Wine tasting: Bordeaux and its satellites, Victualler, Wapping

Tl;dr?

(too long didn't read)

A great value evening with knowledgeable hosts covering history, geography, geology, viticulture and the modern wine industry. Some of it went over my head, but go with the flow and you get to try really interesting wines and some pretty damn nice cheese, bread and charcuterie.

The Setup

Since the arrival of Victualler in Wapping just over a year ago, my willingness to try something a bit different has increased. Partly this is because a) I'm a lazy sod who won't trek to Waitrose to slake my thirst; b) I know about the structure of duty on wine (which means that very cheap wine is disproportionately bad for the price you pay); and c) Victualler sells some pretty interesting and tasty wines. Mainly though, its the enthusiam the staff have for their product and their willingness to take the time to walk you through (and taste) a few options before you shell out for a bottle, something that is not easy to do if you are sitting in your y-fronts doing the online shop, or standing in the aisle of a supermarket.

When our friend @caitiewrites suggested Victualler's wine tasting we thought it would be a good way to expand our appreciation of wine. On our visit to Bottega with Caitlin, we had discussed the need for some knowledge to appreciate the finer things in life, a less pretentious summary of that discussion would be that I really don't get ballet, but that as I've only seen one whole ballet (by whole, I mean I was physically present - I may have had a nap) and the film Black Swan, I can't appreciate what makes one good, bad or indifferent. Being talked through a variety of wines I might never try otherwise must therefore be a good thing.

The evening

We had booked our tickets online, £25 per person for six wines, cheese and charcuterie. The confirmation email told us not to wear strongly perfumed toiletries and to arrive on time - already we were thinking we were going to get a serious wine experience.

I was tasked with securing a good seat and arrived early, plonking myself down on an excessively comfy sofa at the back. There was a mixture of seating, sofas and some tables set out cabaret style. Quite a few people attended on their own and chatted to others and there was a nice friendly atmosphere. 

The evening focussed on wines from the Bordeaux and surrounding areas. Bordeaux sits on the South West coast of France about a third of the way up from the Spanish border and is centred around the city of Bordeaux, the Gironde estuary and its tributaries. The wines were all organic, natural or biodynamic, basically not produced in the style of most branded wines or 'Big Grape' as I have taken to calling it, in an attempt to sound knowledgeable.

The tasting was led by David Harvey, who does various wine things (importer/buyer/agent/former somellier) and Daniil Vashchilov, the owner of Victualler. David regaled us with with tales of changing British tastes in wine, of cataclysmic hail storms, the historical significance of Bordeaux's coastal location for both sea transport and access to sand for bottles and much more. Daniil focussed on the flavours and the structure of the wine.

I found David engaging and interesting, but to start with I was a little lost what some of his references were; to start off with he referred to 'cab franc' and 'cab sauv' (abbreviations of grape names)- maybe this is wine 101 stuff, but I would have benefitted from a slightly gentler introduction, though a lot of people were clearly knowledgeable. To be frank, I'm not convinced that plucking grapes under different phases of the moon makes better wine, but the passion and attention that biodynamic wine makers appear to have for their product probably makes for a better wine. If you're producing on a smaller scale, it is logical that you'll be better able to exercise product control than larger producers. However, clearly David thinks there is a quality premium to be achieved and I'd agree.

David said towards the end of the evening that he would rather drink a bad wine that was real and that he believed in than a 'good' industrial wine, but I am pleased to confirm that all of the wine was good to my palate, and importantly drinkable.

The evening was gentle and amusing, and there weren't any outlandish claims as to the flavours present in the wine. It was a nice evening out, I heard some great stories, I had some really interesting wines and some amazing cheese and charcuterie the cheeseboard in my photos is part eaten, in addition we had a basket of bread, and platter full of salami, chorizo and some form of cured beef in addition to a little pot of pastrami and a pot of olives- Victualler are not stingy with their nibbles!

The six wines we tasted are listed below - one white and five reds (90 per cent of Bordeaux production is red). Some of the wines were more expensive than my usual price point, but I definitely would recommend the Sauvignon Blanc, which for its £12 price tag is definitely a bottle I would regularly pick up in future, and far more interesting than a supermaket bottle for the same price. It will soon be appearing on the tables of Highgrove, but relabelled as a Fortnum and Mason import.

1. Chateau Valrose, Entre-Deux-Mers, Grand -Bireau Sauvignon Blanc 2012 £12

2. Isabelle Carles and Franck Pascal, Le Jonc-Blanc, Bergerac 2009 £17.99

3. Chateau Massereau, Graves Rouge 2008  £33.99

4. Chateau Lassolle, Cotes du Marmandais 2008 £25.99

5. Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie, Canon-Fronsac, 80-100 old vines, 2006 £31.99

6. Chateau Sociando-Mallet, Haut-Medoc 1994 £56.99