Rhone 2007

November marks the annual trip to the Rhône; this year to taste the 2007 vintages before they are bottled and shipped next year. David Round MW was joined by Jason Busby and Steve Garwood.

Arriving late into Lyon we headed directly to the Comfort Inn hotel on a barren retail park on the outskirts of Valence. Not the most wholesome start to our trip (indeed, it was mooted that “Discomfort Inn” might be a more fitting name.)

The following morning, fortified with croissants and coffee, we headed directly to François Villard's estate on the steep slopes of the northern Rhône. The 2007 whites were showing superbly with classic Viognier nose and wonderful freshness. The 06 reds were also impressive but in need of longer ageing to fully express themselves.



A quick zip down to Pierre Gaillard's estate to taste the 07 reds from barrel revealed a very promising vintage. The St Josephs and Côte Rôties showed a captivating mix of brooding black fruit with a savoury, leathery finish. We were also lucky enough to taste a few barrel samples of his daughter's varietal Vin de Pays wines. Clearly there's a vinous talent streak running through the Gaillard household!

Without further ado we headed to Domaine du Colombier to meet the winemaker, Davide. A quick, but thorough, tasting also showed 2007 to be a vintage that contains well balanced whites with well-defined fruit and good acidity and freshness. The reds are also blessed with good structure and are surprising approachable considering their youth. Very much a “classic” vintage with good capacity for ageing - it seems the Rhône's blessed string of top vintages continues apace!

Our last stop was at Domaine de la Mordorée in Tavel. Our first southern Rhône wines so far reveal themselves to be well-balanced and quite fruit-driven in style. It seems many of the estates we have visited seem to be talking enthusiastically about organic and biodynamic viticulture. Domaine de la Mordorée now uses horses instead of tractors and there seems to be a real buzz about the positive effects they are noticing from this management regime. It would be interesting to see whether this could be sustained if their rally of excellent vintages ever ends!
Arriving at our hotel in the picturesque city of Avignon we were overjoyed to see that the quaint, family-run hotel resembled none of the horrors of the Discomfort Inn. Heading out to eat it was clear that the local cuisine of gamey meats and ripe cheeses works perfectly with the gutsy wines of the region. Santé!

Up with the larks we travelled straight to Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the iconic vineyards of Clos du Caillou. Bruno Gaspar proudly showed the latest wines including the perennial favourites, Bouquet des Garrigues and the resplendent Châteauneuf-du-Papes. The Bouquet des Garrigues shone and the Châteauneufs showed an unbelievable level of complexity for their age. A justifiably proud winemaker!

The Mistral winds that blow from the northwest are invaluable to winemakers as they dry the grapes and can prevent rot, something Monsieur Gaspar was keen to point out. However, to those used to the mild, drizzly blusters of the UK, the Mistral is a glacial and formidable force that can make the short dash from the cuverie to the car seem like an epic trek across Siberia. Worth packing the earmuffs!

Next on the hit-list was Domaine de Cristia with the talented, young winemaker Baptiste Grangeon and his effervescent sister, Dominique. The wines are very modern in style with plump, juicy fruit, generous flavours and are the worthy recipients of much lauded praise from many wine critics. We were treated to a long 3-course lunch while the 2005 vintage of their awesome Châteauneuf-du-Pape Renaissance flowed liberally. It beggars belief how any work actually gets done in these parts, but we were grateful for their kind hospitality.

Following a strong coffee we got back on the road and, somewhat tardily, arrived at Domaine Grand Veneur for our final winery tour of the day with the charming Christophe Jaume. The 07s are classic Châteuneuf-du-Pape – dark, brambly fruit with complex smoky, gamey nuances. The white Châteauneuf also showed itself to be a bit of hidden gem with complex peach melba, citrus and mineral layers and a creamy hazelnut finish.

South America, October 2008 - Part One, Argentina

Part One: Argentina

As with every year, the 2008 H&H Bancroft staff trip to South American is the highlight of the year for the lucky few who go! This year's visit was attended from H&H Bancroft by Neb Gusic and Mike Unsworth and from Gaucho, Phil Crozier (Head Wine Buyer) Miss Kinga Wilk (Sommelier), & Miss Frederica Russo (Sommelier).

We were rewarded with clear blue skies and warm sunshine in Buenos Aires. With around 13 million people living here, it is the third biggest conurbation in Latin America. Buenos Aires in English means “Good Air” which considering it contains the biggest boulevards in the world, full or cars and 4 out of five of us travelling smoked it was a little bit of a contradiction….! We had endured 16 hours in a jumbo jet from Heathrow via St Paulo to get here but what an exciting and colourful city greeted us.

We were met at the airport and taken to the hotel, where everyone agreed they were overtired to sleep, so after a quick freshen up, met in the lobby and walked around admiring the huge variety in architecture in this vast and vibrant city with its checkered history, whilst enjoying a cool beer or two.

Evening met by Bosca representative Muriel Estrada, and taken for drinks and dinner, where, as we did in fact at lunchtime, gorged on various cuts of beef, surely Argentineans' best export after wine!

The following morning woke to the warmth and yet delicate aromas of carbon monoxide and Neb's Marlboro. After breakfast, headed to the airport ready for Mendoza and our first glimpse of the Andes…

Mendoza airport, with some touristy planting of vines in the car park (probably Concha Y Toro's!), and in the background the snowy peaks of the Andes. Taken to our hotel, which was very comfortable, apartment style with separate sofa room, desks, and more important a very soft bed!

An enjoyable nice walk around Mendoza, there is certainly some money around with plenty of shops.

In the evening met up with Alberto Arizu, and enjoyed a wonderful evening with good food good wine and good conversation.

In the morning met up with Alberto's brother and Vineyard manager Gustavo, who expertly gave us the insight into techniques of pruning, irrigation and shown their various vineyards including Viña Paraiso, a 250 hectare vineyard, which included 35 hectares all for experimental work, it is encouraging to see that this family is truly committed to producing some of the finest wines in Argentina, by hard work, investment and passion.

We then headed off to Las Comportas, where the Finca Los Nobles vineyard is situated and also Bosca's top wines are source. We were now at 1100 metres and the vines had the amazing backdrop of the mountains. Only hunger and thirst could pull us away from the dramatic scenery, onwards to the winery and a well deserved lunch. The winery way very attractive with almost colonial feel and the attention to detail in the vineyards is replicated here. Exhaustive tasting of the entire range including all of our wines we ship, new vintages and a tanks sample of their Torrentes, which was good, an excellent singe vineyard Malbec, and the truly jaw-dropping ICONO.

Onwards to the Arizu family's other estate, Viña Alicia, here the wine production is minute and is focused on boutique wines including an enormous Nebbiolo which is the only instance found in Argentina. This is where the parents, Alberto Senior and Alicia, concentrate their efforts these days, along with their youngest son Rodrigo, who got married a couple of days before we arrived.

Returned to the hotel for a freshen up, then on to the Cavas Wine Lodge with Alberto and Gustavo for dinner. The sunset over the Andes was breathtaking, and we all were snapping pictures but they never would do it justice…

The next day proved to be far more for the adventurous! We first headed off right into the “pre Andes” and after a short talk on safety and changing in to wet suits got into boats made for six, Neb on a horseand with our hippy guide, hurtled down the rapids of the Mendoza river, covering approximately 12kms in less than 25 minutes, great fun and I really would love to do it again. Then in a battered mini bus headed up to 8500 feet, on a hair raising dirt track, to arrive at a Gaucho farm, this lucky guy had 2000 hectares of land, and after eating a light lunch of homemade empañadas (little meat pasties) and a various nibbles, and certainly a glass or two for Dutch courage, we mounted horses and followed a rustic path through the rough pastures, admiring the view and the sheer peace, tranquillity and space.

Early evening goodbyes to our hosts and after dinner to Kinga, Frederica and Phil who were heading off for other visits, we all had enjoyed the education and experiences in Argentina and shared in our sadness that the following day we would be leaving.

That concluded the Argentinian leg of our trip. Next stop Chile...

Mike Unsworth

Cederberg's Night of Triumph

Monday night marked the beginning of the wine trade's awards season. It's a fairly short season, lasting around three days, but no less important for its brevity.

From a Bancroft perspective, we were looking forward to the Decanter World Wine Awards Dinner with great anticipation, as Cederberg, our superstar supplier from South Africa, was in line for a number of trophies. The evening did not disappoint.

Midnight found me staggering down Bayswater, encumbered not by an excess of Champagne (this was a Monday night, after all), but by the three trophies which the awards had yielded. Amongst these was the Regional Trophy for Rhône Varietals, won by the soon-to-be released Cederberg Shiraz 2006, which then went on to win the International Trophy in the same category, beating the best of the Rhône, Australia and the rest of the world.

It was a night of stunning success for South African winemakers, who scooped up almost a quarter of the international awards. I spent the evening seated beside Lynne Sherriff MW, who chaired the South Africa judging panel. She completely failed to contain her excitement as the trophies piled up.

On Tuesday morning I fired an email off to the estate to congratulate them. Pieter du Toit replied, copying in all of his contacts, one of whom was Jancis Robinson MW, who included it in her own account of the event. You can read it here.

David Round MW

A star from Languedoc... Negly Falaise 2006

As I have a quiet day today, here is my first contribution to the HHB Blog, drank last night…

Falaise 2006, Chateau de la Negly

This cuvee from Ch. De la Negly is a fairly typical Languedoc blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre. In the glass the wine is saturated black, almost opaque in appearance. The nose is powerful and really pure, revealing mixed berry fruit, red cherry, black olive tapenade and a background of cloves and spice. On the palate the wine is full bodied, soft and voluptuous with a velvety texture and absolutely no aggression. The characters found on the nose follow through on the palate with masses of ripe fruit, violets, raspberries and blackcurrant and a creamy, Vimto type character. The finish is warm and generous with a hint of spice and seamless, almost unnoticeable tannins. The alcohol is very high at 15% but with the masses of concentrated fruit and great overall structure it is not too overwhelming and remains balanced. This is a very individual, expressive wine which is so soft and fruit driven you could enjoy on its own or it will pair well with rich, powerfully flavoured foods and bizarrely goes well with dark chocolate.

Sean Burbridge
Account Manager

A taste of summer…Billecart Salmon Rosé

With British Summertime well and truly here, Wimbledon in full swing and Britain (well, Scotland at least) with a player through to the last sixteen for now at least, is there a better time to indulge in one of the world's finest Rosé Champagnes…I think not.
I had the good fortune of drinking it on two occasions over the weekend, thanks to a very generous “moving house” gift from a friend and can assure you that it is all you will ever need to make the pain of moving all but disappear and become all the more bearable.

Vibrant salmon pink in colour with strings of fine bubbles rising steadily from the bottom of the glass. On the nose, aromas of fresh strawberries and a hint of biscuitty richness. The mousse is soft and elegant with flavours of crushed strawberry and cream on the palate. It has amazing length, acidity and a beautiful crisp finish.

Whilst I can highly recommend supping it sat on a pile of boxes, with a bag of ‘Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar' Kettle chips trying to work out how to fit one's worldly possessions into a small 1 bedroom flat, I think it would far better lend itself to an early evening pre-barbeque sharpener or with a grilled tuna steak anda crisp green salad for lunch.

Easily the bestnon-vintage rosé Champagne I have had in years and a sure fire way ease you gently through the summer.

Nigel Jones