Category: White

Tasting Notes

Emma says:”Oh no! This is 52grapes first official crisis. I was feeling really smug that we already had a bottle of Albarino tucked at the back of our fridge and for once a shopping mission was averted.

Only now that I’ve managed to drag it out through the entangled assortment of cheese and deli dips have I seen that it is actually the Portuguese version, Alvarinho, and it is 2015 vintage, which in wine terms is really old for this type of wine. I’ve prided myself on finding the best possible version of a grape each week so that Andy and anyone who is following us can taste the real deal. This week Andy is going to taste what old Portuguese whites taste like – nice. Hopefully he won’t read this before tasting so we can get his unbiased view.

Andy says: “I think it’s likely that we’ll be tasting another version later this week, so notes on this one will be short.

On first smell I asked Emma if it was oaked. She said no, but that age (this is a 2015) will bring out those notes. I then tasted, and said it reminded me of a buttery toasty Chardonnay. Again, same answer – It’s the age of the wine. Something of a shame as I did quite like this one, smooth and full of flavour. And it’s delisted, so there’s no more left to buy, this was something we’d had in the fridge for a while.”

Buying Guide

Albarino is the white grape coming from the cooler coastal spot of Galicia in Spain; and also known as Alvarino in Portugal. We will be seeking out a version from its classic sub region in that area called Rias Biaxas.

We tasted: Gavi di Gavi £12 Marks and Spencer

Tasting Notes

Emma Says: “I have to confess Cortese, or “Gavi” as it is more commonly known, can be a bit of an insipid wine. The type of dry white that makes Andy wrinkle up his nose and say “it tastes wine-y”.

I sometimes wonder if it has reached so many lists in wine bars because “Gavi” has a nice ring to it, satisfyingly Italian and easy to pronounce. Perhaps it also gives the average Pinot Grigio lover something else to drink that is safely bone dry but not so characterful that it could be offensive. And given it has a more premium price tag than the average Italian Pinot Grigio you also get to feel a bit sophisticated.

To look at the other side of the argument, it could be that this delicate and faintly floral white was the type of white wine that would send me into a blind panic on my tasting exams. So I possibly hold a big grudge against it.

To give this poor grape a chance I chose a “Gavi di Gavi” tonight. That means the grapes come from the better slopes of the Gavi region that can only legally be called “Gavi di Gavi”. The remainder of the region is simply called Gavi. Yes, wine is confusing isn’t it.

I let the wine warm up a little which isn’t difficult in the current UK heatwave (It’s not a heatwave, it’s called ‘summer’ – Andy). Sometimes we chill these delicate whites to the bone and that mutes their light aromatics and flavour profile. I was pleased that it really did the trick. I could really detect a soft apricot note to the aroma and a gentle green tea herbal note with touches of honeysuckle. The palate had that pithy acidity that gives it that lean expression and the flavours were delicate on the fruit but with a pleasing mineral tension. It definitely worked as a thirst quencher for a hot summer’s day. I’m still not sure I find it exciting enough to be desperate for more. But on those nights where you just want something satisfyingly dry and white this would do the trick for me.

If you are a lover of these Northern Italian white styles I would urge you to seek out a few other grapes from those regions I find even more interesting than Cortese. Arneis from the same region has the same mineral edge but with a bit more richness on fruit and depth of flavour for me. I also love any white from the Collio region where they have gorgeous white blends and brilliant wines from Pinot Grigio, Fruilano and even Sauvignon Blanc. A rarity that I really enjoy is Manzoni which has heritage from Riesling and Pinot Bianco giving it a fascinating flavour profile.

On a final note the strength of acidity in grapes like Cortese make them great wines to drink alongside rich fatty foods but ones that aren’t too strong in flavour or they swamp the wine. For example a spring vegetable risotto, baked chicken breasts in white sauce or a pizza primavera.”

Andy says: “Well, this doesn’t taste wine-y.

I wish I could more eloquently describe what I mean by that. I just find that lots of white wine, and perhaps the ones at the cheaper end, all have a very similar ‘musty’ smell. This one doesn’t, in fact the first whiff I took was very fruity, tutti fruity in fact, melony pineappley chunks-y.

Unfortunately the taste doesn’t live up to the smell. There’s a hint of the fruit but at about 5% of the intensity of the smell. The real kicker though is that this really catches you at the back of the throat, like a rough whisky would. I don’t know if it’s acid or alcohol, probably acid. If I had to describe this in one word, it would be rough.

Edit: Tasting again 24 hours later, I’d like to revise down my acidity rating. It’s there, I feel it, but it’s not as high as I thought yesterday.”

Buying Guide

Cortese is in fact that grape that makes the wine called Gavi; the wine name coming from the village in Piedmont, Italy rather than the grape. To try the very best version of Cortese look for wines labelled “Gavi di Gavi” which is a smaller sub region where the best vineyard sites are situated.

Tasting Notes

Emma says: “I had my mind firmly fixed on one winemaker when I thought of finding Torrontes this week. For me there is just one Queen of Torrontes and that is Susana Balbo. A powerhouse of a lady who has made a huge impression on me during my visits to Argentina and has persuaded me I can like Torrontes; if she is making it!

She is a legend in the industry being the first formally trained female winemaker in the region, moving on to bravely set up her own successful winery Dominio del Plata and more recently has changed her pursuits to focus on politics having become the governor of Mendoza.

Torrontes is a bit of a perfume bomb of a grape and can take on a soapy flavour and oily texture that has previously put me off. But I found that Susanna’s versions are vastly different. Using grapes from the high altitudes northern Salta region the grapes are more zesty, gently perfumed and floral with a real elegance and freshness.

I sent Andy out on the search for a bottle this week and he found her barrel fermented style which is even more unusual. The barrel and the aromatics in the grape interact a bit like an oaked Sauvignon blanc. This aroma is fascinating and complex, there is a whiff of smoke from the barrel interaction and then a blackcurrant leaf herbal character that opens out to the typical rose petal perfume. To taste is is nicely lean and with a gentle texture from the oak, the flavours are of pithy citrus, plus a white pepper spice note and more rich tropical papaya underlying. It really is a complex wine that needs to be tasted to truly experience it, and if you do ever see it on a list I’d highly recommend it.

Food matching tip would be for Asian cuisine, these types of wine with that floral and tropical notes work extremely well to counter balance spice.”

Andy says: “Having been warned that this was ‘floral’, I approached the wine with trepidation. The first sniff was, to quote Emma, a ‘perfume bomb’.

I remember we had a ‘perfume bomb’ several weeks earlier, so I scrambled back through the calendar to remind myself which one it was. Gewurtztraminer! That cherry lipped abomination that I wasn’t exactly over keen on. Torrontes was off to a bad start before the first sip. And so dear reader(s), I did this for you.

It was (and this is another occasion where my lack of fruit knowledge will let me down) a ‘tropical fruit explosion’. Emma says ‘tropical papaya’, but I don’t think that’s a real fruit. All I can tell you was that it was fruity, and something I’d quite to drink while lying on a Caribbean beach. And… it didn’t have that soapy cherry lip taste that Gewurtztraminer did, which again Emma has said is possible with Torrontes. Maybe I’m getting better at this?

I did then ask her if Torrontes and Gewurtztraminer were similar, and apparently this question blew her mind, as, yes, they are frequently likened. I got a bonus point for linking them. Oh, and I liked this one.“

Buying Guide

Torrontes is a white grape that is uniquely found in Argentina. The best versions come from the Northern area of Salta or Catamarca. But if you can’t find one of those then any Argentinian Torrontes will work well.

We tasted: Tyrells Hunter Valley Semillon £13, M&S

Tasting Notes

Emma says: “I’m writing this in the last 5 minutes of England v Colombia and my first thought is that this really isn’t the wine to watch the nerve rattling experience of an England World Cup game.

Not that I have much experience of football supporting, being Andy’s girlfriend definitely has its down side, especially during the World Cup. The reason this wine doesn’t match, is that Semillon is a wine which in itself encapsulates a lot of tension being lean and bone dry with a piercing level of acidity. So right now every sip seems to make me more nervous.

We’re tasting a Hunter Valley Semillon which has a very particular style. They pick the grapes early so there is a high level of acidity and lower than usual alcohol, at around 11%. When youthful the wine can seem almost watery and neutral with a fresh lemon juice zing. Then as it ages it really comes into its own developing much more interest, often with a candle wax aroma, smoky complexity and rich lime flavours with a peppery twist. I have tasted some fantastically complex old Semillon. The one we’re tasting tonight is on the simpler end. I got a whiff of white smoke on the nose, a touch of wax but it was altogether citrus focused, lean and with that big zing of acidity. I like the fact that the fruit tastes pristine and clean but there didn’t feel to be much dimension yet in the style. Perhaps it needed a little more age.

We had it with pizza which I didn’t feel was the right match either, the delicate character of the wine was masked by the tomato of the pizza. I kept thinking sushi would have worked better.

[talking of matches, I’m never going to write a note during football again – in the time I wrote this Colombia equalised. And thank god England finally won or Andy would have blamed me]”

Andy says: “Emma has already blown our cover and given away the day we tasted this. Ideally we’d be a few more days ahead instead of throwing this crap together just before the newsletter deadline each week. But hey ho, England won.

Thankfully, my notes will be short, and not because I wasn’t really paying attention to the wine, I just have nothing to say about it. It was another one of those limey sour whites that I just can’t understand. I need to go back through my other write ups and see what the connection – other than my poor palate and lack of wine vocabulary – is.”

Buying Guide

Semillon is a grape that was often blended with Sauvignon to make Bordeaux whites. It then found fame as a single grape in Australia, specifically Hunter Valley where is makes elegant low alcohol whites that age well. So try to find an Australian version to get a pure taste of the grape.

We tasted: Estate Agryros Assytriko 2016 £13.79 (+vat) Costco

Tasting Notes

Emma says: “This week’s exciting news is that I opened my Assyrtiko with a brand new prized possession; a gold plated corkscrew. But keep that between us, Andy thinks it was the gift I brought back for him from my Master of Wine conference in Spain…oops.

And it seems apt because I’m very excited to be introducing Assyrtiko as one of our 52 grapes, which coincidentally was also given a small spotlight at a tasting during the conference I have just returned from. This grape has been called the “Chablis of Greece” by fellow wine geeks and I hope once you experience it, you’ll understand why.

The true home of this grape is a beautiful island right at the tip of the Cyclades islands in Greece; Santorini. This island was born by the explosion of an undersea volcano. As a result, the island has a stunning backdrop of multi-coloured cliffs and layered volcanic soils that are fantastic for growing vines. The island’s other secret is old vines, sometimes over 100 years old, and on their original rootstocks which is another rarity. I won’t delve into that right now because it will distract us all from just appreciating the grape. However, the result of these old vines, grown in intriguing little basket shapes, is a wine that has incredible finesse, yet intensity and a mineral streak that gives them the Chablis-esque reputation. One famous Australian winemaker, Jim Barry, was so taken by this grape he transported cuttings to his side of the world and is now attempting to create his version in South Australia; so look out for that.

This wine comes from Estate Argyros, a family run winery I happen to import from and so I’m pleased we are getting to try their wine. This version is 100% Assyrtiko so we can taste its purest version. At first sniff I was pleased it had this gunflint, smoky quality that gives it that edge of complexity. Then a burst of salty lemon zest and a grapefruit lime zing, slightly honeyed, almost like an aged Riesling. To taste the high acidity of this grape leaves a zippy lift to the palate, and the rich saline grapefruit flavours continue with a dose of tropical fruit salad. Having said that it doesn’t taste like a warm climate wine. It is altogether lean and fresh tasting. And that is what I think I love so much about this grape, I’ve spent my teenage holidays on this sunny island and given the gorgeous heat I experienced there I can’t quite believe it can produce a wine with so much finesse.”

Andy says: “I’ve noticed that my tasting notes are getting shorter each week. And you’re in luck, as the trend is about to continue.

I think I’ve officially run out of vocabulary for wine, and am sitting on a learning plateau. So I’ve done my usual trick of tasting, working out what I think I tasted, and then reading Emma’s notes to see if I was close. On this occasion, maybe a C+ or a B-.

The first thing I noticed (pre reading Emma’s notes) was the acidity. It’s intense, possibly more so than my experience in Week 18 with Savvy B. This time, I think my eyes did actually water. I’m sure there’s (probably) a scientific name for it, but I’m (for now, until I find it) going to call it the ‘sour shudder’. I’m sure (hope) you all know what I mean – that involuntary face scrunching forehead squeezing wince when you taste something acidic/sour. Yeah, well every sip so far has triggered that reaction.

I also found it sweet (it’s not), leaving that oily residual feel on the roof of the mouth. I need to work out what that indicator is if it’s not sweetness. Emma’s notes say ‘honeyed’, perhaps that’s it. And she also mentioned grapefruit, so given I wasn’t a massive Viognier fan, I’m not super taken by this one either.

Buying Guide

Assyrtiko is perhaps the most famous grape of Greece. A white grape that is said to have the elegance of Chablis. Try to find one from its birthplace, the island of Santorini but any Greek white stating Assyrtiko on the front or back label will do.

Tasting Notes

Emma says: “We took a long time to find our Grüner this week because I was being especially picky. I wanted to find a really good example, because to be honest the everyday supermarket level ones are nice and quaffable but can be lacking a distinct character.

I remember studying this grape for my blind tasting exams and finding it incredible frustrating as a result. It fell into that “could be anything” category that would send me into a blind panic.

However tonight we are trying one of the best Austrian producers Brundlmayer, if you are an avid 52grapes fan we did try their Riesling earlier in our journey and I’d hoped to get a Domaine Wachau wine this time to ring the changes; but I ran short of shopping time.

This wine is form the warmer Kamptal region and Grand Cru (best vineyard) sites both resulting in a flavour that has the added intensity I was looking for. Yet it was still mild, with a gentle sweet pea herbal and lemon balm aroma, then a textured soft palate, with a distinct white pepper note that is typical of this wine and a sort of green lettuce with salad dressing flavour. That last bit sounds strange but really works for me, I think I’m trying to describe that it has citrus, herbal notes but is gentle and soft in flavour; not exactly fruity. And I really like how unique that flavour is when you get a good Gruner. It has that thirst quenching acidity of a good Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon but a flavour profile that would sit well in between the two. I hope the version you all found was just as delicious.”

Andy says: “Definitely struggling with this one. Let’s get the easy bit out of the way first. Did I like it? Yes!

It was my task to choose the wine this week, and luckily the store I went to had a choice of one, so I chose it, knowing I’d be blame free. With a good 20 minutes of pondering saved, I checked to see what food matches we’d recommended for this wine, and picked up the ingredients.

We had it crisply cold, with a Malaysian Laksa for dinner, and yes they really did go well together. It wasn’t the spiciest of laksas, but the coolness of the wine really quenched the thirst, and the acidity helped to cleanse the palate. It was very easy drinking.

Buying Guide

Gruner is a white grape originating from Austria. We’ll be looking for one from there and preferably one from a classic sub region like Wachau or Kamptal.

Tasting Notes

Emma says: “It was especially difficult to select the wine we’d taste this week. If we stayed true to our usual mode of choice we would have gone for something that represented a true and classic taste of that grape.

The thing is that Chardonnay is a real chameleon. Even in its birthplace of Burgundy, it has an array of flavour profiles because it is the grape that most reflects where it is grown and how it is made. So if we start at the Northern tip of Burgundy in Chablis, the Chardonnay there is most often unoaked very brisk and zippy with striking minerality and fruit that is green apple or citrus in profile. But then you venture south from there and reach the Cote D’Or the aptly named section where some of the priciest wines come from; think Meursault or St Aubin. Here whites are oaked and therefore have a richness and buttery fruit flavour, plus differing mineral and complex expressions depending on the exact patch of land and winemaker who made them. It doesn’t stop there, as you get on the motorway and drive down to the Maconnais part of Burgundy, the climate gets warmer, and the wines tend to be unoaked, giving them rich but pure fruit flavours; think peaches, melon and honey.

I haven’t even mentioned the wider world of Chardonnay; venture into other classic regions like Adelaide Hills (Australia), Napa (California) or Mendoza (Argentina) and the array of styles will get even broader.

I hope I have made one point here. If you think you dislike Chardonnay it is probably because you haven’t found the one you like yet!

But onto the wine we tasted. I went big this week and selected my ultimate desert island wine, a Puligny Montrachet, from that Cote d’Or region. It was pricey but I really wanted to show Andy why I love this grape quite so much. We tasted one from David Moret, a new producer I have discovered who is well worth searching out. The experience was just what I hoped. Puligny has this amazing honeysuckle aroma which is bright and elegant. We had a 2014 which is a fantastic cool vintage and still very young in expression. To taste, it was so pure in flavour, a seamless line of creamy rich lemon curd, with electric minerality coming across as crunchy sea salt, interplaying well with the oak that gave it an almond nut richness, with a caramel twist. I could go on but I won’t bore you. I hope I have expressed why I find this wine so exciting. And if you want to try a slightly cheaper version I have tasted this producer’s Rully of the same vintage last week and it was great.

One confession is that we didn’t get the food match right. 52grapes is really challenging our social scheduling. We had to taste it last night and I got home late after meeting a friend so the only food we could summon was a takeaway pizza. Needless to say this isn’t going to be something I would recommend, and probably something I’d never repeat…”

Andy says: “I’m going to assume you all gave up reading this page by Emma’s 47th paragraph, and whatever I write here will remain unseen by human eyes.

I have two main takeaways from this week’s wine. 1 – I always thought I preferred unoaked Chardonnay, and 2 – I always thought I didn’t like Chardonnay. The first thing that hit me was the oak. To me it was ‘quite oaky’, but Emma mumbled something about the grape and the region and how it takes on so much flavour, or something. I don’t know, I was trying to watch Taskmaster at the same time and that took precedence.

There was also a big hit of acid. I didn’t get the same cheek-watering sensation as last week, this was more along the lines of a crisp, eye piercing, grimace. And then the cheek watering. All in all a tip top tipple, highly highly recommended.”

Buying Guide

We will be heading straight to the the classic region of Burgundy. Our sub region of choice will be Puligny Montrachet. So head to the French white section and look for any of these, your choice may be dependent on how much you want to spend: Bourgogne Blanc, Macon Villages, Chablis, Pouily Fuisse, Rully, Chassagne Montrachet, Meursault or Puligny Montrachet.

Tasting Notes

We tasted: Alsace Gewurztraminer £10 Marks and Spencer

Emma says: “The experience of tasting Gewürztraminer this week was a nice moment for me. It made me realise the value of the 52 Grapes experience for a so called “expert” like myself. I fell out of love with Gewurz a while ago, I’m not a fan of overtly floral styles of wine or off dry wines; so I had put this one to the back of my grape closet.

But on being forced to taste it again I was surprised to find myself enjoying it. Perhaps it was the rare, balmy, bank holiday weekend that we had in London this week. The pretty floral profile of this Alsace Gewürztraminer seemed to perfectly suit my mood. I also really liked this particular style I tried, it had a fresh rose aroma and crisp lychee fruit flavour that lingered nicely with a ginger root twist that brightened it up. It wasn’t fat and oily or too confected as many styles I’ve tried in the past. Not amazingly complex but I I found further dimension in its fruit flavours with a creamy peach interior and candy floss sweet twists from its off dry style.

I then tried a further glass with my lazy dinner of a feta cheese, avocado and grain salad. Andy was out obviously, he wouldn’t put up with that sort of dinner. But I found that it worked fantastically with salty cheese and the richness of avocado. Its sweetness and vivid fruit offered a fantastic contrast. And for that reason it would be a great one to try with Thai or other spicy dishes too.

A final note is that another type of Gewürztraminer I have recently tried and enjoyed for its similar restrained character was one from Northern Italy in Trento where it can be called Traminer. Therefore if you are a fan of this style look out for that too. Plus we will be tasting other floral styles of grapes later in our journey; look out for Torrontes and Muscat if you are a fan of this grape.”

Andy says: “I’ve now had time to taste this wine. Who’d have though that drinking a different wine each week would be this hard to keep up with?

Well, I think the only word I can use here is ‘floral’. If you’re in the UK and of a certain age, you might remember sweets (aka candy for our American friends) called Cherry Lips, that taste eff-all like cherry, but do taste like soap, and this wine reminds me very strongly of them. And that ladies and gents, is pretty much all I have to say about this wine. Those sweets were ok in small doses, and I guess this wine is too. This is not on my ‘must buy again’ list, more likely the next time I try this will be in a year or two when I read back on the notes and wonder if it really did taste like cherry lips. Note for future me: Yes it did.

I also spent most of this review resisting wondering if I could say ‘…one of the wurzt wines I’ve had’. ”

Buying Guide

Gewurztraminer is a classic grape variety of the region Alsace in France. Happily Alsace normally puts this grape variety boldly on the front label so it should be easy to identify. So we will be trying a version from there. Good alternatives regions if you find this hard to find would be Germany, New Zealand or Chile.

Tasting Notes

Emma Says: Confession time: Andy and I decided this week should be a New Zealand Sauvignon, since it is pretty much the modern classic example of this grape. But I’m actually not really a fan of this style of Sauvignon.

To me the wines often have a clumsy expression, all upfront, with pungent aromas and tropical flavours; let’s call it a “shouty” style of wine. My preferred version of Sauvignon would come from the cooler climate areas of France in the Loire; with the famous villages Sancerre and Pouilly Fume.

To get around this problem I cheated a little. Back in 2010 I was lucky enough to have three days learning basic winemaking in Marlborough, New Zealand. It was at that time that I learnt the style of Kiwi Sauv I like.  They come from particular cooler climate spots in the region Marlborough; my favourite being the Awatere Valley. This area has very brisk valley breezes that keep the grapes nice and chilled even in the warmer months. And for me the style have that bit of elegance as a result.

So I searched the supermarket shelves and found Astrolabe Awatere Valley Sauvignon £19.99. It is actually rare to find a wine 100% from that valley. Often wineries mix a little Awatere with wine from the warmer Wairau Valley to create balance between ripe fruit and the leaner style. Onto the taste of this wine. It didn’t disappoint, the aroma had a beautiful gentle elderflower herbal note, with a hint of more tropical passion fruit adding richness. Plus underlying there was a mineral flinty hit to the nose that gives it that bit of elegance.  To the palate it is generous but not oily and fat which can be the case with Kiwi Sauvignon.  It had a dense but gentle flavour with mountain herbs, sweet lemon balm and a pithy bite that refreshed the finish. The flavours really lasted too.

I happen to know Sancerre and the Loire in general had a terrible vintage last year so prices are about to go through the roof. So if you love these styles I would say this type of premium Kiwi Sauv is a perfect alternative.

And to end a final few interesting geek facts. The reason the Kiwi Sauv styles are so distinctly bold and lively in style is a mix of climate and winemaking. The climate has high UV rays and sunlight hours, this makes the skins thick and full of flavour and aroma. Then the Kiwis tend to leave the grape to have a bit of “cold maceration” before they crush and ferment that increases the aroma concentration. Finally that bell pepper bright tropical aroma is down to a compound called “thiols” that are high in Sauvignon grapes. In NZ they really favour this and try to enhance their character by using yeasts that are specially designed to bring that out in the fermentation. And “eh viola” you have the Kiwi Sauv style.

Andy says: I’ve been looking forward to Sauvignon week as it’s one of the few wines I can spot, because it usually smells like cat piss. Just Google “Sauvignon Blanc Cat” if you don’t believe me. If you’re a bit posher than me, then you’d say it smells of box hedge or boxwood, and if you’ve ever been near a blackcurrant tree, then that would apply too.

Buying Guide

Friday is Sauvignon Blanc day so we’re going with the theme and will be trying a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. We expect you’ve had your fair share of “Savvy Bs”, and encourage you to trade up a little and try a premium version. We can then all discuss if it is worth paying that little bit more for a Kiwi Sauvignon. Look out for one from the classic Marlborough region, and potentially an Awatere Valley sub region where the coolest climate styles come from.

Tasting Notes

We tasted: Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico 2014 – £19.99

Emma says: “In case we haven’t made this clear yet, Garganega is Soave and vice-versa. This is another of those wines where a country decides to call the wine by its region rather than the grape. The grape Garganega is held in quite high esteem by local winemakers, who would often prefer to be working with this as their grape of choice, but have found Pinot Grigio is the king of the export market.

The broad region of Veneto has slowly replanted vineyards to Pinot Grigio. Winemakers love it so much they often sneak a little bit into the blend of Pinot Grigio without declaring it on the label, this adds a little oomph to the flavour; which is entirely legal. So get into Garganega, the locals know it’s good and so should we.

We are tasting a Soave Classico which comes from the best hillside sites for this grape. It was a last minute purchase for me because Andy and I have 24 hours together in London before travelling separately for a week. Anyway, I was gazing at the shelves of a good local supermarket and could either have gone for reasonable sub £10 or a famed fine wine producer Foscarino. 52 Grapes is the perfect excuse to go pricey. I was actually hoping to find my favourite producer Pieropan because by a sad coincidence the head of their family Nino who was a pioneer of high quality Soave died last week.  I didn’t find Pieropan but Foscarino and this still seemed a fitting tribute since Pieropan’s ethos has been all about proving the quality Soave can achieve. This producer Foscarino certainly champions that. It can be a wine with incredible complexity when produced with old vines and a little age – move over Burgundy.

So to this wine. It did display what I hoped. Lets think of the typical Northern Italian white which I hated when blind tasting for my Master of Wine exams; like Veneto Pinot Grigio. They are bone dry, only gently aromatic and subtle to taste on the palate – so very difficult to detect between each other. But then if you get a good grape like Garganega and give it a little age it entirely changes. Here I get a lovely honeysuckle syrup aroma, overlaying a sorrel herby note, then gentle lime blossom, to taste there is a mild tarragon flavour giving it that herby appeal and light lemon lozenge sweetness. There is a richness and texture not typical of the simple everyday Soave that adds a dimension. This old vine concentration and possibly a producer also using lees contact to add texture. All in all it shows why I get excited by mature Italian whites as much as French. But a word of warning, this is only true of top Soave, Fruili or Collio producers where whites are typically aged to create these styles.

And if you tasted a slightly less pricey Soave Classico I really hoped you found what I like to say is true of those styles. It is like taking a Pinot Grigio and making it more interesting. Just a touch more limey, zesty and herbal but still crisp and dry and refreshing. Lets start a renaissance of Garganega lovers. I know the grape doesn’t sound pretty but it tastes pretty good.”

Andy says: “It’s going to be quite a struggle to review this, as I tasted it 5 days ago and didn’t make any notes. I’ve since flown 5000 miles, been attacked by squadrons of mosquitos and have a swollen arm from an allergic reaction.

The one thing I clearly remember is the colour of the wine, which was a deep yellow, similar to what I would describe as ‘hangover p*ss’. Apparently it’s age that does it. To the wine that is. Moving swiftly on from that image, I also remember that I definitely liked this wine – bursting with flavour and at the right level of sweetness for me. Emma then informs me it’s actually ‘bone dry’, so I guess I’m tasting the richness and mistaking it for sweetness. Clearly, I’m not learning a thing.”

Buying Guide

Back to the old world and we’re rediscovering another forgotten but great white grape. More commonly known as Soave, the region in the Veneto, Italy. It has been overshadowed by Pinot Grigio but to wine lovers is the superior grape with more flavour. Try to find a Soave Classico which means the grapes will come from the better hillside slopes. We will be doing the same.