"There's nothing quite like sharing the wines you love with friends and finding some new favourites..."
Last weekend I hosted the second Purple Teeth tasting event in a Pontin's chalet in Southport. The rather unsophisticated location is because the event was for a group of dance friends coming together from across the country at a large 3 day and night dance party. At the previous event I'd selected 12 wines from 12 countries. This time around we arranged to each bring our own wine, priced at around £10 (no more than £15) for sharing. The idea was for guests to bring a wine they loved, or wanted to try. I was hoping for some unusual treats, even if I did end up being sub-contracted to buy 4 of the wines myself. Across everyone's contribution we experienced such a wide variety that everyone learned and enjoyed something new even though our group included a wide range of wine drinking expertise levels from novice to qualified. In this post, I'll cover the 6 whites and you'll get to hear about the reds next time.
13.5% abv £10.99 from Ocado
Our first wine was a Santorini Assyrtiko 2011 sourced from Ocado. My friend hadn't tried this wine before but had heard good things about the growing fashion in Greek wines and was keen to try it. I presented all the wines blind and had pre-poured the tasting samples of this one before the guests arrived. The guesses centred around Sauvignon Blanc and France, although the serious Sauvignon Blanc drinkers didn't think it was green enough. Somewhat obviously, nobody guessed the wine correctly! This would make a nice aperitif with some olives, and I was glad I chose to present it first. No-one chose it as their favourite white but it wasn't poured away either. Citrus flavours are dominant and I can imagine this being crisp and refreshing on a hot summer's day, as you dream of actually being in Santorini.
Jurançon Sec 13.5% £10.49 sourced from aitkenwines.com
The next wine came from Aitken Wines of Dundee. They have an online shop and deliver anywhere in the UK for £7.99 (for a case and upwards). With almost 140 years in business they must be doing something right, and it seems they also sell the Punto Final Malbec mentioned in my last post (for £8.49). I wished I had kept this 2010 Domaine Cauhapé till nearer the end of the group of whites as it was highly aromatic being a dry white Jurançon AOC made of 60% Gros Manseng and 40% Camarelet. I can't find this wine on the Aitken site, so they may no longer be stocking it. Fortunately, the 2011 is available from The Wine Society at £4.75 for a half bottle or £8.75 for a full bottle, because this was a real winner among the whites. It has honey on the nose, and although bone dry, the flavours made some of our guests think this was a sweet wine, mainly due to the floral and aromatic notes which made this stand out from the crowd. This is a really unusual find, as the Camarelet grape is so rare it's nearing extinction. Try some before it's too late!
14% abv Brancott Estate Sauvignon Gris £12.99 from Sainsbury's
Next up was one of the wines I'd brought on behalf of a guest. I knew that most were bringing European wines so I thought I'd add in some southern hemisphere fun with this Brancott Estate Marlborough (NZ) Sauvignon Gris 2011 sourced from Sainsbury's. This gave me the opportunity to trick my guests, several of whom were close with guesses of Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc. If you've not had Sauvignon Gris before it's worth a try although a little harder to track down. While the wine still exudes the herbaceous, green and citrus character you might be used to from Sauvignon Blanc, the Gris version tends to be softer with some elderflower and stone fruit character. As someone who has become jaded with Sauvignon Blanc, I now prefer the Gris when I can get it, and my guests on the whole were fairly positive about this one. Let's just say there was none left at the end of the evening...
11.5% abv £4.99 at Morrison's
Giving the guests a break from guessing, I opened the Montcadi Cava. A late invitee to the tasting party was forced to bring whatever he could find in his stash of provisions for the weekend. This had a lot of green apple flavour and although our assembled bunch probably would prefer champagne, I don't think anyone could argue with this at £4.99. If you like uncomplicated sparkle as an aperitif, with fish or chicken, or simply to celebrate getting to the end of the working day, then this presents really good value.
Cava is made using the same "traditional method" as champagne but uses different grape varieties. In this case, we're drinking a traditional Cava mixture of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.
Cava is made using the same "traditional method" as champagne but uses different grape varieties. In this case, we're drinking a traditional Cava mixture of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.
12.5% abv Price/Source TBC
Bringing back the guessing game, we certainly hit our friends with a challenge. Vin de Savoie isn't that well known in the UK, and Rousanne single varietals (or Bergeron as the grapes are known in the locally) are also fairly uncommon - particularly among those drinking supermarket fare. This Chignin Bergeron "Les Damoiselles" 2007 was quite unusual with hints of white peach and apricot. Being a 2007 it was probably reaching maturity and certainly wouldn't benefit from being kept for much longer, but it's full body and hints of minerality suggest it would probably pair well with creamy fish dishes, scallops or even smoked salmon quiche. In our view, this delivered less than it promised on the nose, but this could have been down to where it was placed in the tasting. By now, it's fair to say, we probably hadn't used the spittoon enough and were becoming somewhat tipsy.
13.5% abv Quercus Pinot Bianco £8.99 M&S
I was stunned to find this Slovenian Quercus Pinot Bianco 2011 in Marks & Spencer. I recently reviewed a glass of this from a pub wine list and was surprised enough to find it here so soon after reviewing 2 of their wines discovered during my January dance trip to Hungary, so I couldn't resist bringing it along to test my guests.
We had some interesting guesses. Was it a chardonnay? Surely someone brought chardonnay? And "setting lotion" was perhaps the evening's most bizarre aroma description. The 12 of us split down the middle as to whether it was a hit, but fortunately all agreed that it didn't taste like a trip to the hairdressers! Pear, elderflower, and lemon are found under a smooth textured dry white along with that hint of oaky flavours for which Quercus is named.
Similar to Alsace wines, the food match suggests serving with light oriental dishes.
We had some interesting guesses. Was it a chardonnay? Surely someone brought chardonnay? And "setting lotion" was perhaps the evening's most bizarre aroma description. The 12 of us split down the middle as to whether it was a hit, but fortunately all agreed that it didn't taste like a trip to the hairdressers! Pear, elderflower, and lemon are found under a smooth textured dry white along with that hint of oaky flavours for which Quercus is named.
Similar to Alsace wines, the food match suggests serving with light oriental dishes.
What struck us at the end of tasting the whites was the amazing diversity of flavours out there. Many of us predominantly drink red wine so it was great to try so many new and different things that we'd otherwise never have sampled. We also felt quite evangelical about people who "don't like white" or "only like sauvignon blanc". There really is a lot to choose from out there and it's a shame to write off so many options without trying more. For the fans of getting Purple Teeth, I'll be back in a week with 6 equally interesting reds for you, thanks to my guests who brought such amazing wines!
Dance fans will also be pleased to hear that we all made it out for a full night of dancing after the tasting, quite unlike what happened at the first event like this we held back in June.
Dance fans will also be pleased to hear that we all made it out for a full night of dancing after the tasting, quite unlike what happened at the first event like this we held back in June.
If you're interested in holding a Purple Teeth Wine Tasting party for friends, a corporate function or family gathering, please contact me using the form on my Q&A page to discuss options.
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