Innehållsförteckning för August 2022 från Decanter

■ A‘freedom blend’ to help raise money for Ukrainian refugees has been created by award-winning Moldovan winery Purcari. Containing 65% Saperavi, 20% Rara Neagră and 15% Bastardo grape varieties, the red wine was priced at £19.99 in the UK (see ‘Weekday wines’, p111). All proceeds will go to help Ukrainian refugees, said Purcari, which sits close to the border with Ukraine. The winery has also offered assistance, including temporary accommodation, to people fleeing Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February. ■ APenfolds wine made in China will launch on the Chinese market this year for the first time, said brand owner Treasury Wine Estates (TWE). It’s part of a ‘multi-country of origin’ strategy for Penfolds, but also follows China’s high tariffs on Australian wine imports, imposed last year. ‘China is an…

‘A rgentina is showing Cabernet Franc, both single varietal versions and blended with Malbec, like no other county does,’ comments Paz Levinson, DWWA Regional Chair for Argentina, in a 2020 decanter.com interview. And just two years on, results from the recent 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards point to this variety’s promise, particularly in Mendoza, with four varietal Cabernet Francs awarded 97 points, along with many more Gold and Silver medals. Cabernet Franc from Argentina is, explains Levinson, ‘like a combination of Anjou and St-Emilion with the factor of altitude, resulting in very expressive wines on the nose, full of spices and bell pepper, and on the palate very fresh, with chalky tannins but with body and weight.’ On the 2022 results, DWWA Co-Chair Andrew Jefford adds: ‘The appearance of two different…

INES SALPICO Felipe Tosso, head winemaker at Ventisquero, has been pushing the boundaries of ‘heroic viticulture’ and raising the profile of Chilean wine worldwide with his many experiments and collaborations. During his two decades with the company, and having received many accolades along the way, he has both consolidated the winery’s core range and developed a number of special labels which stand out for the technical expertise and expressiveness shown. Having joined Tosso for a tasting and lunch, I was seduced by his approachability and unassuming authority, characters that can be used to describe both the man and the wines. I was particularly taken by the Tara Chardonnay 2018 (£33.95 AG Wines), the latest release from a boutique project on the challenging and unique terroir of the Atacama – the…

PEDRO BALLESTEROS TORRES MW is a widely published wine journalist, educator and judge. He is a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, and is on the governing board of the Spanish Tasters’ Union NATALIE EARL is Decanter’s regional editor for France other than Bordeaux and Burgundy, and is a keen advocate for organic, sustainable and natural wines. She wrote the feature on pét-nat in this issue GEORGINA HINDLE is Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, tasting and writing about the wines of the region where she lives, as well as editor of Decanter Premium, overseeing Decanter’s global fine wine content for online subscribers ANDY HOWARD MW is a contributing editor to Decanter and a DWWA Regional Chair. A former wine buyer, he now runs his own wine consultancy Vinetrades Ltd,…

With reference to your excellent article ‘The language of tasting notes’ (June issue), I believe there is no such thing as a bad tasting note, just a wrong audience being addressed. Wine notes written with a mass market retail-buying audience in mind are going to be somewhat different to those aimed at wine enthusiasts with a level of knowledge, seeking guidance on a particular wine or vintage. My own wine tasting notes are all contained in a little red book, signed by one of my heroes, your late consultant editor, the incredibly generous, kind and engaging Steven Spurrier. The notes themselves may possibly make a Decanter contributor or Master of Wine shudder while reading them back. But the point is they are my notes and are designed to evoke a…

RELOCATING WINES We are planning to move from the UK to Italy this summer, and we have an extensive wine collection we’d like to take with us. In light of the difficulties caused by Brexit, can you advise? Francesca Short, by email Anthony Rose, Decanter contributor, replies: It is true that things are different now that the UK has left the EU; however, it is still possible to do this. Seek the advice of specialist alcohol transporters who have experience of what’s required, post-Brexit. If moving to Italy, you may for instance need to acquire a codice fiscale Italian personal tax registration number. As David Richardson from the Wine & Spirit Trade Association points out, the good news is that Italian excise duty on wine is nil, but the wines…

CHAMPAGNE ALTERNATIVES AMY WISLOCKI Three standout tasting experiences have proved the point that while it may be the obvious choice, Champagne is by no means the only go-to when it comes to premium fizz made by the traditional method. At the London Wine Fair in June, English sparkling wine producer Exton Park (extonparkvineyard.com) gave me a sneak preview of its soon-to-bereleased 100% Pinot Meunier rosé (sold via Bancroft). It’s only the second release of this excellent wine – the first came out in 2017 and was all sold by the following year. In the intervening time the estate has been building up its reserves of Pinot Meunier. Only 2,000 bottles have been made of this floral and fruitforward new release, based on the 2015 and 2016 vintages. Just as impressive…

TINA GELLIE Earlier this year the affable John Williams of Napa Valley’s Frog’s Leap (frogsleap.com) visited London, bringing a selection of new vintages available via UK importer Justerini & Brooks. It was the restrained, nervy elegance of his Shale & Stone Chardonnay 2019 (13.3%, £28.90/75cl), now in its third vintage, that really stood out. ‘I’m not a big fan of your stereotypical California Chardonnays,’ Williams explained. ‘They fall into two camps. The first are all pancake syrups: sweet fruit and buttery vanilla oak. The second are faux Burgundies. We tried that “we’re going to make Puligny-Montrachet in Napa, goddammit!” approach, but then I wasn’t even wanting to drink my own wine. So we abandoned that plan and pioneered our own style. And I drink this one!’ Fruit is sourced from…

WIN A MAGNUM OF CHAMPAGNE BOLLINGER Wine is all about opinions, so why not share yours? If you are amused, enraged or intrigued by anything you’ve read in Decanter or on decanter.com, write or email us at the address listed above. Each month the sender of our star letter will receive a magnum of Champagne Bollinger, courtesy of Mentzendorff, the UK agent (mentzendorff.co.uk). The Holy Bible of wine As a wine novitiate, I open my copy of Decanter in reverence every month. I even dress up for the occasion as I feel I should demonstrate my respect for the learning I’m about to absorb. The vinous world, after all, is almost magical, if not miraculous in its combination of earth and effort to produce such a heavenly nectar. In particular,…

Electricpink, burnished orange, pineapple yellow, ochre, coral, deep ruby, blood red: the possibilities are endless. But always effervescent. Pét-nat – the now widely accepted shorthand for ‘pétillant naturel’ – is a style of sparkling wine that has deep historical roots. It’s thought to be the oldest method of making sparkling wine, pre-dating Champagne, hence its alternative name: méthode ancestrale. Unlike Champagne, which undergoes two fermentations, the second of which takes place in the bottle to create the fizz, the méthode ancestrale involves bottling the wine before it completes its first fermentation. The process continues in the bottle, capturing the resulting CO2 to produce a bubbly wine. There is no dosage (in traditional-method sparkling wines, the addition of sugar after the second fermentation to determine the final sweetness), and most are…

You may see the term ‘peated’ on a Scotch whisky bottle. Peat is a type of turf that can be burned as fuel. Peated whisky is made from malted barley that has been dried over a peat fire. That drying process usually takes about 30 hours and gives the finished dram a distinctive smoky character. Islay whiskies are known for their peatiness, which is measured in ppm (parts per million) of the organic compound phenol. Islay whiskies typically have 50ppm, while an average Highland whisky will only have 30ppm. Islay distillery Bruichladdich is famed for its Octomore range, bottled at 100ppm and considered the most heavily peated single malt whisky in the world.…

M akinga dessert is still cooking, as much as, say, cooking a piece of fish. It took me a long time to really learn this. Cooking requires you to engage your senses, no matter what you’re making. Intuition and feel have as strong a place in the sweet kitchen as they do in the savoury, sitting alongside skill and technique in the same way. The more you cook, the more you learn to trust your instincts. Learn to understand sugar, which provides structure, but, just as importantly, seasoning. Think of sugar in the same way you do of salt in savoury food. It should amplify flavours, and should only be tasted when you want it to be a flavour. Use sugar to make fruit taste more intense, to balance the…

Volatile acidity (VA) in wine results from the action of certain types of bacteria in the presence of oxygen during production or maturation, and in the finished wine can usually be detected by smell rather than taste. ‘The major compound responsible is acetic acid, or vinegar as it’s more commonly known,’ explains Julia Sewell, wine educator and judge for the Decanter World Wine Awards. ‘A secondary compound is ethyl acetate, which smells more like nail polish remover. It is generally wines made in older barrels or more oxidative environments that show VA.’ That is because it is easier for the bacteria (notably, but not exclusively, acetobacter) to thrive in less sterile conditions, although high-sugar, low-acid environments are also prone. VA is often associated with long barrel-aged red styles such as…

JAMES BUTTON I first came across Conte Vistarino (contevistarino.it) during a tasting event in London and was impressed enough that I made a point of seeking them out during the huge Vinitaly trade show in Verona in April. Ottavia Giorgi di Vistarino is the custodian of more than 170 years of winemaking history here, specialising in sparkling and still Pinot Nero. ‘My style is grape, terroir,’ she told me. The 1865 Oltrepò Pavese is a pas dosé sparkling Pinot (100%) which spends 60 months on its lees: rich nougat joins roast pineapple, sweet brioche, wild strawberry and a mineral finish. The estate’s cru reds, Bertone, Pernice and Tavernetto, demonstrate the impact of terroir on Pinot Nero – the three sites are located in an amphitheatre of vineyards, each with its own…

Greg Sherwood MW is the widely travelled senior buyer at Handford Wines. He publishes his Fine Wine Safari blog at gregsherwoodmw.com, and in 2021 was the DWWA Regional Chair for South Africa Daniel Grigg is managing director of merchant Museum Wines, winner of the South Africa Specialist category in the 2021 Decanter Retailer Awards Roger Jones is the retired former owner of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn restaurant in Wiltshire. He is now busy as a wine writer, judge and consultant, with a particular focus on the hospitality trade, as well as helping charities. He is a DWWA judge, including the South Africa category in 2021…

Andy Howard MW is a Decanter contributing editor and DWWA 2022 Regional Chair for Central Italy (excluding Tuscany). A former retail wine buyer, he now runs his own consultancy Vinetrades Sara Bachiorri works in buying for merchant WoodWinters. First a DWWA judge in 2013, in the 2022 competition she judged in the Piedmont and Veneto categories. Born in Perugia, Umbria, she was formerly head sommelier at The Glasshouse in Kew, then at Chez Bruce in southwest London Michael Garner is co-owner of Italian specialist Tria Wines, author of Amarone and The Fine Wines of Verona (£35 Infinite Ideas), and DWWA Regional Chair for Northern Italy (excluding Piedmont & Verona)…

RECOMMENDED BY JAMES BUTTON, NATALIE EARL, TINA GELLIE, INES SALPICO, JULIE SHEPPARD, AMY WISLOCKI & SYLVIA WU 90 Waitrose, Rosé Brut, Champagne, France NV £14.99/37.5cl Waitrose This half-bottle is the perfect size for a picnic for two. It’s sourced from vineyards around Les Riceys, which is renowned for its rosé. Fresh and fragrant, with creamy red cherry and wild strawberry fruit, it’s a great match for smoked salmon or sushi. AW Alcohol 12.5% 90 Emrich-Schönleber, Lenz Riesling, Nahe, Germany 2016 £19.50 The Good Wine Shop A spontaneously fermented, off-dry Riesling from an estate whose wines balance aromatic opulence with transparent acidity. Lemon curd, ripe pear and white peach lead with juicy appeal, while a firm backbone gives freshness and ageing potential. Lingering hints of jasmine and tarragon. IS Alc…

RECOMMENDED BY JAMES BUTTON, TINA GELLIE, INES SALPICO, AMY WISLOCKI 93 House of Arras, Brut Elite Cuvée 1601, 93 90 Tasmania, Australia NV £35.95 M Wine Store Based on 2016 fruit (94% of the blend), four years on lees and extra-brut dosage have given a steely grapefruit pith undercurrent to the complex opulence: roast almond nougat, creamy cashew, apple crumble and smoky vanilla oak spice. Bold and beautiful. TG Alc 12.5% 90 Chandon, Garden Spritz, Mendoza, Argentina NV £22.99 Majestic Conceived by Chandon as an alternative to Aperol spritz, this combines bitterness and sweetness (60g/L residual sugar). It’s based on brut sparkling, with an added liqueur containing natural extracts of orange peel, herbs and spices. Serve over ice with an orange slice and a sprig of rosemary. AW Alc 11.5%…

Sponsored by King’s College, Cambridge sells Henri Jayer wines via Christie’s R areBurgundy wines from the legendary Henri Jayer have again demonstrated their allure on the market after Christie’s auctioned bottles cellared by King’s College, Cambridge. Christie’s said 42 lots in its ‘Generations of Jayer’ auction achieved total sales of £1.365m ($1.7m). All were cellared by King’s College, University of Cambridge, which according to Christie’s had purchased the wines on release from UK importer Richards Walford. Henri Jayer died in September 2006, and is still considered one of the greatest Burgundy winemakers of his generation. Top lot in the Christie’s auction was a 12-bottle collection of Henri Jayer for Georges Jayer, Echézeaux 1999 (pictured), which fetched £100,000 ($125,700), versus a pre-sale high estimate of £80,000. Not everything beat its high…

Sponsored by Champagnehas been a star performer on the secondary market over the past 12 months, enjoying broader global appeal among drinkers and investors. After setting a blistering pace in the second half of 2021, prices for several top vintage Champagnes have broadly continued rising this year. ‘Demand is through the roof,’ observed Matthew O’Connell, head of investment at Bordeaux Index and CEO of the UK-based merchant’s LiveTrade platform. If anything, momentum has been slightly stronger in 2022 than expected, he said. ‘Cristal has been a standout performer [this year],’ O’Connell added. Data based on LiveTrade transactions shows Cristal 2008, 2007, 2009 and 2004 all up in price by more than 20% year-to-date. At Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, the Champagne 50 sub-index rose in value by nearly…

How did you get here? I didn’t know any lawyers when I was growing up, so it was curiosity that set me on the path at university. Luckily, I trained at a firm that was known for intellectual property (IP), and worked in music, advertising and media from the outset. I don’t think I would have lasted in any other area of law. How did you come to specialise in wine? I only got seriously into wine once I’d started as a lawyer. Passing the WSET Diploma (a great qualification and most sane folk need go no further) and then the Master of Wine enabled me to combine a passion for the drinks sector with IP, and continues to open interesting doors. It’s easier to work with clients such as…