Eddie Stobart trucks are everywhere the second you get into England. For those of you who don't know about Eddie Stobart, it is a haulage company that operates throughout Great Britain, and their trucks are painted in green, white and red, and the tractor units (the bit where the driver sits) all have womens names. Like most haulage companies, they started off very small, named after the founder of the company, but they have grown and grown so that they are everywhere transporting ever conceivable thing around the road and rail networks of the world. They even sponsor a World Rally Team. Yet despite being a huge company, they manage to achieve something that other large companies fail miserably at. The general public have a genuine fondness for the company.
You may love your Starbucks Latte or your Tesco Finest sandwich, but you really don't have any affection for the companies who provide you with these products. Despite thinking your life couldn't be without the things they make, nobody gives two hoots about Jaguar, Apple or Jimmy Choo. Yet this large haulage firm, that produces nothing and isn't visible in your day to day life, brings a little warmness to your heart every time you see one of their trucks on a bleak, rainy day in your car. And you see a lot of them. The image that Stobart has created is that they are a northern trucking company, and if you go to their HQ, you expect to meet Steady Eddie, sitting behind his old desk wearing a sheepskin coat. Eddie Stobart haulage is the warm and cuddly trucking company, despite being a global logistics operation.This warm and cuddly feeling is something that you tend not to feel about large wine companies.
"I don't want to give Diageo a hug"
You may like Koonunga Hill but you have no passion for Penfolds. The UK's large wine distribution companies are the same, and as a retailer, I may like some products that Bibendum or Enotria sell, and may like the people I deal with on a regular basis, but I don't have any fondness for the companies. I don't want to give Diageo a hug. There are exceptions to this rule in the booze trade. People have an affection for Guinness, and I have a fondness for Liberty Wines, but only because they put across an image of their companies as one who has fun and is passionate about what they do. This is why I tend to like dealing with smaller companies and smaller producers. You get to meet the people, you hear their stories, you develop a personal affinity to them, and develop that fondness that you can relate to the customer. And it is because I want to find out more about these cuddly little companies that I am on my way to Manchester for the second year in a row.
Last year I raved about the Specialist Importers Trade Tasting (SITT), where I discovered the incredibly cuddly company, SWiG. At their table I tasted Bulgarian wine, some outstanding Italians and a crazy South African producer called Badenhorst, and have developed a fondness for this company and the wines it sells. SITT gets together a large group of these small importers to show the retail and restaurant trade a selection of wines that may often get lost amongst the large wine companies. It is a place where the David can get bigger exposure over the Goliath, and where the wine retailer or critic can experience wines that they may not get a chance to otherwise. Here are some stars
From Clark Foyster Wines
Champagne Jacques Picard Brut Reserve NV (Champagne, France)
A soft, gently citrussy wine, lots of fresh lemon and a touch of sherbet with honey coming through on the finish. Very good (8/10, £25.50).
2010 Adegea de Moncao Vinho Verde (Vinho Verde, Portugal)
A rich, honeyed aroma with some melon and lemon pith. Long clean mineral flavours with a gorgeous balance and small sweet notes peppering the palate. (8/10 £8.99)
2009 Moric Blaufrankisch Burgenland (Burgenland, Austria)
Good, ripe, crisp fruit. Some softer berries with some tart ones coming through. Very long spicy palate with a sweet fruit finish. (8.5/10 £16.99)
2008 Gerhard Pittnauer Pinot Noir Fuchsenfeld (Burgenland, Austria)
Soft, smoky and just a touch of sweet confection. A crisp, appley palate. Really tasty. (8/10, £16.99)
2008 Umathum Beerenauslese Chardonnay Scheurebe (Burgenland, Austria)
Light, lemon and honey. A rich, oily texture, good balance and very sweet, but cleans up well. (7/10, £14.99)
Raymond Reynolds is definitely a cuddly company. Run by Raymond himself, Danny Cameron and Jacky Mundy, all three were at their table with Riccardo Diogo, the winemaker at madeira producer Barbeito. Trying a bundle of their wines is always a treat as they remain the place to go for Portuguese wines, and finishing with a Madeira tasting with the winemaker of, arguably, the best Madeira company proves that they are the sort of company you want to deal with. For me, Raymond Reynolds was the star of SITT 2011 as these smaller Portuguese producers have realised that if they are going make some truly fine wine, they need to make their wines look good. Now a £13 Portuguese wine looks like something you would spend money on rather than something you would pick up in a supermarket for £4. We didn't try one single dud on this table, and that is why Raymond Reynolds gets my nod for table of the tasting.
2010 Quinta da Raza Vinho Verde (Vinho Verde, Portugal)
Light, spritzy nose, a lot of sherbet lemons and limes. Clean fresh and light. A stunning wine for the money. (8/10 £7.99)
2010 Luis Pato Maria Gomes (Bairrada, Portugal)
Light, clean, soft and floral with lots of pine notes. Really tasty. (8/10 £8.49)
2009 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas (Bairrada, Portugal)
Gentle, very pretty with nice fruit, slight honey notes too. Mouthfilling, clean, a touch of creamy texture. Very soft and lovely. (8/10, £12.50)
2007 Quinta da Murta Classico (Bucelas, Portugal)
Lovely, soft, clean and honeyed. A gentle minerally element - just a stunning wine. (8/10 £12.99)
2010 Soalheiro Alvarinho (Minho, Portugal)
Very fresh, very zingy, lots of lovely gentle, subtle citus. A really phenomenal wine. (9/10 £15.99)
2009 Herdade Sao Miguel (Alentejo, Portugal)
Very tasty, citrus and tropical fruit with a mineral, salty note coming through. (8/10 £12.99)
2009 Conceito Contraste (Douro, Portugal)
Very soft, minerally with a lot of flint, citrus and marmalade. A very pithy finish. (8/10 £17.99)
2010 Quinta da Raza Colheito Seleccionata (Vinho Verde, Portugal)
A fuller, honeyed aroma with fresh lemon and thyme on the palate. Delightful. (8/10 £10.00)
2009 Casa de Saima Rose (Bairrada, Portugal)
Light, a touch of plasticine on the nose. Rather tasty. (7/10 £9.99)
2010 Quinta da Raza Tinto (Vinho Verde, Portugal)
Light and funky! (7/10, £9.99)
2008 Conceito Contraste Tinto (Douro, Portugal)
Soft initially, and then with crunchy apples and dark leather on the nose. The palate is liquorice and tobacco, some red berries and violets. A bit punchy, but great with sausages and mash! (8/10 £12.99)
I don't know why this has a picture of Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright on the label, but it does. It has a sweet aroma of dried fruit, lots of stone fruit too - cherries and plums - and then a sweet, date like finish. A lovely wine. (8/10 £13.99)
2007 Vinha do Mouro (Alentejo, Portugal)
Light, fresh fruit with bundles of raspberries, apples and spice. There is liquorice and cigar added in on the palate. (8/10 £11.99)
2009 Monte de Peceguina (Alentejo, Portugal)
Soft and herbal with some fresh cherry aromas. A really dark, spicy palate with lots of cocoa and aniseed. (8/10, £15.50)
Barbeito Boal Reserva 5 Year Old (Madeira, Portugal)
A big, powerful dried apricot aroma, and lots of spice and salt on the palate. (7.5/10, £12.99)
Barbeito Malvasia Reserva 5 Year Old (Madeira, Portugal)
Soft at first and then loads of spice and dates come through with dried apples, dates and honey on the palate. Lovely. (7.5/10 £12.99)
2000 Barbeito Single Harvest (Madeira, Portugal)
Lush, some sweet aromas, lots of salt and powerful raisin and straw aromas. Made from Tinto Negra. (8/10, £17.99)
Barbeito Malvasia 20 Anos Lote 10292 (Madeira, Portugal)
Dried fruit, lots of all spice, salt and lemon peel. Vintage honey and marmalade on the palate. Very very good. (9/10 £50)
Niepoort Tweedle Dum Ruby Port (Douro, Portugal)
Rich, sweet, brambley and intense. There is a toffee and chocolate flavour, leading onto a minty finish. (7/10 £13.50)
Niepoort Tweedle Dee Tawny Port (Douro, Portugal)
A really rich, sweet, tea and berry aroma with dried cranberries and cinnamon spice on the palte. (8/10 £13.50)
Niepoort Crusted Port, Bottled 2007 (Douro, Portugal)
Made from offcuts of the 2003 and 2005 vintage ports from Niepoort, this wine is dark, sweet and very very well balanced. Lots of juicy fruit, some toasty, baked fruit notes and a bit of caramel too. Good. (8/10 £19.99)
The star of SITT 2010 was very nearly the star for 2011 too. SWiG has a range of interesting and wacky wines that never fail to put a smile on your face. I really like this friendly company and I really love the wines they sell.
Prosecco Spumante Zero Assoluto La Jara NV (Veneto, Italy)
Possibly the only zero dosage Prosecco on the market, this is a very clean , simple style of Prosecco with some minerally notes and a lemon pithy taste. (7/10, £13.99)
Prosecco La Jara Brut (Veneto, Italy)
Peary, balanced, very tasty. (8/10 £12.49)
La Jara Pinot Grigio Sparkling Brut (Veneto, Italy)
A pink, fizzy Pinot Grigio screams "I should be drunk on a Saturday night by my girlfriends while we get dressed and listen to Alan Carr on Radio 2". It is your hen night in a Hummer, but although it may be a bit of a tart of a wine, it is very tasty. Light, fresh strawberry flavours, very clean and with decent minerality. (8/10 £13.49)
2010 Domaine Mardon Sauvignon de Touraine (Loire, France)
Very good. Zesty with some clean, long lasting, fresh elderflower aromas and flavours. A beautifully balanced wine. (8/10, £9.99)
2009 Domaine Simone Tremblay Petit Chablis (Burgundy, France)
Light, fresh, minerally and crisp. A slight tropical fruit element with some citrus pith coming through, but this is what I want from Chablis. (8/10 £12.49)
2009 Domaine de Pellehaut Ampelomeryx (Gers, France)
A blend of Gros & Petit Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay! This is very gentle, floral with some peachy aromas. A minerality, then more peaches on the palte. Very very good and very very interesting. (8/10 £11.49)
2004 Ghiaia di Monte Ca Boffenisio (Lombardy, Italy)
A really cool lees element, some citrus and lots of slate. This blend of Riesling and Sauvignon offers nothing to show which grapes it comes from, you get a funky, citrus and mineral fest. (8/10 £16.99)
2009 Jean-Philippe Padie Milouise Calce (Rousillon, France)
Some honey and lemon zest, very minerally with a lovely salty note, then slate, then flint. More rocks than a river bed. (8/10 £24.99)
2008 Philippe Colin St Aubin Le Charmois (Burgundy, France)
Quite full on cream attack, yet with citrus galore on the palate and subtle wood throughout, this is a cracking wine from the Rousillon. (7.5/10 £23.99)
2008 Yabby Lake Chardonnay (Mornington Peninsula, Australia)
A lovely oaky note, some pineapple with elements of mango and papaya too. Lovely structure, a very elegant wine. (8/10, £24.99)
2009 Philippe Zinck Portrait Pinot Blanc (Eguisheim, France)
Hmmmm. One minute I'm loving it, the next I am not so sure. My opinions went up and down more times than a.... oh, far too many rude jokes. Lets just say that I remain undecided on this wine.
2008 Philippe Zinck Portrait Gewurztraminer (Alsace, France)
Very sweet and floral - loads of rose and lychee aromas. The palate has some up front sweetness, and then it cleans up but remains a chunkier style of Gewurz. (7/10 £12.49)
2008 Pyramid Valley Kerner Vineyard Pinot Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand)
Gentle oak, then some savoury notes and some elderflower spice. Really tasty. (8/10 £21.49)
2009 Lismore Estate Sauvignon Blanc (Greyton, South Africa)
Full on New Zealand-style aromas, but with lots of zingy, zesty lemon and a bit of nettle. (6.5/10 £17.49)
2008 St Ilia Pinot Noir (Thracian Valley, Bulgaria)
A light, gentle, old fashioned tasting Pinot Noir from Bulgaria. It has cherry notes, some soft fruit and is well balanced. It isn't a fine wine, and the label looks like a ten year old has photoshopped it, but it is a tasty wee Pinot Noir at £9. (7/10 £8.99)
2008 Yabby Lake Pinot Noir (Mornington Peninsula, Australia)
Rich, ripe and juicy fruit. Lots of sweet berries. The palate goes on and on with subtle spice, stone fruit and an uber clean finish. (7.5/10 £25.99)
2007 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir (Oregon, USA)
Soft, juicy fruit. Very lush and very clean. A gentle beast of a wine with lots of spice, some dried fruit and a little herb on the back end. (8.5/10 £47.49)
2004 Cupano Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy)
A beautiful wine, soft fruit with gorgeous balance. Outstanding. (8.5/10 £74.99)
2008 Barbera Vigna Pozzo Renato Corino La Morra (Piedmont, Italy)
Balanced and yet complex layers of cherry, liquorice, fresh raspberries and some long, stalky, vegetal notes. (8.5/10 £21.99)
2008 Carlo Ferragu Valpolicella Superiore (Illasi, Italy)
Sweet parma violets on the nose with a rich, dense palate, lots of dark spiced fruit and leathery elements. (8/10 £29.99)
To be continued....
Comments