Mary Dowey mingles with some of the brightest stars in the wine firmament at the London wine fair
This year I wore my runners. Just as well. Jogging was the only way to get around the 1,300 or so exhibitors at the 25th London International Wine and Spirits Fair in a single day. It was painless - blister-proof, fast and fun.
If the airy ExCel centre in Docklands seemed a little less crowded than last year, it was still awash with well-known winemakers from the four corners of the earth pouring their latest bottlings.
Australian legends Jeffrey Grosset (the Riesling king), Tony Jordan (the fizz king) and Andrew Wigan (Peter Lehmann's right-hand man); South African high-fliers Charles Back of Fairview and Anthony Hamilton-Russell of Hamilton-Russell; Pierre Perrin of top Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate Château de Beaucastel; Steve Smith of New Zealand winery-to-watch Craggy Range . . . there they all were with a thousand others - the brightest stars of the wine firmament, milling about in the vinous equivalent of the Croisette in Cannes.
MAN OF THE MOMENT
It was great to see John Duval, the highly respected winemaker who saw Australia's icon wine, Penfolds Grange, through many vintages, back in action with a new creation of his own. Just released by John Duval Wines, Plexus 2003 is a Barossa Valley blend of old vine Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre with sumptuous black fruit and finely judged oak yielding a firm, savoury finish. "I wasn't interested in doing a Son of Grange," Duval explains, "and I've always had a soft spot for the Rhône style."
Plexus should reach Ireland soon via Liberty Wines, retailing at around €30. Worth it.
MEDAL MANIA
Wine competitions are multiplying faster these days than yeast cells in a fermentation vat. Medals for this, stars for that, trophies for the other . . . The ratio of prizes to submissions is often ludicrously high, with awards being handed out on the basis of one quick slurp by a motley collection of judges. Usually the sanest response is to ignore them. But at this year's London fair three "100 Best" tastings were worthwhile.
BEST VIN DE PAYS
Not so long ago, the term vin de pays suggested something cheap, rustic and possibly rotten. Now it is one of the most exciting categories of French wine - an area where quality has shot up alongside innovation. The vin de pays system gives winemakers freedom to experiment outside appellation controlée rules, hence its appeal to a new, more open-minded generation.
The Top 100 Vins de Pays competition, now in its second year, attracted 1,022 entries - of a much higher standard overall than last year's 650, according to panel chairman Tim Atkin MW. All 100 winners were open for tasting at the show, with the seven which earned a trophy attracting most attention.
Best White Wine of the Show and Viognier Trophy winner was Laurent Miquel Nord-Sud Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc 2004. Look out for it in this fresh, appealing vintage in Dunnes Stores in a couple of months' time. Also delightful - rich and honeyed but refreshing - was the Chardonnay Blend winner Domaine Caillaubert Chardonnay-Sauvignon Vin de Pays de Gascogne 2003. My favourite reds were the fleshy, peppery Cabernet Sauvignon Vin de Pays d'Oc, Gérard Bertrand 2003 and Les 3 Poules Baronnie de Bourgade, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thongue 2004, a juicily elegant evocation of Cabernet Franc. If any of these are in Ireland, I'd love to know and pass on the news.
BEST AUSSIES
British wine writer and Bibendum restaurant wine buyer Matthew Jukes selected his 100 Best Australian Wines from a sampling of over 4,000 over the past year. That's what I call a decent award to submission ratio. All were open for tasting at a reception to launch the 100 Best in Australia House on the Strand.
Only the most dedicated guests worked their way through an animated crowd more than once to reach the bottles, however - and I'm afraid I was not among them. One glass of the stylish new sparkler Green Point ZD was enough to venture at the end of a day with a 5am start. But the Best 100 includes plenty of wines I love, such as Pewsey Vale Riesling 2004, Chapel Hill Verdelho 2004, Tyrrells Lost Block Semillon 2004, Yalumba Viognier 2004, De Bortoli Reserve Pinot Noir 2003, Preece Merlot 2003, St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2002 and Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2001. See the entire line-up on www.matthewjukes.com before you next go Aussie-shopping.
BEST ALL OVER
To celebrate the fair's 25th anniversary, the organisers asked a panel of five UK wine writers to select one outstanding white and one outstanding red winery in each of 10 key wine-producing countries. A neat idea. It's much more difficult to demonstrate quality, consistency, typicity of region and value - the criteria in this competition - than it is to come up with one occasional cracker, so the garlanded producers deserve to be taken seriously.
Who were they? Names to tuck into your notebook include Domaine Laroche in Chablis and Château Maris in the Minervois; Pieropan and Zenato in Italy; Dr Loosen and JJ Prum in Germany; sherry producers Lustau, Valdespino and Gonzalez Byass (what a comeback!); Vergelegen, Fairview and Springfield Estate in South Africa; Craggy Range and Villa Maria in New Zealand; Knappstein, Grosset and Tahbilk in Australia; Cono Sur and Vinedos Organicos Emiliana in Chile, and Catena, Zuccardi and Clos de los Siete in Argentina.
Of all the wines tasted, Clos de los Siete 2003 was the most impressive. From a joint-venture involving French wine consultant Michel Rolland, it has the massive concentration he favours with polished tannins and a vibrant, peppery finish. Look out for it in O'Briens at €16.99.
BRIGHT IDEA
The most dramatic packaging I spotted was a tall, slim aluminium wine bottle (recyclable, of course, and fast-chilling), bearing the words Bright Pink in giant lipstick-coloured letters. A quick slurp of the contents - a brand new rosé from Portugal's well-known English winemaker Peter Bright - revealed a juicy, lipsmacking wine with earthy aromas and a dry, appetising finish. A leading Irish importer was spotted in heavy negotiations, so we're likely to see this fun bottle here soon - probably selling at around €9.99.
BUZZ OF THE FAIR
You couldn't see it and you couldn't smell it but that didn't stop everybody from talking about it. The Dream Taste kit, a new remedy for corked wine invented by a French biochemist, was not launched in time for the London wine fair but will surely be a major attraction at Vinexpo, the monster French jamboree later this month. It consists of a decanter, into which the tainted wine must be poured, and a little bunch of plastic grapes. When this is dropped in, it gradually absorbs the molecules of trichloroanisole which give wines a "corked" or mouldy taste. The bad news is that the process can take from 20 to 60 minutes, and you have to use a new bunch of grapes each time - costing around €5.
BOOK OF THE FAIR
Taming the Screw - A Manual for Winemaking with Screw Caps by Tyson Stelzer, a man whose surname almost rhymes with Stelvin, the trademark name for the aluminium substance from which most screwcaps are made. The launch of this highly technical book and the number of bottles with metal caps dotted all around the place point inexorably in one direction - away from cork. New Zealand, which still leads the way, predicts that 90 per cent of its wines will be under screwcap by next year. Why so many so soon? Because metal closures seem to keep wines fresh and more vibrant in flavour - as well as ruling out the risk of cork taint.
UNMAGNIFICENT MAG
It is difficult to imagine that the pretentiously titled Fine Expressions - The Premium Drinks Magazine, just launched, will flourish. It costs £3.95 - more than either Decanter or Wine International, the two stalwarts in the field, even though it has significantly fewer pages. Unattractive layouts and some pretty dull prose don't help.