Oeno-File, the Wine & Gastronomy Column

by Frank Ward

A Few Aussie Wines

Posted by Frank Ward on January 30, 2017

January 2017. The other day I dropped in on the Australia Day tasting in London. A thousand wines were being sniffed at, sipped, guzzled, gargled, and (mostly) spat out by a thousand avid tasters of all ages, shapes, sizes, and dispositions. The wines were likewise varied: light and ingratiating, vigorous and enticing, dark and complex, elegant and nuanced. It was as cheerfully noisy an event as a football stadium with the home side winning. And the most crowded tasting I’ve ever attended.[….]

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MAJOR TASTING OF 2012 CLARETS PART II : PESSAC-LÉOGNAN, SAINT ÉMILION, POMEROL, FIRST GROWTHS

Posted by Frank Ward on January 23, 2017

January 2017. PESSAC-LÉOGNAN. Both châteaux BOUSCAUT and DE FIEUZAL were light, elegant, and approachable, with good balance and will drink well in the coming years. HAUT–BAILLY was in a reticent mood, with an elegant aroma reminiscent of freshly sharpened pencil and autumn berries. It too will evolve smoothly if unlikely to generate great excitement. However, such top estates can be very closed up when young and all three may well surprise us. Made of sterner stuff was [….]

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BIG LONDON TASTING OF 2012 CLARETS PART I : Haut Médoc, Margaux, Saint Estèphe, Saint Julien, Pauillac

Posted by Frank Ward on January 10, 2017

January 2017. Over eighty clarets from the 2012 vintage were recently shown in London by the Institute of Masters of Wine. It was a challenging year, with fluctuating weather, a tardy summer, and some rain at harvest time. Needless to say, the best-run properties came out best. As Charles Taylor M.W. commented: “in a difficult year, producers with commitment and resources achieved much better results than those with limited opportunities or modest ambition”.[….]

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Tasting of Classed Growth Clarets from 2014

Posted by Frank Ward on December 5, 2016

December 2016. A big tasting of classed-growth clarets from the 2014 vintage was recently held in London under the auspices of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB). The following are tasting notes on some 30 of the 100 or so wines on show. I spent an average of 4 minutes per wine. Why that long? The actual sampling takes only a minute or two. But the crucial aftertaste, often the most illuminating element of all, doesn’t reveal its full complexity (or lack of it) in less than 3-4 minutes.[….].

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Major Tasting of 37 Top Australian Chardonnays

Posted by Frank Ward on October 19, 2016

October 2016. How good are Australian Chardonnays? I tasted some good ones 36 years ago (and plenty of other white and red varietals) – when Len Evans invited me down to Château Rahoul in the Graves – in Bordeaux of all places! – to deepen my understanding of Australian wines. Not one to let any opportunity slip, he also roped me in to help pick unripe grapes in the catastrophic 1980 vintage, then in progress. Under unceasing rain we got very wet together. Since then I’ve tasted all kinds of Australian wines [….]

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Incremental Wines

Posted by Frank Ward on August 31, 2016

AvatarAugust 2016. Fine Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444) was a noted orator and saint. At least one of his sayings has survived the passage of time and carries great resonance to this day. «Everyone wishes to reach old age, but nobody wishes to be old.” Who indeed wishes to be old? But for the oenophile, at least, getting older does bring one huge advantage. His or her collection of wines will, if well-chosen, steadily improve year by year. This fact was underlined when two friends, Keith and Philip, recently celebrated a joint 70th birthday with a fine dinner accompanied by some distinguished wines from their two collections. [….]

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Chez Philip & Cathie

Posted by Frank Ward on July 16, 2016

AvatarJuly 2016. A recent dinner at the home of Philip and Cathie, a couple who care about food and wine. The meal began with juicy melon with prosciutto, partnered with a wonderful 1996 Sancerre Etienne Henri from Henri Bourgeois. This was a case where a vineyard with its own unique character overrode the equally singular character of the grape in question, the Sauvignon Blanc. You knew the wine was exceptional yet it didn’t immediately show the very special, and often idiosyncratic traits, of that variety. At first we thought to it be a northern Rhone… and even considered several other possibilities. [….]

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Memories of Charles Rousseau

Posted by Frank Ward on June 27, 2016

AvatarJune 2016. I felt a real pang when I heard of the recent death of Charles Rousseau, of Domaine Armand Rousseau, at the age of 93. He was not just a great vigneron and wine-maker, he was also a man of exceptional warmth and humanity. I’d known him for more than 35 years. When I first met Charles Rousseau in the early 1980s, he gave me a splendid tasting of the Domaine’s wines (in the underrated 1980 vintage – excellent in the Côte de Nuits as well as in the Rhône). [….]

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Wines of Finesse Chez Keith & Clare

Posted by Frank Ward on June 6, 2016

AvatarJune 2016. Fine food and a range of superb wines to accompany it at the Kent home of our friends, Keith and Clare Powis. As always, the wines were served blind, in unmarked decanters. First, a superb 1995 champagne from Gosset. Crisp and vital, quite full, with a recognizable percentage of Pinot Noir providing thrust and body. It smelled of apples and almond, with a hint of chocolate too. The emphatic aftertaste was reminiscent of crab apple with a touch of pip. At its peak. [….]

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Four Quartets : Four Vintages of Four Top Clarets

Posted by Frank Ward on May 27, 2016

AvatarMay 2016. A grouping of leading Bordeaux châteaux got together in London recently, each showing four recent vintages – 2012, ’13, ’14, and ’15 – of their grand vin. A most illuminating exercise: every sample showed how each of the châteaux responded to the complex, and unique, set of problems and opportunities presented by each vintage. Here are my impressions from four of the properties […].

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