Three Wine Men in Cambridge

The Three Wine Men event returns to Cambridge

Another year, another Three Wine Men Christmas tasting; this time round there were noticeably fewer local independents.

With just a three-hour slot and over 30 exhibitors in the hall, there was no chance to get round everyone. So I focused on local heroes and noteworthy wines.

Cambridge Distillery

Meeting both of these criteria was Cambridge Distillery whose gins are something of a revelation. Owner Will Lowe cites three points of difference from pretty much any other gin you might try: all botanicals are fresh and seasonal, all are distilled separately and then blended separately.

Will's house gin is the Cambridge Dry Gin - fragrant, floral and perfumey with juniper and menthol, a firm grip leading onto a round sweetness. Very Good.

A step up is the Cambridge Botanical Gardens Gin with flavourings picked from the Botanical Gardens just up the road from the distillery. With rosemary, lavender and apples descended from Newton's tree, this is a more nuanced and elegant gin. Very Good Indeed.

The Truffle Gin is flavoured with white truffles from alba and is intended as a digestif, a gin for whisky-lovers. The musky white truffle dominates the nose leading to more juniper on the palate. Very Good.

Thorne Wines

New kid on the local oenological block is Thorne Wines, run by James Thorne, formerly of Cambridge Wine Merchants.

The white Rioja Perica Olagasa Blanco 2017 is a complex, nutty, fresh, leesy spicy old-school Rioja. Good.

The red Perica Olagasa Reserva 2010 is fresh, youthful and still primary with bramble fruits and spice; mellow and harmonious.

Also good and tasted on a previous occasion is the Vondeling Chardonnay.

Thirsty

Wine merchants inevitably reflect the personalities of their founders; Thirsty's wines are iconoclastic and zeitgeisty. There was South African Southern French / Pinotage blend with juicy fresh berry fruit, a Southern French Chardonnay that was fresh with a southern warmth and an orange wine that was highly drinkable and pleasant rather than challenging.

Chateau Musar

A vertical of Lebanon's Musar showed how this amazing wine develops: the 2011 red, the current vintage, is complex, harmonious and meaty with dried red berries, spice and freshness and just the beginnings of some secondary woodsy undergrowth alongside dried red fruits. Very Good.

The 2000 is paler with more secondary aromas of sous bois and truffles, but the fruit is still good and it will continue to age. Very Good.

The 1998 is very pale and almost tawny port-esque, very harmonious and mellow. At a peak and my top of the three vintages on show. Very Good.

I had not known about the Musar White, but got a chance to try the 2009. Complex, with nuts and oaky spices, waxy and old school, it is a unique textured wine that somewhat defies definition but is in the same category as amontillado, vin jaune and white Rioja. Very Good.

New Zealand Wine

If you think New Zealand is just Sauvignon Blanc, then look away now.

Greywacke Chardonnay 2014 is a complex, elegant and ageworthy oaked Chardonnay; fresh citrus and orchard fruits, gently toasty oak. Substantial and deft. very Good.

Greywacke Pinot Noir 2014 fresh, delicate and crystalline with elegant red fruits; supple and harmonious. Very Good.

Sud de France

Quality, consistency and affordability were all high here - these were some really lovely wines.

Domaine Morin-Langron Etiquette Noir 2017 fresh, elegant and long Picpoul. Good.

Ch Canet 2017 waxy, spicy, warming southern white blend. Good.

Domaine de Cebene Felgaria 2015 pruney fruit, feral, mineral red blend; concentrated, supple and fresh. Very Long. Very Good.

Ch de Prieure des Mourgues Grande Reserve 2015 poised, focused, concentrated St Chinian red blend. Fine tannins and will age. Very Good.

Alpine Wines

Swiss wines can be lovely, but they are always expensive; if you set next-door Burgundy as a benchmark, then they are reasonable value.

Provins Petite Arvine Grand Metral 2016 fresh, lemony and elegant. Good.