Loire 2008 at Fifteen Years
The journey from Edinburgh down to London was not a straightforward one. Having boarded my train at Waverley Station in the city centre before the morning sun had even dared to peek above the horizon, I had soon settled in with the hope of spending the best part of the journey with eyes firmly shut, in the land of nod.
This plan came unstuck barely 40 minutes later when we ground to a halt at Berwick-upon-Tweed, which sits on the border between Scotland and England. There was a loss of power on the line ahead, and my early-morning train to London had just terminated. A replacement bus service would be provided, we were told, but given that it was still barely 6am the likelihood of it turning up in the next three hours seemed less than likely. And there was still the best part of four hours of journey time ahead of us.
Give up, you might say. Turn around. Head home. But you are unaware of my purpose.
It was September 2009, and I was en route to London for a tasting of the 2008 vintage from Domaine Huet, to be chaired by (the since-retired) Noël Pinguet, who was also bringing a range of older demi-secs, from vintages stretching back to the 1940s.
And there was no way I was going to miss that.
Before long I had corralled three besuited businessmen, all travelling to the big smoke presumably for meetings where they would discuss the latest developments in widget manufacture, their golf handicap, who was having an affair with Gina from Accounts, and whatever or whoever else it is businessmen talk about in meetings. Together we hailed a cab and shared the fare to Newcastle, £80 split four ways, where we caught an onwards train to London. I was a mere £20 out of pocket, although I suspect each of the three businessmen filed the fare as an expense, so it is possible they each made £60 profit. Unless Gina from accounts objected, I suppose.
As a result of my efforts I arrived at that tasting only slightly later than planned. And was it worth it? Absolutely. The best £20 (and the rest) I ever spent, because not only was the 2008 vintage tasting superb, so too were all those older wines, which Noël brought as an indication of where the 2008 vintage might be going – given another forty or fifty years in bottle.
