The speaker at the October meeting of the Club was Derek Whitmell who entertained us with a tasting of the wines of the Southern Rhone. Derek last covered this region for the Club in March 2007 and identified a price increase of between 30% and 40% over the intervening period. As in 2007 all the 8 wines chosen came from The Wine Society at Stevenage, which has again won awards for National Wine Merchant of the Year and which has a growing number of members in the village. In 2007 Derek asked members to score each of the wines and this was repeated this time with some interesting results where we were able to make a like for like comparison. In particular the white Côtes-du-Rhône from Domaine La Réméjeanne scored much less well than previously whereas the red from Domaine Jaume was more popular.
The most successful wines of the evening were:
Whites, Lirac Blanc La Fermade 2011 from Domaine Maby @ £8.95 and Saint Péray, La Sauvagère 2011 from Paul Jaboulet Aîné @ £12.50. Reds, Côtes-du-Rhône du Friande 2011 from Domaine Jaume @ £6.50, Vinsobres Cuvée Référence 2008, Domaine Jaume @ £10.95, The Society’s Exhibition Gigondas, 2006 @ £12.50 and the most popular wine of the evening Rasteau, Domaine des Escaravailles, 2010 @ £7.95.
We are very grateful to Derek for all his hard work in respect of this most enjoyable evening.
Our next meeting will be on 21st November when we will welcome a return visit from the team at O’Vineyards near Carcasonne in France. Liz and Joe O’Connell will be giving us a “vertical” tasting of one of their wines from the 2006 vintage through to the 2009 one, thereby letting us identify the differences created by the weather. There will also be 4 white wines from their neighbours. As a result of their generosity and some great negotiations by Kevin and Frankie Jacklin, this meeting will be at our usual rate of £5 per person.
Anyone interested in joining needs to complete an application form which can be found on the Upton Village web site or by contacting me on 850989.
Mike Collins