The third wine club meeting of the 2022 calendar took place on the usual
third Wednesday of the month, on 16th March. Attended by approximately 20
of our club members, this was a smaller turnout than usual, which meant
slightly more generous samples of the delicious wine on offer throughout the
evening (and more headaches the next morning, perhaps!).
The theme of the night was “The Judgement of Paris”; for those unfamiliar
with the wine connection to this phrase (as opposed to the story from Greek
Mythology), the Judgement of Paris was a wine competition organised in
Paris in May 1976 by Stephen Spurrier, a British wine merchant, and his
colleague Patricia Gallagher, in which French judges carried out two blind
tasting comparisons; one of top quality chardonnays and another of red
wines (Bordeaux wines from France and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from
California). In every category, the Californian wines came out top, which
greatly shocked the judges, as France was at the time considered to be the
foremost producers of the world’s best wines.
And so, to the Judgement of Upton. Eight bottles of wine, including four
white and four red, and half from France and half from California, were
brilliantly presented by the dynamic duo Ian Langley and Brian Rippon, from
the wine club committee. Over four rounds, two bottles at a time were
sampled and compared by being labelled as A and B, to enact our own blind
tasting. The wines were all supplied by the Wine Society and were similarly
priced, so the task was to see which one’s members preferred.
Round 1 involved two Viogniers: a 2020 McManis Viognier from California and
a 2021 Grignan-les-Adhemar, Viognier from Domaine de Montine, in France.
The Californian is a rich, velvety white wine with peach, pear and apricot
aromas and could be paired easily with fish curry, prawns, scallops or a
melon starter (random!). The French wine, from Southern Rhone, is a
creamy, full- flavoured Viognier with peace and exotic guava flavours. Very
ripe and full-flavoured, it is said to go perfectly with fish or duck pate. With
only 45p separating the two wines in price (£11.95 and £11.50 respectively),
both wines present good value for money.
Round 2 involved two Chardonnays: a 2020 Bogle Vineyward California
Chardonnay and a 2020 Domaine Andre Bonhomme from the Macon-Villages
Vielles Vignes in France. The Californian is 50% aged in American Oak for
eight months to give a rich vanilla and nutmeg spice. The other half is aged
in steel to retain the fresh peach and lemon character. It is 14.5% alcohol
and priced at £12.50 and is best paired with children dishes prawns and beef
carpaccio. The Domaine Andre Bonhomme (13.5%) is a ripe yet refreshing
burgundy with aromas of white peaches and a balanced palate with a long
finish for a wine of this price (£12.50 also).
We then moved onto the reds. Round 3 involved two Pinot Noirs: The
Society’s Exhibition Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2019 (Californian) and a Reuilly
Rouge ‘Les Demoiselles Tatin’, from the Domaines Tatin in France, 2019.
The former is a vibrant and bright red fruity wine that you’d expect from
the fog-cooled yet sunny Sonoma Coast in California. At 13.5% in alcohol
volume and £14.95 in price, the wine goes well with rabbit dishes, roast
beef, veal and cold meats. The French wine is a delightful Central Vineyards
Pinot Noir from a ripe Loire vintage. Again, another one that can be paired
with cold meats, rabbit and veal, but also with ham, salmon and wild
mushrooms. Versatile and a snip at £12.50.
The final two wines of the night were of the Cabernet Sauvignon and
Cabernet Merlot variety. The first was a 2015 Chateau Tour Saint Bonet,
Medoc (13.5%), a ruby-red coloured, medium- bodied wine from a
consistently good Bordeaux estate; it has a bouquet of cassis and cedar and
is made from Cabernet- Merlot grapes. The second wine was the 2019
Californian Pedroncelli Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon (14.5%). This
wine has blackberry, blackcurrant and mulberry flavours which are wellbalanced by subtle cedar and vanilla notes. Both wines are great value
(£13.50 and £11.95 respectively) and on the night, were paired with pieces
of delicious chorizo.
A vote by a show of arms was undertaken throughout the evening, with the
Californian wines overall coming out on top again, although there was of
course some divided opinion! A fantastic, informative enjoyable evening
was had by all.
Natalie Morgan