Hatch Mansfield En Primeur Tasting. London, 2012

BAFTA, 195 Picadilly, London. 

BAFTA was the venue today for UK wine agents, Hatch Mansfield, annual En Primeur tasting.

  

Louis Jadot

In Philip Tuck MW 2010 Burgundy Vintage Report he claims that the 2010 vintage is a really fine vintage, particularly so for the whites. Whilst tasting back in October he was reminded of the 1996 vintage. ‘They have richness and zing with fine purity and elegance.’

As for the reds, Philip continues ‘The Pinot’s are a more challenging proposition but there are some delightful treasures to be found in this offer. The Cote de Nuits is slightly finer than the Cote de Beaune in general. Beaujolais too is a great success without quite hitting the highs of 2009.’

Louis Jadot provided the bulk of the wines on tasting with 19 whites and 34 reds. Having worked my way through all of them, I was very surprised by the level of fruit and spice the wines were showing, in particularly the reds.

My stand out whites came from Montrachet, especially the Chassagne-Montrachet Cailleret. On a commercial level these wines would suit most palates. The wines were clean, crisp, showing a good level of natural fruit and acidity. The oak used was very subtle with anything from 12-15 months in barrel.

The Meursault’s were classy. Wines again showing a good level of natural fruit with soft, creamy texture. Definitely wines for the keepers and the palates to match.

Jean-Luc Colombo

When it came to the reds there was a bit more to pick and choose from. On the whole they were good. The palate, gone were the more traditional green, vegetal notes. True, some need more time to mature. A few of the Moulin-A-Vent Beaujolais were a touch green and bitter. But taking into account this is an En Primeur tasting, all these wines need time to mature.

Wines that stood out for me here were the:

These wines, for me, showed great character and development. As I mentioned earlier there was very little green, vegetal notes. Traits you’d might associate with very young Burgundy reds. These are all about good primary fruit. Soft, light, red berry, blackberry, fruit.

Very noticeable spice, pepper, a touch of aniseed in some cases. The acidity lingers and the tannins hang around. All characteristics of wines that will age. I’ll be looking forward to revisiting these wine in the near future.

             

Following on from Louis Jadot, the rest of the tasting was made up by wines from Rhone’s Jean-Luc Colombo and the great CVNE – Contino wines from Rioja.

The Contino vina del Olivio comes from vines averaging 30 years plus. A blend of 88% Tempranillo and 12% Graciano. This wine has a fabulous deep, dark, fortified style nose. The fruit is currently hidden behind layers of chocolate, spice and acidity. This is a monster right now and really needs some time to calm down and let the fruit develop. When it does it will be a cracking wine.

The other two wines I tasted from CVNE, Real de Asua and Pages de Vina Real, pretty much followed the same suit. Age time is needed.

Jean-Luc Colombo wines have never failed me in the past. Always producing great Rhone wines. On show were four different Cornas wines. The wines are all produced from 100% Syrah and are put together from different parcels around Cornas in Northern Rhone. The fruit comes from vines ranging between 20-90 years of age and, dependent on style required, will be macerated up to a month with a further 2 years in barrel.

The wines, like the CVNE-Contino, are all big wines. Fruit development is needed. Characteristics currently showing echo those of the Riojas above. Huge levels of peppery spice with some chocolate notes.

All in all, a good tasting today. See you next year Hatch.

CVNE

   Enjoy.

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