Busy day, and no dancing
Busy day yesterday, and I'm short of time right now, so I'll have to be brief (on my way to be a judge for the 'Malbec and meat' finals). Two tastings and a dinner and dance yesterday. The first of the tasting was the Bunch one (this is a group of half-a-dozen independent wine merchants, who each show just six wines...usually very, very good wines, but I'd love it if they showed a few more...and they had the worst tasting glasses I've ever experienced and a distinct shortage of proper spitoons yesterday), and the second was the Sainsbury press tasting, where I had a nice chat with tecchie guy Barry Dick. I also retasted their NZ Sauvignon Blanc in PET, which once again tasted really soapy.Then in the evening it was the International Wine Challenge Dinner and Dance. Amazed by how many people were there, and had some nice chats, but, alas, had to leave before the dancing started.
posted by Jamie @ 9:11 AM
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If I had had the presence of mind last night I would have checked out the table plan and come over and introduced myself. As a helper on the Challenge this year I was invited along as "staff" to what was a very enjoyable evening.
I have a bottle at home of the Tschida Samling trockenbeerenauslese that we had on our table. I am looking forward to appreciating it more than I did last night. By the end of the evening my palate wasn't at its best....
Hi Jamie,
What did you think of the trophy winning wines? Every year I think I am going to taste something that will jolt me upright in my seat and every year I am disappointed. A lot of cheap neutral co-op things, some massively alcoholic offerings, boring cold fermentation whites and some unpleasantly cloying sweet wines. I found them quite undrinkable in the main. I don't blame the judges, more the system that by definition rewards wines that are completely upfront. This year felt more than ever like a supermarket jamboree.
If you look at the distribution of the trophies you would scarcely think that France was a significant wine-producing country any more!
Doug - you raise an interesting point. I, for one, usually regard trophy status as a reason to NOT buy a particular wine. I've sometimes thought I understood that this would be the inevitable outcome of a "committee" decision, but I'm not really convinced.
I would say that many of the French "concours du vin" trophies are useful, though. They tend to focus on particular appelations which might make it an easier job.
Doug, diplomatic answer, I know, but I didn't taste them. I was guest of Pernod Ricard, so I drank Brancott SB, Stoneleigh PG, St Hugo CS and a Campo Viejo wine. After accepting the PR invite, I also got my IWC invite (next year I'll be one of the super duper jurors getting paid well for the two weeks), but having accepted PR's kind invite I didn't want to blow them out.
It's a competition that has improved greatly under the new regime, but agree - the proof is in the pudding. Which wines are winning?
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