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Slideshow
The week in pictures
Our week kicked off with a wonderful whirlwind tour of boutique California producers at the Golden State tasting at Avenue restaurant in St James’s, put on by The Wine Treasury, Vineyard Cellars, Roberson Wines, Flint Wines and California Wines. Our first port of call was The Wine Treasury, where the ebullient Rory Benham poured us a zippy Albariño that could compete with the best from Rías Baixas.
We then swung by the Flint Wines stand where communications manager Anja Breit poured us this delicious duo: an elegant Varner Chardonnay and silky Pinot made by Gavin Chanin of Chanin Wines, who creates bespoke artworks for each new vintage to adorn his labels.
We were on our way out the door when we were tipped off that there was a solitary bottle of Scarecrow under one of the tables, which practically needed a code word to gain access to a sip of. Made by Celia Welch, the old vine Rutherford Cabernet showed real promised, but would be even better in a decade with a juicy steak.
db was lucky enough to be invited to a lovely lunch hosted by Mentzendorff at The Colony Grill Room nestled within Corbin & King’s Art Deco hotel The Beaumont in Mayfair to celebrate the launch of the 2007 vintage of Bollinger La Grande Année, which was attended by the great and good of the wine trade including Serene Sutcliffe MW and Olly Smith.
In addition to the sprightly 2007 vintage, a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, which was one of only four vintages in Bollinger’s history when picking started in August, we also tried the 1992 vintage of La Grande Année, which was drinking beautifully, offering notes of white truffle and lemon drizzle cake.
To pair with 26 month old Comté we were treated to La Grande Année 1989, a golden drop redolent with forest floor and freshly foraged mushroom aromas.
In this busy week in drinks we also attended the buzzy English Wine Producers tasting at One Great George Street, where a who’s who of UK wine writers were busy sipping England’s finest fizzes. Among them was Exton Park in Sussex run by Corinne Seely who arrived in the UK by way of Bordeaux.
Also on hand to talk us through their range was Gareth Maxwell, sales and export manager of Hattingley Valley, who told db that the estate is keen to build up its reserve wine stocks and become known for its house style, a trend which is developing across the English sparkling wine industry.
We were delighted to find the inimitable Joe Wadsack being the Hambledon stand and enjoyed the opportunity of tasting the Hampshire estate’s sublime Premiere Cuvée again.
Over on the Hush Heath stand we got to try the Kent estate’s new ‘apple wine’, which was crisp, bright and brimming with character.
The Nyetimboys – winemaker Brad Greatrix and brand ambassador Steffan Griffiths treated us to a tasting of the estate’s latest vintages and revealed the extent of the recent frost damage, which destroyed 90% of the buds in certain vineyard parcels in Hampshire and West Sussex.
After the Golden State tasting we headed to Beast in Mayfair where we were greeted by this rather magnificent chap.
Descending the staircase into the belly of the Beast, we felt rather guilty on spying our supper – Norwegian King crabs – still alive.
The Beasty Boys – among the attendees at the dinner were wine writers Douglas Blyde and Richard Siddle, and Tom Harrow of Honest Grapes.
One of the many delicious drops from California on pour was the 2014 vintage of Mayacamas Chardonnay, which sung with notes of apple, pear, almonds, lemon oil and hints of smoke.
Lucy Campbell won the English National Surf Championships at Perranporth this week, christening her partnership with Korev Cornish Lager in style.
Nate Booker, Old Forester brand ambassador
The 21st Century Fox press preview of new film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, in which Old Forester plays a part, took place this week. To coincide with the release of the film, Old Forester will introduce Old Forester Statesman, which will be on sale from September nationwide, retailing at £45. This whisky will be sourced from hand-selected barrels matured in the warmest temperature locations of the Old Forester warehouse, creating a complex bourbon with ‘a rich and deep flavour profile.’
Carlos Besse Peres, Marv Films, Garvin Brown, Brown Forman, and Nate Booker
Flint Wines hosted its first Stannary Women’s Club Dinner on Tuesday with Diana Snowden-Seysses and Chiara Mondavi. Among the wines on pour were the NV Rosé Grand Chouilly-Bisseuil from A.R. Lenoble and Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2013.
The Wines of Germany Tasting came back for its third year on Tuesday at The Hospital Club and drew in a record number of attendees. In line with the musical theme of previous years, the tasting featured a juke box and focus area showcasing Sekt, Pinot Noir, and aged Riesling, themes which rotated according to the playlist. Attendees were able to taste for the first time the Top 50 German Wines 2017, which were selected for the trade by industry experts.
(Photo credit: Matt Alexander/PA Wire)
Last night (11 May), Taylors shipped a barrel of Port from the Douro to London on a yacht, recreating the house’s first shipment of Port wine in the 17thcentury. Yachtsman Ricardo Diniz arrived from the Douro to deliver a cask that was laded in Vila Nova de Gaia.
(Photo credit: Matt Alexander/PA Wire)
Ricardo Diniz is pictured with the special port barrel. Ricardo will go on to compete in the OSTAR transatlantic single-handed race from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, the first Portuguese man to do so.
L-R Conor Neiland, Commercial Director Guinness Global for Diageo, Anthony Kenny, Global Finance Director for ARI, Shane Grogan, Senior Licensing Manager for Diageo, Martin Carpenter, General Manager, ARI Ireland and Mark Sandys, Global Head of Beer, Baileys & Smirnoff for Diageo.
On Thursday, Diageo and Aer Rianta International (ARI) announced a new and exciting partnership at the launch of the world’s first Guinness Export House at Terminal 2, Dublin Airport. This state-of-the-art concept is the first of its kind for the Guinness brand and aims to deliver a new innovative retail solution to the travel retail sector.
This week saw the launch of Tim Atkin MW’s fifth annual Argentina Report, which was marked with an event hosted at the Argentine Ambassador’s Residence in London, featuring a tasting of some of the wine writer’s top 100 Argentine wines, having tasted more than 1,300.
The evening was also a chance to mark the achievements of some of the country’s brightest stars, with Daniel Pi of Trapiche named as Atkin’s winemaker of the year. Other accolades were bestowed upon Jorge Riccite of Bodega Norton, who was named this year’s Winemaking Legend, and Santiago Mayorga, winemaker for Nieto Senetiner and Cadus Winery, named young winemaker of the year.