London Hash House Harriers Wine Tasting
2nd May 2025
Wines for a Summer Garden BBQ
We won't be having a BBQ, but we will be in a garden (if the weather allows). So pretend. I hope you will try some wines you don't normally drink, including some you think you cannot afford but there are also some very reasonably priced. In any event, drink and enjoy!.
Condrieu
​IGP Condrieu
Variety: Viognier
Producer: Mouton Pere & Fils
Alcohol: 14%
Drink: 2025 - 2029
Production: Manually picked. Fermented in stainless steel and matured in barrels on the lees for 8 montths.
From: Berry Brothers & Rudd
Price: £43
Viognier was virtually extinct by the end of the seventies, but is now grown in many wine regions of the world and produces a wide range of styles from austere but sophisticated, perfumed, chalky wines from Condrieu to over-ripe tropical flavours of hotter new world regions.
Condirieu, in the northern Rhone, produces exclusively white wine from Voignier usually in tiny quantities (Condrieu covers just 170 hectares of vinyards, tiny compared with other Rhone areas).
With a pale gold tint, a nose of sweet spices and banana. Dry with a rich body and texture and tropical notes on the palate. Some chalky minerality.
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The intensity of the wine should match it well with creamy sauces, fish, poultry eggs and cheese.​​​
Verdicchio
Geog. region Marche, Italy
Appelation Verdicchio di Castelli di Jesi DOC
Name: Classico Superiore
Vintage: 2023
Variety: Verdicchio
Producer: Tenute Pieralisi
Alcohol: 13%
When to Drink: Now
Supplier: The Wine Society
Price: £11.50
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is a DOC in the Marches region of central Italy. Verdicchio means "little green one” and the wine is typically straw coloured with green tinges, herbaceous notes and fresh apples, freshness (acidity) and a pleasant, slightly bitter aftertaste of almonds. These characteristics make it an ideal match with regional seafood dishes.
The terroir is ideal for the production of dry white wines, thanks mostly to its calcareous, clay and limestone-rich soils and a relatively dry but temperate climate due to proximity to the sea. The east-west passage of rivers provides the area with persistent gentle winds, which offset the otherwise scorching heat of the summer.
The Wine Society: Verdicchio is one of Italy's finest white grape varieties, and this example has great precision and tension with green-apple, grapefruit and saline notes that hold well on the refreshingly dry finish. Perfect for any catch of the day, enlivened with herby marinades”
Mouthwash: Pale lemon colour, with a light aroma, slightly minerally and peachy. It is dry, with medium acidity though fresh and a light body, a complex flavour with some spice (baked apple?), peppery notes and a lightly bitter almond finish. Drink now!
Scrumpy: Do we have any more in the basement?
Food matching: grilled or baked fish.
Chardonnay
Geog. region Burguny, Maconnais
Appelation St Veran
Name: Plaisance
Vintage: 2022
Variety: Chardonnay
Producer: Thierry Drouin
Alcohol: 14.5%
When to Drink: Now
Supplier: The Wine Library
Price: £23.99
St Veran is an appellation created for a number of villages that surround the appellation of Pouilly Fuissé, all of which form part of the Maconnais. In the last 20-30 years producers have created some excellent Chardonnay wines that are better priced than their prestigious cousins to the north (Cote de Beaune communes of Pouilly Montrachet and Chassagne Montrachet produce great wines that cost and arm, and sometimes a leg).
The best often carry the commune names (Pouilly Soultre or Vinzelles for example) or just the vineyard name. The vineyards sit on the same limestone outcrops that is important for their more expensive neighbours and produce excellent wines especially in warmer years. Mostly made to drink soon, some can age for a few years.
Thierry Drouin’s Plaisance is described as “having delicate floral notes, layered with citrus and ripe yellow fruits through to an elegant and mineral palate with lively, lemony notes”.
Mouthwash says “powerful nose with lemon, peach and sherbert. An intense body on the palate with high acid (which gives it freshness), tropical fruit (pineapple, maybe banana) and a fairly long finish”.
Scrumpy says “I could drink this all day”.
We drank it with a creamy scallop and prawn pasta and it held up really well against the rich creamy sauce. Or serve with mushroom vol-au-vents as a starter or spicy prawns or chicken satay on the barby.
Rosé (various)
Geog. region Languedoc, France
Appelation Languedoc AOP
Name: Cotes de Roses Arts Edition
Vintage: 2023
Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault
Producer: Gerard Bertrand
Alcohol: 13.5%
When to Drink: Now
Supplier: Various supermarkets
Price: £15 (NB: 2024 can be bought for as little as £9 without the fancy bottle)
Provence and Longedoc are the French regiosn best known for Rosé with some notable appelations. My personal opinion is that most are pretty bland and tasteless, but what do I know! Tavel AC and some others produce redder, more intense, wines but they are not what the market seems to want. This wine has more flavour than many; a pleasant sip ice cold on a hot afternoon.
Producers tasting note: “soft, pale and brilliant with bluish reflections evolving over time into shades of orange. The nose offers aromas of red fruit, blackcurrant and redcurrant. Floral notes floral notes of rose and citrus, grapefruit complete the palette. Finish Fresh, fruity notes. The palate is fresh, greedy, with great aromatic persistence aromatic persistence and fine balance”.
Mouthwash: pale pink with a fresh floral / strawberry nose. The wine is light bodied, with fresh red fruit and a touch of pepper, medium alcohol and medium length. Summer in a bottle!
Gamay
Geog. region Beaujolais, Burgundy
Appelation Fleurie AOP
Name: Fleurie, Madone Veilles Vignes
Vintage: 2022
Variety: Gamay
Producer: Domaine de la Madone
Alcohol: 14.5%
When to Drink: Now
Supplier: The Wine LIbrary
Price: £11.50
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Beaujolais is known for its light, fresh and fruity wines. Beaujolais Nouveau is still made locally but I think the ridiculous races are a thing of the past (?). Many producers are now aiming for a more intense, barrel-matured style of traditional burgundy reds (pinot noir, not gamay), presumably because that is the way to make more money!
The finer Beaujolais comes from 10 communes in the northern, more hilly part of the region, with their own appellations of which Fleurie is one. Annoyingly they often don’t say Beaujolais on the bottle so you may not realise what is inside the bottle, but it is all gamay.
The producer says: Made from whole bunches, left on the skins for 7 to 8 days. Supple and very fruity, with fine but very present tannins. It can be drunk young, but also improves with age (up to 5 years). Eat with Roast Chicken or Blanquette of Veal.
Mouthwash: This wine is a deep ruby in colour. The nose is warm (high alcohol) with cooked plums, cinnamon and cloves (mulled wine?). The palate is intense full-bodied, fresh (high acid), with modest chewy tannins and loads of cooked red fruit and a meatiness to it and a spicy or peppery finish that you might associate with a ripe Australian Shiraz. We matched with grilled lamb. Yummy.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Geog. region Bordeaux, Medoc
Appellation Pauillac AC
Name: Ch Batailley
Vintage: 2012
Variety: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot
Producer: Ch Batailley
Alcohol: 13%
When to Drink: 2015-2040
Supplier: Berry Brothers & Rudd
Price: £55
​Château Batailley is a well-regarded wine estate in the Pauillac appellation of Bordeaux's northern Médoc region. Classified as a fifth growth in the 1855, though it is better than this (the French have not updated the ranking since), having developed a reputation for class and finesse. Pauillac is possibly the greatest of the Medoc appellations with 3 out of the 5 top estates. Battailley is right next to Mouton Rothschild.
The producer’s first wine (this one!) is fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged for 16 to 18 months in French oak barrels (55 percent new). Like most top bordeaus wines it is made to mature slowly Expert tasting notes on 2012 vintage: “Deep, dark, ruby red colour. Aromas of tobacco leaf, chocolate & pencil shavings. Very fresh acidity, leafy herbacious fruit and vivid cassis on the palate. Quite light-bodied, but tannins have grip. Excellent freshness, balanced alcohol & good length. A little old fashioned, but noteworthy”. (DCAMW)
Mouthwash says: Deep ruby with plenty of legs, with aromas of cedar, cassis, smoke and initially graphite and liquorice, the wine is dry on the palate with high acidity, medium+ alcohol and smooth but powerful tannins, brambly, intense cassis and cooked fruit and a very long finish. Could develop more over another 10+ years (if it is not drunk first). ​​
Shiraz
Geog. region Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Appellation Hawkes Bay IGP
Name: Bullnose
Vintage: 2022
Variety: Shiraz
Producer: Te Mata
Alcohol: 13%
When to Drink: 2026-2037
Supplier: Berry Brothers & Rudd
Price: £43
Te Mata is one of the most prestigious estates in New Zealand and it’s top wine (Bordeaux Blend Coleraine) one of, if not the, most expensive New Zealand wines. Bullnose is their Syrah/Shiraz expression.
According to Berry Brothers: “Plush and exquisite at once, this engaging syrah shows dark fruit richness, clove, floral and assorted nut aromas on the nose with a hint of dried herbs, leading to a superbly weighted palate offering splendid fruit purity with sensual complexity, gorgeously framed by velvety texture and beautifully melded tannins. This is weighty, robust, and sophisticated with gorgeous harmony, and the finish is refined and immensely satisfying. Drink 2026-37”.
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Mouthwash: medium ruby, initially an intense smoky nose with vanilla, raspberry and cherry. The palate has plenty of acid, with light smooth tannins and a watery feel. The fruit is light, almost like a rosé, but with a long finish. I was a little disappointed for a wine of this supposed calibre, but after being open for a couple of hours it improved with peppery notes coming through. An easy drink now, it does not have the power of most new world shiraz (usually over-ripe), but is aiming for a more refined northern-Rhone style. It will improve with age. Try again in a couple of years (and then two -or 10 - more).
Saperavi
Geog. region Kakheti, Georgia
Appelation Dry Red Wine (IGP Georgia)
Name: Saperavi Classical
Vintage: 2022
Variety: Saperavi
Producer: Vashnadziani
Alcohol: 13.5%
When to Drink: Now
Supplier: The Wine Library
Price: £16
Wine has been made in Georgia for thousands of years.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of Georgian grape varieties but Saperavi is the most commonly planted. is a traditional Georgian variety, though grown in many former Soviet republics.
Vashnadziani winery was established in 1953 is one of the top producers in Georgia now. They use modern production methods and mature their red wines in oak barrels.
The producer: describes the wine as having a dark pomegranate colour and tasting of dried fruits and spices.
The Wine Library says “an impressive ripe dark berry nose…the palate has structured tannins to the mulberry and bramble fruit”
Mouthwash: A deep ruby colour and powerful nose of cooked plums and spices. It has intense palate, with high acidity that retains freshness. Loads of fruit (sour cherry and black currant) with some sweet spices and pepper. A long finish. After a while it has a slight caramel note but despite this it is easy to drink and I think a very good wine which, at this price, is also very good value for money.
What do you think?
Dessert (Grenache)
Geog. region Roussillon, France
Appelation Rivesaltes AOP
Name: Tuilé Hors D’Age
Vintage: 2022
Variety: Grenache old vines 935 years)
Producer: Domaine Brial
Alcohol: 16%
When to Drink: Now
Supplier: The Wine Library
Price: £16
Rivesaltes is a town in the south of France north of Perpignan. The two appellations are Muscat de Rivesaltes and Rivesaltes – this wine being the latter as not made with Muscat grapes. Rivesaults AOP can be made of a wide range of grapes and in many styles and what used to be a very cheap and ordinary product a few decades ago can be very good. It must be kept for at least 16 months from harvest, so say 12+ months to develop.
Vin Doux Naturelle is subject to “mutage”, ie: distilled wine alcohol is added to stop fermentation so that sugar is retained, usually with some skin contact giving it a red hue.
Hors D’Age is a term applied to long-aged cognac so presumably refers to the 5 years this wine has spent in large oak vats called foudres, where it oxidises and the brick red colour develops.
The producer’s tasting notes says “Brick red hue with orange tints. Ripe red fruit and stewed prunes on the nose and subtel sweetness and long length on the palate. Serve as an apertif or at the end of a meal or pair with fois gras, blue cheese or chocolate cake!”