A Tale of Terroir

For our May Tongham Tasters’ evening we had a more specialised theme than normal – we were to taste five French Sauvignon Blanc white wines. Our reward was to be a mature red at the end of the evening. After eight months, I was at last going to be allowed to choose the wines – the pressure was on. Surely after all my practice of drinking wines from Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, this would be a veritable doddle! Alas, the budget was just fifty pounds for six bottles; I was going to have to very thrifty and search a wider area of France for value. After much diligent research I got together what I thought were 5 pretty good value Sauvignon Blanc white wines and a cracking red as well. But how would our eight man tasting team perceive them?.... and would they be able to spot the Sauvignon Blanc that was blended with something else as well?

The evening started well enough, as I explained how New Zealand wines shouted at me whereas French wines talked to me and occasionally sung to me, and then someone mentioned that dreaded word…….”terroir”!

In order of preference after voting, here are my wines and our collective views on them. Scores are in the order: John E, Steve S, Sheila, Jane, Clive, John S and Ian.

1. Domaine de Salvard Cheverny Le Vieux Clos “Delaille” 2009, Majestic Wines, £7.99
Three of our intrepid team of eight tasters voted this their top wine and another four had it as their runner up. However, nobody realised that this was a blended wine as it tasted like pure Sauvignon Blanc. It in fact had 15% Chardonnay as well. Many thought it tasted quite New World compared to the other French wines that we were tasting. It certainly had a nice bouquet and taste that perhaps came from maturing the wine on its lees. The scores out of 20 were 15, 14.5, 11, 18, 17, 15, and 13. This was another winner from Majestic Wine Warehouse.

A really nice red!

2. Altos D’Oliva Gran Reserva Catalunya 2000 Spain, FromVineyardsDirect, £7.95
With four of our judges putting this at No.1 and another as runner up, our red wine of the evening did rather well. Everybody’s first guess was that this was an Australian Rhone blend – but no it was from near the Priorat region of Spain. It was the oldest wine we had yet had at a Tongham Tasters evening and everyone thought this would go well with a BBQ. Many including Kathyrn got the liquorice taste of this Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranilla, Garnacha, Shiraz blend and John S thought it chunky with a hint of sweetness. Sheila thought that it not only sung to her but did the whole Karaioke repertoire! Scores were 15.5, 14, 14, 14, 12, 15, and 14.5. This is a wine that represents great value for money.

3. Domaine Octavie Touraine Sauvignon 2009, FromVineyardsDirect, £8.75
One top vote, three seconds and two thirds gave this wine our bronze medal of the evening. A few like Steve S thought this was a blend as it wasn’t particularly Sauvignon Blanc like and had more sweetness and less acidity than normal. Clive thought he detected a little spritz. Scores were 13, 13, 10.5, 16, 16, 13, and 9.5. Worth adding to your list if you are trying to make up a mixed case of twelve wines, I enjoyed it more when I tasted it on its own with a meal rather than part of a tasting flight.

Jane expounds on Teroir!

4. Vallee Blanche Sauvignon Blanc Cotes de Gascogne 2009, Majestic, £5.99
The cheapest wine of the evening, it did rather well in the scoring with two third places and four fourth places.. Variously described as quite minerally and quite fruity, some thought it very dry and, some like Jane, quite sweet! It was certainly fruity, perhaps apple-like with some citrus and lychee, and was another with a touch of the New World rather than the Loire about it – in fact it comes from the South West of France. Scores were 14.5, 11.5, 10, 13, 15, 12, and 10.5. This is a very good value nice wine from Majestic. Don’t be put off by the cheap looking label as Steve has been in the past.

5. Clothilde Davenne Saint-Bris Sauvignon 2009, FromVineyardsDirect. £9.75.
The most expensive wine of the evening did rather disappointingly with just two top three votes and not much else. A nice wine it is perhaps not very Sauvignon Blanc like. It was interesting that it had a much darker colour than the other wines. Clive was not sure of the aftertaste but It went well the spicy aubergine dip that Jane made. Scores were 12.5, 12, 6.5, 13, 10, 11, and 12. An interesting wine that frankly is better based on previous tastings than these scores would indicate but on this tasting perhaps not worth the price. Whenever, I have bought wines from this small Burgundy appellation before, they have been cheaper and better value.

6. Domaine Henri Beurdin et Fils, Reuily 2009, Majestic £7.99.
This wine should have been OK based on previous tastings but when served too cold has a bitterness and grittiness that is unpleasant. However, once it warms up and you have some food with it, then these bad characteristics disappear. It was an interesting lesson in serving wine at the right temperature and how food can improve wine. For the wine nearest to the traditional Loire Sauvignon Blanc area it was not so good. Scores were 11.5, 9, 4, 8, 13, 9, and 6.5. A real spread of scores for this one, depending on whether it was scored based on first or last impressions. This was a tricky wine to serve correctly; interestingly, enough it says on the bottle to serve it fresh and not too iced – should have read the label!

It was an interesting mix of wines and showed how the different terroir from the different areas of France allied with the different wine makers’ skills and techniques can turn out quite different tasting wines. The 2 different goats cheeses, aubergine dip, brandade and crudités all went down well with the home made rolls and pitta bread. We had a great crowd along and the conversation flowed on many topics as well as wine.  Did we really talk about the Eurovision Song Contest?  It was great to have Kathryn along for the first time and hope we see her again at future evenings. Cost of the evening per person was just £7.30 – good value I think. It was good to try wines from yet another interesting inline retailer – FromVineyardsDirect.

The table is set for a great evening

Next month we will be having another Friday evening event and the theme is BBQ wines and if the weather is good we will be having a BBQ as well. The date for your diary is Friday June 3rd. Click on Wine Circle at the top of the page for more details – all are welcome. Location will be somewhere in Grange Road, Tongham.

For our July evening we are celebrating French National day on Thursday July 14th - this evening will be a bit special as we are doubling the budget for the evening and having some rather nice French wines and food.  As usual contact John via email at tonghamtaster@gmail.com or ring him on 07717 876743.

Our August evening will be another Friday evening event and the theme will be Old World versus New World wines.  Venue will be in Tongham.    For our Farnborough fans good news as the Setmber event will be in Farnborough on Thursday September 15th.