Austria's Cool Wines By The Glass‏

Last month, I went to the Annual Tasting of Austrian Wines at the IOD in London.

At a press breakfast beforehand, we were served a typical Austria breakfast of meats, cheese coffee and pastries that took me back to my own days in Vienna whilst Willi Klinger, head of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, gave us a presentation.

The ownership and funding of the AWMB is somehow typically Austrian, being a Byzantine mix of state and mid-sized private industry - this Germanic blend of public and private aligning interests is somewhat reminiscent of Germany's Mittelstand and Lower Saxony's Golden Share in Volkswagen AG and suggests that compared to Britain, in Austria the state is rather more commercial whilst business is rather less so.

As Willi pointed out, being 4/5ths mountains, Austria has limited land available for viticulture and, as a result, the average size of a grower's vineyards is just 2.3 ha.

The number of producers is now around 20,000 down from around 48,000 in the mid-80s, but whilst some consolidation is taking place, Austria will never be a volume player like Australia and indeed, at 6,500 has double the number of that country's bottlers.

I have long observed that Austrian wines are expensive at the bottom - due precisely to this lack of volume and efficiencies of scale - but relative bargains at the top due to lack of reputation and international recognition; the great top whites of the Wachau do not yet command anything like the price premiums of white Burgundy.

Obviously, the AWMB would like to do something about that and I have seen for myself prices for the top wines creeping upwards over the last 5-10 years, even in euro terms.

Production of wines in Austria is around the 250m litres per year that Austrians consume, but the country does not drink only its own produce, so there is something of a one in, one out approach to imports with 50m-70m litres of wine changing hands with other countries.

The trend over time has been to reduce export volumes, especially of bulk wines, and focus more on achieving better prices for the higher-end wines.

There is a typically Austrian logic to this - if my imports equal my exports, then I have to sell and awful lot of bulk juice to buy one bottle of good Bordeaux or Burgundy.

But, by improving (read: increasing) prices for my top wines, a single bottle of Wachau GV or Riesling will get me a good Bordeaux and maybe even a bit of spare change back, too.

After all this talk about focus on raising prices, Herr Klinger then played his masterstroke - he explained that he thought the price of Austrian wine in the UK was too high and he would like to see the UK buying more entry-level wines.

To illustrate his point, he cited Germany where the average ex-cellar price is €2, compared to €7.5 in the UK.

His target is to get Britain drinking 1m litres of Austrian wine annually and I suspect this focus on reducing the entry-level cost of an Austrian wine (you rarely find anything under a tenner here) is rather like an auctioneer starting low to whip up some excitement with the eventual aim of finishing high.

Austrian wines are still something of a niche interest in this country, partly because of the high entry-level price and so this becomes a self-reinforcing loop.

The AWMB's solution to this is "Cool Wines By The Glass": encouraging the on-trade to sell more entry-level wines by the glass to create a broad base of interest.

So far, so strategically sound.

My own love of Austrian wines came from travelling to Vienna on business and drinking Austrian wines by the glass at any number of excellent Viennese restaurants - Steierereck, Meinl am Graben, Plachutta and Indochine 21, to name but a few.

On a good evening, I would typically start with a crisp, piercingly steely Styrian wine for aperitif and starter, then if white, a Riesling or GV from the Wachau, if red a Blaufränkisch from Burgenland with my main and finally a Burgenland sticky with dessert.

In practice, then, Austrian wines are great food matches and versatile enough to match with many foods.

Moreover, people are generally a lot more adventurous and less price sensitive when buying a glass of wine for themselves compared to a bottle to share.

However,"Cool Wines By The Glass" is not the snappiest of slogans and the multiple play-on-words (edgy, cool climate wines, served chilled) feels overly studied, clunky and unconvincing - a bit like your uncle trying to disco dance.

It's also something of a high-risk approach as serving wines by the glass requires either quick product turnover, oenomatic dispensers, rigorous stock rotation or all three to ensure the wines are served in peak condition.

When I asked Herr Klinger about this, he made a good joke about this involving world domination, but did not really give a proper answer to how quality control can be maintained.

I can't help wondering if cool wines by the glass will end up being a bit like sherry bars - on any given evening, there's no shortage of people at Dehesa or Pepito's but I am not seeing any signs yet of the ripple effect amongst friends and colleagues.

But perhaps that just proves the old adage that it takes years to gain a reputation and moments to lose it - a point which Austria knows well.

As a small, clannish, wealthy country with a new generation of young wine-makers, Austria was able to turn its own wine industry round after the mid-80s very successfully, but having made such dramatic changes in the early days, Austrian wine law still continues to change to this day.

At times it can feel a bit like perpetual tinkering and all I took away from the update on Austria's new regional delineations of areas and grape varieties that has the feel of France's AOC system - with designated permitted grapes for designated areas - is that it is still a work in progress.

And whilst a lot of the basics of Brand Austria are in place for wine marketing, one glaring example to me is the limited use of social media generally and twitter in particular.

This was the subject my second question to Willi Klinger and he responded by pointing out that the AWMB has pushed all major producers to keep their websites current, that there is an Austrian Wine Facebook page and Twitter accounts for both Austrian Wine in Austria and a US-based account.

However, for social media, there are nul points just for turning up - it's about content and engagement rather than mere platform presence.

Yes, there's something of a language barrier, but English is widely spoken by all the producers I have met, and yes, resourcing is an issue - there's always work to do at a winery and tweeting should never take precedence over the real work of making wine.

But how powerful is it for producers to be able to engage with their consumers directly and vice-versa ?

More than just the liquid in the glass, wine has a Romance to it that being able to interact directly with the wine-maker captures perfectly - and Austria, with its mountains, castles, the meandering UNESCO-protected Wachau valley, the shallow lake and low hills of Neusiedlersee and the fossil ridges of Styria is a beautiful and amazingly Romantic setting.

As journalists and observers of human nature, wine writers understand this implicitly and I can't help feeling that if the wine producers of Austria started to engage with their consumers and fans via the Twittersphere - and get it right - the resultant buzz could be little short of incredible.

Links

Austrian Wine - http://www.austrianwine.com/

Cool Wines by the Glass - http://www.austrianwine.com/news-media/news-from-us/news/news/oesterreich-glasweise-cool-wines-by-the-glass-1478/

Two Wines from Chile's Caliterra‏

To celebrate the purchase of a company decanter, I decided to open up two wines from Chile's Caliterra and sample them with colleagues as part of our now-regular Thursday Wine Club.

According to its website, Caliterra was established in 1996 as a partnership between the Robert G. Mondavi family and Viña Errázuriz, whilst in early 2004 Viña Errázuriz acquired the Robert Mondavi family’s 50% share.

To me, Chile is perhaps the most exciting new kid on the oenological block with a wide range of terroirs and microclimates plus the benefits of altitude giving long growing seasons and ripe yet complex wines.

Add to this vines grown on original rootstocks (no Phylloxera here) and it's easy to see why it has been said of Chile that it has things just too easy.

Caliterra Tributo Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Leyda, Chile, £10.99

Sauvignon is perhaps Chile's signature white grape, different from steely Loire, lush tropical kiwi versions and fuller white Bordeaux.

Straw yellow in the glass, even straight out of the bottle the nose shows lots of herbaceous, aromatic cut grass, zingy gooseberry and nettley aromas underpinned by minerally wet stones.

The palate is full, weighty, rounded and minerally with good, grapefruit acidity and a fleeting touch of flintsmoke, whilst the finish is long, persistent and minerally with more pungent, green aromatics.

With lots of classic, almost textbook Sauvignon varietal character, this is a very well-made wine - aromatic, weighty, balanced and complex yet drinkable.

And whilst unmistakeably a Sauvignon, it is very different from the traditional styles of the Loire, Bordeaux or Marlborough. The nearest equivalent I can think of for this is Styria in southern Austria which shares Chile's modern techniques, stainless steel fermentation and altitude to give aromatic yet weighty wines.

£11 may seem like a lot for a Chilean white, but as a colleague commented - at this price, I'd be unlikely to choose this one off the shelf, but having tasted it, it actually is worth it.

Match with goat's cheese, meaty white fish such as sea bass or monkfish in a herb broth or either pasta or mozzarella with pesto.

Stockists: Leamington Wine Company, Ann et Vin, Bacchus et Al, Eagle Wines, Gwin Llyn Wines, Partridges of Sloane Street, Peake Wine Associates.

Caliterra Tributo "Edicion Limitada" Carménère / Malbec 2009, Colchagua, Chile - £14.99

Carménère, originating in Bordeaux and long thought to be Merlot, has become Chile's signature red wine grape and is, to me, Merlot's darker, artier brother.

By contrast, Malbec, also originally from Bordeaux but via Cahors, is the problem child who finally made good as a blue-collar Argentinian gaucho with a spicy, rustic charm.

Put them together and, with lots of southern hemisphere sunshine, you have Johnny Depp and Bruce Springsteen singing a Mötley Crüe cover.

Even on pouring this into the new Company Decanter before our weekly catch-up, there are lots of ripe fruit aromas - after about half an hour of updates and an assessment of the Sauvignon, we moved onto this wine.

Dark purple in the glass, it has a complex nose of ripe dark berry and bramble fruit, liquorice, leather, vanilla and dark spices.

On the palate, it shows intense, ripe fruit of black cherries and elderberries with good grip and a soft, velvety texture.

With juicy acidity, it feels ripe and warming, with a long, persistent and perfumey finish.

With more aeration and attention, I can pick out the different elements - there are hints of coffee and soy from the Carménère, whilst the Malbec provides leathery spice and liquorice.

On the nose, hints of sour cherry and undergrowth also develop, whilst the palate shows touches of mintiness.

The tannins are ripe and rounded and only the sticklers among us would note that they have an ever so slightly drying element on the finish.

Food matches are somewhat tricky for this wine - the fruit and spice of the Malbec demands a steak or something barbecued, whilst the more subtle aromas of the Carménère would match well with duck rillettes.

With 14.5% alcohol, this is definitely one for fans of international-style Big Reds with lots of ripe fruit and spice; a colleague whose palate I am learning is very European and classical found this just too big and heavy for her tastes. Another did not like the liquorice aromas in the wine, saying liquorice just isn't his thing.

However, in general, most people responded very positively to this with "Ooh, that's nice" at the first sniff.

Stockists: Cheers Wine Merchants, Taylors Fine Wine, Hailsham Cellars, slurp.co.uk.

I originally set up Wine Club as an opportunity for colleagues to get a little wine education, but it seems over time to have turned more into a social event - even if we do observe a few basic rules, such as using proper tasting glasses, extensive sniffing and at least some consideration of the wine's qualities before moving on to discuss weddings and holidays (true for the ladies, at least).

And that's probably right - wine is a social beverage, a maker of occasions and whilst geeky bloggers may enjoy the analytical process of subjecting a wine to scrutiny, a wine-club with a humourless, po-faced, overly serious approach to tasting has only a limited future.

Both wines provided for review.

Links

Caliterra - http://caliterra.com/

Laithwaites - Wines from Eastern Europe‏

After tasting a new range of Laithwaites wines from India, Greece, Turkey and Georgia selected by buyer Cat Lomax, we were also invited to try a few of their current Eastern European wines.

Campanula Pinot Grigio 2011, Hungary, £6.99
Aromatic on the nose, this shows pear and green apple fruit. There is some mid-palate sweetness and a creamy texture.

A good, solid quaffer.

Albastrele Pinot Grigio Cahul, 2010, Moldova, £7.79

Moldova is something of a forgotten corner of Europe - historically and linguistically linked with  Romania, it was annexed into a separate republic by the Soviet Union in 1945.

Although a poor, rural backwater, it is talked of as having viticultural potential and this Pinot Grigio was one of the best whites on show - pale golden yellow, it feels weighty, honeyed and full on the palate but also crisp and bone dry.

There is also ripe pear and melon fruit with white blossom aromas.

Scurta Vineyard Viognier Tamaiosa 2010, Romania, £7.49

Although Bucharest is a dirty, smelly, chaotic city, Romania's wines generally feel surprisingly clean and pure.

This wine shows peach and apricot fruit and has a pleasant rounded, peachy feel on the palate.

Solidly OK, but nothing special; the price seems quite ambitious for this.

Albastrele Sauvignon Blanc Cahul 2010, Moldova, £7.79

With good citrus fruit and ripe, tropical passion fruit, this shows typical Sauvignon gooseberry aromas; weighty and full on the palate.

It has an unspecified gold medal from somewhere.

Colina Piatra Alba Pinot Noir 2009, Romania, £7.29

With aromas of sweaty, damp animal and sawdust, this is hardly a "typically Burgundian" Pinot - though to be fair, it is hardly priced as one either.

There is some fresh red berry fruit, but I would rather look to Chile for entry-level Pinot than more of this.

Coline d'Enira Merlot 2008, Bulgaria, £9.79

Bulgaria in the late '70s and early '80s was a source of cheap, rustic but effusive reds before the New World took over that particular role and these days, I'm not really sure what Bulgaria stands for.

The role as a regional Finance Director that took me regularly to Austria, Hungary and Romania, amongst other places, only ever afforded me a single visit to our Bulgarian office (pretty much to close it down), so I have never really got to know Bulgaria's wines.

This 14.5% beast shows ripe sour-cherry and vegetal aromas on the nose; on the palate, there is more ripe plum and prune fruit, vanilla and sour-cherry acidity with ripe tannins and a grippy, perfumey finish - it feels rich, concentrated and surprisingly youthful even with four years' age.

Attention-grabbing more than classy and ambitiously priced.

Recommended wine

This was a bit of a hit-and-miss affair - much as you might expect of a range of Eastern European wines from Laithwaites.

The surprise for me was how well the Moldovan wines showed and how middling the others were.

Hungary and Romania can produce some really good wines but they don't appear to be on the Laithwaites stock list.

By contrast both Moldovan wines from Albastrele - the Pinot Grigio and the Sauvignon Blanc - felt very well-made with real depth on the palate and at just under £8, they are also priced sensibly for the quality on offer, even if an £8 Moldovan wine is something of a challenging sell.

Links

Laithwaites - http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/

Dow's Vintage Port 1975‏

Earlier this year, I celebrated a birthday and as well as the good wishes I received via Facebook and Twitter from the blogosphere generally, back in the real world fellow Cambridge wine blogger Davy Kurniawian gave me a bottle of vintage Dow's Port from 1975.

It is nearly as old as I am and if Davy was hazarding a guess at my own vintage year, I'm flattered that he fell short by almost half a decade.

It is, I believe the oldest vintage wine I have ever had - if we exclude spirits and solera-method sherries.

Vintage is the very top rung of port styles which start with basic ruby and then move up via LBV and aged tawny; it is a wine for a different age and, needing a good 25 years' cellaring to develop and mature, was labelled as somewhat old school by Hugh Johnson as far back as 1969 in my first-edition World Wine Atlas.

Port vintages are declared only 3 or 4 times a decade when the harvest is deemed good enough or, one may consider, the vintners need to replenish their coffers.

Just opening up the bottle was no mean feat - I started by standing it on end for a couple of weeks to let the sediment sink to the bottom.

The foil cap around the neck of the bottle had started to decay and stick to the glass, so this needed to be scraped off and wiped clean.

Then, pulling out the cork, only half came as the remainder, damp and crumbly, disintegrated.

I eventually removed the last of the cork with a knife and the back of a teaspoon and was finally ready to start the decanting process.

Vintage port is bottled young and unfiltered and a hefty sediment is the result - the surprise on pouring is that instead of the usual grainy, flaky sediment I occasionally get with table wines, this was like rubbery jelly.

Once poured into the glass, the port is the colour of a pale rose wine, or perhaps more accurately that of cranberry or pomegrante juice.

On the nose, there are the familiar aromas of eucalyptus and pepperiness, as well as bramble fruit and cherry.

With 36 year's bottle age, it has nothing of the primary intensity of a young ruby or LBV - but what amazes me is how the fruit aromas and acidity have remained so vibrant and fresh after more than a third of a century. Less surprising is the mellowness and depth of flavour in the wine.

We decide that this is not a wine to be rushed and, pouring it back into the bottle after a quick rinse, drink the remainder over several weeks - to my amazement, with air it opens up and improves - the aromas become more prominent, especially the peppery eucalyptus which is now distinctly medicinal.

As the weeks pass by, it continues to open up further and just seems to get better with time.

Links

Dow's - http://www.dows-port.com/
Vinoremus - http://vinoremus.blogspot.com/

Wine Of The Month - March

For me, early March, when the days become perceptibly longer and the weather perceptibly milder, is a time of hope and optimism, a prelude to the opportunities of a new year after the cold seclusion of winter.

Longer days and warmer temperatures mean a scarf and gloves are not always required when stepping outside, which in itself becomes more appealing and leads to a greater chance of bumping into a friend or acquaintance somewhere.

It is a time to start making plans for the rest of the year - summer holidays, Easter breaks and, for those of us with small children, half-term get-aways.

Despite all the plans and optimism, though, it can still be a chilly old time and so this month's wines are all warming, spicy reds.

Domaine de Fondreche, Cotes du Ventoux Rouge, 'Mas de Fondreche' 2009 - £8.99 Joseph Barnes Wines

This 2009 Ventoux from Joseph Barnes Wines is from village of Mazan in the Ventoux region of the eastern Côtes du Rhône and made from an unoaked blend of Grenache and Syrah. Whilst very palatable on first opening, really benefits from a decent amount of aeration - I tried it over three days and it was still improving even as we were finishing it off.

On the nose, there are aromas of plum, black cherry  and elderberry, with hints of spice, liquorice and undergrowth developing over time.

On the palate, there is more dark fruit, cool mintiness and, increasingly with air, a wonderfully soft and texture and a rounded acidity.

With a grippiness on the palate, it feels very well-made and pure, if not especially complex, with a persistent finish.

Match with dark plain-roast meat, such as lamb or beef.

Orcia DOC Malintoppo 2006 Simonelli-Santi - £13.99 Cambridge Wine Merchants

This Cambridge Wine Merchants Sangiovese from the Orcia DOC in Tuscany is an altogether classier proposition, if priced accordingly.

At six years of age, it is brick red in the glass with cherry fruit and complex spice, cigar box, liquorice and undergrowth on the nose.

The palate shows a lively if slightly stewed cherry fruit acidity (that's 14.5% alcohol for you), a soft but firm texture and an incredible depth of complex flavour.

It has the mellow harmoniousness of its age and a long finish with peppery grip.

This really is a class act and although the price is well into "special occasion" territory, it is worth every penny given the quality and age.

Whilst drinking well now, it still improves with air after decanting and I'd be seriously tempted to buy a case of this to see how it continues to evolve.

Match with slow-roast beef or darker game such as duck, pheasant or venison.

Opawa Pinot Noir 2010, New Zealand - £10.49, Noel Young Wines

Although best known for Sauvignon Blanc, with its cool climate New Zealand is becoming Pinot's second spiritual home after Burgundy.

NZ wines are typically technically well-made with good, pure fruit and this wine is no exception.

From Noel Young Wines, this is pale ruby in the glass, on first opening, this wine shows ripe, red cherry fruit, with more-typical Pinot aromas of woody mushrooms developing with air.

On the palate, the fruit is ripe and pure with a soft, sensual texture, a good depth of savoury flavour and a balanced, lingering finish.

Whilst it may lack some typically Burgundian vegetal, farmardy aromas and food-friendly sour-cherry acidity, this is a lovely wine and provides a good mid-level introduction to what this grape can do in NZ.

Although Pinot is one of the few wines I never decant, as its ephemeral aromas rarely benefit from significant aeration, this wine is still showing well, if not even a little better the following day and I recommended it via Twitter to fellow blogger and Pinot / self-doubter Charles Saunders as an example of what Pinot Noir can be.

Match with game such as duck and pheasant or a Burgundian stew.

Pascual Toso Malbec 2009, Mendoza Argentina - £8.99, Bacchanalia

If Pinot is a dreamy, sensual hedonist, Malbec is a Blue-Collar hero - a macho, peppery, steak-eating, cattle-wrangling gaucho in open check shirt and leather chaps.

Dark in the glass, this Pascual Toso Malbec from Bacchanalia shows lots of ripe up-front bramble and blackberry fruit with liquorice and vanilla spice on the nose.

The palate is full and ripe with more sweet cassis fruit and spicy, leathery earthiness. There's plenty of aromas on the finish too and, if it's a little rustic, it is at least polite enough to wipe its feet on the doormat before enquiring if it left its boots under your bed, ma'am.

A spicy, warm-hearted Big Red with bags of crowd-pleasing, easy-drinking appeal, match it with a juicy steak.

Recommended Wine

This is a really good set of wines and all are worthy of investigation - however, this month's winner is the Malintoppo from Cambridge Wine Merchants for its depth of flavour, mellowness and value for money as a really well-made, aged Tuscan wine drinking nicely right now for just over £10 with case discounts.

Links

Mas de Fondreche reviewed by Tom Cannavan - http://www.wine-pages.com/temp/osud.htm
Malintoppo reviewed by Vinoremus - http://vinoremus.blogspot.com/2011/07/general-tasting.html

Main image credit - http://www.galenfrysinger.com/cambridge.htm

Cambridge Wine Merchants Wine Bar - and an Austrian Grüner Veltliner

I first went to the Cherry Hinton Road branch of Cambridge Wine Merchants on its opening day and met branch manager / former-almost-art-rock-star Steve Hovington who told me about his plans to add a tapas bar at the back of the shop.

I have been back a number of times - for Steve's book launch and tastings of aged Mosels and fino En Rama - but until the other week I had never made good on my promise to try out the wine bar itself.

However, the need to have a catch-up with a couple of friends who live in different parts of Cambridge gave me the opportunity I needed, so I dropped Steve an email and he reserved us a table and kindly arranged for the shop to stay open late if we needed.

Arriving early off the train from London after work, I was the first there and arranged a plate of meats and cheeses, with bread, oil for dipping and some olives.

As my friends happened to be the Chairman of the Cambridge Food and Wine Society and a WSET Diploma student who in her day job is the marketing director of a law firm, I was a little nervous about choosing an appropriately impressive wine for the scrutiny of two fellow enthusiasts and wondered about a Palo Cortado.

However, as the shop assistant-cum-waiter came over to ask about our choice, Steve the Chairman threw me a lifeline by mentioning my enthusiasm for Austrian wines and from there it was plain sailing as the waiter announced they had an Austrian Grüner Veltliner and Julie the Diploma Student readily agreed it would be a good choice.

The wine turned out to be a GV Terrassen from Domaene Wachau, one of my favourite producers from Austria and considered as one of the best co-ops anywhere in the world.

Austrian Riesling was my first white-wine love but in recent years I have come to appreciate GV just as much - I'm not sure whether it's the wine that has changed or my palate.

Our wine was a 2010 Federspiel - a mid-level Wachau classification blended from a number of vineyards built on terraces (hence Terrassen). 2010 was a cool vintage in the Wachau meaning that the wines are higher in acidity and benefit from a bit more bottle age.

Had I been drinking this wine at home, I probably would have decanted around half-an-hour before serving, but served straight from the bottle it showed a crystal clear purity, green apple and citrus fruit and a taut, rounded acidity which, with its medium body and minerally finish, made it a perfect match with our tapas-style food.

Over the course of the evening we talked road safety, exam technique and strategic marketing as the wine had the opportunity to open up. However, served as it was in an ice-bucket, it remained fresh and crisp with little of the characteristic GV lentils and white pepper apparent on the nose.

The decor of the bar is one of its strengths - all Cambridge Wine Merchants branches have a somewhat edgy look, but with painted bare-brick walls, beautifully arty black-and-white photos and wall-mounted chandeliers, it feels funky, quirky and effortlessly chic all at the same time.

The food, from nearby deli Bolzano was also excellent with three or four different types of salamis and cheeses all served at just the right temperature and in generous proportions.

On a mid-week night, I was not entirely surprised that we were the only ones in the bar but in many ways, it is the perfect venue for recessionary times - edgy yet simple with an emphasis on the quality of the food and wines with low overheads (mark-up on the wines is a flat £3.50 on top of shelf price) and perhaps the widest selection of wines anywhere in Cambridge.

And whilst the location is not central Cambridge, it is still handy for anyone visiting The Junction nearby or who is based in the Hills Road area whilst, if you have a designated driver, parking is much easier than in the centre, too.

Perhaps it's my age, but I can't help feeling that, if it lacks the buzz of a city centre bar, that just means you can actually hear the conversation and there is room to sit down and all-in-all perhaps that gives it the status of a "hidden gem".

At least one of our group booked a return visit within a week and it won't be too long before I'm back there for sure.

A plate of meat and cheese with bread, olives and a bottle of wine costs around £35 for three people.

Mark-up is a flat £3.50 on the shelf price of any wine in the shop.

Links

Cambridge Wine Merchants - http://www.cambridgewine.com/
CWM Bar on Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/CWMwinebar
Domaene Wachau - http://www.domaene-wachau.at/

On Laithwaites (again)

At the end of the fascinating if mixed tasting of some new Laithwaites wines from India, Greece, Turkey and Georgia the other week, there was a chance to try some of the company's other wines from Eastern Europe as well as a few off-piste wines that Tony and wine maker Jean-Marc Saboua brought in from the Vinopolis shop.

Introducing myself to Jean-Marc, it turned out that he knew my from the blog as I'd been rather less than positive about a wine that turned out to be from his buying portfolio.

He was polite enough to acknowledge that he largely agreed with my observations and excused himself by saying that he had inherited the relationship with the producer and not tried the wine in a few years.

However, with Gallic pride to be restored, he suggested that we try a few other Petits Bordeaux from his portfolio to see what I thought - the first, called Le Coin (somewhat reminiscent of le petit coin, for me) was a good basic sub-£10 Bordeaux and thoroughly pleasant.

The next, whose name I forget but which had a functional orange label and cost a few pounds more was definitely a step-up in terms of quality and sophistication.

As both a Frenchman and a winemaker, Jean-Marc clearly has a palate and knows how to spot a good wine. But as he hinted at himself, the issue is lack of attention to detail or insufficient rigourousness in weeding out weaker wines or weaker vintages. And it's an issue that I suspect is more institutional to Laithwaites than personal to Jean-Marc.

Combine this with Laithwaites' stereotypically, almost comically overeffusive tasting notes for every single bottle and one quickly loses faith in the quality and reliability of their wines - for a wine merchant needs to be judged as much by their weakest wines as by their best.

It is one thing to show off a few good bottles of your better wines, but what we tried on the evening represents under 2% of the entire Laithwaites range so can hardly be considered statistically representative.

Ad man David Ogilvy used to insist on buying and using his clients' products - of course, it helped that he had the Rolls Royce account in those days - but to this day, Ogilvy, which now has the rather more blue-collar Ford account, has a Ford-only company car policy.

So it was disappointing to hear one of the Laithwaites PR people say she had not yet tasted the entire range of the company's wines. For sure, you can promote a company without a really detailed knowledge of all its products, but I would suggest that it makes you more authoritative if you do have that level of knowledge.

I have been lucky to attend a number of staff tastings with Cambridge Wine Merchants and I know just how much time and effort goes into staff training on the company's products whilst internet retailer Naked Wines holds a tasting of around 30 wines from prospective and potential suppliers every Friday evening after work.

Surely then, it's not too much to expect an induction course at Laithwaites to involve tasting all their wines over the course of, say, a few months.

Speed tasting 30-50 wines in an hour with a group of your peers will teach some very good skills in presentation, communication and persuasion as well as deepening and broadening your knowledge of wine generally and the company's range specifically.

It also subjects the wines to broad, general scrutiny.

Of course there is a cost element to doing this, but the greater goal is weeding out the weaker wines from the portfolio.

I am also especially impressed by Vinopic who, having stocked the 2008 Vesevo Beneventano Aglianico, were not sufficiently impressed by the 2009 to buy it for sale and are waiting to see if the 2010 will be considered good enough.

The old chestnut "retail is detail" surely applies here - Laithwaites, in growing to a company of 1,000 staff, seems to have taken its eye off the detail and now focuses more on shifting units than selecting only decent wines.

The invitation of a few bloggers to come and try the new range and Jean-Marc's acknowledgement that one of the wines in his portfolio was a bit weak is potentially a significant cultural change for the company, but it is at best only the start.

Weed out all the weaker bottles, refuse to take the poorer vintages, focus the buyers on getting good quality wines not just "a medal-winning petit Bordeaux that we can sell for £7.99", subject the wines to general scrutiny by staff, bloggers, wine writers and so on.

Then stand back and watch the quality levels improve over time.

We have three great independent wine merchants in Cambridge (what I call the Cambridge Phenomenon) and I'm confident that I could stand in the middle of Noel Young Wines, Bacchanalia or Cambridge Wine Merchants, reach out at random with my eyes closed and whatever I took would be a good bottle of wine.

I'm somewhat less convinced that I could stick a pin at random into the Laithwaites catalogue and achieve the same - and the Laithwaites tasting notes will do nothing to help me either.

As CellarFella Simon Burnton put it, "when you sell only by the case over the internet, trust is everything".

Links

Laithwaites - http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/
Bacchanalia - http://www.winegod.co.uk/
Cambridge Wine Merchants - http://www.cambridgewine.com/
Noel Young Wines - http://wwwnywines.co.uk/
Vinopic - http://www.vinopic.com/