Skip to main content

Last night at the IOD

I have never been tempted by offers of membership of the IOD (Institute of Directors) in the past (although, as a sole trader, this wouldn't apply to BRW) but on arrival there yesterday afternoon, I understood why some find it hard to resist. I saw only the restaurant area but it is a luxurious setting with paintings bigger than most houses' walls. We had been allocated a generous space for tasting wines and enjoying them with dinner afterwards. I don't think any of us realised, though, that 30 wines in an hour with a bit of socialising was never going to happen.

I started with good intentions. I began with the whites: first Fabrizio Battaglino's Roero Arneis then the equivalent wine from Filippo Gallino followed by Nada Giuseppe's Langhe Bianco. The first two were quite similar in style (as was to be expected): very precise and well-defined whereas the Nada has another layer thanks to the blend with Sauvignon and Favorita. Not necessarily any better but different. Enrico Nada had the only rosado so that came next. I have never been a great fan of pink wines (with the odd notable exception) but this was perfectly acceptable (you see, it didn't rock my boat).

I wanted to re-taste a couple of Fabrizio's reds - the straight Nebbiolo d'Alba and the "Colla" (which is entitled to Roero status but which Fabrizio bottles as Nebbiolo d'Alba). I still found the latter wine a little hard (it's a 2008, maybe that's why) but the more simple wine has lovely fruit. Give it another year or two though.

I had, also, to taste a couple of wines from Crissante Alessandria (an estate I have recently become familiar with): in particular the "Ruge" Barbera (stunning) and Barolo Galina (exquisite), both from the forward 2007 vintage. The 2006s are much more tannic so I had every intention of coming back to them before the dinner (optimism blinded me to the fact it was less than half an hour to dinner).

The rest of the tasting session was spent at the Filippo Gallino table (I was going to be sitting with Enrico so would have another opportunity to taste all his wines at dinner). I was immediately struck by the freshness of the fruit-driven Barbera. I worked through all the Barbera wines from this producer (and went back to taste Fabrizio's as well) and in some ways preferred this to the richer, necessarily more complete wines further on. I was rather taken by the 2007 Superiore, however, due its almost Port-like richness. Not sure I could drink much of it though.

The real interest, for me, on this table lay in the two sweet wines. The other dry reds were good, certainly, but not stylistically different from some others. The "Chinche", however, is a late harvest Arneis (like Fabrizio's "Bric Bastia") with some entriguing characters (I need to taste this again!) and the "Birbet" is a highly unusual (to me) low alcohol lightly sparkling red made from Brachetto (I think). Necessarily sweet but, rather than the sickly mess I had envisaged, I found myself liking it very much.

A superb meal followed with superb wines from the Nada Giuseppe stable. I am familiar with all of these, of course, except that Enrico had sent over a sample of his 2007 Barbaresco Riserva. Quite simply, the star of the night.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Funny goings on at Domaine des Anges

Some irreverent answers given by Domaine des Anges ' owner, Gay McGuinness to questions asked by a South African  publication: (A) Your full address ? postal address: Domaine des Anges, 84570 Mormoiron, France; physical address: Domaine des Anges, Quartier ND des Anges, 84570 Mormoiron, France  (B) History of the winery. Domaine des Anges is a beautiful, small, hillside estate in the Ventoux in the Southern Rhone region of France. It looks out across a large valley towards Mont Ventoux – the Giant of Provence – with spectacular views on all sides. The estate covers 40 hectares and is overlooked by the chapel of Notre Dame des Anges and a 12 th century Moorish tower, living together happily in the sunshine of timeless, historic, rural France. The total area of the vineyard is 18 ha. There have been vineyards here since Roman times. We do not know the name of the original owner, but it is believed that he was stabbed to death by a group of Roman p

Juvenal strikes a home run again

Super critic Jeb Dunnuck (the new Parker?) has tasted the current range from Chateau Juvenal - he likes them! For now, we only have the 'everyday' range of Ventoux wines called 'Ribes de Vallat'. Here's what he has to say about them: Ribes de vallat 2021 Blanc 'I loved the two whites from Juvenal. Based largely on Clairette, the 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat Blanc has pretty pear, crushed citrus, and honeyed flower notes in a medium-bodied, fresh, mineral-laced package perfect for near- term drinking.' 2023-2026 (91/100) Ribes de Vallat 2019 Rouge 'Moving to the reds, the entry level 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat is well worth seeking out. Juicy darker berries, raspberries, peppery garrigue, and floral notes define the aromatics, and this medium-bodied, round, supple, delicious Grenache is best drunk over the coming 3-5 years. ' 2023-2028 (89/100) He's right! These are  consistently enjoyable and immensely good value too. Enjoy!

A great value alternative to Côte Rôtie

From Matt Wall's forthcoming article on great value alternatives to Côte Rôtie, Pierre Gaillard's 2016 St Joseph 'Clos du Cuminaile' is a lovely wine to drink now ( there  2015 is still building). Matt scored it 92 points and reviewed it as follows: 'From a 40-year-old vineyard in Chavanay, grapes were fully destemmed. It’s showing blackberry, bonfire ashes and blackcurrant leaf aromas. 2016 was not the most concentrated vintage, so it’s medium-bodied but very smooth in the mouth. The finish is lifted and fresh, with bright berry acidity. Quite lean and transparent, this is mostly based around fresh acidity, with fine, slight tannins and a granitic spine.' (Not the most contemporary looking label but the wine is extremely drinkable!) We have, of course, tasted it ourselves a couple of times recently and found it to be on the lighter side of Syrah - St Joseph can range from red to black fruit character and be light and pretty or dense and demanding (for the latte