Wednesday 22 April 2009

Bordeaux vs New Zealand

The sound of jaws crashing to the floor echoed around Pall Mall a few weeks ago. High up in the penthouse suite of New Zealand House, 30 or so UK Masters of Wine, sommeliers, wine buyers and journalists had joined in a special blind tasting. The results were to say the least, astonishing.
They were comparing the very best from Bordeaux with wines from Gimblett Gravels, a sub-region of Hawkes Bay in New Zealand’s North Island. This 800-hectare appellation is centred on the gravel of the old Ngaruroror River, and local winemakers believe the soil and climate to be so exceptional that their terroir is up there with the best to be found in Bordeaux. The Gimblett Gravels wines are made from the classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. The tasting compared six 2005/2006 New Zealand wines with six 2005 clarets.
Some of Britain’s finest tasters were there, including Jancis Robinson, Michael Schuster and Oz Clarke, along with buyers from the likes of Waitrose, the Wine Society and Berry Bros and Rudd. Many of them seemed confused and unsure. The tasting sheets were handed in and the marks added together to reveal a collective top six. The first three spots (and fifth) go to Bordeaux, and the experts nodded their heads knowingly. Their fourth and sixth favourites though were from New Zealand; a pretty good showing they all agreed, with applause all round.
Then the bombshell. The wine’s identities were revealed and they gasped when they discovered which were the Bordeaux wines. The top three were: 2005 Château Lafite-Rothschild (£975), 2005 Château Mouton-Rothschild (£675), and 2005 Château Angélus (£295). Just off the podium in fourth was 2006 Sacred Hill “Helmsman” at – wait for it – a staggeringly modest £17.95 a bottle. 2005 Château Haut-Brion (£700) was fifth, and 2006 Newton Forrest “Cornerstone” – at just £15 a bottle – was sixth.
Bordeaux as we all know is seriously overpriced, but this result has driven it home. Why spend almost a grand a bottle when you could spend barely £18 for something jus as good. It can’t be for the rarity value: 25,000 cases of 2005 Château Lafite-Rothschild were produced, compared with just 130 of the 2006 Sacred Hill “Helmsman”.
At www.binendwines.co.uk we can’t offer you any of the wines listed above – the Bordeaux are frankly beyond the scope of this modest business, and the New Zealand wines are only available from the direct importers. However given that in most instances, the best of these vintages is yet to come following lengthy cellaring, perhaps you would like to avail yourself of a more mature example.
Newly listed in late April is the 2000 vintage from Trinity Hill Cabernet/Merlot by the renowned winemaker John Hancock. But what is more you don’t even have to pay £18 or even £15 for it – though there are other outlets selling it for around £15. My price for what is very limited stock is just £5.95 – the bargain of the year so far. But hurry – when it’s gone – it’s gone!

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