the entry level we have some really good value Pinotage from Porterville – we usually buy either their Shiraz or Pinotage, depending on quality, and sometimes we buy both. Every restaurant wine list should include at least one South African Pinotage, but while there are some really good ones, there are also some shockers.
‘Syrah is your most exciting varietal and I think it finds very good flavour expression here. The grapes have lovely spice and are better than many a Crozes Hermitage from France. Wine from Vergelegen and Sadie Family Vineyards are world class.’
On the subject of competition to South Africa in the all-important UK market, Bill supplies some insights:
‘Australia hasn’t shot its bolt. They’ve had a couple of serious blows, with the current drought a major problem. They can’t make wine as they’ve got no water, but don’t write them off. The real excitement is going to come from South America. They’re still struggling under a flood of bad wine but some excitement and value is starting to emerge.’
Americans – like Robert Parker and Wine Spectator magazine – have totally messed up Bordeaux for Bill, ‘although the French are starting to fight back’. In an attempt to garner high Parker scores, many Bordeaux producers changed their style to more fruit expression and higher alcohols. The popularity of these wines in the United States pushed prices off the scale, ‘a fate which is currently happening to top-end champagne and Madeira’, laments Bill. ‘But wine is so global now, it’s possible to find something interesting to drink at all price points. The trick is to be satisfied with the level of wine you can afford. It may not be Latour, but there are plenty of second labels of French first growths around which can give huge pleasure at the £14–£16 price point.’
Bill’s bibulous future is more of the same: tasting and trading ‘until I finish paying school fees for the children’. Then he’ll sell the business and retire to Italy, the unfashionable south appealing to him. ‘Tuscany is totally out of the question,’ he booms, ‘far too many Brits.’
Alas, the future was to be tragically short. One week after returning from the 2008 Tasting Academy, Bill died in his sleep from a massive heart attack.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
