Judgement of Dulwich Tasting
We taste top Californian Rhone varietals against top Rhone, in the presence of Bob Lindquist and Nick Brooks. Things go slightly awry. By Kate
So much for being terribly good with pre-Christmas blogging. I have really tried, but it has just been quite beyond me. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas at Green & Blue without some crisis to deal with, so I am again more than a little distracted. Better late than never, though, this is the posting detailing our recent ‘Judgement of Dulwich’ tasting.
On our recentCalifornia wine trip, we paid a visit to the Qupe/Au Bon Climat winery in the Santa Maria Valley Rhone versus the best of the California Rhone rangers was mooted. The first film based on the famous 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting had just been released and the idea of doing our own Rhone version seemed particularly apt with glasses full of densely spiced Syrah.
And so it came to pass that on our return, we set about organising this. Bob was due to be inLondon Rhone red flight. I asked Nick Brooks of Vine Trail to speak for the French side as, in our opinion, he has the best portfolio of Rhone wines of any supplier we know. Maybe not the very big names, but the quality of the wines he stocks far outstrips that of more widely renowned producers and he happens to be an absolute expert on the region, so it would make for an amazingly interesting evening. It was also going to be a very big deal for us –having two such renowned and important speakers at East Dulwich , so while I think it would be over stating it to say that we were nervous, there was an edge. Luckily, we had almost exclusively long term, very loyal Green & Blue customers who bought the tickets, so the less slick elements of the evening were not judged as harshly as they might have been.
It was always going to be a relatively challenging for me as I was trying to take notes, do a bit of filming, pour and keep track of the scores. This level of multi tasking is remarkably stupid and destined, always, to result in absolutely nothing being done properly.
The evening started with both speakers introducing themselves and their respective regions which set the scene splendidly. The Rhone, particularly the North, with its hill sides, winds and granite soils, where coaxing great fruit out of some of the most difficult to work vineyards in the world is truly a Herculean labour of love vs (mainly, apart from the Cigare Volant) Santa Maria Valley down on California’s central coast. Bone dry and hot, when the cool, grey fogs are not creeping in from the Pacific, the best of the fruit from here shows that perfect balance between gloss and structure. Not wanting to give away any clues at all, the wines had all been decanted into empty bottles which had been serving a decorative purpose on various ledges in the bar, after Rachel had given them a very good rinse and clean. At least, that was what we thought.
The first pit of the stomach blow came when loyal customer Alison turned round after the first two whites had been poured and, holding up her glass, said
T
here, at the bottom of the pale yellow liquid, swirled a small brown body. Decidedly dead – I think a creature in its death throes would have been even more excrutiatingly hideous, it was pretty high on the list of bad things that could happen at a smart tasting in the company of charming and renowned gentlemen. I whisked the offending corpse in wine away and returned with a fresh glass after an extremely terse, clenched teeth spat with my husband at the bar.
Things were not going well. We were starting with the 2007 Qupe Marsanne pitched against the 2006 Gripa St Nick and Bob – although of course, no-one officially knew which was which.
St Peray
This is made without any oak at all, from fruit which comes from a 50 degree hillside. Although St Peray is probably best known for fairly unremarkable sparkling wine, the Gripa family make only 2 still, with this being their basic cuvee. This was showing noticeably more aromatic character on the nose (think honeysuckle) with delicious honey and fresh nut flavours on the palate.
Bob mentioned that he had thought that we would be having the 2006, which had fooled him a bit at first, but he correctly picked the second as his wine. The intensely youthful character of this was really a bit unfair as the more mature St Peray definitely was showing better and as Bob pointed out, the extra year does give more lifted, perfumed aromas.
2007 has 12% Rousssane and, like all of the vintages, is from the Ibarra Young vineyard which for years was the only source of Marsanne inCalifornia Like the St Peray, they pick on the early side of ripenes as they don’t want to lose acidity. The bonus is that the alcohol is an entirely manageable 12.5%.
This was tasting very ‘locked in’, but all the components were there and the wine had great balance with lovely underlying spice and a good fresh nut finish.
Jude and I the realisation that we had about 14 more bottles, all of which had come from the same place and all of which had supposedly been rinsed out by Rachel crackled around us.
FLIGHT 2
2006 Qupe Bien Nacido Vineyard Roussane
From a west facing section of the famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, the fruit for this is picked in October, ripening late yet still retaining very fresh acidity. They also get a fair amount of botrytis, although to me that is not immediately detectable on the wine.
This is barrel fermented in second fill (so barrels that have been used once before) French oak. Bob learned this technique by visiting a couple of wineries in Chateauneuf-du Pape who were experimenting with Roussane aged in cuvee, cement etc and generally, their taste ran to Roussanne aged in slightly used barrels.
2006 Andre Perret Marsanne
We realise that the label on this wine says ‘Marsanne’, but that is a complete lie - it is in fact made from 100% Roussanne. 23 years ago, when this vineyard was planted, it was believed that the vines were the former. More recent tests however proved that they are in fact the latter but French bureaucracy being what it is, Mon Perret was told that it was far too late to change the original registration and so all wine made from the vineyard would have to continue to be labelled as Marsanne. Bizarre but true.
One third of this is fermented in oak, with the rest in stainless steel. We sell this as well and it is another favourite. Obviously much lighter and fresher with very definite perfume, almost like herbal tea but a touch of fresh nut as well.
“Er sorry” he said, but there seems to be an onion ring in my glass”.
This is not a thing you hear at many tastings. Indeed, I hope never to hear it at another tasting as long as I live. Incredibly though, there in the glass being held towards the light, was the unmistakeable outline of a loop of red onion.
The atmosphere was not good. Rachel (of ‘Rachel who rinsed out the bottles’ fame) was utterly mortified. Jude told me that he was going home as he could not stand the suspense of what may emerge next. He did not say this in either a calm or a jokey manner. I was trying not to smash several glasses in a fit of violent temper while simultaneously trying not to succumb to an overwhelming desire to collapse into the nearest chair and give way to a mixture of slightly hysterical giggling and enraged tears.
But of course we couldn’t go home or collapse and so we carried on. My note taking, already seriously below par due to the aforementioned multi tasking, degenerated still further so the quality of what I am about to relate is not even slightly as I would like, for which I apologise.
FLIGHT 3
2005 Domaine du Grapillon D’Or Gigondas
This was not filtered or fined and so shows a lot more stuffing than many wines dominant in Grenache. Very delicious though, with great leathery, smoky flavours and lots of underlying minerality.
Doon Cigare Volant
It was rather unfair on this wine that it didn’t have anyone to speak for it exactly. Bob gave some very general information and we asked about why he didn’t do a southernRhone blend, concentrating instead on pure Syrah. Apparently, where they are in Santa Maria valley simply isn’t good for southern Rhone varietals, being too cool for late ripeners that require a lot of heat - like Grenache and Syrah. He does make one style that has a bit of Grenache but this is not where his heart is.
This famously is mainly Grenache with Syrah, Mouvedre, Cinsault and Carignan – fruit sourced from all over and all now biodynamically grown (although this was not the case in the 2003 vintage) This, surprisingly was even more leathery and smoky, with less fruit and more robust spice than that showing on the Gigondas.
Finally, we had got to the whole point of the evening and while it was not really that much of a challenge guessing which was which, it was really interesting tasting these against each other.
2005 BonnyDoon Vineyards Bien Nacido Syrah
Very good acidity and good tannins, structured and not to rich and chocolatey which I find can be a problem with new world Syrah (orShiraz Saint Joseph
2005 Pierre Gonan St
St Joseph
The fruit is left to ripen for as long as possible and then the work in the winery is traditional and simple – indigenous yeasts, open top wooden vats, punching the cap down by foot. The result is a wine of really quite extraordinary elegance and purity.
The flavours in this were actually quite similar to the flavours in the Bonny Doon – dark berry fruit, exotic spice – but it was just that the volume was turned right down on this wine. This truly is one of our all time favourite Rhone reds and a real revelation to people who think Syrah is mainly about brute force. This wine is the epitome of delicate purity – not effete, there is muscle here, but superbly refined.
FLIGHT 5
2004 Qupe Hillside Select Syrah
This delicious wine has 2/3rds new oak, but Bob believes that the wine stands up to this, which I agree with. He also believes the other characteristics will come forward as the wine gets older. The vines aren’t that old which bodes well for the future of it. Again here the spice was much more obvious, with pepper coming through loud and clear. There was also more fruit (succulent, ripe berries) than on the Cornas, but only very slightly with very fresh acidity and really elegant tannins . Great length and finish as well. Fabulous wine.
Cornas has very granitic soil with a high iron content and a more southerly aspect, which means richer, bigger fruit. Arguably, the most ‘new world’ of the northernRhone appellationas. Durand destalks 100% and uses a whole lot more new oak than most producers Nick works with - 20% new and 20% 1 year, keeping the wine in barrel for a only a year which Nick thinks might be a bit of a mistake. It could stretch it out by another 3 months as at the moment, the wine is very reduced just after bottling.
St Joseph Nick , which we heartily endorsed. I wish I had taken it down word for word to reproduce here, but I was still whirling.
So, to conclude on the Syrah – neither flight offered any great surprises at all. I liked all the wines but in a nutshell, the Californian versions caroused around the palate, bouncing off the walls of the mouth, while the northern Rhone slipped down like seam of melted silk. How did I not notice the amazing delicacy of Syrah to this extent before? Clearly, it took a comparative tasting like this to highlight it.
And finally the results. Loyal customer James, loyally remarked that as almost everyone at the tasting had at one time or another been a Green & Blue School of Wine Student, it was a testament to our course that tasting was so accurate. Thank you James – such kind words were much need balm to the soul after such an eventful evening.
Flight 1 – Marsanne – 77% correctly guessed the origins
Flight 2 – Roussane – 77% correctly guessed the origins
Flight 3 – Gigondas vs Southern Rhone Blend – 85% correctly guessed the origins
Flight 4 – Syrah – 69% correctly guessed the origins
Flight 5 – Syrah – 85% correctly guessed the origins
Based on the above then, Bonny Doon Bien Nacido Syrah vs Gonon St Joseph was the pairing that most confused the tasters. I did find that very surprising – I would have thought that flight 5 would be a much closer call.
As far as the favourites of the evening went (and these were voted for before the wines were revealed) :-
Top white – Qupe Bien Nacido Roussane – 84% of the votes
So, a category each. We ended with a very jolly meal with Bob, Nick and various people and a good time seemed to be had by all, despite beetles and onions.
On our recent
And so it came to pass that on our return, we set about organising this. Bob was due to be in
It was always going to be a relatively challenging for me as I was trying to take notes, do a bit of filming, pour and keep track of the scores. This level of multi tasking is remarkably stupid and destined, always, to result in absolutely nothing being done properly.
The evening started with both speakers introducing themselves and their respective regions which set the scene splendidly. The Rhone, particularly the North, with its hill sides, winds and granite soils, where coaxing great fruit out of some of the most difficult to work vineyards in the world is truly a Herculean labour of love vs (mainly, apart from the Cigare Volant) Santa Maria Valley down on California’s central coast. Bone dry and hot, when the cool, grey fogs are not creeping in from the Pacific, the best of the fruit from here shows that perfect balance between gloss and structure.
The first pit of the stomach blow came when loyal customer Alison turned round after the first two whites had been poured and, holding up her glass, said
here, at the bottom of the pale yellow liquid, swirled a small brown body. Decidedly dead – I think a creature in its death throes would have been even more excrutiatingly hideous, it was pretty high on the list of bad things that could happen at a smart tasting in the company of charming and renowned gentlemen.
Things were not going well.
St Peray
2007 has 12% Rousssane and, like all of the vintages, is from the Ibarra Young vineyard which for years was the only source of Marsanne in
This was tasting very ‘locked in’, but all the components were there and the wine had great balance with lovely underlying spice and a good fresh nut finish.
FLIGHT 2
2006 Qupe Bien Nacido Vineyard Roussane
This is barrel fermented in second fill (so barrels that have been used once before) French oak. Bob learned this technique by visiting a couple of wineries in Chateauneuf-du Pape who were experimenting with Roussane aged in cuvee, cement etc and generally, their taste ran to Roussanne aged in slightly used barrels.
2006 Andre Perret Marsanne
One third of this is fermented in oak, with the rest in stainless steel.
“Er sorry” he said, but there seems to be an onion ring in my glass”.
This is not a thing you hear at many tastings. Indeed, I hope never to hear it at another tasting as long as I live. Incredibly though, there in the glass being held towards the light, was the unmistakeable outline of a loop of red onion.
The atmosphere was not good.
But of course we couldn’t go home or collapse and so we carried on. My note taking, already seriously below par due to the aforementioned multi tasking, degenerated still further so the quality of what I am about to relate is not even slightly as I would like, for which I apologise.
FLIGHT 3
2005 Domaine du Grapillon D’Or Gigondas
It was rather unfair on this wine that it didn’t have anyone to speak for it exactly. Bob gave some very general information and we asked about why he didn’t do a southern
This famously is mainly Grenache with Syrah, Mouvedre, Cinsault and Carignan – fruit sourced from all over and all now biodynamically grown (although this was not the case in the 2003 vintage)
Finally, we had got to the whole point of the evening and while it was not really that much of a challenge guessing which was which, it was really interesting tasting these against each other.
2005 Bonny
Very good acidity and good tannins, structured and not to rich and chocolatey which I find can be a problem with new world Syrah (or
The fruit is left to ripen for as long as possible and then the work in the winery is traditional and simple – indigenous yeasts, open top wooden vats, punching the cap down by foot. The result is a wine of really quite extraordinary elegance and purity.
The flavours in this were actually quite similar to the flavours in the Bonny Doon – dark berry fruit, exotic spice – but it was just that the volume was turned right down on this wine.
FLIGHT 5
2004 Qupe Hillside Select Syrah
This delicious wine has 2/3rds new oak, but Bob believes that the wine stands up to this, which I agree with. He also believes the other characteristics will come forward as the wine gets older. The vines aren’t that old which bodes well for the future of it.
Cornas has very granitic soil with a high iron content and a more southerly aspect, which means richer, bigger fruit. Arguably, the most ‘new world’ of the northern
Flight 1 – Marsanne – 77% correctly guessed the origins
Based on the above then, Bonny Doon Bien Nacido Syrah vs Gonon St Joseph was the pairing that most confused the tasters. I did find that very surprising – I would have thought that flight 5 would be a much closer call.
As far as the favourites of the evening went (and these were voted for before the wines were revealed) :-
Top white – Qupe Bien Nacido Roussane – 84% of the votes
So, a category each. We ended with a very jolly meal with Bob, Nick and various people and a good time seemed to be had by all, despite beetles and onions.
