Go to the wine aisle of your local supermarket, and, if you're anything like me, you might well be slightly overwhelmed by the range of styles, regions and prices available. And if you can get over the initial choice-overload, it's something of a lottery as to whether what you end up taking home is going to be anything like what you thought it might be. And if it is, and you like it, the chance of ever finding it, or something like it again, are pretty slim. It's a tough world out there for the hard-pressed and time-poor wine shopper.
Fortunately, help it as hand. It was with some trepidation (having never attended such a thing before) and with full knowledge of my own ignorance, that I went along to the World of Wine - Australia and New Zealand Wine Tasting evening run by the Oxford and Cheltenham Wine School, and held at St. Peters College. I need not have worried - a very relaxed and friendly evening awaited me.
We started with the now-ubiquitous New Zealand Sauvingon Blanc. Actually, we started with two SBs - one from New Zealand, and one from France (which had featured in the previous week's French White Wines evening). I immediately labelled the sharper, more 'minerally' and lighter-bodied wine as being from the New World. How wrong I was - and what a snob I felt - when the much more full-bodied, fruitier and complex wine turned out to be from Marlborough, on the South Island of New Zealand (Majestic, £10.99). And it was not just slightly better - the New Zealand wine was streaks ahead of the French in length, colour, smell ('nose') and the notes of fruit really were tropical and slightly luscious. It the beginning of what was to become an evening of revelations.
Hot on the heels of the Sauvingon Blanc was a Pinot Noir, also from New Zealand. One thing I really liked about the evening was that all the wines were bought from easily-accessible local shops, and all for reasonable prices - the Pinot Noir, for example, was £9.99 from Marks & Spencers. It was medium-bodied and had good initial clarity, though the finish was a little heavily tannic for my liking - possibly it was more heavily 'oaked' that I would choose. A good benchmark for the reds that were to follow.
After the PN was the delightfully named Tingleup reisling from Western Australia (Tesco Finest, £9.99). This was a dry reisling, and again I was again amazed by the complexity of the finish and the depth of the body in what I would expect to be quite a short, fresh palate. Certainly dry Alsatian or German reislings can be complex, but in different ways. I can only put this down to the differences in climate. There are tropical herbaceous notes to this wine - something I've not met before.
Next was the wine I found most interesting of the whole evening. Again a white and again a highly acidic, single cépage (grape variety): a 100% Semillon from New South Wales' Hunter Valley in Eastern Australia. This the only place in the world to produce a pure Semillon, and I'm very glad to have discovered it. Often blended with Chardonnay or Sauvingon Blanc (possibly as a bulking agent), the Semillons of the Hunter Valley possess an extraordinary ability to change character in the bottle from grassy ('herbaceous') and reisling-like, to smokey and biscuity ('toasty'), becoming more full-bodied in the process. A remarkable wine. The one we tried (2005, Tesco, £8.99) was both great value for a 10-year old wine, but could also easily age for another 10 years. You could still taste the 'green' notes in the wine and sense there was more potential for development in it, if only you could wait that long!
The second red of the evening was a Grenache Shiraz Mataro (an old name for Mourvèdre) - shortened by producers to GSM - from Maclaren Vale, South Australia (Wine Society, £7.95). The GSM had balanced cherry fruit, peppery spices and complex notes of liquorice and blueberry. The nose is aided by the ABV at 14%. A very good wine indeed and, remarkably, the least expensive.
To finish, the most expensive wine - a South Australian Shiraz (Laithwaites, £15.95). This was deeply, deeply red, almost opaquely purple, and completely smooth on the palate. Wow. An unfiltered wine, so careful pouring or decanting is required, as sediment may have settled out to the bottom of the bottle. This really stood up for itself and exemplified the sheer quality now coming out of Australian wineries. To make such a bold palate with high alcohol content (again 14%) well-balanced and interesting is a real accomplishment. The ageing in oak barrels combined with the high ABV bring sweet, rather than harsh, oak notes. Spicy and deeply fruity, but overall completely balanced. The Cadillac Eldorado of the wine world - a smooth ride from nose to finish. This is an excellent 'Big Red'.
Of the whites, my favourite was the Hunter Valley Semillon, though I enjoyed and have already purchased both the reisling and NZ SB. From the reds (and my overall favourite) the Maclaren Vale GSM. It reminded me of the smooth complexity of well-aged Bordeaux, but with real punch to the fruit and spice - it's as though you can taste the hot baked Australian soil. And perhaps you can.
The tasting is accompanied by short, but informative, slides and engagingly free discussion of the character of the wine. There is also no selling of wine at the evening - or option to by from the School - the intention being give the attendees the knowledge and ability to go out and supply themselves with wines they like from shops they can easily get to. I like this approach, and they certainly have achieved that with me. I have already joined the Wine Society (of whose Blind Spot GSM I am firm fan) and ordered another Australian GSM from Tesco, online. Cheers!
