Tenute Sella - Bramaterra I Porfidi 2003, Piedmont, Italy

Interesting reflection of Nebbiolo, blended with small amounts of Croatina and Vespolina from the northern reaches of Piedmont. At first there’s a lovely gaminess on the nose, accompanied by juniper/clove/cinnamon spiciness. With time the sweet, slightly wild strawberry and sloe fruit emerges, with a touch of date and gentle violet perfume. The elegance of ripe autumnal fruit on the palate is really charming; the wine feels open and mature, but the cool, bright acidity is keeping it keen. A contemplative and rather beautiful wine, showing no signs of inelegance from the 2003 heat. 

The Real Wine Fair 2013

Walking through the failed Tobacco Dock regeneration, a dead spot in the otherwise serene and (largely) wealthy enclave of Wapping, promotes a double nostalgia — first of all for the grandeur of the Victorian Docklands, the streets dotted with impressive warehouses that sustained the economic dominance of the British Empire for so long, and secondly, once you walk through the doors of the late-1980s shopping centre with its teal trimmings and pale wooden bannisters, for the time of enormous cell phones, bermuda shorts and a general sense of economic optimism. Beautiful historic buildings are ten-a-penny; I found walking through an abandoned, un-renovated piece of interior design from the era of my childhood a much more evocative start to an entertaining day.
As it happened it was a perfect setting for a sizeable event, showcasing organic, biodynamic and natural wines, mostly from Europe and mostly imported by Caves de Pyrène. The whole ‘natural’ wine thing tends to be an invitation for dogma and polemic, so I’ll try and sum up my attitude to it as follows:

The wines I like best are the ones where human interference allows the unique flavour of a grape from a certain place to emerge.

You can ruin the individuality of flavour of a wine by over-working it, over-oaking it, over-sulphiting it… You can also ruin the individuality of a wine by being under-protective during winemaking, and allowing ‘generic’ flavours of oxidation or volatile acidity to encroach. To me, that’s just as bad as slapping on a few coats of new oak. Perhaps I’m oversensitive to that combination of bruised apple/cider/ground nuts that signals the high VA/mild oxidation syndrome, but if two wines from totally different places and grape varieties both display that trait I feel a sense of terroir being lost, not gained.
Thankfully that wasn’t often the case here, and we came across some really engaging and delicious wines. Here are some of my top finds:

The Moscato d’Asti of Ca d’GalAmongst lots of skin-contact whites and high-acid reds, these light, fresh wines were a real breath of fresh air. Sweet, low-alcohol fizz can be a serious drink, like the clean, pear and elderflower-scented Vigna Vecchia from 2011, or the gorgeous, autumnal dried-apple fruit of the 2006.

Audrey & Christian Binner, AmmerschwihrThere wasn’t a huge Alsace presence at the fair, but the wines from this producer really jumped out at me, especially next to the “we-know-we’re-good-and-we’re-only-really-here-for-the-press-tasting” Albert Mann next door. All those lovely apples and ripe grapefruit were wrapped up with a herbaceous, piney twist in their 2011 Riesling d’Ammerschwihr, with honey, pithy lime cordial and kerosine weight in their 2008 ‘Non-Filtré’ and supreme floral elegance and tropical fruit of the 2009 Kaefferkopf ‘L’Originel’, an unusual blend for a Grand Cru vineyard of gewürztraminer, riesling and muscat. Some of my favourite wines of the day.

The 2007 Vitovska of A.A. Vodopivec, FriuliMy pick of the ‘orange’ wines from Northern Italy, this really stood out for its aromatic complexity. As well as oxidative notes of baked apple and nutty warmth there is crabapple, spring blossom and bay-like spiciness. It featured an extraordinary lift of white pepper on the finish too. Oxidative and quite bonkers (having spent 6 months on skin in underground amphorae) but expressive and individual too.

The Barbera D’Asti of A.A. TrincheroTimeless wines that taste like they’ve been made this way for generations. The balance of sun-ripened plum skin, clay, liquorice and leather finds a high level of elegance and intensity in the ‘Vigna Del Noce’.

Paradiso di Frassina, MontalcinoThese were just lovely wines, complex and expressive. The classical cherry and tobacco of the Gea Rosso di Montalcino 2010, touched with mint and eucalyptus, was very appealing, though it was the 2007 12 Uve that stole the show; an IGT Maremma wine from 12 different varieties that stuck a beautiful balance between sweet, violet-tinged fruit and savoury complexity. A young black cherry and smoke and clove-spiced 2008 Brunello completed an excellent selection.

The Primitivo of Fatalone, Gioia del ColleBoth the basic 2008 and the 2006 Riserva are delicious wines, and represent great value too. Big plumskin, liquorice and red brick aromas, with and extra layer of black cherry and strawberry sweetness and bloody intensity on the palate of the Riserva, which was actually one of my favourite wines of the day. Quite beautiful!

The Wines of Cascina Disa, Elio Sandri, Monforte d’AlbaI loved the 2011 Marapika, a Barbera/Dolcetto/Nebbiolo wine, with its bright berry fruit and classic Piedmontese poise. A wine I’d buy without any hesitation. The 2010 Barbera d’Asti Superiore was also fabulous with its dark blackberry and eucalyptus. The 2000 Barolo and 2005 Barolo Riserva are wines of serious quality, with the mature and suave 2000 Barolo stealing the show over the earthy, young plum-skin intensity of the Riserva. For those with mortally-proportioned wallets the first two wines are seriously good buys.

The Wines of Pyramid Valley, Canterbury, New ZealandThis was an arresting selection of wines, from the elegant, mineral Fields of FIre Chardonnay 2009, through the richer, floral Lion’s Tooth , with its ripe peach and almond, to a lovely series of Pinot Noirs with the delicately-textured Angel Flower Pinot Noir 2009 being my favourite, cloudy in appearance but bright with wild strawberry and mint.

Other interesting finds:
- the 2009 La Pointe Vielles Vignes from Les Vignes Herbels in Anjou. Very precise, almost austere Chenin with lively aromatics of heather, anise and peppermint. Serious acidity.
- Domaine Lemaire-Fournier’s 2004 Vouvray ‘Les Morandières’, a mature, excellent-value Vouvray with all the baked apple and chestnut-honeyed, stone fruit sweetness you’d hope for.
-The 2012 A Pèl from Loxarel in Penedes. Still Xarel-lo, complex with yoghurt, white currants, fennel and fine, persistent acidity. Very unusual.
-The 2004 Brut de Brut Nature Gran Reserva from Cava Recaredo showed classic aged aromas of dried apple, digestive biscuits and red currant on the nose, but a distinctive piercing palate underpinned by milky lees weight. Rather delicious. A producer really at the cutting edge of Cava, with prices to match.
-The totally reliable, mineral and elegant wines of COS, from Vittoria in Sicilia. The 2011 Pithos Rosso, a blend of Frappato and Nero D’Avola was my pick with its crisp strawberry fruit and savoury, almost gamey finish.

I didn’t get to taste anywhere near all of the wines, with large swathes of northern Italy, Spain, and Portugal missed out. We had a slightly inauspicious start with the Georgian wines, the first wine smelling of rendering game fat and finishing with a fiesta of brett, and the second being possibly the most tannic wine I’ve ever drunk - I’m sure there were some treasures to find, but my party weren’t keen to carry on! Challenging, though I challenge I’ll try to take up again soon.

All in all, it was a well thought-out, thought-provoking event and a persuasive argument for minimal-intervention winemaking.

Man O' War Dreadnought Syrah 2009, Waiheke, New Zealand

Serious Syrah - takes some time to open out this one. There’s a meaty waft of smoked pancetta over the buzzing loganberry fruit, with milk chocolate sweetness and smouldering black cardamom and peppercorn spice. Really beautifully judged aromatic profile. On the palate it’s a bit burlier than I would have expected, weighing in at 14.5 alcohol. Quite tangy acidity rushes in as grippy berry fruit takes hold. The fruit profile is quite sharp, but not tart. This wine feels a bit raw right now - I think the high alcohol and acid are not quite sitting perfectly. Interestingly the 2007 and 2008 were14.0% A.B.V, not 14.5 - I just wonder whether the ripeness and extraction are just a tad over the top here? Some really stunning flavours though - try it in a year perhaps?

Lanson Gold Label 1999, Champagne, France

This has been in the cellar for about 3 years. . Some welcoming, broad richness on the nose here, with apricot kernel, sweet candied fruits, seville orange, icing sugar and vanilla. The mouse and mouthfeel don’t carry much effervescence - to be expected perhaps. Whether it’s just this bottle or the wine in general I’m not sure, but it seems to be fading a little, lacking the cut and thrust that I associate with Lanson (and indeed the 1998, which I tasted a couple of years back and really enjoyed). There’s a bitter citrus edge to the finish, which is touch hollow and suggestive of a touch of oxidation in this bottle perhaps? Still enjoyable though.
(picture shows the 1998)

Poggiofoco Cecco 2009, Sovana, Tuscany, Italy

This was a gift from some Italians, and is not available in this country so far as I can see. A shame, as it’s lovely stuff - 95% Cabernet and 5% Sangiovese, though it tastes like more. It tastes Tuscan more than of the grape variety, with elegant tobacco-touched blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, chargrilled chicory, violet and menthol. Lovely sappy freshness and grip on the palate, with plenty of savour and length to balance the fruit. Great discovery!

Filipa Pato Touriga Nacional 2011 for Bottle Apostle, Bairrada, Portugal

When Filipa Pato had a barrel of Touriga Nacional going, the enterprising chaps at Bottle Apostle snapped it up and put in on their shelves as a special bottling. Always a sucker, for a one-off, I picked one up, aware that the wine was really meant as a part of a blend that just didn’t get used. The question begs - why not?
This is quite a moody, brooding wine on the nose with over-ripe blackberries, milk chocolate, liquorice, nutmeg and green peppercorns. There’s a sense of black forest gateaux and quite a thick slab of oak if I’m honest. There’s also a little cool mint and floral sweetness around the edges though. The palate starts with some nice acidity, with thick blackberry fruit and a serious, but not overwhelming seam of tannin. It’s quite abrupt and without the elegance that I’ve come to expect from modern Portugal, and I find the oak a bit obvious. But then again, what do you expect? It’s an interesting drop but it does feel like one piece of a puzzle.

Ruinart Brut NV, Champagne, France

This has had 2 years in the cellar. I tend to to try and cellar pretty much every traditional-method sparkling wine I buy for at least a short period of time, although looking back on my notes I was really knocked out by the other bottle of this that I had (bought at the same time) pretty much straight off the shelf. There’s a sweetness of juicy white nectarines here, with touches of dried apple, ginger, ratafia and vanilla. It’s a fine and charming nose, still quite youthful in its composition but starting to develop. On the palate the bottle age is just beginning to show in a deeper sense of savoury weight to accompany the stone fruit. Finishes with some icing sugar/vanilla lift as well as some very pert acidity and even a touch of nutty bitterness. It’s feeling a little pinched on the finish, whereas my impression of this wine 2 years ago was one of suaveness and generosity. Interesting.
I think this wine might counter my general opinion that NV champagne will always benefit from a bit of time in the cellar. Perhaps this bottle isn’t perfect - it’s missing the sense of balance and lushness that it did 2 years ago. I really loved that bottle!