Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Decanter

The Decanter of 1975 is unrecognisable when you compare it to the magazine today. The occasionally sexist headlines, clunky design, absence of many wine regions and different scoring system can make these earliest editions look like museum pieces. The intention remains unchanged though – to provide expert guidance and inspiration to those who love wine – and we’re on a constant journey to try to ensure that we’re doing that in the best way possible. We want to educate but also to entertain, and to make sure that we’re giving readers what they want – whether those readers are experienced collectors seeking insight into the latest en primeur campaign, or enthusiastic newcomers to wine who want to find something more exciting for their supermarket trolley. In anticipation of our 50th…

Legendary London restaurant Le Gavroche has put superstar wines and memorabilia up for auction after permanently closing its doors. Michelin two-star Le Gavroche completed its final service for the public on 13 January, bringing the curtain down on a 57-year journey. Auction house Christie’s will now offer more than 100 lots, from fine wines to pictures and silverware, in an online sale from 10-24 April. ‘The cellar at Le Gavroche has been lovingly curated over decades,’ said Michel Roux Jr, son of restaurant co-founder Albert Roux and who has run the establishment since 1991. Top Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhône wines will go under the hammer, alongside vintage Champagne and Port, said Christie’s, such as those from Champagne Salon, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, de Vogüé, Domaine Leflaive, Domaine JL Chave, Le…

While the long lunch may have disappeared from our weekday lives (well, mine at least), there’s nothing like a lingering Sunday get-together with family and friends to round off the weekend. Wine lovers will no doubt see it as an opportunity to pull out a treasured bottle, but is that the best strategy? Should it be mellow and mature or bright, youthful and fruity? That depends rather less on the central ingredient of the meal than the way you cook it. Take pork, for instance. If you were cooking it Italian style with garlic and herbs you might want an Italian red such as a Chianti, but serve it with crackling and apple sauce, and you might be better off with a Riesling or a Chenin Blanc. With beef it’s…

TASTED BLIND & NON-BLIND Châteauneuf-du-Pape Clos des Papes, Blanc 96 £50-£55 (ib) Lay &Wheeler, Mann Fine Wine, NY Wines Open aromas of dried pears, almost slightly hoppy. Full and rich, but good acidity and a lovely mineral touch despite being a big, powerful vintage. It’s not the most fine and elegant, but will be very good in time. The yield was down 50% this year due to hail. It’s worth waiting for this vintage, it will be wonderfully full and luxurious in time. Equal parts Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Piquepoul and Picardan. No malolactic fermentation. Organic. Drink 2029-2045 Alcohol 15% 1 SOUTHERN RHONE WHITE WINE OF THE VINTAGE Domaine de la Solitude, Vin de la Solitude Blanc 96 POA Dreyfus Ashby Restrained aromatics yet a full palate with…

Driven by a diverse yet tight-knit community of growers and producers, the small, characterful southern Rhône Cru produces some of the region’s most exciting and perhaps underestimated wines. These are products both of a unique terroir – in which biodiversity, a rich geolog y and the northwestern Mistral wind take centre stage – and of the talent and ingenuity of local producers. With an inspired, open and inquisitive spirit, local producers are questioning assumptions about the region’s true potential and of the changes it needs to implement in order to answer the climatic and economic challenges of tomorrow. Whilst dealing with these big questions, they are careful to recognise the value of traditional knowledge and of an integrated approach to agriculture – both of which Lirac has been exceptionally good…

Have you ever had the chance to taste a wine from Romania, one of Europe’s oldest viticultural traditions with roots dating back to pre-Roman times? Long before the Romans even set foot on these lands, winemaking flourished in Romania. Astonishing archaeological discoveries have shed light on viticultural practices that began over 6,000 years ago, highlighting how deeply wine is rooted in our country’s identity. Today’s producers are continuing that legacy as they shape the future of Romanian wine. Over the next few pages, we invite you to embark on a captivating journey through the history and geography of Romanian wine. You’ll discover a longstanding tradition that has allowed Romania to emerge from a tumultuous historical period as one of Europe’s leading wine-producing countries. Today, Romania stands at the intersection of…

Stretching some 1,500km from the Czech Republic and Austria to Serbia, passing through Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania along the way, the Carpathian mountains are Europe’s third-longest mountain chain after the Urals and the Scandinavian mountains. These majestic and mysterious mountains have arguably played as significant a factor in the development of the region’s history and culture as Europe’s second-longest river, the Danube, and the encroachment and retreat of empires Roman, Ottoman and Habsburg, not to mention the more recent impact of the Soviet era. They also have a remarkably long winemaking tradition, dating back several thousand years. The Carpathian foothills experience a relatively mild climate with plenty of both rain and hot, sunny days, while also possessing a diversity of volcanic soils, and today they represent a versatile…

ARMENIA’S ANCIENT TRADITION CLIVE PURSEHOUSE Khachen Estate is the project of brothers Alek and Arbi Harounian. The duo make wines in the Armenian village of Aghavnadzor in the rugged region of Vayots Dzor, only a 10km drive from the site of the world’s oldest known winery, in the Areni-1 cave, which dates to 4100 BCE. Having planted own-rooted vineyards in 2019 at 1,400m in the steppe of the South Caucasus, the Harounians are focused on the cultivation of Areni Noir, the modern iteration of which is believed to share origins with the grape seeds and stems discovered in Areni-1. The grape flashes plenty of high-tone red and blue fruits and delivers robust acidity and structure to boot. Khachen Estate produces an estate wine and a reserve. Its Areni 2022 is…

Sarah Ahmed is an awarded wine writer, educator and judge with a focus on Portugal. The DWWA Regional Chair for Portugal, she is a Cavaleiro of the Confraria do Vinho do Porto and writes a monthly column for Revista de Vinhos Nelson Guerreiro is a certified sommelier currently working as brand ambassador for prominent Italian producers at renowned Portuguese merchant Garrafeira Nacional, as well as a wine educator at the Turismo de Portugal schools Joanna Locke MW is a wine buyer for The Wine Society, responsible for sourcing wines from Alsace, the Loire and Portugal. Previously a buyer for Thresher group from 1991, she joined importer John E Fells in 2000, then moved to The Wine Society in 2004…

A GSM blend is often associated with red wines of the southern Rhône region, especially Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where most of the blend is commonly Grenache with some Syrah and Mourvèdre. In Washington state, in the US northwest, the proportion of the most dominant variety in the blend is often not more than 50%, and it’s not always primarily Grenache. Some wines in this tasting were led by Syrah (14) or even Mourvèdre (nine). So, as Beth Willard commented, styles may be more like you’d find in a Languedoc blend (including a handful that had small percentages of other blending varieties in the mix, such as Cinsault, Carignan or Counoise). The flavours in this region are very different from Châteauneufdu-Pape, with the ‘warm roadkill’ and spice notes replaced by sweet blueberry, black…

90 Marks &Spencer, Classics No12 Brut, Crémant de Bourgogne, Burgundy, France NV £12 Marks &Spencer Crisp acidity, juicy red apple and a tart redcurrant finish. Made using the Champagne method, with 18 months on lees for toasty complexity. The base wine is from 2020. Ablend of 54% Pinot Noir, plus Aligoté, Gamay and Chardonnay. TG Alcohol 12% 92 O’Leary Walker, Organic Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia 2016 O £12.99 Waitrose Intense and appetising aromas of petrol, waxy lemons, beeswax, salted lemons and candied grapefruit rind. The palate is searing, dry and saline, with a lightly waxy feel and a mouth-puckering finish. It’s rich, too, maybe from bottle age, with a toasty complexity. Super-intense. NE Alc 12% 91 Quinta de Paços, Casa do Capitão-mor Alvarinho, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2022 £18.30 Colombier…

FIONA BECKETT is a contributing editor to Decanter. Publishing at matchingfoodandwine. com, she is a leading expert on food and drink matching. She writes a column for The Guardian and aSubstack newsletter Eat This, Drink That BEVERLEY BLANNING MW is a wine writer, judge and speaker. ADWWA judge since its inception in 2004, her most recent book Wines of the Loire Valley is due out in September (£35 The Classic Wine Library) KATHERINE COLE is the author of five books on wine and host and executive producer of awarded wine-themed podcast The Four Top. Based in Willamette Valley and California, she has contributed to wine titles worldwide LAUREN EADS is a freelance journalist and copywriter who specialises in wines and spirits. Formerly managing editor of trade title The Drinks Business,…

■ Château Margaux has launched a second white wine to join its celebrated Pavillon Blanc label, starting with the 2022 vintage. ‘Pavillon Blanc Second Vin’ is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from historic estate vines. It can be enjoyed now or will age gracefully for at least two decades, said the Bordeaux first growth. Only 8,000 bottles were made from the 2022 vintage. Merchants Bordeaux Index and Fine & Rare were offering it at £285 for 3x75cl in bond. ■ Spray-on coatings for grapes that can prevent wildfire smoke causing off-flavours in wine have shown promise in recent tests, said US-based scientists. Their work focuses on using food-grade coatings to block or capture harmful smoke compounds. ‘Wildfire smoke is an increasing problem for wineries,’ said Elizabeth Tomasino, associate professor of oenology…

To understand the origins of CARO, the flagship wine of producer Bodegas CARO in Mendoza, we must go back to the previous century, when Argentina was just beginning to emerge onto the global wine scene. Nicolás Catena, the head of Catena Zapata, was leading a local viticultural revolution when he happened to cross paths with Baron Eric de Rothschild, the president of Château Lafite and Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), marking the beginning of a relationship that would merge two winemaking dynasties. The Baron was familiar with South America through his winery Viña Los Vascos in Chile but knew very little about Argentinian wines. However, he soon became fascinated with the high-altitude terroirs and century-old vineyards that Mendoza had to offer. After several tastings of Catena Zapata wines and visits…

Selling your dairy herd to buy a vineyard may not raise too many eyebrows these days, but back in 1980 when Clive Paton purchased five barren, stony hectares to plant Pinot Noir near the tiny backwater farming town of Martinborough, New Zealand, it was positively bonkers. Apart from Dry River Wines, established the year before (and an ill-fated venture started in 1978 by publisher Alister Taylor), there were no other vineyards in Martinborough, and quality wine production of any sort in New Zealand was nascent, to say the least. Agovernment report published in 1978 had suggested Martinborough might be well suited to Burgundian varieties, but Paton and his sister Alison, who had bought an adjoining 2ha, were still taking a very big punt indeed in planting the first vines at…

At the UK’s AI Safety Summit in 2023, Elon Musk told British prime minister Rishi Sunak that artificial intelligence (AI) was likely to be ‘the most disruptive force in history’. And if you look around you, it isn’t hard to see signs of that disruption already taking place. We’re eagerly talking away to AI-powered digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa, university lecturers are complaining about students using AI chatbots to write their essays, and fears are growing that a range of jobs – from contract lawyer and computer coder to accountant and even teacher – will either cease to exist or change beyond recognition. Engineering designers are using AI to create new products; architects are using it to design outlandish new buildings and medical researchers are using it to…

The purity of fruit, natural balance and elegance of New Zealand Pinot Noir is reason for this famously unpredictable grape variety’s surge in the south. Though the first commercial bottlings were only made in 1987, New Zealand is now globally recognised for the quality Pinot it delivers. From the cooler regions of Wairarapa, Marlborough, North Canterbury and Central Otago, among others, stylistic differences, due to climatic and soil diversity, have become notable, and regionality is now a topic of focus for wine experts and Pinot enthusiasts alike. From Marlborough, red fruits and aromatic freshness are common markers of the region, Wairarapa is often savoury, while Central Otago Pinots can be darker in fruit character with spicy notes and more noticeable tannins. At the Decanter World Wine Awards, this is what…

PHOTOGRAPHS ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS (3) Scotland’s damp, cool climate may frustrate holidaymakers, but it’s ideal for making whisky, with distilleries working their magic from the Borders in the south up to the islands of Orkney. This selection of recent Scotch releases includes adistinctive solera bottling, Sherried styles and aCaribbean rum finish. 1 Glenfiddich Our Solera15 Year Old £47.90-£52/70cl Asda, Freds Drinks, Hard to Find Whisky, Ocado, Tesco, The Wee Dram, The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky World, Waitrose It’s solera, Jim, but not as we know it… Glenfiddich’s solera vat is only half-emptied when anew bottling run happens, then refilled with whisky from three cask types: ex-Sherry, virgin oak and ex-bourbon. Balanced and complex – the vat was first filled in 1998 – playing off honeyed, vanilla notes against more assertive…

When I married my Italian husband, my mother-in-law gifted me two binders of typed family recipes. Together with my own mother’s handwritten recipes, they are my most treasured possessions and the ones I cook from the most. These faded, much-used, grease-stained pages remind me of the power of women around the table. We women, collectively, can shape the minds and bodies of future generations. When we cook, we not only nourish bellies, we also empower communities and support and advance one another’s careers and dreams. This is why I wrote Les Dames d’Escoffier New York Cookbook: Stirring the Pot, a collection of 76 family recipes alongside wine pairings from acclaimed sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier. The recipes are delicious and easy to cook from, because they come from some of the most…

Beaujolais as an appellation came into being in 1937. Its red iterations (you’ll find smatterings of Beaujolais blanc) are wholly based on the Gamay grape and reached their apex of popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. That commercial star waned since then, but recent years have seen a renewed and fully deserved interest in the wines, both at village and cru level. The linchpins of this popularity are Gamay’s low alcohol and breezy, food-friendly personality, all traits shared by País, which was one of the foundation stones of the Chilean wine industry. Like Beaujolais and Gamay, País fell out of favour, falling into the shadow of more familiar international grapes. However, again like Beaujolais, the variety has been on an upward trajectory for some time now. Chile understandably leads…

GEORGIE HINDLE It’s easy to be overshadowed when your sibling estate is a Bordeaux first growth, but Domaine de Baronarques, purchased by the Rothschild family in 1998, shows strong yet atypical Languedoc identities (being located at St-Polycarpe, near Limoux), with a focus on Bordeaux grape varieties. Both the first and second wine, La Capitelle, are made with a majority of Merlot, as per the Limoux appellation stipulations – the grand vin supplemented by Cabernet Franc and smaller proportions of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, and La Capitelle by varying proportions of Syrah and Malbec, depending on the vintage. Designed to be amore readily approachable style, La Capitelle 2019 is juicy and lively with a crisp and fresh mineral grip, while a mini-vertical of the grand vin revealed ageability, with 2007…

Ronan Sayburn MS is CEO of the Court of Master Sommeliers European chapter and runs his own consultancy and wine training company, RS Wine Academy. Aprevious winner of the UK Sommelier of the Year competition, he is also a Co-Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW is a widely published wine writer, consultant, educator and WSET lecturer. She is a regular judge and contributor for Decanter, and is the DWWA Regional Chair for Tuscany Ben Gubbins is general manager and WSET wine educator at Vagabond Wines in London. Anative of Chile, he previously worked as UK &Europe sales director for Dos Andes Wines before joining Vagabond in 2013…

91 Roger Goulart, Cava Gran Reserva Brut, Catalonia, Spain 2017 £21-£22.27 Penistone, Shelved Wine, The Surrey Wine Cellar, Tom I’Anson Citrus, apple, white peach and yeasty bakery aromatics. Creamy palate with tiny, persistent bubbles and notes of ripe lemon, stone fruit, nuts, crème pâtissière and a hint of florality, plus a super-fresh finish. JS Alc 12% 90 Muses Estate, A.Muse Rosé, Sterea Ellada, Central Greece 2022 £24-£25 Epinoia, Shelved Wine A mix of Sauvignon Blanc and Mouhtaro. The latter, a rare variety indigenous to the Valley of the Muses, adds notes of red apple peel, wild strawberry and apple blossom to Sauvignon’s lime zest, gooseberry and freshly cut grass. Fresh and food-friendly. IS Alc 13% 93 Tua Rita, Perlato del Bosco, Tuscany, Italy 2021 £30 Hedonism Tua Rita’s varietal Sangiovese…

Twenty years after the Academy Awardwinning film Sideways released, and its Pinot Noir-loving protagonist Miles Raymond uttered his now-infamous line – ‘I am not drinking any f***ing Merlot!’ – the author of the then-unpublished manuscript optioned for the film by director Alexander Payne reflects on the film’s impact. ‘The Sideways effect’, as it was dubbed, led to increased American Pinot Noir plantings and decreased consumption of value-priced Merlot wines. Pickett’s book was published by St Martin’s Press months before the movie debuted. In 2018, his stage adaptation of Sideways opened. And Blackstone Publishing has just released Sideways: New Zealand, with a post-Sideways trilogy to follow. ‘I was living in Los Angeles as a broke writer when I ventured to the Santa Ynez Valley to play golf with my friend Roy.…

Since last January, when the World Health Organization (WHO) dogmatically declared that ‘no level of alcohol is safe for our health’, a spate of alarmist news reports and protectionist governmental initiatives have thrown the wine world into an existential crisis. But lost in all the hand-wringing is an important fact: a glass a night may, in fact, lengthen our lifespans. Yes, we are all doomed to die. But wine won’t do us in. Hundreds of studies show that moderate tipplers enjoy health benefits – a 10-30% reduced risk of heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease – over abstainers and heavy drinkers. ‘These studies are solid, and data overwhelmingly shows that there is a potential cardiovascular benefit from drinking alcohol in moderation,’ says Laura Catena MD. A graduate of Harvard,…

Bud break in early spring 2022 was a little later than an average year in the southern Rhône, yet harvest was early, so the growing season was contracted due to the extraordinary heat and drought. Flowering went well, and it was the earliest veraison (when grapes turn from green to red) ever reported. The extreme weather conditions (see box, p43) were both a blessing and a curse. Berries were particularly small this year due to the lack of water (according to Institut Rhodanien, between 15 October 2021 and 1 September 2022, it rained just 300mm in the southern Rhône, compared to an average of 600mm), meaning a high proportion of skins to juice, making for some very tannic wines. This isn’t problematic if tannins are ripe, but where hydric stress…

The year that had everything: black frost, hail, abundant rainfall, mildew, uneven fruit set, a cool summer, botrytis, the need for increased labour, protracted harvests and subsequent difficult decisions about blends, oak treatment and length of ageing (some opted for longer, some shorter, with varying percentages of new oak). Yes, 2021 was far from easy, and while growers were happy if they ultimately harvested healthy grapes, or any at all, the agonising production decisions have only recently ended. The 2021 vintage can loosely be summarised as a happy surprise for those who have made enjoyable wines. During the en primeur tastings in spring 2022, the wines could be characterised as fresh and lively with a return to a more classic Bordeaux construction following several sunny, heat-filled years. The challenging weather…

Japanese gin blossoms To herald the start of spring, House of Suntory has launched a limited edition of its Roku gin, inspired by the sakura flower and Japan’s famous hanami cherry blossom festivals. Roku Sakura Bloom Edition (Alc 43%) balances six Japanese botanicals – sakura flowers and leaves, sencha tea, gyokuro tea, yuzu peel and sansho pepper – with eight traditional gin botanicals including juniper. Botanicals are harvested in season, embracing the Japanese concept of shun: the moment when nature is at its freshest. ‘Shun is a concept unique to Japanese culture. It captures something magical, a moment when the natural world is at its most energised,’ explains James Bowker, global advocacy manager of Beam Suntory. ‘Roku Sakura Bloom Edition is an expression of that concept – a bright and…

Neighbouring capital cities such as Copenhagen and Stockholm may have grabbed the spotlight earlier, but Helsinki has quietly gone about honing its culinary craft, while also developing a taste for good wine. The city’s restaurants have embraced the Nordic-cuisine ethos of simplicity, local ingredients and sustainability. Finland’s forests and pristine waters offer a bounty that runs the gamut from wild mushrooms and berries to fresh fish and game meats, all of which find their way onto Helsinki’s plates. Finns, many of whom are first-generation wine drinkers, have learned to appreciate wine. This transformation is not only due to the tireless work of sommeliers, but also enthusiastic importers who have played a pivotal role in fostering the growth of a diverse wine scene. Finland has strict alcohol laws, so there is…

Putting aside the unrelated Grechetto Rosso, white Grechetto can be one of two varieties, Grechetto di Orvieto or Grechetto di Todi, which are nowadays largely lumped together under the Grechetto umbrella. You’ll find wines being made from the grape in Lazio and Tuscany; however, it’s Umbria that is its most famous breeding ground, most notably the DOC of Orvieto. Mid- to late-ripening, tough and thick-skinned, it has been a reliable, full-bodied blending grape, partnering with the likes of Malvasia, Trebbiano and, in the case of Antinori’s famous Cervaro della Sala, Chardonnay. Recently, it has also begun to find its feet as a single-variety wine, as producers increasingly appreciate that its unique character sets it apart from its Umbrian peers and deserves a pedestal of its own. JUICYACIDITY Apple LEMON Peach…

JAMES BUTTON In mid-December, Iacopo Mori of Il Marroneto in Montalcino visited Decanter’s office in Paddington, north London, for a quick taste of the estate’s latest releases from the 2019 vintage, which will be available in limited quantities from the end of March via UK importer Armit (pricing unconfirmed at time of writing). I’m somewhat familiar with the wines, and my expectations were already high, especially since Decanter contributor Aldo Fiordelli earmarked the 2019 Madonna delle Grazie as one of his wines of the year, attributing it a perfect 100-point score (see decanter.com/premium). The standard Brunello di Montalcino 2019 of the estate is silky, precise and chiselled, with incredible sweetness and fragrance. Madonna delle Grazie 2019 – a single-vineyard selection – is darker, infused with violet and lavender and an…

Portugal has an exceptional diversity of grape varieties and terroir, making this panel tasting a stylistic smorgasbord. The standard of the country’s white wines has improved exponentially in the last decade. With a good 76% of wines here earning Highly recommended or Recommended ratings, the quality base was broad and the apex high (see ‘The scores’, below). Expect to drink well from Portugal and expect to drink interesting, foodfriendly wines from native grapes, which tend to a dry, rather than fruit-driven, profile. While structure, mouthfeel, intensity and specifics such as Atlantic-influenced saltiness (Bairrada, the Azores) pointed to region of origin, the panel struggled to identify regional typicity. Partly because this is an emergent, fast-growing category and winemaking approaches vary, but also because of numerous varietal and site permutations, especially where…

Sarah Ahmed 98 Nelson Guerreiro 97 Joanna Locke MW 98 £44-£47.90 AG Wines, Burnett & Herbert, Caviste, Hedonism, Uncorked, Wanderlust Wine Afield blend featuring Arinto, Rabigato, Códega de Larinho, Viosinho and others, from vines at least 80 years old planted on schist at 600m in the Douro DOC. It was made (and the grapes were picked) to prioritise freshness, structure and minerality. Apioneer of Douro whites since the mid-nineties, Niepoort’s trademark precision and finesse shines, even in this century’s driest vintage. Sarah Ahmed Toasty/charry oak and lime oil to nose and palate. Zesty, nutty with leesy complexity and hazelnutty oak. Showing lots of layers already. Nelson Guerreiro Stone fruit, apple and pear nose with spice and a hint of vanilla. Mediumbodied with a waxy side, balanced with a pleasant finish.…

Grenache, in the hands of McLaren Vale’s most astute producers, can be the most supple and beguiling of grape varieties. It all depends on the age of the vines and the complexity of the vineyard sites – and McLaren Vale has both in abundance. The best Grenache vineyards, mostly dry-grown bush vines up to 120 years old, have arguably become Australia’s take on grand cru: rare, idiosyncratic and expressive vines on exemplary sites. And the results from the 67 samples submitted to Decanter by 30 invited producers for this elite regional tasting did not disappoint. The top wines were extraordinary. The secret is in the soils. Flanked by the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Gulf St Vincent, this coastal region’s geology is hugely complex, a fact underlined by the map…