jamie goode's wine blog: Trade fair day one

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Trade fair day one

So I rock up to the London wine fair at about 2 pm. I have a few moments spare, so I taste through the Symington portfolio of Douro table wines (Altano much improved in 2005, as is Chryseia and Post Scriptum) and Ports, before heading up to the seminar rooms where I was chairing the Closures debate.

This year the focus was on retailers and their involvement in closure development, with a star-studded panel made up of Andy Gale (Tesco), Howard Winn (Sainsbury), Jenny Bond (ex-retailer, now a consultant) and Ian Rogerson (consultant who works with Co-op). Before we get going, Sam Harrop pops in to let me know the preliminary findings from the faults clinic at the International Wine Challenge. More on those in a few days.

We kick off. Last Thursday I stayed up to watch Question time to get some tips on how to run a panel debate from the master himself, David Dimbleby. While closures is a hot topic, it's not nearly as contentious as the subject matter Dimbleby deals with, but I got some useful pointers: most significantly, don't let questions hang in the air - always direct them to someone. So I reckon I did a better job this year than last, and the panel were great.

Afterwards it was time for a quick beer with James Gabbani (of Cube, organizers of the debate), Andy Gale and the Oeneo guys, before a quick stop at the Cube party. James had to explain to the bouncers not to be too rough with any drunken guests (apparently last year a wayward reveller got their face a bit mangled when they were dropped onto the concrete floor outside from a height), and Scott Burton runs after Murray McHenry (of McHenry Hohnen) to tell him that, yes, he can come in even though he doesn't the required wristband, the lack of which has led to him being refused admission. Then we get some beer. Had a nice chat with Jack Hibberd, Stuart Peskett, Christian Davis and Graham Holter, but then it was time to head off.

Dinner was with Dirk Niepoort, Swiss journalist Chadra Kurt and Cloudy Bay viticulturalist Siobhan Harnett at RSJ restaurant near Waterloo. RSJ has an incredible wine list that is almost exclusively from the Loire. We chose a 2004 Savennieres Clos de Coulaine by Claude Papin and 2005 Saumur Champigny Domaine des Roches Neuves by Thierry Germain. Dirk bought some wines: 2005 Charme, 2006 Niepoort Pinot Noir and a 1978 Colheita, all of which were great. Siobhan brought the 2004 Te Koko and a late harvest Riesling. I'll be seeing Dirk again tonight for the official 2007 Dirk Niepoort annual dinner.
Pictured is the view from the balcony of one of the waterfront rooms at Excel. Canary Wharf is visible in the distance.

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8 Comments:

At 6:08 PM, Blogger Michael Pollard said...

Jamie

I believe the 2004 Te Koku you mention is the Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc. A difficult wine to find, was sold out when we visited the tasting room in Marlborough last December - I'm still looking!

Mike

 
At 9:29 PM, Blogger David said...

...and you still managed to blog!

We are not worthy!

David

 
At 3:03 AM, Blogger Paul Tudor said...

Michael

The wine is actually labelled "Cloudy Bay Te Koku". So Jamie is very correct. There is mention of Sauvignon on the back, but that is the way we refer to it down here. Also 2004 has just been released - very more-ish, back on form after a couple of weaker vintages IMHO.

Paul

 
At 3:26 AM, Blogger Michael Pollard said...

Paul

I guess there is some reason why its called Te Koku in the UK. Its certainly Te Koko in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Mike

 
At 4:08 AM, Blogger Paul Tudor said...

Sorry typo on my part, should not cut and paste... "Koko" yes, but my point is the wine is not labelled "Sauvignon Blanc". Deliberately, And meaningfully.

Paul

 
At 5:44 PM, Blogger Michael Pollard said...

Paul

If I can add a little more confusion. :-) You are correct; I was trying to note a possible typo by Jamie with his Te Koku. But I threw in the Sauvignon Blanc because it just might be that there is a new wine called Te Koku (given the vintage). I sure that’s clear as mud to all!

And yes, the Te Koko is not your average Sauvignon Blanc – machine picked and ending up in stainless steel tank. There is a lot of work that goes into making Te Koko. The Seresin Marama Sauvignon is in a similar vein – and at least for sale at the winery.

Mike

 
At 9:41 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Sorry guys for the typo - Te Koko it is. The perils of blogging late without notes.

Thanks for your comments. I think it's an interesting wine. The world needs more of these.

 
At 9:41 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

I'm going to correct the original, but I'll leave this note here saying that I've done it so your comments don't appear daft.

 

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