Grape Varietal Knock Out.

On Monday night I ran a grape varietal knock out tasting for The Charlbury Wine and Beer Society. The eight varietal entries included in the runners up Arinto, Touriga Nacional, Montepulciano and Riesling, with the easy winner in the white section Gruner Veltliner and the handicap good thing red Carmenere. This was not an evening for having a bash at Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Shiraz etc but instead an opportunity to feature interesting grape varieties that generally aren’t residents of popular shelf positions in retailers. The format really worked very well because people enjoyed, in general, these well made, attractive styles of wines – Note people only knew prices after they had tasted and cast their votes. Featured below are the winners plus others that scored high marks too. All wines stocked at Waitrose.
Domaine Wachau ‘Terraces’ Gruner Veltliner 2009, Austria, £8.49.
Attractive spice and ripe fruit character on the nose, dry, crisp and refreshing on the palate. Delicious, up-market party wine. Penfolds Autumn Riesling 2008, South Australia, £8.99 inevitably had some opponents of the typically slightly, evolved petrollelly nose, whilst on the palate a softer, citrus, more minerally character dominated. A dry, attractive aperitif style at an appealing 11.5% abv.
La Piuma Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo 2009, Italy, £6.49 on offer at £4.79 is a medium bodied, smooth red with soft cherry fruit and tannins, backed by good acidity. Typically Italian. MontGras Reserva Carmenere 2010, Chile, £8.49. From the Colchagua Valley which is a popular region for serious red wines. Wines of Chile are running a campaign focusing on matching curry with the underrated Carmenere grape. Judging on this tasting this works, as MontGras’ 2010 is non confrontational in the tannin department; medium-full bodied, intensely fruity, surprisingly accessible with gentle tannins. High quality.