Does great wine need to be aged?

It’s been an article of faith as long as I’ve been writing about wine that you need to age the best wines in your cellar. We sniff at consumers who buy and crack open a first growth as unsophisticated but maybe they’re the ones who know best?

The event that prompted this thought was a Chateau d’Yquem lunch at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal this week where we were served the 2011 vintages of their dry white ‘Y’ and Yquem itself. One follower on Twitter dismissed it as ‘embryonic’ but I was bowled over. The 2011 'Y' had a luxuriant taste of white peaches, far more seductive than the tricky, slightly oily 1996 we were served with the main course. And as for the 2011 Yquem (right) - it was like drinking a plate of the most perfectly ripe apricots and tropical fruit. Sheer nectar.

The sip of 2011 Le Pin I tasted from the barrel last November was equally delicious - soft, velvety and caressing. Who is to say that’s ‘too young’? Many of its purchasers will drink it the moment it comes onto the market.

Increasingly I enjoy the bright fruit flavours of exuberant young Rioja rather than the wood-dominated character of many gran reservas, and the ‘live’ character of many young organic and biodynamic reds. Age may bring complexity but not necessarily charm.

And there’s something so pure and pristine about a new release of Loire Sauvignon, Chablis or Grüner Veltliner that inevitably gets lost a couple of years down the line.

True it doesn’t always work. The leanness of a young red burgundy can take years to turn into silky sweetness, tannic young Bordeaux can be very unforgiving, and young riesling challengingly sharp and one-dimensional. But there’s a middle way between age and extreme youth. The off-dry Grosset riesling I flagged up the other day as the perfect match for Sichuan food was fantastic 3 years on.

The truth is that a lot of consumers don’t necessarily want complex flavours, a fact that ‘new world’ producers - redundant description but you know what I mean - have been quicker to latch on to than many of those from the classic wine producing regions. Fellow wine lovers will be familiar with the anxiety about bringing out a treasured old bottle for friends who are not as obsessed about wine as they are in case they find the flavours weird rather than wonderful.

The truth is there’s no right or wrong about it. You should drink your wine when you like depending on your palate, the food, the occasion and your bank balance - the ideal solution being to have a case of the same wine to dip into and enjoy at various moments over the years. Unfortunately in my case - and that of most of you, I suspect - that’s not going to be Yquem . . .

What do you think - should great wines be drunk young or should you hang on to them?

 

 

Kate Goodman: the new Jilly Goolden

The reaction of many people to the news that the new BBC Food & Drink show was to be co-hosted by Kate Goodman would have been Kate who? I confess it was mine.

You might have expected one of the up and coming young wine writers to be standing alongside Michel Roux when the show relaunches next month. Instead it will be a 38 year old wine merchant from Manchester.

So before she goes on air what can we find out about her?

* She's much more down to earth than Jilly Goolden - there’s that friendly northern accent for a start and no flowery language. A Portuguese red is simply described as ‘an elegant red from the Dao region'. No wheelbarrows full of ugli fruit for Kate, clearly.

* She runs her own wine business Reserve Wines in West Didsbury

* According to her website her 'wine heaven' is Côte Rôtie and "the Northern Rhone in general especiall opulent Viogniers and Grenache". And her wine hell is Cava (it'll be interesting to see if she finds one to recommend!)

* Very good news, this: She’s a real enthusiast for food and drink matching - not just wine. Her recommendations include soft drinks and tea too. In the first programme she suggests spiced apple juice and cider with Michel's roast pork and crackling. I'm certainly with her on that. You can read about her philosophy of food and wine matching here

* She’s married to a digital entrepreneur and publisher called Kenny (how do I know this? A bit of detective work on Twitter ;-) And has a 17 month old daughter called Lottie (this I discover from the February issue of BBC Good Food)

Want to catch a glimpse of her? Check out this clip from the BBC Breakfast show or tune into Reservewines YouTube channel to see her in action a couple of years ago. Maybe more Gary Vaynerchuk than Jilly Goolden and just look what happened to him . . .

 

20 top Australian Chardonnays

To celebrate Australia Day here's a feature I wrote a year ago on Australian chardonnay - not as out of date as you might think as many of the vintages will only just have worked through.

"As you can see from my Guardian article today, I’m a born-again Chardonnay lover since returning from Australia last month.

Did the sun go to my head? I don’t think so. Australia now produces some of the most gorgeous, seductive, beautifully balanced Chardonnays I’ve tasted. Not cheap, mind you, but in comparison to some of the white burgundies I’ve been tasting this week, great value.

The problem is that many of the best haven’t yet made it over here. Most of them were 2009s and ‘10s which haven’t yet arrived on our shelves. A few are from producers whose wines don’t get exported or are available in such tiny quantities that they’re almost impossible to get hold of. Something we want to watch in the UK. There are many other markets for Australian wine who will snap up bottles like these without worrying about the price. Some wines you can now buy more cheaply in the UK than Australia which can’t be right.

Anyway, here’s the pick of the wines I got to try, organised by region, I don’t do scores, though I obviously have personal preferences. They wouldn’t be in this list if I didn’t think they were good. Search wine-searcher.com for stockists."

MARGARET RIVER
Western Australia’s premium winegrowing region for Chardonnay (though there are some interesting wines being made further south)

Cherubino Margaret River Chardonnay 2010 (not available currently in UK. $49 in Australia)
A totally modern Australian Chardonnay from one of Western Australia’s star winemakers Larry Cherubino (named winemaker of the year by Australian wine critic James Halliday last year). Whole bunch pressing, no settling, no fining, naturally fermented. Incredible freshness and delicacy yet sensuously creamy. One to hunt down

Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2009 (£55-65, $95-99 in Australia)
The wine I think I currently like best of Vanya Cullen’s wines despite being a longstanding fan of the Semillon-Sauvignon blend. A rich, sumptuous serious chardonnay from one of Australia’s leading biodynamic estates. Eye-wateringly expensive, sadly - on a par with Yattarna (below)

Flametree Margaret River Chardonnay 2010 (this vintage is not yet available in UK, around $20 in Australia)
This was the vintage I tasted in Aus which was cracking but still had some way to go. You can buy the 2009 vintage I recommend in the Guardian for 20 from Aus Wine Online. Rich, opulent with some lovely fruit character - citrus, ripe pears, canteloupe melon. Both have good ageing potential

Fraser Gallop Winery Chardonnay 2011 (not yet available in UK, $221 by the case from the winery)
If you tasted this blind you’d be hard-pushed to locate it in Australia. Consciously made with more restrained oak in an almost Chablis-like style it’s a singingly pure, crisp, clean wine that would be hugely flexible with food. (They suggest oysters)

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Margaret River Chardonnay 2009 (about £24-26, $45 in Australia)
I’d have put this award-winning wine in my Guardian article but we’re only on the 2008 vintage in the UK. The 2010 has done even better but buy any one of them you can lay your hands on. 100% wild yeast fermented. Gloriously rich and textured but with a perfectly pitched acidity. Sexy stuff.

ADELAIDE HILLS
The premium area for chardonnay in south Australia.

First Drop Mere et Fils Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2010 (£14.99 www.thesecretcellar.co.uk, $25AD in Australia)
Classic creamy elegant Chardonnay from the irreverent First Drop boys “we have fun with the packaging but we’re deadly serious about the booze.” “Restrained sophisticated and best drunk in the shower” according to the website. No sulphur, wild yeasts. Great value.

Yalumba FDW (7C) 2008 (available in the UK from February at around £18, $24-25 in Australia)
Another gorgeous creamy Chardonnay with an elegant lift, born from a realisation says winemaker Louisa Rose, that “none of us [in the winery] were taking Chardonnay home and drinking it”. You would this one. FDW? Stands for Fine Dry White.

McLAREN VALE
Not renowned for its Chardonnay though, as these wines show, there are some more than decent ones being made.

Battle of Bosworth Chardonnay 2010 (N/A in UK. About $25 in Australia)
Slightly funky Chardonnay in the natural wine mould though winemaker Joch Bosworth does employ sulphur as needed. Loads of creamy, leesy texture. More than a third of the first vintage of Penfold’s Yattarna came from the same now organically cultivated vineyard.

Paxton Thomas Block Chardonnay 2009 (N/A in UK About $20-30 in Australia)
Good Chardonnay doesn’t just come from the cooler regions in Oz as this beautifully crafted example from Paxton proves. Vines are subject to biodynamic treatments. The 2008 was spot on too.

MORNINGTON PENINSULA
One of the most expensive vineyard areas in Oz, hence the hefty prices.

Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay 2010 17 Wine Society £18.40 Theatre of Wine, £18.50 L’Art du Vin, Great Western Wine, £18.99 Cambridge Wine Merchants, about $25 in Australia.
Recommended in my Guardian piece today though I’ve added a couple of other stockists. Could easily be white burgundy. Really subtle, elegant, creamy, beautifully in balance. The Pinots, which I’ll be writing about, are lovely too. Great value.

Ocean Eight Verve Chardonnay 2010 23 Theatre of Wine, $37 in Australia
Classy, cool climate, citrussy Chardonnay from this boutique Mornington Peninsula estate. Subtle and restrained - and just 12.2% which is remarkable.

Ten Minutes by Tractor Wallis Chardonnay 2009 (£168.84 per case of six in bond with Bancroft Wines = approx £40 a bottle, $52 in Australia
The more mineral elegant of 10 Minutes two single vineyard Chardonnays though I liked the richer, lusher McCutcheon Vineyard 2009 better with food (especially rare tuna).

Yabby Lake Block 1 Chardonnay 2009 £46 swig.co.uk (which doesn’t look a bad price when you see it’s $83.33 from the winery)
Apparently only 748 bottles were made of Yabby Lake’s top end Chardonnay - and you can only buy a maximum of two. Worth it I’d say if you can run to it though the single vineyard Yabby Lake Chardonnay which is pretty gorgeous too is ‘only‘ 26.50. “We don’t want them to be better than our single vineyard wines” says winemaker Tom Carson “we want them to be different”. Collectors items.

YARRA VALLEY
If I had to pick one region for chardonnay in Australia this would be it.

De Bortoli Reserve Release Chardonnay 2008 £23.49 simplywinedirect.com, $40 in Australia
One of the most impressive things about the trip was that it wasn’t just small boutique operations that were making great Chardonnay. Large companies are too as De Bortoli proves with this beautifully balanced wine. "We are paranoid about making fat Chardonnays” says winemaker Steve Webber.

Chandon Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2010 (not available in UK), $19-25 in Australia
This tends to be eclipsed by producer Domaine Chandon’s sparkling wines but I reckon it’s the best wine of the range - quintessential Yarra Valley Chardonnay. Confusingly it’s still marketed as Green Point in the UK and only available in older vintages which doesn’t help. Good value in Oz though.

Giant Steps Arthur’s Creek Chardonnay 2010 (currently on offer at £25 from thegoodwineshop.co.uk. About $40 In Australia
I mentioned the Sexton Vineyard in my Guardian feature and the cheaper Innocent Bystander Willing Participant Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2010 which is excellent value but my own favourite of Phil Sexton’s single vineyard bottlings was the Arthur’s Creek which is apparently the coolest of the sites. It has incredible purity and persistence.

Oakridge Lieu-Dit Chardonnay 2010 (not available in UK. About $44 in Australia)
Winemaker David Bicknell is apparently known as Mr Chardonnay a well-deserved accolade judging by this near-perfect bottling. Oakridge was also nominated Winery of the Year in this year’s The Age and Sydney Morning Herald Good Wine guide. Minimal intervention - no malo no acidification, natural yeasts, It’s lush - goodness it’s gorgeous - but still manages to be refreshingly crisp.

Wedgetail Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2009 (not available in UK. About $40 in Australia)
A classically Burgundian Chardonnay (if that’s not an insult to the Aussies) from owner/winemaker Guy Lamothe. From a cool dry hilly area in the north west of the valley. Elegant, pure, rich but restrained. Just 12.8%

Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Chardonnay 2010 £23.90 slurp.co.uk $44 in Australia
My favourite of the two Mac Forbes single vineyard Chardonnays though the Hoddles Creek was also pretty impressive. Restrained use of oak (only 22% new) resulting in a beautifully integrated wine with a really fresh, citrussy finish.

And from no specific region . . .

Penfold’s Yattarna 2008 £48-77 in the UK (an extraordinary price range) Majestic has it for £55, $129.99 from the cellar door
Is Yattarna better than any of the above wines? Debatable. Is it worth twice as much as most of them? I’d say not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a delicious Chardonnay but its role as ‘white Grange’ undoubtedly distorts its market value. A much better deal in the UK than Australia though which must be galling.

I didn’t visit Tasmania or New South Wales on this trip hence the absence of recommendations from the Hunter Valley, Orange, etc.

And if you want some ideas as to what to eat with these rather nice bottles you'll find some suggestions here.

 

Christmas fizz under £15 (updated)

If you're looking for a sparkling wine or champagne for a party here's my pick of what's available under £15 in ascending order of price. I've deliberately picked that figure rather than £10 as I haven't found a champagne I really rate under the £10 mark.

To repeat my usual caveat take ‘half price' and 'better than half price' offers with a pinch of salt and remember, in the case of champagne, even a £10 discount can still leave a bottle overpriced.

Asda Extra Special Vintage Cava on ‘rollback’ at £5 until January 3rd

Probably the cheapest drinkable fizz around this Christmas

Cava Brut Heretat El Padruell on offer at Marks & Spencer at £5.99 until December 25th

Much more personality than most cheap cava - attractively fruity rather than yeasty. A good party wine

Aldi Cremant de Jura £6.99

Very decent light, fragrant fizz in a super-smart bottle. A bargain.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Prosecco Conegliano on offer at £7.32 a bottle until 1/1/13.

Not amazing but a perfectly pleasant, clean-tasting prosecco that would be great for making cocktails.

Tesco Finest Vintage Cava Brut Nature 2010 565 stores (currently on offer at £7.49 until 1/1/13)

Unusual in that it’s almost totally dry (most fizz has an added sugar solution) so fresher and fruitier than most cavas

Cordoniu Seleccion Raventos (on offer at £7.99 at Majestic)

I much prefer Cordoniu's wines to fellow industry giant Freixenet's and this handsomely bottled smooth creamy cava is a great deal at the price. The only problem possibly being fitting the large unusually shaped bottles in the fridge if you're chilling several down. The basic Cordoniu brut (widely available at £6.99) is also good value.

La Corte del Pozzo Prosecco Brut 2010, Fasoli Gino £9.50 Adnams, £8.55 if you buy a case

Hurrah! A prosecco with personality. gently sparkling but with a deliciously honeyed flavour. (It's made from organic grapes) And I like the rather sexy-looking black bottle.

Jacob's Creek Trilogy Cuvée Brut on a 3 for the price of 2 offer at Ocado at £12.99 a bottle (which makes 3 bottles £8.66 each) Until 11/12. £9.99 Majestic

A surprisingly classy sparkler from Aussie giant Jacob’s Creek made from the classic champagne grape varieties. Better than many cheap champagnes.

Jansz rosé currently on offer at slurp.co.uk (£10.95), Fraziers Solihull (£11.99) and Hennings, Sussex (£12.25) and others - see wine-searcher.com

A delicious Tasmanian rosé which I rediscovered at the recent Dartmouth Food Festival where it was/is the house fizz at Brown's hotel. Really drinkable.

Heidsieck Blue Top Dry Monopole (£14.49 Tesco, £15 Asda)

This handsome looking bottle is one of the best big names you'll find round about this price. Full, toasty and rich - you know you're drinking the real thing.

Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs in magnum (down to £29.99 until 1/1/13 = £14.99 a bottle. Note the offer isn't as good on the 75cl size bottle)

A consistently good own-label champagne that totally over-delivers at this price - a richer, more full-bodied cousin of the supermarket’s lighter, more elegant but slightly pricier Blanc de Blancs (though this is now also on offer at £14.98 until 1/1/13) You could happily drink it with a meal.

Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne (on offer at £14.99 until 1/1/14).

Another reliable stalwart that keeps picking up awards. A lighter, more elegant style than the Blanc de Noirs - a good party champagne

Nicolas Feuillatte brut Grande Reserve (£14.99 Sainsbury's)

I must confess this hasn't been my favourite champagne house in the past but I haven't tasted this cuvée and you can't argue at the price. Tesco has a similar bottling at £14.99.

And for £15 . . .

Just topping the £15 mark, Piper Heidsieck Brut is currently on promotion at £15 at Asda, Sainsbury's has the perfectly decent Etienne Dumont brut for £15 and Duval Leroy's Fleur de Champagne, from the same house which makes Sainsbury's own label fizz is £15.99 at Waitrose.

PS Since I flagged up this post on Twitter a number of merchants and others have posted their own favourites. I haven't tasted them so can't recommend them personally but you might want to give them a go:

@winesonlyadrink "Victoria Sunnycliff brut - one of the best cheap party fizzes I've tasted"

@rieslingnut "Mas Macia brut nature cava from fermi bohigas. 24 months on lees, zero dosage. Target price £10-£11"

@The_Haciendas "We love the Mas de Monistrol Vintage Brut and Rose. Both at £13.99"

@Chris_Giles "Undarraga Rose, a bit of a Majestic bargain at £5.99."

@KieronGailliard "How about a Blanquette - classy and refreshingly different! http://bit.ly/TH6xL1"

@staffanahlgren "Camille Braun Crémant d'Alsace"

@gastrolad "lindauer brut nv usually goes down well" (I agree though prefer the rosé)

@m2comms "Sainsburys TTD Pinot Rosé & also their Marques de Montoya Vintage Cava Rosé (but which has the WORST label/bottle ever!)"

@vivinowines "Cava Marrugat is great for parties http://ow.ly/fOz9z Brut, but not overly dry"

@TonyRodgers70 "How about Txakoli? A little unconventional but bone dry is good at this time of year, what with rich foods etc"

@JascotsWine " favourite party sparkler? - @Simonsig_Estate 's Kaapse Vonkel http://bit.ly/QENdAs"

@koyahPR "J&L Charlemagne 1921 http://bit.ly/Vx0k5U is a delicious sparkling wine and great value at £14.50"

@tenacrewines "Ahem - http://ten-acre.com/wines/prosecco-di-valdobbiadene-frizzante-val-mesdi-frozza-nv/ … "

@portovinowines "there's our 2006 Quinta Romiera , Methode Champenoise from Bucelas. £15 a bottle . Stunning value. http://Portovino.co.uk "

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