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2009: Wine in Context

Wine gives more pleasure in a context. It goes best with people, events, places, celebrations and similar. Visits to domaines and chateaux, walks among the vines, the dust of the soil on your shoes, these are all vital if we are to truly understand and enjoy our wine.

For my introduction to 2009: Wine in Context, and my thoughts on earlier events in 2009, see part one.

Philippe Foreau: Terroirist?

August was a quiet month, during which I was beset with wine samples which piled up behind the front door like never before, and at one point I was having difficulty gaining access to my house such was the mountain of bottles. September held more treats and delights though, not least the tasting of a panoply of Huet Vouvray in London, a mix of the 2008 vintage and a selection of older wines, all demi-sec, stretching back as far as 1949. And so I left Edinburgh early one morning, London-bound, eager to taste these wines, although it soon seemed someone else had other plans. My train ground to a halt at Berwick-upon-Tweed, a power failure preventing us travelling any further. One simple fault threw the lives of dozens of passengers into disarray; some had no urgency and simply accepted the offer of immediate return to Edinburgh, but for others it was more drastic. Some had flights and Eurostar connections to make, one was travelling to Newcastle for surgery, and I of course had a Huet tasting to attend. What could I do?

A bus service onto Newcastle where we could take up another train was offered, but there are no bus companies based in Berwick, and they have to be 'summoned' from Edinburgh; as it was still not yet 7am this was unlikely to happen for some time, although of course this was not made crystal clear by the railway staff. I only realised these facts later. Happily in the meantime I had taken matters into my own hands. The solution? A taxi from Berwick to Newcastle (a reasonable £80, split four ways, as I had found three hardy souls, lecturers and businessmen, determined to make their appointments and thus willing to share a cab) and by 10am I was on my way again in an almost empty train, travelling almost non-stop trying to make up time, itself having left Newcastle approximately two hours late. Despite having spent nearly two hours in a taxi I arrived in London only one hour late, and in time for Huet! Whoever had conspired against me attending this wonderful tasting had failed (reports that a figure resembling Philippe Foreau of Clos Naudin, seen here on the left, had been spotted loitering near an electricity substation south of Berwick remain, at present, unsubstantiated).

And the wines? They were of course in many cases sublime. I like the 2008 demi-secs most of all, just as I had when I tasted them in Angers, and from the older cuvées the 1962 le Haut Lieu Demi-Sec was perhaps the most seductive, although I can't say I would turn down a glass of the 1957 or 1949 that were poured. The 2008 Clos du Bourg Première Trie was no slouch either.

Bollinger: New Cure for Food Poisoning

Shortly after that tasting it was Eurostar trip number two of the year, as I visited Bollinger during the 2009 harvest. Day one was somewhat tempered, however, by the waves of nausea that suddenly overcame me as I tucked into my truffes d'été in a Paris café, having stopped here for lunch prior to travelling on to Epernay. Such dramatic onset, about 6 hours after a hotel breakfast, only meant one thing: food poisoning. Making a feeble excuse I escaped the suddenly oppressive heat of the café and emerged into cooler air, which helped. I quickly examined my surroundings for suitable receptacles as my stomach threatened to expulse everything I had just eaten. There was a dull green wheelie-bin, and a roadside drain, and I decided that the former might be slightly more dignified than vomiting into a drain, crouched on all fours. Moments later a local resident emerged and began, with bucket, brush, detergent and sponge in hand, to give the already gleaming bin a thorough clean. So it will be the drain then!

Happily with time the nausea subsided and no such eruption emerged, and once my kind travelling companions (who had provided me with water and medication) emerged we continued our journey. During our next train journey I began to feel less fragile, and risked a sip of Bollinger Special Cuvée that had appeared as if by magic. It is clearly an elixir. By the end of the train journey my complexion was no longer a deathly white, and by late afternoon I was sipping Bollinger Special Cuvée again, my second dose - sorry I mean glass - of the day. By early evening I was almost fully recovered and now ravenous, and I more than made up for missing my lunch that evening at Restaurant Le Foch, in the centre of Reims. I continued in the same vein the next day (after a little grape picking, right), eating and drinking rapaciously, right up to lunch during which I was served a mystery wine which stopped me in my tracks. This was a wine clearly of high quality and clearly purely Pinot Noir, so laden with Pinot character was the nose, richness and yet refined elegance combined, no mean feat with the black grapes of Champagne I think. This is Bollinger, so it must be Vieilles Vignes Françaises surely? Indeed it was the 1999 VVF, a sublime way to finish off any lunch. This was a wine of great intrinsic quality, one that eclipsed the already impressive flight of La Grande Année we had just assessed. But there was more to it than that. How could this wine be any more special than when sipped in the very house where Madame Lily Bollinger, Tante Lily as she was known, once resided? For that is where we took lunch. Wine in context is indeed a wonderful thing.

Philippe Baly: the New Face of Olay

October came and that always means the UGC Bordeaux tasting. I took no chances with unanticipated railway disruptions this time and, arising once again at 4:20am, I caught the first of two Bordeaux-induced red-eye flights from Edinburgh down to London. This annual event is a chance to assess the most recently bottled wines; it is a shame that meant it had to be 2007, perhaps the most lacklustre and over-priced of all recent vintages. Fortunately the day is saved by the presence of some very delicious Sauternes, an island of success in a sea of mediocrity. But who is this at the Coutet stand, pouring young Barsac? It should surely be Philippe Baly but that purple sweater, although very fetching, is a rather bold fashion statement for him, and certainly a departure from the staid black suit that he might usually wear. He also looks much younger than he used too! And - heavens above - he's had a sex change!

Of course not, this was the charming Aline Baly, Philippe's niece. Within moments of meeting her I was enamoured, not simply because she has a captivating character, nor because she is heiress to Chateau Coutet (oh, come on, who would be swayed by that?) but rather because she quickly informed me that she is my "biggest fan". There are few things more effective than gently delivered flattery. Educated in the USA, where she has lived for twenty years, Aline is internet-savvy and a huge fan of social media (a posh term for Facebook and Twitter). And if there is one source she has found to be more reliable for Bordeaux information than any other, well....modesty prevents me from continuing of course. But suffice to say I now know for certain I have at least one regular reader in and around Bordeaux, although I suspect there may be others. Perhaps some of those chateau-owning foreign exchange students I mentioned in part one?

When it comes to Winedoctor and the aforementioned social media I do wish I could embrace some of it a little more than I do now, but this is unlikely to happen. There are several reasons for this, the first being simple lack of time. The second is the need to maintain a boundary between Winedoctor and my other principal activity, which is the provision of intensive care to newborns (that's the day job, in case you weren't aware). Twittering about your third tasting event of the day, and how the lunch at the DRC tasting was far superior to that accompanying the Petrus yesterday is fine, so I can understand the attraction there. At least I think I can, I'm still a little dubious, especially as these posts are often heavily outnumbered by all the life-dross that some people seem so keen to report on. Twittering about my patients, their parents and life on an intensive care unit would not only be tasteless but it would also soon have the GMC knocking on my door. So for the moment I will stick with Winedoctor and my accompanying Winedr blog (although you can find me on Facebook if you look).

Returning to the wines, the 2007 Sauternes, including Coutet, provided another tasting highlight of the year. These are excellent and deserve a place in many cellars.

Vintage Opinions with the IMW

This regular event seems to herald an acceleration in the pace of the year; one minute it is 'Bonfire Night', our thoughts naturally turning to how best to rid ourselves of those that inhabit the Houses of Parliament today (and of course what expense claims we could submit for doing so), and moments later Christmas is almost upon us. But first it is the second of my two Bordeaux-induced red-eye flights to London, this time for the annual claret tasting at the Institute of Masters of Wine, and this year it is the 2005 vintage. Hurrah! Here is surely a tasting to make up for the woeful libations masquerading as wine made in 2007.

I'm happy to continue banging the "great vintage" drum for 2005, as on the whole the wines were stunning and they will be fabulous to drink in fifteen or twenty (or maybe even thirty) years time. And so I was amazed to overhear some dissenting opinions at the tasting which I have already alluded to in my Bordeaux 2005 report, tasters unhappy with the "rough tannins" and "coarse structures", opinions perhaps influenced by high expectations? The same critics went on to praise the 2007s tasted in October as at least being drinkable. Were my ears deceiving me? Were these people tasting the same wines as me? I was incredulous, but perhaps I should not be; after all, differing opinions on wines and vintages is, to my mind, one of the joys of wine. Those that wish for absolute guidance in wine would no doubt prefer all critics to speak with a uniform voice, but the reality is we all have different palates and thus we all look at wines from different angles. To acknowledge this is a strength, just as it is to acknowledge that sometimes we are wrong about a wine or a vintage. If only the more demagogic absolutists in the wine writing community could see this.

Anyway, back to wine, a more engaging subject than wine critics. The Autumn months saw some good bottles come my way, including Figeac 2000 (slipped in at the 2005 IMW tasting for some reason) and also a fine 1977 from Graham's, but they are perhaps not the most memorable. That prize might instead go to two samples from Emilio Valerio which showed well, especially the 2005, but it was the circuitous route that brought these bottles to me was most notable, all kicked off by a PR fumble already described on the Winedr blog. Memorable for the wrong reason though was the 1989 Premier Jour from Louis Métaireau, a twenty year-old Muscadet and an opener to my Twenty Years On tasting, looking at the 1989 vintage. No doubt some will lambast me for expecting pleasure from such an ancient example, but true Loire-o-philes know that Muscadet from top producers not only ages well but can be quite delicious as it does so. Sadly, though, this was not the case here; although certainly a thought-provoking and contemplative wine, this was one of those wines which, whilst 'interesting', was not sufficently stimulating to entice me to finish the bottle.

Nearly There....

As always with an annual review published before the year is over we reach a premature finish, as the vinous excitement that the festive season will hopefully bring still lies ahead of us. There is much I have omitted to mention, sometimes with intent, sometimes because the memories materialised a little too late, but on the whole I think this is a pretty fair and representative view of the year just passed. I only hope that 2010 will bring as many fine bottles and tastings my way.

Tomorrow, I lay my cards on the table with my top wine in context moments of the year (see, I can't resist just a little rating and ranking), plus an invitation to send me yours, and my anticipated additions and activities for the year ahead.

• 2009: Wine in Context (part 3)