Tutored Wine Tasting - The East India Club · Greece, and are not considered inferior to Tokay.”...

Tutored Wine Tasting Thursday 13th July 2017

SWEET WINES “The various ways winemakers can achieve sweetness in their wines”

Speaker: Eric LAGRE

Head Sommelier

SWEET WINE TASTING Speaker: Eric LAGRE, EIC Head Sommelier

Thursday 13th

July 2017

Tasting notes by Eric LAGRE and Magda KOTLARCZYK, W SET Diploma graduates (with the participation of Nora ESPINOSA CORONEL, WSET Diploma student)

(1) 2016, Vin Cuit Selon la Vieille Tradition Provençale, Domaine les Bastides (Carole Salen)

Produced in Puy-Sainte-Réparade near Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France

(2) 2014, Ben Ryé, Passito di Pantelleria DOC, Donnafugata (Stefano Valla)

Produced on the island of Pantelleria then bottled in Sicily, Italy

(3) NV, Pineau des Charentes AC, Domaine Gardrat (Lionel Gardrat)

Produced in Cozes near Roan in the Cognac-producing region of the Charentes, France

(4) 2016, Moscato d’Asti di Strevi DOCG, Contero (Patrizia Marenco)

Produced in Strevi, in the Asti-producing region of Piedmont, Italy

(5) NV, Champagne Veuve Clicquot Rich, LVMH Group (Dominique Demarville)

Produced in Reims from grapes grown in the Champagne-producing region, France

(6) 2010, Grünlack Riesling Spätlese, Schloss Johannisberg (Hans Kessler)

Produced in the Rheingau, Germany

(7) 2014, Grand Constance, Groot Constantia (Boela gerber)

Produced in the winegrowing region of Constantia, Western Cape, South Africa

(8) 2014, Gold Vidal Icewine, Inniskillin (Bruce Nicholson)

Produced in the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada

(9) 2007, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos, Dobogó (Attila Domokos)

Produced in Tokaj from grapes grown in the sub-regions of Mád and Tállya, North-eastern Hungary

(10) NV, Grand Rutherglen Topaque (Andrew Drumm)

Produced in Rutherglen, North-eastern Victoria, Australia

HOW DO WINEMAKERS ACHIEVE SWEETNESS IN THEIR WINES?

*

The history of the wine trade in the Ancient World could easily be summed up into a history of sweet

wines, for only wine with a high alcohol and sugar content was stable enough to travel in those days.

Making wine is straightforward; simply let the yeast metabolise the grape sugars into alcohol until it runs

out of nourishment and dies. But since that process always results into dry wines, one had to demonstrate

sophisticated levels of human ingenuity to achieve sweetness in their wines. It was discovered that, by

concentrating the sugars in the fermenting juice, the relentlessly sugar-rich environment would eventually

mix with the increasing level of alcohol into a poisonous cocktail fatal to the ferment. Two techniques were

used to concentrate the sugars in grape juice and make the first sweet wines; either that juice was

simmered down in a process known as inspissation, as in the cooked wines of the French region of

Provence, or grapes were picked early then air-dried in a process known as appassimento in Italy or soleo

in Spain, as in the raisin wines of the Italian island of Pantelleria off the Tunisian coast.

Until distillation was developed to commercial scale in the 17th century, the sweet wines of the

Mediterranean dominated the international market. By artificially elevating the alcohol level in wine at any

stage of the fermentation process through mutage, an addition of raw brandy, fortified wines such as Port,

Sherry and Madeira came to light. Mutage is the most potent way to stabilise wine, as demonstrated by

Pineau des Charentes, which is no more than fortified unfermented grape juice. Then, in the turn of the

20th century, filtration became so fine that the yeast could be taken out of the equation altogether. Hardly

has Moscato d'Asti had time to develop bubbles and alcohol that it is filtered clean then bottled, free of

any risk of secondary fermentation. Mutage and filtration achieve levels of aromatic freshness virtually

unseen in sweet wines before. But one issue is balance. The former style is often dominated by the fiery

potency of brandy whilst the latter can prove sickly. If sugary sweetness isn’t an issue, why not add sugar?

Because regulations prohibit it! Only Champagne can legally be finished with a dosage of rectified grape

must and cane syrup today.

The most terroir-driven way to achieve sweetness in wine is to leave the grapes hanging on the vine and let

nature do the concentrating job. The resulting wines truly reflect vintage variations, but never to the

expense of balance. A late-harvest wine like German Spätlese is the primordial expression of the internal

bio-chemical transformations which occur within the slightly translucent and shrivelled golden berries

when the vine enters dormancy. As the weather then externally impacts on the physiology of those berries,

three derivative styles will take shape. Cool and breezy conditions will turn the over-matured grapes into

raisins without compromising their acidity in a process known as passerillage, as in South Africa’s

legendary Constantia Wyn. By naturally freezing their water content, deep frost will yield Eiswein or

Icewine, which won’t be produced commercially before the advent of the pneumatic press in the 1950s. A

combination of humidity and marked diurnal temperature variations will ultimately trigger the

botrytisation process that was exploited for the first time in Ottoman Hungary to make Tokaji.

Trying to speed these processes up in the comfort of a winery will always result in simpler wines with more

dried-fruit aromas and less tartaric freshness of acidity! And since the risk and cost of leaving the grapes

exposed to the whim of the elements, diseases and voracity of wildlife with longer hang times means that

late-harvested wines never come cheap, be suspicious of sweet wines with a low price tag!

As for extended maturation in wood, the process can alter sweetness levels either way. An unfortified sweet

wine like Vin Santo from northern Italy will become drier and drier each time fermentation resumes with

every new warm season over the many years the cask sits in the loft of the winery, whereas Rutherglen

wines and PX Sherry, which are stabilised through mutage, will concentrate their sugars through ageing.

+ = 1- INSPISSATION

+ = 2-APPASSIMENTO = SOLEO

+ = 3-MUTAGE

+ = 4-FILTRATION

+ = 5-DOSAGE

Five methods to achieve sweetness from fresh grapes:

= 6-LATE HARVEST

= 7-PASSERILLAGE

= 8-FREEZING

= 9-BOTRYTISATION

+ + = 10-AGEING

Five methods to achieve sweetness from late-harvested grapes:

Wine Name: Vin Cuit Selon La Vieille Tradition Provençale

Vintage: 2016 Vin Cuit sometimes comes in the shape of a non-vintage (NV) blend

Producer: Domaine Les Bastides (Est. 1967 certified organic since 1976) www.carole.salen.free.fr

Winemaker: Carole Salen [email protected]

Indication of origin: Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade near Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France

Style: Cooked wine by the inspissation process in the style of the Carenum of Antiquity In early October, the tradition in Provence is to heat the juice of the last crop of the vintage in huge copper cauldrons over

the open flame of an oak fire to make Vin Cuit. Even though copper helps heat the must evenly, one must keep the grape

juice under boiling point and stir it constantly to avoid burnt flavours. The scum that rises to the surface must be removed

regularly to avoid bitterness. After up to two days of gentle simmering, the juice becomes reduced by 1/3. If the smoke from

the wood fire departs its own character to the wine, Vin Cuit is not a mulled wine, nor is it a fortified wine. No sugar, grape

spirit or flavouring is added at any stage. Once cool, the reduction is naturally fermented in stainless steel vats. It is so rich in

natural sugars that fermentation is slow; it took one month in this instance, but it can take up to one year. Fermentation

eventually stops by itself when the level of residual sugars is still high. Malolactic fermentation soon follows. Here, the wine

is filtered then bottled just in time for Christmas, but many producers will age Vin Cuit in used oak barrels for up to 5 years.

Assemblage: 100% Grenache Vin Cuit is usually a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault and Rolle

Alcohol: 12%abv Vin Cuit reaches 14%abv on average as the wine is usually fermented for longer

Residual Sugar: 180 g/l Vin Cuit usually retains 90 g/l of residual sugars as one allows more sugars to turn into alcohol

Total Acidity: 4.25 g/l

PH: 3.66

Stopper: Natural cork

Capacity: 75cl

Retail price: £30 inc. VAT The wine is not available in the UK and had to be bought direct hence the price is a guesstimate

The grape vine was domesticated in the Caucasus around 4,000 BC. From that time onwards, wine culture spread throughout the Ancient World, starting with the

Fertile Crescent then Classical Greece and the Balkans, before reaching every corner of the empire during the Roman conquest. If most dry wines were very prone

to spoilage in those days, sweet wines achieved such a high alcohol and sugar content that they proved stable-enough to travel hence the history of the wine

trade in the Ancient World could easily be summed up to a history of sweet wines. Italy was and still remains the stronghold of an ancient tradition that gave

winemakers two ways to concentrate sugars in wine; either grape juice was simmered down over an open flame to evaporate its water contend in a process

known as inspissation to make a style of cooked wine called Carenum, now known as Vino Cotto, or the grape clusters were air-dried in sunshine in a process

known as appassimento in Italy (or Soleo in Spain) to make a style of raisin wine called Passum, now known as Passito. Carenum was obtained by fermenting a

grape juice reduction by 1/3. Since a reduction by half was too sugar-rich to ferment, the Romans would only use such Defructum to force dry wines. Sea water,

herbs and spices could also be added together with that Defructum to further upset yeast activity, thereby preserving maximum sweetness and improving the

stability of forced wines. Grape juice could be reduced by as much as 2/3 into a trickle called Sapa. Sapa is still produced in Italy under the name of Vincotto or

Mosto Cotto. Such grape syrup is used as seasoning instead of balsamic vinegar. It is also produced all around the Mediterranean and the Middle-East as a cheap

alternative to honey. Cooked wines are now little produced outside Italy, but they were so popular in 19th

century Provence that, in 1817, pioneering French wine

writer André Jullien went as far as stating that “inspissated wines, especially when of mature age, are deemed superior to the sweet wines of Spain, Italy and

Greece, and are not considered inferior to Tokay.” In the mid-18th

century, despite Vin Cuit having become an intrinsic part of the Christmas celebrations in the

French region of Provence, cooked wine production was very much a domestic affair. It is Fréderic Mistral’s Felibrean movement of promotion of the Provençal

dialect and culture that led to the commercialisation of Vin Cuit from 1822 to 1960. In 1975, Jean Salen of Domaine les Bastides decided to recreate “Lou Vin Cué”

of his childhood from a recipe taken from Jean-Baptiste Reboul’s “La Cuisinière Provençale” published in 1910. 16 winemakers have now returned to producing

Vin Cuit at the foot of Mont Sainte Victoire, between Aix-en-Provence and Trets, selling it locally under a “table wine” appellation from the cellar door mostly.

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is pale tawny in colour with red copper highlights. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean. It exhibits a medium intensity of deliberately oxidised aromas. The nose is positively fruit-driven, yet it is underpinned

by Demerara sugar and subtle hints of cinnamon and cardamom. The fruit is pungently grapey, to the point that one could confuse this wine

for a Muscat, yet it is layered with peach, apricot and a mixture of dried fruits such as raisin, fig and candid orange.

Palate: This medium-plus-bodied wine is sweet, yet the medium-plus acidity manages to offset both that sweetness and the medium alcohol. The

stone and dried fruit seems to be coated in brown sugar and caramel. That impression of lusciousness is reinforced by the somewhat oily

texture of the wine. Hints of sweet spices and orange peel tail off into delightful notes of wood fire smoke in the finish of medium-plus length.

Assessment of quality: This wine is very good. A wood-aged example would be more complex, but still, the surprise of that smokiness in the finish brings a degree of

interest. The sweetness, acidity and fruit character of this wine are in perfect balance. On Christmas Eve in Provence, Vin Cuit forms an integral

part of the “Cacho-fiò” ritual and it is a must-have with the 13 desserts eaten at the end of the frugal “gros souper” after midnight mass. The

wine generally pairs well with desserts containing chocolate, nuts or fruit, regardless of whether that fruit is fresh or dried. Try Vin Cuit also

with cheese or foie gras. One can also use this wine to deglaze the pan and make a beautiful sauce.

Wine Name: Ben Ryé or « Son of the Wind » in Arabic, Passito di Pantelleria DOC

Vintage: 2014

Producer: Donnafugata (Est. 1983 but the Rallo family have been making wine since 1851) www.donnafugata.it

Winemaker: Resident winemaker Stefano Valla and consultant winemaker Carlo Ferrini

Indication of origin: Grown and produced in Pantelleria then bottled in Marsala, Sicily, Italy

Style: Raisin wine by the appassimento process is the style of the Passum of Antiquity Donnafugata started producing wine on the island of Pantelleria in 1989. On the week of 17

th August, the healthiest clusters

of early-ripening grapes are harvested then sundried on mats for 20 to 30 days. Harvest truly starts the following week and

lasts till the middle of September or so. The crop is chilled until the clusters that were put to dry become shrivelled to raisin.

Only then will the refrigerated grapes be made into dry wine. The dried grapes are destemmed then added to that base wine

at intervals during fermentation. The grapes are pressed to extract maximum sweetness then the wine is held in stainless

steel vats for 4 months. The wine is eventually blended and bottle-matured for 6 months prior to its commercialisation.

Assemblage: 100% Zibibbo (Moscato di Alessandria)

Alcohol: 14.5%abv

Residual Sugar: 199 g/l


PH: 3.72


Capacity: 75cl

Wholesale price: £42.17 DPD ex VAT from

Retail price: £65 inc. VAT as per www.wine-searcher.com (bought wholesale from www.libertywines.co.uk)

The patriarch of all sweet wines, and probably the most sought-after style of wine in the Greco-Roman World, was made from air-dried grapes. Grapes quickly

lose acidity in the hot climate of the Mediterranean. So, in order to retain as much of their balancing freshness as possible, the Greeks would prevent the grapes

from reaching full maturity by twisting the stem of every single cluster or by cutting the base of the fruiting cane. As the clusters were left to hang on the vine, the

berries would gradually desiccate in the sunshine, thereby concentrating their sugar and acid content. The making of Cordon Cut wines is being revived in

Australia today, but as for the stem-twisting technique, it is a long-forgotten practice. Around 700 BC, in a farmer's almanac entitled “Works and Days,” Hesiod

explains that, by drying the grapes off the vine, the same result could be achieved, but in a less labour-intensive and more controlled way. The healthiest bunches

had to be picked early to ensure that acidity remained at an optimum level and that the skins were thick-enough for the grapes not to rot during the drying

process. The clusters were placed on mats to dry in the sunshine for 10 days then in the shade for another 5 days before pressing. Coincidental with the rise of the

Greek city states was the emergence of the most adventurous traders of the Mediterranean: the Phoenicians. They exported the wines of Lebanon and the

winemaking techniques of Canaan to North Africa, Sicily, Sardinia and Spain. It is in their colony of Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia, that Mago wrote the seminal

agricultural treatise that was to become a corner stone of the Greco-Roman wine culture. After the Romans won the Punic wars and retrieved Mago’s record of

the farming knowledge of the North Africans from the ruins of the city in 146 BC, the recipe of Passum became the new standard of dried-grape winemaking in

the south of Italy. Whereas the Greek method was to press the raisins directly, as in the making of Vinsanto in Santorini, the Punic method would facilitate the

extraction of sweetness by soaking the raisins into dry base wine prior to pressing. In Pantelleria, Passum is now called Passito, but the mode of production

remains unchanged. The influence of the North African culture is plain for you to see in the architecture of the Italian island, mid-way between Sicily and Tunisia.

On wind-swept slopes, the bush vines are planted in hollows dug into terraces of volcanic soil. The growing conditions are so challenging that each vine only

yields as little as 1.6 kg of grapes. One needs 4 kg of grapes to produce 1 bottle of Passito, which represents 4 times as many grapes as in the production of a

bottle of dry wine, so don’t expect Passito to come cheap! The cooler and more humid conditions of Northern Italy require the grapes to be air-dried under cover,

but such medieval straw wines (or Strohweins in German or Vins de Paille in French) as Tuscan Vin Santo or Venetian Recioto still belong to the raisin-wine family.

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is pale tawny in colour with golden highlights. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean despite some white pepper and balsamic undertones suggesting a degree of volatility (volatility is nothing unusual in wines with

a high sugar and acid content). The nose exhibits a medium-plus intensity of developing aromas dominated by grapiness. The richness of the peach,

apricot, fresh fig and marmalade-like Seville orange fruit is reinforced by notes of honey and caramelised peach kernel and almond. Notes of basil, fruit

blossom and yellow flower cut through that richness and bring a sense of freshness.

Palate: This medium-plus-bodied wine is sweet, yet refreshingly tartaric. The medium-plus acidity does manage to offset the high alcohol indeed. The palate

exhibits a medium-plus intensity of apricot, peach, quince and grape jelly. The richness of fruit is lifted by salted caramel, flowers and zingy Seville

orange. The sapid finish of long length is nuanced by subtle nuttiness and almost Marmite-like savouriness.

Assessment of quality: The wine is very good and some could argue that it is outstanding. Thanks to its tang and minerality, this rich and potent wine manages to achieve a

sense of freshness and balance. Moscato d’Alessandria is often blamed for yielding a simpler style of Muscat, but it definitely isn’t the case here, for

the wine delivers great complexity in the most layered and dynamic way. This wine is a meditation wine more than it is a food wine as such, yet it will

prove out to be the perfect accompaniment to chocolate and ricotta-filled desserts or blue cheeses when served sensibly chilled. Some suggest pairing

it with caramelised duck or fois gras, but I cannot personally imagine drinking a wine that sweet before the last course of a meal.

Wine Name: Pineau (Blanc) des Charentes AC

Vintage: NV

Producer: Domaine Gardrat (Est. 1894) www.domaine-gardrat.fr Domaine Gardrat produces Pineau de Charentes since 1977 and Vin de Pays Charentais since 1988

Winemaker: Lionel Gardrat

Indication of origin: Cozes near Roan in the Cognac-producing region of the Charentes, France

Style: Vin de Liqueur (VdL) by mutage of unfermented grape juice with brandy Pineau is traditionally produced in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime by adding one part new Cognac

straight from the cask into two parts unfermented grape juice. Pineau is made from locally-grown Cognac and Bordeaux

grapes (white grapes for the production of Pineau Blanc and red grapes for the production of Pineau Rosé). Pineau has to be

aged in cask for a minimum of 18 months (5 years for Vieux Pineau). This is a non-vintage blend. Under French fiscal law, Vin

Doux Naturel or VDN (e.g. Port) is taxed as wine whereas Vin de Liqueur or VdL (e.g. Pineaux des Charentes) is taxed as liquor.

Assemblage: 100% Ugni Blanc (= Trebbiano Toscano)

Alcohol: 17%abv



Stopper: T-top cork

Capacity: 75cl

Retail price: £12 inc. VAT as per www.wine-searcher.com (bought online from www.swallowfinewine.co.uk)

In the Middle Ages, the Venetians gained the monopoly on wine trade in the Mediterranean but eventually lost the northern European market by misjudging the

role that brandy was going to play in the development of fortified wines, which are far cheaper to produce than the glorious sweet wines of the Mediterranean.

Legacy of the long occupation by the Moors, distillation for medicinal purposes had long been widespread in both Spain and the south of France. But the first

distillers to sell their wares commercially were probably from Armagnac in the early 15th century. Unfortunately for them, the Armagnacais lacked the privileged

commercial links that the Charentais had established with the leaders of the new Atlantic trade routes, the Dutch and the English. The “Little Ice Age” of the

1570s forced the Charentais to switch from winemaking to the distillation of “Eau-de-Vie de Cognac,” for the only quality beverage that can be produced from

low alcohol, acidic, neutral wines is spirit. The Dutch imported a huge amount of such low-grade “Vin de Cognac” to distil it into “brabdywijn” or “Brandvin”

(literally “burnt wine”). The Charentais eventually understood that there was demand for that new product, brandy, hence they started to distil it themselves,

thereby turning the Charentes into one of the centres of distillation alongside the Netherlands and Britain by the end of the 17th century. Spirit distilled from

grapes is far more expensive to produce than a spirit distilled from grain like Gin, and Cognac would have never emerged as a superior drink if, from 1660, the

London café society of Restoration England had not developed a marked taste for emerging luxury drinks such as Sherry, Port, wood-aged Claret and the first

bottles of sparkling Champagne. Protectionist policies in times of war with the French led the English to replace the fortified Muscats from the French Midi with

Spanish and Portuguese wines. But bear in mind that many of the wines that we know today as fortified wines, like Madeira for instance, were originally

unfortified. Since they had the unfortunate habit of spoiling at sea, shippers started to follow the example of Port by adding a small amount of Rum or any spirit

available to those wines in order to stabilise their cargo. The use of brandy will not become the standard before the 18th century. As for fortification as the

oenological tool that allows winemakers to produce the full range of fortified wines that we know today, its time won’t come before sometime in the first half of

the 19th century. The practice of adding grape spirit in the middle of the fermentation process to preserve sweetness in Port only became universal in 1852 for

instance. Three categories of fortified wines can be achieved: “Vin Viné” when the addition of grape spirit, or mutage, takes place after the wine is fermented to

dryness, as in Sherry; Vin Doux Naturel (VDN) when mutage takes place in the middle of the fermentation process, as in Port; and Mistelle or Vin de Liqueur (VdL)

when grape spirit is added to unfermented grape juice, as in the present Pineau des Charentes. The story goes that Pineau des Charentes was born by accident in

1589, but the first time the aperitif was commercialised was in 1921 by a winegrower in Burie called Émile Daud. Most of the big Cognac houses produce Pineau

des Charentes, but there are smaller producers whose focus is actually on Pineau, not on using Cognac rejects to make Pineau. I doubt that this example is great!

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is medium gold with red copper highlights. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The nose exhibits a medium intensity of fully-developed and rather heady aromas, which makes one wonder whether one is dealing with wine

here. The nose has little fruit to it apart from some apple and pear. The scent is dominated by hay from the fortifying brandy and dry wood

from the ageing cask.

Palate: This light-bodied wine is sweet and fortified to a medium level of alcohol. The medium-minus acidity gives the wine a very fiery quality. The

flavours are of medium-minus intensity. The apple fruit is overwhelmed by bitters, caramel and cinnamon derived from the ageing cask.

Thankfully, the finish is only medium-minus.

Assessment of quality: Magda and I find this wine just about acceptable. One struggles to identify any fruit character beyond the young and fiery spirit on the nose

and the young and fiery spirit on the palate, which is no surprise considering that Ugni Blanc is a neutral grape variety. Technically speaking,

Pineau des Charentes is not a wine and Nora thinks that it can be good when mixed into a long drink, poured over ice with a splash of soda

water and a twist of orange peel. Isn’t Pineau des Charentes traditionally served as an aperitif anyway? As for those producers who suggest

drinking it as a food wine in accompaniment to foie gras, Tomme de Chèvre or Charentais Melon, they must be out of their minds!

Wine Name: Moscato d’Asti (di Strevi) DOCG

Vintage: 2016

Producer: Azienda Agricola Contero

Winemaker: Patrizia Marenco

Indication of origin: Strevi in the winegrowing region of Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Style: Frizzante from single fermentation in autoclave by the tank method The fresh, yet ripe grapes are hand-harvested in early September then gently pressed. The juice is refrigerated in stainless-

steel tanks at near freezing temperatures to preserve maximum freshness as it is the market that dictates when the wine is

going to be made. When there is demand, the juice is cold-fermented in hermetically-sealed tanks to capture the carbon

dioxide and form the bubbles. When the wine reaches the legal minimum of 5.5%abv, the fermentation is stopped through

refrigeration then the yeast is filtered out several times at bottling to make sure that the wine cannot carry on fermenting.

Assemblage: 100% Moscato Bianco (= Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains)

Alcohol: 5.5%abv


Total Acidity: 6 g/l

PH: 3.4

Stopper: Stelvin screw cap with plastic foam seal

Capacity: 75cl


The history of Moscato d’Asti dates back centuries, yet the wine didn’t find a wide market before the advent of refrigeration, tank technology and membrane

filtration in the course of the four decades leading to the second World War. The style derives from techniques used in France. The Benedictine monks of the

abbey of Saint-Hilaire, near Limoux, claim to have produced the first ever sparkling wine in 1531. Wine bottled with the first moon of March following the harvest

would almost magically turn sparkling. In such a wine, the effervescence is the result of the “méthode par fermentation spontanée”. In other words, the grape

juice is allowed to complete its fermentation in the bottle, with no addition of yeast or sugar. Since the bubbles result from the fermentation of the natural sugars

in the grape juice alone, the style rarely achieves the minimum 3 bar pressure that would qualify it as “fully sparkling” (or “spumante” in Italian) hence it is known

as “pétillant naturel” or “pét-nat” (or “frizzante” in Italian). That seminal “méthode ancestrale” is also known as “méthode rurale” or “méthode artisanale”,

thereby stressing the fact that it is mostly used to handcraft sparklers for local consumption. Pétillants Naturels do look cloudy and taste rather rustic hence they

never found a market outside the area of production. The present Moscato d’Asti is more reminiscent of the attractively clear and aromatic Clairette de Die

produced in the Rhône valley by the “méthode Dioise”. Clairette de Die is the only pétillant by some adapted form of “méthode par fermentation spontanée” to

be commercially visible in France. By decanting and filtering the wine from the bottle into a pressurised tank, not only is the sediment removed, but both the

effervescence and a degree of residual sweetness can be preserved. Whereas Clairette de Die is fermented in a bottle, Moscato d’Asti is fermented in a

hermetically sealed tank or autoclave. This is the only difference between those two wines. The tank method was actually invented in Asti by Italian oenologist

Federico Martinotti in 1895. The method was then patented by French winemaker Ergène Charmat in 1907. “The Charmat method” was eventually adapted to

Prosecco production by Antonio Carpene Jr in the late 1930s and re-baptised “metodo Italiano”. The “metodo Italiano” helped rationalise the production of

Moscato d’Asti, even though it aimed at emulating Champagne production by triggering a second fermentation in dry wine with an addition of sugar and yeast.

That way, Asti Spumante, Lambrusco and Prosecco could be produced swiftly in much larger volumes and at a much lower cost than Champagne or Cava. The

Champenois had better get over themselves! People at Roederer voiced concerns that the image of Cristal was being cheapened through overexposure on MTV.

The R&B and Hip-Hop world took offence and rappers decided to fill up their fridges with Moscato d’Asti rather than with the inspirational bubbly, thereby

creating a fashion trend in the US. Following the example of Prosecco here, in the UK, Moscato d’Asti has now started to challenge Champagne in the US market.

Appearance:

This wine looks clear and bright. It is pale lemon-green in colour. The small bubbles are of medium persistency. They form a ring

of foam around the glass.

Nose:

The wine smells clean. It exhibits a medium intensity of youthful aromas. The combination of tinned peach, lemon sherbet, pear

drop, apricot jelly, rose water and subtle grapiness is very reminiscent of Turkish-delight.

Palate:

This medium-minus-bodied wine is sweet. Like the nose, the palate exhibits a medium intensity of Turkish-delight-like character.

The mousse feels creamy in the mouth, yet the medium acidity and low alcohol do not manage to offset either the sweetness or

the confected edge of the fruit. The finish of medium length feels almost-sugary sweet as a result.

Assessment of quality:

This wine is good. It is delightfully aromatic, but it is somewhat simple, too confected and medium in every way otherwise. The

finish is particularly sickly. One does need to serve this wine ice-cold to tone down that sweetness. Moscato d’Asti is

traditionally drunk as an aperitif. Some suggest pairing such a wine with pâté, grilled salmon or Melon & Prosciutto, but I do not

consider it a food wine, unless one serves it with fresh-fruit desserts. It is particularly enjoyable when poured straight onto fresh

strawberries. One can alternatively try Moscato d’Asti with soft cheeses such as gorgonzola or mozzarella di bufala.

Wine Name: Champagne Veuve Clicquot, Cuvée Rich https://rich.veuve-clicquot.com/

Vintage: NV

Producer: Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (Est. 1772) www.veuveclicquot.com

Winemaker: Dominique Demarville

Indication of origin: Champagne House based in Reims, Champagne-producing region, France

Style: Sweet Champagne by the Champagne method The black and white grapes are hand-harvested in late September when at maturity. They are gently pressed (102 litres of

must per 160kg of grapes) so that no colour is extracted. The must is fermented to dryness. 80 cuvées (including grand cru

and 1er cru wines and 25-35% reserve wine) are blended then bottled together with the “liqueur de tirage” to trigger a

second fermentation. After a minimum of 3 years on lees, the bottle undergoes the riddling process so that the sediment

can be removed at disgorgement. The wine is eventually sweetened with “liqueur d’expédition” then commercialised.

Assemblage: 45% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier, 15% Chardonnay

Alcohol: 12%abv

Dosage: 60 g/l = Doux (« Sweet » in French)


PH: 2.99

Stopper: Agglomerated core with two natural cork disks

Capacity: 75cl

Retail price: £60 exclusively from UK high-street retailer www.selfridges.com (bought online from www.millesima.co.uk)

Don Pérignon did not invent the “méthode Champenoise” (now known as “méthode traditionnelle” or “méthode classique” outside Champagne). In 1662, years

before Don Pérignon had even entered the abbey of Hautvillers, and two decades before the method was documented for the first time in France, English scientist

Christopher Merret presented a paper to the newly formed Royal Society in which he stated that, by adding sugar to dry wine in a sealed bottle, a second

fermentation was triggered which turned that wine sparkling. It wasn’t before the 1830s that Champagne production would become commercially viable thanks

to André François’ invention of the densimeter. Before then, not being able to precisely work out the optimum composition of the mixture of sugar and yeast that

is the “liqueur de tirage” meant that the wine often failed to turn sparkling altogether. As for the successful cuvées, 20% were lost through busts. Regardless of

whether the “Champagne method” was devised in England or in France, one thing is for certain; Champagne could never have come to light without British

technology, for only coal-fired glass bottles could sustain high inner pressure and only the cork stopper newly rediscovered through the Port trade could offer a

quality of seal tight enough to contain the effervescence. Thanks to the perfection of the riddling and disgorging processes by Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin,

aka La Veuve Clicquot, the “méthode Champenoise” was achieving unseen levels of clarity and finesse by the turn of the 19th

century regardless, and until the

advent of the “tank method” in the turn of the 20th

century, most sparkling wine was produced by the “traditional method”. The “liqueur de tirage” is sweet, yet

that sweetness is only meant to trigger the second fermentation. By the time the bubble is formed, the wine will have become dry again. After years of

maturation on lees to develop its complex autolitic character, Champagne is disgorged then “liqueur d’expédition” is added. “Liqueur d’expédition” is no more

than sugar in the shape of rectified grape juice and cane syrup. Note that Champagne is the only wine that can legally be sweetened with sugar at bottling. In the

19th century, Champagne was noticeably sweeter. Today’s trend for dryer Champagne began when Perrier-Jouët decided to ship to London their 1846

Champagne with no dosage. Subsequently, the Ayala family of Château d’Aÿ did the same with their 1865 vintage, which became quite popular at Oxford

University within the Bullingdon Club, where the Prince of Wales was a regular guest. Unsurprisingly, Brut Champagne became the fashion in the Edwardian era

and onwards. Today, cocktails are making a comeback hence the recent launch of a series of sweet Champagnes designed for mixology: “Lanson White Label” in

2013 then LVMH’s “Moët Ice Imperial” and “Veuve Clicquot Rich” in 2015. Edwin Dublin of Berry Bros and Rudd thinks that the timing has got to do with the

Prosecco effect. To me, the disco-ball appearance of “Veuve Clicquot Rich” has got to be a nod to the pop culture that dominates night life and the social media. It

seems that the Champenois are no longer reluctant to cheapen their elitist image when it comes to cashing in! If this bottle looks cheap, the wine certainly isn’t!

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is pale lemon-yellow in colour. The bubbles are small and of long persistency.

Nose: The wine smells clean. It exhibits a medium-plus intensity of fully developed aromas. Under a layer of yeasty autolytic aromas such as short bread and

digestive biscuit, one can detect integrated aromas of yellow and red apple combined with lemon and grapefruit citrus rind. This rich aromatic profile is

lifted by flowery notes of honeysuckle and acacia.

Palate: The nose is that of a fine Champagne and one does not expect it to taste sweet, yet the wine turns out to be sweet in the mouth, which takes one

aback. One has got to acknowledge that the sweetness of this medium-bodied wine is perfectly offset by the medium-plus acidity. The alcohol being

only medium, that also contributes to an overall sense of balance. The mousse is very creamy and the flavours are of medium-plus intensity. The

sweetness of lemon curd is counterbalanced by the bitterness of citrus zest. The star fruit, peach, apple and pear fruit is coated in biscuity yeastiness

and butterscotch. That richness is lifted by fresh notes of honeysuckle and other yellow flowers in the finish of medium-plus length.

Assessment of quality: This Champagne is very good, but one cannot help whishing that the wine was dry. The sweetness comes as a shock indeed, and if it is in perfect

balance, it stands in the way of the layered complexity of fruit. Veuve Clicquot Rich is designed for mixology anyway. They advise to pour it as a cocktail

over Ice with a garnish of celery stalks, orange peel, pineapple chunks, cucumber slices or bell pepper strips, or simply strained through tea leaves.

There is something decadent and ostentatious in that prospect, considering that Prosecco would achieve the same result at a fraction of the cost!

Wine Name: Grünlack Riesling Spätlese

Vintage: 2010

Producer: Schloss Johannisberg (Est. 1100) www.schloss-johannisberg.com

VDP Prädikatweingut www.vdp.de

IRF Internation Riesling Foundation www.drinkriesling.com

Winemaker: Hans Kessler

Indication of origin: Rheingau, Germany

Style: Late-harvest wine from botrytis-free grapes with high degrees Brix Very low yields of selected clusters of overripe, yet botrytis-free grapes are handpicked late in the middle of October. The

grapes are whole-bunch-pressed then the juice is naturally, yet slowly cold-fermented in stainless steel tanks. For the sake of

balance in that vintage, the high-acidity wine was chilled to stop the fermentation process once the level of residual sugars had

gone down to ≈100g/l. It was then filtered to remove the yeast and prevent any risk of secondary fermentation in the bottle.

Assemblage: 100% Riesling Schloss Johannisberg grows 100% Riesling since 1720

Alcohol: 8.5%abv




Capacity: 75cl

Retail price: £38 inc. VAT as per www.wine-searcher.com (bought wholesale from www.hallgartendruitt.co.uk)

Schloss Johannisberg is a monument to wine history. Its top-ranking vineyards were planted on the orders of the Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Not only is it the

oldest Riesling estate in the world, but it has contributed wine styles that are now at the core of the German prädikat system of 1971, starting with the discovery

in 1775 of the first ever German botrytised wine. Beware, for if that style was given the all-encompassing title of Spätlese at the time, the Prädikat does now

strictly apply to wines made from grapes that have managed to achieve the highest sugar content without developing noble rot. Having to contend with a

continental climate and humid conditions, Alsace, Germany, Austria and Tokaj had no choice but to devise appellation systems based on the levels of sweetness

and noble rot achieved in the grapes at harvest. These systems come alongside the usual certification of origin, even though, here, the name of the estate stands

for a single vineyard designation in its own right. Schloss Johannisberg is indeed one of only a handful of German vineyards that does not have to display a village

name on the label. Not only does the coldness of the weather interfere with wine quality but with the winemaking process itself. Before the advent of

temperature-controlled fermenters, late-harvested wines like this Spätlese were vinified so close to winter that the cold would interrupt the fermentation process

prematurely. Not being able to guarantee the level of sweetness in the resulting wine from one vintage to the next can prove infuriating, for consumers never

know what to expect when pulling the cork. The International Riesling Foundation (IRF), of which Schloss Johannisberg is a member, came up with the “Riesling

Taste Profile”. This tool helps identify sweetness levels on labels, and it is a shame that it hasn’t been made compulsory to this day! Nowhere outside the above-

mentioned regions of Europe is the concept of terroir more relevant. One had to select a grape variety that would suit the land and achieve ripeness despite the

harshness of the climate. From that variety, a wine is produced that truly reflects vintage variations, but never to the expense of balance. Long hang times result

in four distinct styles of wines. “Late-Harvest Wine” is the primordial expression of the internal bio-chemical transformations that occur within the slightly

translucent and shrivelled golden berries as clusters are cut away from any source of nourishment when the vine enters dormancy. As the elements externally

impact on the physiology of those golden berries, the grapes yield “Passerilled Wine” when breezy conditions desiccate them into raisins, “Icewine” when deep

frost freezes them and “Noble Wine” when cold nights and hot days in humid conditions trigger the development of the botrytis cinerea fungus within them.

Trying to speed these processes up in the comfort of a winery always results in simpler wines with more dried-fruit aromas and less tartaric freshness of acidity!

Appearance: This white wine looks clear and bright. It is pale gold in colour. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean. It exhibits a medium-plus intensity of developing aromas. The citrus fruit combines lemon, lime and Seville orange

(juice, peel and all) into a marmalade-like effect. The over-ripeness of the peach, apricot and mirabelle gives the fruit character an exotic edge,

with notes of pineapple, passion fruit and mango. The scent is lifted by notes of honeysuckle, ginger and petroleum-like minerality.

Palate: This medium-bodied wine is sweet, but the acidity is so high and the alcohol so low (let alone that the texture of the wine exhibits little

glycerol) that there is nothing cloying about that sweetness. The wine exhibits a medium-plus intensity of flavours. The core fruit character is

that of mirabelle and toffee apple. Its richness and ripeness is lifted by the zing of lime and kiwi. The resulting sense of freshness is

complemented by a slight effervescence. The wine is layered with a wide spectrum of exotic and citrus fruit flavours. The palate is quite

dynamic also, as exemplified by the citrus fruit, which goes from juicy to honeyed, eventually culminating into notes of marmalade. The fruit

turns almost into acidulated sweet in the finish of very long length, yet that confected character never feels chemically.

Assessment of Quality: This wine is outstanding. The acidity is incredibly stimulating, yet it is never astringent and always in balance with the intense concentration

and deep complexity of the fruit. Whilst some might find that level of acidity challenging now, they must feel reassured that time will

eventually bring roundness to the deliciousness of this wine. Wait another decade or so to see this wine realise its full potential! Match this

style of wine with a terrine of foie gras accompanied of a mango salad, Fresh fruit desserts or creamy cheeses with a white rind.

Wine Name: Grand Constance « Constantia Wyn » stamped into the glass of the bottle

Vintage: 2014

Producer: Groot Constantia (Est. 1685) www.grootconstantia.co.za

Winemaker: Boela Gerber assisted by Rudolph Steenkamp

Indication of origin: Constantia, Western Cape, South Africa

Style: Natural Sweet Wine from grapes dried on the vine through passerillage The Climate of Constantia is Mediterranean. Cool breezes from the Atlantic Ocean help maintain a good level of

aromatics and acidity in the grapes as they are left to desiccate on the vine well into the season. The grapes are

hand-picked late in the middle of April. They are destemmed, crushed, fermented on the skins for about one week

then pressed. The wine is eventually raked back into the used barrel and matured for 24 months prior to bottling.

Assemblage: 100% Red and White Muscat de Frontignan

Alcohol: 12%abv

Residual Sugar: 165.3 g/l

Total Acidity: 7 g/l

PH: 3.84

Stopper: Waxed over natural cock

Capacity: 37.5cl

Retail price: £68 inc. VAT as per www.wine-searcher.com (bought wholesale from www.hallgartendruitt.co.uk)

The grape vine was planted in South Africa for the first time in 1652. Out of those grapes, which were grown in the gardens of the Dutch East India Company in

the Cape of Good Hope, Jan van Riebeek produced wine in 1659. That wine was designed to ward off scurvy in ships' crews. Commercial production in the way

station between Europe and the Indies only started when second commander Simon van der Stel was appointed first governor in 1679 (Stellenbosch, the centre of

Cape wines today, was actually named after him). The colonial administration granted Simon van der Stel with 763 ha of land on the southern slopes of Table

Mountain overlooking False bay. The farm, which he named Constantia, happened to have some of the country’s best suited soils and climate for viniculture and

the cool breezes that blow from the ocean are a key factor in the production of top-quality Natural Sweet Wine by the passerillage process in the Mediterranean-

like climate of the region. Following the death of Simon van der Stel in 1712, Constantia was subdivided and sold by way of auction. In 1778, Hendrik Cloete

eventually bought Groot Constantia, the part of the Van der Stel estate that included the original farm buildings. It is Hendrick Cloete who made Constantia

famous for its sweet wine. The so-called “Constantia Wyn” was drunk in preference to Yquem, Tokay and Madeira by emperors and kings, from Frederick the

Great of Prussia to King Louis Philippe of France. Most famously, Napoleon Bonaparte had 30 bottles a month shipped over to Santa Helena to ease the hardship

of exile until his death in 1821. Groot Constantia had been in the Cloete family for five generations when the phylloxera epidemic of 1886 forced them to sell the

estate to the government. Vine diseases, tariffs imposed by the British and Boer Wars eventually led the region’s wine industry to dwindle and Constantia Wyn

survived only in the poetry and prose of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Charles Baudelaire. The recovery of the wine industry proved so slow that Constantia

Wyn would not be revived before the Jooste family bought Klein Constantia in 1980. Professor Chris Orffer of Stellenbosch University approached Duggie Jooste

and encouraged him to recreate the historical sweet wine with the help of winemaker Ross Gower. In 1986, they produced their first “Vin de Constance” using a

recipe cobbled together from old ledgers and diaries and a clone of Muscat de Frontignan believed to be from the original Constantia vineyard. The wine was not

as fine as one had hopped and it wouldn’t meet with international recognition before Adam Mason eventually took over as winemaker in 2003. Inspired by

experiences in Tokaj, Adam Mason started selecting the most passerilled bunches in a series of passages in the vineyard, and in order to facilitate the extraction

of sweetness, he decided to ferment the raisins in dry base wine prior to pressing. By doing so, he was unknowingly returning to the tradition of the Passum of

Antiquity and producing an on-the-vine version of the Passito di Pantelleria. Matthew Day, who was Mason’s young assistant since 2009, was put in charge of

winemaking at Klein Constantia after the estate changed ownerships then merged with Stellenbosch’s Anwilka Vineyards in 2012. Groot Contantia launched

“Grand Constance” in 2003 then Buitenverwatchting launched “1769” in 2007, two versions of Constantia Wyn that are produced by pressing the raisins directly.

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is medium onion skin in colour. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean despite some white pepper suggesting a degree of volatility (volatility is nothing unusual in wines with a high sugar and

acid content). The nose exhibits a medium-plus intensity of developing aromas dominated by rose-scented grapiness and infused with the

smokiness of dried herbs and Earl Grey tea. The core of the fruit character is honeyed peach and marmalade.

Palate: This medium-bodied wine is sweet, yet the medium-plus acidity manages to offset that sweetness. The medium alcohol adds to that sense of

balance. The waxy texture and sweet spiced toffee and caramelised banana convey a sense of richness. Thankfully, the crushed grape, peach

and apricot fruit is lifted by notes of citrus peel and bitters in the finish of medium-plus length.

Assessment of quality: This wine is very good. Every element is in balance, yet this pleasantly-textured wine does not feel as layered and complex as its off-the-vine

version. Despite being made from a reputedly lesser grape variety, it is the Passito di Pantelleria that shone through on the night. Does the

Grand Constance need more time in the bottle? I doubt it. Some members said that Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance is finer than Groot

Constantia’s Grand Constance, and I agree. You can pair this wine with chocolate, dried fruits and nuts, as well as with rich pâtés and a variety

of both hard and soft cheeses. The perfect accompaniment to Grand Constance is certainly lemon tart, pavlova or fruit-topped cheesecake.

Wine Name: Gold Vidal Icewine

Vintage: 2014

Producer: Inniskillin (Est. 1975) www.inniskillin.com

Winemaker: Bruce Nicholson

Indication of origin: Niagara Estate, Niagara Peninsula VQA, Ontario, Canada

Style: Icewine from grapes naturally frozen on the vine The warming influence of Lake Ontario and the Niagara River help provide moderate growing conditions to the vine in the

continental climate of the Niagara Peninsula. The minimum -8oC required by law to pick frozen grapes for the making of Canadian

Icewine is reached with the first full moon of January. The frozen clusters are pressed immediately on arrival at the winery. The

viscous juice is cold-settled for three days before being racked clean then inoculated with a specially selected strain of yeast. The

juice is fermented in new French oak at 15oC for 16 days then the wine is aged in the barrel for three months prior to bottling.

Assemblage: 100% Vidal Blanc = cross between Ugni Blanc and Seibel Hybrid Rayon d’Or

Alcohol: 9.5%abv

Residual Sugar: 255 g/l -freezing is the technique that extracts the most sweetness out of the grapes-


PH: 3.49

Stopper: Waxed over natural cork

Capacity: 37.5cl


The legend has it that Eiswein was discovered accidently in 1794 when a German farmer tried to salvage his crop from sudden frost, but Schoss Johannisberg

claims to have deliberately produced the first German Eiswein in 1858. Traditional presses tend to shatter as the frozen grapes turn into a solid block. Therefore,

it wasn’t before the advent of the pneumatic or bladder press in the 1950s that a commercial approach to ice winemaking would become reality in Germany.

Eiswein was not produced in significant volumes before the 1960s and the practice did not become widespread at the majority of top German estates where the

vineyards are prone to deep frost before the 1980s. In the turn of the millennium, Canada eventually became the world leader when it overtook Germany and

Austria as the largest producer of wine from naturally frozen grapes, and Ontario eventually emerged as the heartland of Icewine production in the country with

81% of all exports. Icewine first appeared on the Canadian landscape in 1973, resulting in the first commercial release by Hainle Vineyards from the Okanagan

Valley, but the real breakthrough came in 1991, when Inniskillin won the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo for their 1989 Vidal Icewine. Inniskillin was founded in

1975 by Austrian chemist Karl Kaiser and Italian-Canadian agriculture graduate Donald Ziraldo. Amazingly, it was no sooner than in 1984, only 5 years before the

award-winning wine was harvested, that the duo had produced their first Icewine. Their aim was to make the most of the Canadian winter and they did not

expect to gain international recognition so swiftly despite their drive for top quality production. At the estate, the grapes are indeed always harvested at higher

degrees brix and at lower temperatures than the minimums set by Ontario’s Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA). By going the extra mile, they achieve remarkable

levels of richness, intensity and complexity. The Vintners Quality Alliance of Canada (VQAC) has now ceased to exist since the ownership of all their intellectual

property assets and registered trademarks was transferred to the Canadian Vintners Association (CVA) in March 2014. The CVA had proved to be much better

placed to serve the interest of the Canadian wine Industry on the international market. The term “Icewine” itself counts amongst the many trademarks that the

CVA now has to defend against a tide of icebox wines produced in regions like California and Australia where the temperatures don’t get cold enough to freeze

grapes naturally. Icebox wine is produced by frizzing fresh grapes in cryo-extraction tanks. Not only does the method eliminate most hazards during production,

but it yields over 10 times as much wine as under VQA regulations. And since the fresh grapes don’t hang long enough to undergo the physical and biochemical

changes that bring complexity to a wine, this ersatz version of Icewine will never display the unique depth of character of the real McCoy. So, pay attention to the

label and price tag! When spelt in two words rather than one, “Ice Wine” will tell you that the wine you are about to purchase is a mere icebox wine. And since

the risk and cost of leaving the grapes exposed to the whim of the elements and voracity of wildlife with longer hang times means that Icewine, passerilled wine

and noble wine never come cheap, be suspicious of cheap sweet wines! Chances are that they will have been made cheaply and that they will taste cheap as well!

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is deep gold in colour. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean. The nose exhibits a medium-plus intensity of developing aromas reminiscent of apple baked together with sugar, raisin

and sweet spices. There is some peach, apricot and orange peel also.

Palate: This medium-bodied wine is extremely sweet, yet not sugary sweet by any stretch of the imagination and perfectly balanced by a high level of

acidity. The medium-minus level of alcohol adds to that sense of balance. The oily and waxy texture brings a degree of lusciousness to the

wine. The fruit is of medium-plus intensity. The zing of orange peel and lemon sherbet helps lift the richness of toffee apple, honeyed peach,

caramelised mango and marmalade in the finish of medium-plus length.

Assessment of quality: This wine is very good. The nose is a tad on the simple side. The palate offers more complexity and great balance between the citric tang of

acidity and the richness of the caramelised fruit. Icewine is always delicious with the traditional crème brûlée or crème caramel. It will also pair

well with panacotta and tropical fruit compote or roasted peaches or pineapple. Alternatively, try is with a board of any type of cheese, from

goat cheese to parmesan drizzled with honey.

Wine Name: Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos

Vintage: 2007

Producer: Dobogó (Est. 1869) www.dobogo.hu owned by Izabella Zwack

Winemaker: Attila Domokos

Indication of origin: First growth vineyards in Mád and Tállya, Tokaj, north-eastern Hungary

Style: Noble wine from grapes infected with the botrytis cinerea fungus The proximity of the rivers Bodrog and Tisza and the contrasting cold nights and hot days provide the ideal conditions for

noble rot to develop. Yields are restricted to 1kg of grapes per vine to produce this wine in the best vintages only. In

October, the botrytised berries known locally as Aszú grapes are gathered into a 27.2kg harvesting basket called putton.

Six puttonyos of Aszú grapes are fermented into 136 litre of dry base wine (the capacity of an ageing Gönc). Once pressed,

the wine is racked into barrels to mature for 3 years. The wine is commercialised after another 6 to 12 months in bottle.

Assemblage: 70% Furmint, 20% Hárslevelű (Linden Leaf) 10% Ságramuscotály (Muscat Lunel)

Alcohol: 11%abv

Residual Sugar: 208.5 g/l


PH: 3.56


Capacity: 50cl


Tokaji (or Tokay) is the first wine to have ever been produced from grapes infected with noble rot. Wine production in Tokaj was recorded for the first time in the

15th

century, but it is in Ottoman Hungary, which lasted from 1541 to 1699, that the region became involved in sweet wine production. Laws dictating minimum

yields and strict sugar levels at harvest were passed in 1641, but the mention of a wine from botrytis-infected grapes, or Tokaji Aszú, will only appear in 1650. The

Turkish brought to Tokaj from the East the ancient techniques that their Phoenician cousins had introduced into southern Italy from Carthage, and it seems that,

in Tokaj, the growers eventually resigned themselves to picking the berries that were bound to rot on the vine during the drying process due to the humidity of

the local climate. In 1720, Tokaji was already famous at the Austrian Court when new regulations imposed on growers to harvest each single vineyard several

times and select one by one the Aszú berries only. Since the Spätlese that Schloss Johannisberg claims to have discovered in 1775 is no longer made from grapes

infected with the botrytis cinerea fungus seems to indicate that the discovery of the first noble wine was certainly as accidental in Germany as it was in Hungary.

In 1787, Schloss Johannisberg developed sweeter styles of noble wine such as Auslese from selected clusters, Beerenauslese (BA) from selected berries and

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) from selected dry berries. But production of noble wines in Germany won’t become common place before the 1820s. Germany will

wait until 1971 to classify its quality wines into Prädikats according to the level of sweetness and botrytisation of the grapes at harvest, each Prädikat using the

names of the styles that were developed at Schloss Johannisberg almost 200 years earlier. The Prädikat system was adopted in Austria and it was also routinely

used in the French, yet German-influenced region of Alsace till the introduction of Hugel’s Law in 1984. That simplified version of the Prädikat system developed

by Jean Frédéric Hugel offers a binary choice of styles; either a sweet wine is a late-harvest wine from late-harvested, yet non-botrytised berries called “Vendange

Tardive” or it is a noble wine from selected botrytised berries called “Sélection de Grains Nobles” (SGN). Today, the New World similarly label their sweet wines

either as “Late-harvest Wine” or “Noble Wine”. What about Sauternes? Taking advantage of Tokaji’s fall from grace under the Soviet Era, Sauternes established

itself as the ultimate brand of noble wine in the world. Château d’Yquem recorded its first Sauternes in 1847, but chemical analysis indicates the presence of

botrytis in bottles produced in 1811. The truth is that, contrary to all the above-mentioned styles, Sauternes is the fruit of a deliberate approach to noble

winemaking. Starting in 1774, the Dutch forced growers in the Dordogne Valley to harvest their grapes late in order to trigger the fungal infection and improve

sugar concentration in the grapes. Beware, for some New World producers are now adopting the extreme solution of inoculating either the vineyard or fresh

bunches of grapes within the comfort of the winery! Cryo-extraction is also used in Sauternes to salvage crops in wet vintages! Once again, go by the price tag!

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is deep gold in colour. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean. The nose exhibits a medium-plus intensity of developing aromas. The overtones of smoked tea leaves and herbal tea

give that scent an almost savoury edge. The aromas are so integrated that one struggles to distinguish the layers between the apple fruit, the

orange peel, the perfume of geranium and other dried flowers and the nuttiness of hazelnut and walnut.

Palate: This medium-bodied wine is extremely sweet, yet that sweetness is perfectly offset by a high level of acidity. The medium-minus level of

alcohol adds to the overall sense of balance. The flavours are refined rather than pronounced. The palate is as integrated, layered and complex

as the nose and more. The addition of salted caramel, salted almond and sweet-spiced sultana and dried apricot to the mix of fruit character

described on the nose gives great depth to the finish of very long length.

Assessment of quality: This wine is mind-blowing. The level of balance between the sweetness, the acidity and the pronounced, complex and integrated fruit is

positively outstanding. Tokaji Aszú and foie gras form a classic pairing, yet this sweeter style will prove a better match with blue-veined

cheeses such as Roquefort or stilton. Contrary to popular belief, dairy desserts such as crème brûlée and crème caramel do not work so well

with botrytised wines, for their creaminess does tend to clash with the botrytis-derived compounds in the wine.

Wine Name: Grand Rutherglen Topaque

Vintage: NV

Producer: Stanton & Killeen (Est. 1875 & still family owned) www.stantonandkilleenwines.com.au

Winemaker: Andrew Drumm

Indication of origin: Rutherglen, North-eastern Victoria, Australia

Style: Mistelle by the passerillage process aged in a heated solera system The grapes undergo the process of passerillage on the vine in the desert-like conditions of the Rutherglen region, at which stage

they are picked. The sugar-rich raisins are crushed and macerated on the skins until fermentation commences, at which point

they are quickly pressed and fortified with grape spirit to preserve maximum sweetness. The wine is then racked into oak casks

for three to four years before it is decided in which of the four tiers of the Rutherglen classification system the wine is going to

find its best fit; straight for immediate consumption, Classic after an average of 12 years in oak, Grand after 15-20 years or Rare

after 25 years. If the wine lot is regarded as particularly special, it will enter the Grand or Rare solera system in which it is

gradually blended with older wines. Only small quantities are drawn off the solera at a time. The longer the ageing process the

more concentrated the sugars, the acidity (both in terms of TA and PH), the alcohol, and the intensity of aromas and flavours.

Assemblage: 100% Muscadelle formerly known as Tokay then renamed Topaque in Rutherglen

Alcohol: 18.5%abv



PH: 3.82

Stopper: Stelvin screw cap with metal seal

Capacity: 37.5cl

Importer: Awin Barratt Siegel Wine www.abswineagencies.co.uk

Retail price: £70 inc. VAT as per www.wine-searcher.com (bought online from www.winedirect.co.uk)

Since the beginning of this millennium, Australia has been exporting more wine than France to the UK. Governments had to sponsor growers to pull out their

vines, notably in the early 1980s, to overcome the country’s wine glut. The image of the industry is still scarred by its history of over-productivity, as the English

still associate Australia with cheap dry still light wines made in a big, bold and fruity style. That perception overlooks the many awards that were won by

Australian wines at international competitions in the late 19th

century. And don’t forget that Australia was producing sweet and fortified wines mostly until as

late as in the 1970s! The introduction of the Imperial Preference in 1905 means that Australia and the Cape have a long history of supplying the British market

with large quantities of sweet and fortified wines. Vine cuttings from the Cape of Good Hope were brought to the penal colony of Botany Bay in New South

Wales by Governor Phillip on the First Fleet in 1788. An attempt at making wine from these first vines failed, but with perseverance, Australian wines eventually

became available on the domestic market by the 1820s. In the 1830s, most classic French grapes and a good selection of grapes for fortified wine production

were introduced into the country. Production methods and wine quality were much improved in the late 1840s, early 1850s by the arrival of free settlers from

various parts of Europe, who used their skills and knowledge to establish some of Australia's premier wine regions, including Rutherglen in north-eastern Victoria.

Rutherglen Topaque is the lesser-known stablemate of Rutherglen Muscat. The wine was known as Rutherglen Tokay over its 120-year-old history until 2016,

when an agreement with the EU made it illegal to use “Tokay” on labels, for the term sounded too much like the Tokaji of Hungary. In the 1970s, Topaque and

Muscadelle (which, despite its name, is not of the Muscat family) were identified as being one and the same grape variety. Most estates in Rutherglen have been

family-owned for generations, yet it is not before 1992 that 18 wineries would form into a membership-based incorporated association known as the

Winemakers of Rutherglen. In 1995, a syndicate established a voluntary four-tier classification system based on increasing levels of maturity, sweetness and

complexity with age. It ranges from straight to Classic, Grand and Rare Rutherglen. Rutherglen wines essentially start as passerilled wines, as the grapes are left

to hang on the vine till they are in a partially raisined state. The raisins are pressed directly then mutage with grape spirit takes place almost as soon as

fermentation begins. The resulting wine is aged in oak in a system resembling the Sherry solera, and like Madeira wines, it is often exposed to high temperatures.

Since they are stabilised through mutage, Rutherglen wines and PX Sherry concentrate their sugars the longer they are aged in cask, whereas the unfortified Vin

Santo of northern Italy becomes dried as fermentation resumes with every new warm season over the many years it spends maturing in the loft of the winery.

Appearance: This wine looks clear and bright. It is deep brown in colour. The rim is green-tinged. Legs and tears run along the side of the glass.

Nose: The wine smells clean despite white pepper and menthol suggesting a degree of volatility (volatility is nothing unusual in wines with a high

sugar and acid content). The nose exhibits a pronounced intensity of deliberately oxidised aromas. The nose evokes something sticky with

notes of caramel, molasses and butterscotch. The scent of fruit cake incorporates sweet spices as well as raisin, fig, dates and all the dried

fruits in the book. That sticky richness is layered with dry, rancio notes of bitter chocolate, coffee bean, clove, walnut and roasted almond.

Palate: This full-bodied wine is lusciously sweet. The medium acidity and fortification to a high level of alcohol cannot possibly balance that level of

sweetness, yet the warmth of alcohol does strangely compliment the richness of fruit. The flavours of pronounced intensity are underpinned

by the bitterness of burnt butter and caramel, dry mocha and rancio walnut. Molasses overwhelm the mid palate, only letting the sweet

spiced, dried fruit express itself in the finish of long length.

Assessment of quality: This wine is outstanding. On paper, it reads as a recipe for total unbalance and sickly-sweetness, yet it works. The wine will probably be best

enjoyed on its own, for no food is a real match for this luscious concentration of sweetness, apart from Crème brûlée maybe. Like PX Sherry,

Rutherglen Muscat and Rutherglen Topaque are yummy when poured straight onto vanilla ice-cream in preference to chocolate sauce.

Tutored Wine Tasting - The East India Club · Greece, and are not considered inferior to Tokay.”...

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Transcript of Tutored Wine Tasting - The East India Club · Greece, and are not considered inferior to Tokay.”...