the most varied. From the VS and VSOP categories, used in cocktails everywhere and enjoyed in nightclubs in America, to the older and more luxuriously presented offerings, starting at XO and working upwards, there is a Cognac to suit everyone. The year 2020 marked the 150th anniversary of the first ever XO – or Extra Old – being made. Created at Hennessy by Maurice Hennessy and cellar master Emile Fillioux in 1870, the ‘extra old’…

THE ART OF AGEING BRUT NV CHAMPAGNES Time is a key element in making Champagne. By law, non-vintage Champagnes have to spend at least 12 months on their lees (the expired yeasts used in the second fermentation in-bottle) before being disgorged (the removal of those yeast deposits). They then need a further three months’ post-disgorgement. Most of the better NV wines exceed this legal minimum, while vintage and prestige cuvées age far longer. Special late-disgorgement releases clearly illustrate the difference between pre- and post-disgorgement ageing. While nothing can replace pre-disgorgement ageing in terms of mousse and texture, a little post-disgorgement ageing (ie, time in your cellar) works absolute wonders for NV Champagnes. When I was younger and poorer, I would make use of pre-Christmas discounts and just leave the bottles…

Expert’s choice TAWNY PORTS Winter is the ideal excuse – as if one were needed – to remind yourself of just how delicious these cask-aged, fortified treasures of the Douro can be. Sarah Ahmed picks her favourites Vintage Port may be king, but colheita Ports [single-vintage aged tawnies] are popular by election,’ says Dirk Niepoort who, by a long chalk, holds the world record for the most expensive Port sold at auction. In 2019, a bespoke Lalique decanter of Niepoort 1863 fetched more than £100,000 at a Sotheby’s sale in Hong Kong. With luxury packaging and positioning, the rise of rare aged colheitas this last decade has added considerable lustre to the tawny Port category – and broadened the scope for anniversary gifting beyond vintage Port (see ‘Anniversary wines’, p78).…

Letter of the month Women in Champagne As your December issue article suggests, not so long ago women in the leadership of production raised eyebrows in Champagne. Thérèse Bertrand of Pierre Bertrand Champagne – you rated her Premier Cru as Exceptional (98pts) in Decanter July 2017 – told me a similar story when I visited her in Cumières two years ago. Her father Pierre Bertrand, unconventionally, passed her the reins and ownership of his life achievements, despite her having seven brothers, three of them older than her. I asked her why the Champagne house was still named Pierre Bertrand, and not Thérèse Bertrand. Her answer reveals the prejudice that women Champagne producers faced at the time. ‘When I took over, you couldn’t give a female name…

Festive treats Wanting to splash out a little bit more to celebrate the festive season in style? As a companion selection to our 25 wines under £20, the Decanter team has selected 16 standout bottles that are sure to impress, all available in the UK and priced between £20 and £65 Recommended by: James Button, Tina Gellie, Georgie Hindle, Julie Sheppard, Amy Wislocki and Sylvia Wu Domaine Carneros, Brut, Napa Valley, California, USA 2016 91 £30.10 Whole Foods Market From Champagne Taittinger’s Napa Valley estate, an elegant blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with 2% Pinot Gris. Pretty nose of citrus and blossom, with subtle creamy toastiness. Fresh, delicate with persistent bubbles, plus brisk acidity. A perfect aperitif. JS Alcohol 12% CheckMate, Attack Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British…

2020: looking back LOCKDOWN STORIES: view from the vines As our lives and horizons suddenly closed in around us, growing more limited in the year of Covid-19, it was perhaps difficult to appreciate what other people ‘out there’, elsewhere in the world, were experiencing and feeling. Peter Richards MW spoke to winemakers in six different nations to find out how they and their teams coped as events developed Surreal. That’s the word many winemakers use about lockdown, a stark new reality that defined 2020: the year that Covid-19 struck. It was like floating in a bubble – your world feels undone, uncoupled’, is how California-based flying winemaker Paul Hobbs describes it. Given the unfolding pandemic and mounting death toll, some even started to question their profession. ‘Working in a winery…

PETRUS: A TIMELINE 1785 Belleyme map of Pomerol is published; Petrus is not mentioned 1860s Arnaud family pieces together the plots of vines in the mid-19th century and Petrus is mentioned in local archives as a farmhouse with vines 1878 Petrus is the first Pomerol wine to win gold at Exposition Universelle de Paris Early 1920s Marie-Louise Loubat becomes part-owner, increasing her holding to become sole owner by the end of the 1940s 1943 Local merchant Jean-Pierre Moeuix is appointed to distribute the wines 1947 Petrus served at wedding of Princess Elizabeth to the then Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark 1956 Devastating frosts – Madame Loubat cuts the damaged vines right down to their base rather than pulling them up, regrafting onto the old rootstock 1961 Marie-Louise Loubat dies,…

Vintage conditions: triumph in adversity The 2019 growing season began with a cold, wet January and February, and a cool March. Budburst started in early April and frost was a threat during the month – Guillaume Michel observes that vineyard ‘candles’ needed to be lit several times. June was cool, with an extended period of flowering, and this is where the key characters for 2019 were set. Sébastien Dampt, of Domaine Sébastien Dampt, noted ‘the flowering was not easy, with a lot of millerandage’ – berries of uneven size and maturity. According to Matthieu Mangenot, of Domaine Long-Depaquit, ‘rain, winds and cool temperatures caused millerandage, leading to yield losses between 25%-40%’. With lower yields already looming, a hot summer, featuring two heatwaves, and extreme dryness, where rainfall was down by…

Noble sweets: Andy Howard MW reveals his top 12 beyond Sauternes 1 Château La Rame, Ste-Croix-du-Mont 2016 93 £14.99/50cl Majestic The Armand family is doing a great job in promoting Ste-Croix, with Angélique and husband Olivier now in charge at this 16ha estate. Fifty-year-old Semillon vines on sub-soils of fossilised oysters enhance the freshness of their sweet wines. Golden in colour, this is a rich wine balanced by great acidity and showing lots of finesse. Botrytis adds a hint of mushroom character and complexity. New oak needs slightly longer to blend in, but this has a long future ahead. 120g/L residual sugar. Drink 2021-2028 Alcohol 13.5% Château Crabitan-Bellevue, Cuvée Spéciale, Ste-Croix-du-Mont 2015 92 N/A UK www.crabitanbellevue.fr A frequent gold medal-winner, this has the density to compare to more famous names…

VIRGINIA AT A GLANCE Producers More than 300 wineries and 400 vineyards Area under vine 1,515.5ha (average vineyard size 6ha) Annual production 90,840hl (2019) AVAs (in descending order of importance) Monticello, Middleburg, Shenandoah Valley, Northern Neck, Williamsburg, Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Rocky Knob, North Fork of Roanoke Key varieties (in descending order of vineyard area) Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Vidal Blanc, Petit Verdot, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Norton, Petit Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc, Tannat Key soils Clay (central VA), granite (northern VA), limestone (Shenandoah Valley) Climate Humid, warm to hot climate, 8cm-10cm average monthly rainfall, notable vintage variation Source: Virginia Wine Board…

Anniversary wines ANNIVERSARY BUYS: the Decanter guide Whether you’re toasting an 18th birthday with a birth-year Bordeaux or marking a golden wedding anniversary with a 50-year-old fizz, major milestones deserve a magnificent wine to match. Anthony Rose went in search of the best bottles to help your 2021 celebrations go with a bang ‘How can we tell, if we want to give a special gift to commemorate a birthday or anniversary, that we’re giving a wine that has not just survived but prospered?’ As I was approaching my Big 5-0, I visited Argentina, hosted by a famous figure in the world of wine. At dinner one night, my host’s wife told me that her husband’s 70th birthday was just around the corner. I declared that I…

Spirits Distilled by Decanter A new guide to the latest trends in spirits and cocktails. Edited by Julie Sheppard Have your cake and drink it... The latest limited-release from leading Scotch malt whisky Glenmorangie is inspired by memories of baking and is a celebration of everything that’s good about cake. Finished in Tokaji casks, Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake (Alc 46%) is a single malt based on Glenmorangie’s signature smooth, fruity style. ‘Like so many of us, some of my favourite memories come from cake, whether it be helping my granny in her kitchen, or the pineapple birthday cake my daughter surprised me with one year,’ said Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation. ‘By finishing whisky in Tokaji wine casks, I’ve captured the joy of…

Worth the wait: great XO Cognacs 1 Château de Beaulon 12 Year Old XO Premier £64.95-£68.94 Brandy Classics, Noble Green, Richard Granger, The Whisky Exchange While 95% of the grapes grown in Cognac are Ugni Blanc, there are two other approved varieties – Colombard and Folle Blanche. This XO was made entirely from the latter two. A nose of grapefruit peel, orange segments, ginger, toffee and wood varnish precedes a silky-smooth palate of nectarine, cinnamon, dark chocolate truffles and warming winter spice. Alcohol 40% Courvoisier XO £82-£93.95 Drinks Direct, Majestic, Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange A classic Cognac from one of the region’s biggest houses, Courvoisier’s offering is a blend of eaux-de-vie that have been matured for 11-25 years. The nose is an appealing blend of dried orange peel,…

THE VERDICT Champagne houses face unprecedented challenges, agreed our panel, from sales in decline due to Covid and from climate change, but an impressive set of wines were fielded. Amy Wislocki reports Avery positive showing, from a region in turmoil, concluded our tasters. Only 14 of the 68 wines tasted scored lower than 90 points – a significant achievement for this entry-level, though hugely important category. ‘I was impressed by the general classic character of most of the wines we tasted,’ said Tim Hall. ‘There’s no question that Champagne is getting riper and fuller bodied, but this tasting showed that producers are making great efforts to preserve freshness and balance, and to combat the effects of climate change. ‘The practice of what goes on in the face of climate change…

Food-matching PERFECT PAIRINGS: APPETISERS WITH STYLE Food and wine-matching expertise doesn’t come much more accomplished than at London members’ club 67 Pall Mall. Top sommelier and Decanter judge Ronan Sayburn MS explains how he worked with the club’s head chef, Marcus Verberne, to produce an in-depth reference on the subject, and selects four of their superb in-house recipes with tips on wine-matching Food and wine-matching can be as complicated or as easy as you want to make it: either drink the wine you like with the food you like and don’t worry about it, or have fun and try to create something with a synergy that can elevate the combination to another level. Personally, I look at good matches that either compare or contrast – echoing the flavours of the…

TASTING NOTES DECODED Cinnamon While you might be familiar with the sight of a festive cinnamon stick bobbing in your glass of mulled wine, some other wines give the impression of cinnamon in their flavours and aromas. This is because cinnamon contains aromatic compounds called esters, one of which, ethyl cinnamate, can also be found in wine. Ethyl cinnamate forms when ethanol combines with cinnamic acid – yes, the same cinnamic acid that’s in the essential oil of cinnamon. In wine, the formation of this ester can take place during the fermentation or the ageing process. For instance, the bottle ageing of white wines can lead to the production of ethyl cinnamate and, ultimately, cinnamon notes in the glass. Ethyl cinnamate can also manifest itself in the form of other…

Release round-up: Beaucastel 2019 Photograph (above right): www.christies.com Château de Beaucastel 2019 was a big-name en primeur release from Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône in November 2020. At the equivalent of about £550 for 12 bottles in bond (ib) en primeur, Liv-ex said the wine was above market prices for the 2018 and 2017 vintages, but about 14% below the 2016 price. Elsewhere, new releases from Berry Bros & Rudd included Ceretto Barolo 2016 at £225 (ib) per six-bottle case, from a lauded Nebbiolo vintage in Piedmont. Look out, too, for reassessments of Bordeaux 2018 wines in bottle.…

Decanter WINE LEGENDS BILLECART-SALMON, CUVEE NICOLAS FRANCOIS 1959 Champagne, France A legend because… This was the wine that triumphed in a blind tasting of 150 vintage Champagnes organised in 1999 by an expert team led by Richard Juhlin from Sweden. It won first place as ‘Champagne of the Millennium’, and second place was, remarkably, taken by the 1961 vintage. François Roland-Billecart was reluctant to submit any of the house’s cuvées, but his brother Antoine went behind his back and entered both the triumphant wines. This cuvée is dominated by Pinot Noir, but in more recent years a scarcer wine has taken its place alongside it – Le Clos St-Hilaire, produced solely from 1ha of Pinot Noir grapes planted in the former park of the mansion at Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Vinified in casks,…

In brief Stay up to date with the latest wine news on Decanter.com, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @Decanter n French officials have approved Nyons as the 22nd ‘village’ designation within the Côtes du Rhônes Villages appellation, 22 years after local winemakers first applied. ‘The quality of our wine has finally been recognised,’ said winemaker Chantal Giniès, of organic winery Domaine Giniès. Covering an area of 300 hectares, the Nyons denomination can be used from the 2020 vintage. n Thieves stole about 500kg of grapes from the vineyards of a Canadian winery on the eve of harvest. The Quebec-based winery, Vignoble et Cidrerie Coteau Rougemont, said on Facebook that the theft took place overnight in late October and that it had filed a complaint with police. The winery…

Andrew Jefford ‘The jolts of 2020 have been an education – the lesson is care’ A year ago, I anticipated ‘a series of sharp shocks’ for the wine world over the next decade. They’ve begun swiftly, jolt on jolt, during the extraordinary year now drawing to a close. I wrote about fires in the Adelaide Hills in the April issue, and the Covid pandemic in June. Most traumatic of all for the wine world was the Glass Fire of late September and early October in Napa, Sonoma and Lake Counties. Many Decanter readers will have visited these wine regions, and may remember a now-devastated property in its former glory days of sunlight and contentment. The Meadowood Resort and Newton, in particular, were both exquisitely Californian, albeit in different styles: the…

Wines of the Year WINES OF THE YEAR 2020: SPARKLINGS AND REDS We asked our experts from around the world, and the Decanter team, to nominate the classic, offbeat and value wines that impressed them most in 2020. Our trio of judges blind-tasted and ranked them, and here we reveal the first half of the results, as Tina Gellie reports Tthere hasn’t been much to celebrate in the past 12 months. But in challenging times, great wines can always lift the spirits –and our fourth Wines of the Year tasting certainly does that. We asked Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Chairs, key contributors and staff to nominate the wines they have most enjoyed over the past 12 months, under the categories of Classic (a premium, textbook wine style), Offbeat (unusual…

Howard’s 35 of the best Chablis 2019s NB: many retailers’ allocations are as yet unconfirmed – prices and stockists are given where available, and similarly for alcohols 1 WINE OF THE VINTAGE Domaine William Fèvre, Côte Bouguerots, Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 96 POA Davy’s From Fèvre’s tiny plot on the steepest part of Bougros, Côte de Bouguerots adds even more complexity and drive to a stunning site. There is such finesse here, allied with density on the palate, savoury characters and perfectly balanced acidity. A very mineral expression of grand cru Chablis. A great grand cru with a very long future ahead. Drink 2023-2035 Alcohol 13% 2 Albert Bichot, Domaine Long-Depaquit, Moutonne, Chablis Grand Cru Monopole 95 £80.17 (ib) H2Vin, Stannary Wine Moutonne is one of Chablis’ top expressions and…

Vintage guide: best years for Bordeaux sweet wines Photograph: Andy Howard MW 2017 Yields heavily affected by severe frosts in late April. Despite this, some very fine sweet wines with acidity and freshness were made. Noble rot was uneven, so careful selection was necessary. 2016 Good quality with very healthy grapes, albeit less marked by botrytis. Stone-fruit characters more evident than bitter orange notes. Fresh but lacking the extra dimensions of the best years. 2015 Wines with a lovely combination of power, richness and abundant botrytis. High-quality, concentrated wines which will age very well. 2014 An excellent year for Bordeaux sweet wines. A cold, wet spring led to very poor flowering and low yields. September and October were very warm, with an abundance of noble rot, though the grapes preserved…

Virginia: 10 names to know ANKIDA RIDGE VINEYARDS From the moment the Vrooman family staked out a tiny vineyard in Amherst in central Virginia (far from the proven soils of the Monticello AVA and higher in altitude than anyone thought wise), friends and lovers of Pinot Noir alike had fingers crossed. It might be a quest to track down their wines, but it’s worth it if you succeed. BARBOURSVILLE VINEYARDS This pioneer of modern Virginia winemaking is the New World outpost of an Old World stalwart – Italy’s Zonin family. Piedmont-born Luca Paschina, the winemaker for more than 30 years, blends a farmer’s humility, a chef’s palate and a winemaking acumen in full artistry. Octagon is the flagship red blend of this central Virginia estate, but a litany of Italian…

THREE OF THE BEST Spiced Rums Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum, St Lucia £23.34-£28.50/70cl Amazon UK, Gerry’s, Master of Malt, Soho Wine Supply, Waitrose Cellar Blend of aged rums, steeped with native Caribbean bois bandé tree bark and spices including nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Rich and complex; versatile enough to sip or mix. Great value. Alc 40% Elements Eight Exotic Spices, St Lucia £29.50-£30.83/70cl Distillers Direct, Master of Malt, The Drink Shop, The Whisky Exchange A sweeter profile than many spiced rums, due to ageing in bourbon barrels. Aromas of citrus, dried orange peel and cloves; mellow palate, ginger and nutmeg notes on the finish. Alc 40% The Duppy Share Spiced, Jamaica & Barbados £23.95-£33.99/70cl 31Dover, Amazon UK, Master of Malt, Selfridges, The Whisky Exchange, Tipples of Manchester From Jamaica’s Worthy…

THE JUDGES Simon Field MW Field was a buyer for London-based wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd for more than two decades, and now works as a consultant on areas which particularly interested him during that time, with Champagne topping the list in France, along with Rhône and Languedoc. He is also a Decanter World Wine Awards judge. Tim Hall Hall owns and runs Scala Wine, importing selected small-grower Champagnes into the UK and running events and trips. Promoted to Chambellan of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne in 2019, in 2013 he won the CIVC’s UK Champagne Ambassador competititon and was runner-up in the European final held in Champagne. Anne Krebiehl MW German-born but London-based, Anne Krebiehl MW is a widely published freelance wine writer, educator, competition judge and…

Readers’ queries Notes & Queries Each month our experts answer readers’ wine queries and share their knowledge Alcohol in Champagne Why is the alcohol content for Champagne always 12%? Curtis Penfold, London, UK Anne Krebiehl MW says: Champagne used to be a region at the northerly confines of viticulture – producers thus made a virtue out of necessity: the second fermentation added a degree and a half of alcohol to thin base wines; ageing on lees added creaminess and body; while the final dosage counteracted what used to be strident acidity. Blending wines from various sites and years evened out poor vintages. In fact, an old joke accuses the Champenois of ‘chaptalising wine three times: before the first fermentation, during the second fermentation and…

Market watch All the important fine wine investment news, compiled by Chris Mercer Playing the long game in Port All figures based on Liv-ex data in sterling currency (£) up to 6 November 2020 unless otherwise stated. Vintage Port fans have been spoilt for choice recently, but merchants and analysts remain lukewarm about the sector’s investment credentials. It’s an exciting time for vintage Port collectors, from 2018 vintage declarations to the acclaimed 2016 and 2017 wines, plus a growing focus on single quinta bottlings. The demand for new releases has been strong, say Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow, and Matthew O’Connell, head of investment at BI Wine & Spirits. So far, however, vintage Port remains a minor player on the investment market.…