Wines in the Press: The chameleon, the conductor and the credit crunch

Published: 09 September, 2008

Jonathan Ray and Jancis Robinson MW are both out and about, meeting a Canadian conductor and a "chameleon" French wine consultant respectively. Closer to home, Victoria Moore makes a surprising discovery when investigating the impact of the credit crunch on British wine buying habits, whilst Tim Aktin MW battles the ring roads and office blocks of Stevenage to sample some of the Wine Society's finest tipples.

Jonathan Ray, The Telegraph, Saturday 06 September 2008

Jonathan Ray met up with Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin this week to discover which wines make the musical maestro tick, and discovered it's not so much a glass of champers that he craves post-performance as it is an ice cold beer. "At that point, it's the only thing I crave. I'm exhausted, dehydrated and very thirsty," he tells Ray. Of course there is usually time for some finer tipples too; champagne is "everywhere" backstage at the end of each concert and "good food, good company and good wine" provide the ultimate way for Nézet-Séguin to unwind post-performance. He's a big fan of wines from the Languedoc region and, unsurprisingly, both the 2003 Herder Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer from his native Canada. He is also, says Ray, "the only man I know who admits to having drunk Dutch Chardonnay."

Ray's picks are:

? 2007 Blason Montagny Vieilles Vignes (£5.99, Somerfield)
? 2008 Te Mata Estate Gamay Noir (£8.59, Waitrose)
? 2005 Château Thénac (£13.95, Berry Bros & Rudd)

Anthony Rose, The Independent, Saturday 06 September 2008

Anthony Rose takes us through a run down of the winners at this year's Decanter Retailer Awards; Majestic Wines took home the award for best specialist chain, "resurgent" Marks & Spencer pipped Waitrose and Tesco to the post for the supermarket of the year gong, and Adnams scooped independent retailer of the year for "being prepared to take risks when others were drawing their horns". Lesser known retailers including south London based Green & Blue and biodynamic champions Vintage Roots were also winners this year in the small independent section. Rose's top tipples this week are:

? 2007 Trinacria (£3.79, Waitrose)
? 2006 Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay (£9.99, Majestic, Waitrose)
? 2005 Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Amarone (£12.00, Sainsbury's)

Jancis Robinson MW, Financial Times, Saturday 06 September 2008

Jancis Robinson met up with wine consultant Claude Gros, a self-professed "chameleon" of winemaking who (he says) has "no principles". Gros prefers to listen to his clients rather than impose his own style on them. He saves his personal tastes for his own brand of wine, the Domaine de Boede, which he's been producing since 2001. Five favourite Gros wines are:

? La Fleur Morange, St-Emilion (www.interestinwine.com)
? Château Puech Haut, Coteaux du Languedoc (Villeneuve Wines of Peebles)
? Chateau de la Négly, La Clape, Coteaux de Languedoc (www.winesearcher.com)
? Bertrand Bergé, Fitou (Linlithgow Wines of Scotland)
? Domaine Calvet-Thunevin (Waitrose and Laithwaites)

Jane MacQuitty, The Times, Saturday 06 September 2008

Jane MacQuitty is keen to debunk the myth that the Viognier grape can't be grown outside of the Rhône valley. What was previously considered an endangered species just 40 years ago, when only 14 hectares in France remained, can now be found everywhere from California to Australia. "Drink Viognier young to catch all its flavours" suggests MacQuitty, who recommends any of the following:

? 2007 La Baume Viognier (£5.99, Waitrose)
? 2007 Cono Sur Viognier, Chile (£6.99, Majestic and Waitrose)
? 2006 Condrieu Invitaire (£25, Majestic)
? 2007 Viognier, Vin de Pays des Coteaux de l'Ardèche (£7.75, Yapp Brothers)
? 2006 Le Pied de Samson Viognier (£16.95, Yapp Brothers)

Victoria Moore, The Guardian, Saturday 06 September 2008

Victoria Moore takes a look at how the credit crunch is affecting wine sales this week. Expecting to discover a rise in sales of bag-in-box wines, Moore is surprised to discover that actually, it is another trend that is prevalent amongst cash-strapped wine buyers; trading down in order to trade up. Supermarkets like Waitrose report a 10% rise in champagne sales, as well as premium foodstuffs, as people ditch eating out in favour of entertaining at home. Chilean wines are doing well out of the crunch too for their ability to deliver good value at lower price points, says Moore.

Moore's picks of the week are:

? 2007 Single Estate Grenache Blanc, France (£5.99, Marks & Spencer)
? Graham Beck Brut NV, South Africa (£9.74, Waitrose)
? 2007 Otra Vida Malbec, Argentina (£4.99, Sainsbury's)

Tim Atkin MW, The Observer, Sunday 07 September 2008

Stevenage, that quintessential town of ring roads and office blocks that "makes Milton Keynes looks like Paris or St Petersburg" is also home to the Wine Society, the subject of Tim Atkin's column this week. There are around 1,500 wines on its list, 85 of which Atkins has been through to conclude that the Society's "educated, engagingly eccentric buyers are as good at sourcing wines under £6 as they are at buying Burgundies and classed growth clarets at £100 or more." From its stable he recommends:

? 2007 Auzells, Costers del Segre (£10.95, www.thewinesociety.com)
? 2007 Klein Constantia Riesling, Constantia (£8.50, www.thewinesociety.com)
? 2005 Auxey-Duresses, Les Hautes, Domaine Vincent (£14.95, www.thewinesociety.com)
? 2006 Burlotto Dolcetto d'Alba (£8.95, www.thewinesociety.com)
? 2006 Mendel Malbec, Mendoza (£9.95, www.thewinesociety.com)
? 2006 Chilean Pinot Noir, Leyda Valley (£5.95, www.thewinesociety.com)