This month saw the 17th Annual General Meeting of our highly popular club.
Ian Langley presented the accounts before thanking Susan Ryan for her
many years of service, who is standing down from the committee. Ian then
welcomed Di Rabbetts, who is joining the committee in the role of treasurer
and membership secretary.
The theme of the evening was Wine Awards, and every wine tasted had won
some form of award whether a medal, a high number of points, or been
commended by a wine professional in the press. The wines were presented
by Ian together with Brian Rippon.
To accompany the AGM, members were treated to a 91 point Graham de
Beck Blanc de Blancs (Majestic, £15.99), a biscuity traditional method
sparkling chardonnay from South Africa, which had a slightly mixed
reception. However, all of the following wines met universal approval of
the members. The first white of the evening was a crisp Villa Noria Picpoul
de Pinet (Strictly Wine, £10.99) which Jamie Goode rated at 90 points.
Members thought it was an extremely good and pleasant example of a
Picpoul – a wine from a very small appellation of which 65% is exported,
more than half of that coming to the UK. That was followed by a fascinating
but equally delicious ‘mountain’ blend, Terra Alpina Organic Bianco
(Majestic, £10.99) made with grapes from Hungary, Italy and the Pyrenees.
Although most examples of Falanghina come from Campania in southern
Italy, the next wine was an organic example from Puglia, Bella Verità (M&S,
£9). It showed the usual delicious characteristics of citrus blossom aromas
and apple and pear flavours. The final white was a Marcarini Roero Arneis
(Majestic, £12.99), a lovely and complex version of the Arneis grape from
the Roero hills in Piedmont.
The reds started with a lovely Pinot Noir from Chile, Matetic Estela Lunar
(M&S, £12 – but found in Didcot at £9, reduced to clear!). Awarded 92
points by Decanter, this was a delicate wine with notes of cherry and sweet
spice. Matetic regularly win awards for being one of the top 100 wineries or
producing one of the top 100 wines in the world, so this was an absolute
bargain – especially considering that their wines tend to sell for twice this
price. The next wine was even more of a bargain – a Montepulciano
d’Abruzzo from the Tesco Finest range. This has won gold medals, the
Montepulciano trophy and the Great Value Red Wine trophy. Normally £7, it
was on offer in September at £5.25 when you buy 6 bottles of wine.
Brian then presented a red from Strictly Wine, a Tikveš ‘Cuvee Methodius’
Vranec (£8.99) from the Republic of North Macedonia. This is a deeply
coloured red wine revealing vibrant aromas of blueberries and blackberries,
with hints of chocolate and cocoa – winner of a silver medal at the
International Wine Challenge. Finally Ian showed an unusual wine from
Portugal, an Alicante Bouschet (M&S, £8). This grape not only has a red skin
but also, unlike most red grapes, a red pulp –called a teinturier. Although
now virtually unheard of, it was until the start of this century the 12th most
planted red wine grape in France! Decanter gave it 91 points and (alongside
Matthew Jukes) recommended trying it with lamb.
The evening was enjoyed by all, who commented on the quality of the
wines. Perhaps there is something to wines that have received an award
after all…
Our next meeting is on 19th October, when we welcome Grape Minds to
show some of their wines in a Tour de France. If you’re interested in
joining us, please drop us a line at contact@uptonwineclub.com