The recent Natural Wine Fair at Borough Market provided a wonderful opportunity, not only for a day out of the office, but also for a chance to meet up with several of our winemakers and taste their latest vintages. In particular, my first opportunity to meet Ron and Elva Laughton, who, along with their daughters Georgia and Emily, create the fabulous wines of Jasper Hill. Not only did we get an insight into the depth of feeling that Ron has for his metier, but also for the passion he has for Pink Floyd! They found themselves in the right place at the right time, and managed to get two last minute tickets for a memorable concert at the O2 area.

This reminded me of the last meeting I had with an Australian friend who was very much into his cricket (aren’t they all), when, over a few tinnies of Castlemaine XXXX (wow – that dates me! – is it still around?) the conversation gravitated to the “art” of sledging. Wikipedia describes it thus – “a term used in cricket describe the practice whereby some players seek to gain an advantage by insulting and verbally intimidating the opposing player. The purpose is to try to weaken the opponent’s concentration, thereby causing him to make mistakes or underperform. It can be effective because the batsman stands within hearing range of the bowler and certain close fielders; and vice-versa. The insults may be direct or feature in conversations among fielders designed to be overheard.

There is debate in the cricketing world as to whether this constitutes poor sportsmanship or good-humoured banter. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh referred to the practice as ‘mental disintegration’.

Here are a few (printable!) classics – again, from a certain era, but still quite amusing:

Greg Thomas to Vivian Richards after he had played and missed at several balls in a row:  “It’s red, round and weighs about five ounces, in case you were wondering.” Richards hammered the next delivery out of the cricket ground and into a nearby river. Turning to the bowler, he commented: “Greg, you know what it looks like, now go and fetch it.”

Rod Marsh (Australian wicket-keeper) to (England’s all-rounder) Ian Botham: “So how’s your wife and my kids?” “The wife’s fine, the kids are retarded.”

Shane Warne and Daryll Cullinan: As Cullinan was on his way to the wicket, Warne told him he had been waiting two years for another chance to humiliate him. “Looks like you spent it eating”, Cullinan retorted.

Mark Waugh (brother of Steve Waugh) to James Ormond (English fast bowler): “There’s no way you are good enough to play for England.” And James’ classic reply “Maybe not, but at least I’m the best cricketer in my family.”

I am delighted to report that the inaugural Natural Wine Fair which we co-hosted with 4 other innovative wine merchants (Les Caves de Pyrène, Aubert & Mascoli, Dynamic Vines and Wine Story, since you ask) in Borough Market from last Sunday until Tuesday was an unreserved, barn-storming success albeit one that was fairly exhausting for the organisers and exhibitors.

Natural Wine Fair - Isabelle Legeron addresses the Exhibitors

Carefully scheduled to attract visitors who might also be attending the leviathan London International Wine and Spirits Fair in Docklands, the NWF surpassed our expectations in terms of foot-fall and we have received heaps of positive feedback. In fairness luck played a fairly major part here as the venue, in the satellite Jubilee Market, is only partially covered and either heavy rain or broiling sun would have been problematic. As it was we had 3 days of hazy sunshine and soft breezes which made for a very pleasant environment in which to taste wine and fraternize with wine makers and merchants.
The first day of the fair was aimed at private customers who paid £18 each for the chance to taste up to 500 organic and bio-dynamic wines and meet the people who make them. There was some trepidation amongst the organisers as to whether we would attract enough visitors but some terrific press coverage beforehand helped boost advanced ticket sales and many more people turned up to pay on the day. With over 700 people attending on the Sunday the fair had got off to a superb start although we were under constant pressure to ensure there were ample clean glasses throughout the day.

Jancis Robinson interviews Ron Laughton of Jasper Hill

There was a good turnout from on-trade buyers and journalists over the following 2 days and we were delighted when Jancis Robinson tipped up on Monday afternoon and decided to interview and film the only New World wine maker present, Ron Laughton, of Jasper Hill vineyards in Heathcote, South Australia. Ron featured quite prominently at the fair because he was also the guest speaker at a talk on the New World Perspective on Natural Wine where he was introduced by NWF organiser and Master of Wine Isabelle Legeron. Ron gave his forthright opinions on everything from compost to irrigation observing that ‘if you need to irrigate you’re in the wrong place’.

Team Yapp taste Jasper Hill wines

Jancis also gave the thumbs up to Pascal Labasse’s  Jurançon Sec: Domaine Bellegarde 2010 and Fredrik Filliatreau’s red Samur: Château Fouquet 2010 both of which she has short-listed as a strong contenders to feature at a gala dinner at her alma mater, St Anne’s college Oxford, later in the year.
Marc Imbert from Domaine Torraccia in Corsica attracted a steady stream of visitors eager to taste his dry white and red blends (made from Nielluccio and Sciacarello) as did two celebrated Provencal wine makers Sylvain Hoesch, from Domaine Richeaume, and Laurent Bunan from Mas de la Rouvière in Bandol. Xavière Brugière’s Pic Saint Loup L’Arbouse drew praise from the Tate Gallery’s wine expert Hamish Anderson and if that weren’t enough Gérard Basset (Master of Wine and World Champion Sommelier) singled out his white ‘Les Mûriers’ as showing particularly well. Bruno Ribière’s ‘rich and nutty’ white Grenache was another wine that Jancis rated highly and she averred that it could go well with cheese – a theory I intend to test imminently.
The Natural Wine Fair certainly scotched the myth that low-interventionist wines are all cloudy, feral and funky and made by blokes with bushy beards – there were a handful of those on show of cousre but they were a tiny minority illustrating that Natural Wine movement is a very broad church and its popularity is increasing.
The Natural Wine Fair had a definite buzz and the fresh feel of something innovative backed by bags of enthusiasm and goodwill and bit of good luck to boot. I for one can’t wait for the next one but I must remember to order more glasses!

It was a treat to be back at Le Gavroche for our annual Spring lunch yesterday playing to a full house of 100 diners keen to sample wines matched to a seasonal menu devised by Michel Roux Jr.

Le Gavroche

We kicked-off with a lively Vouvray Mousseux Brut from Domaine Aubert by way of aperitif, which guests could elect to taste with or without the addition of a dash of Gabriel Boudier’s peerless Crème de Cassis. The exercise of trying to serve canapés and drinks to 100 people in the bijou upstairs bar area at 43 Upper Brook Street always reminds me of seeing how many students can cram into a phone box. Fortunately, we have a loyal and resilient clientele and the intimacy of the surroundings definitely broke the ice.

Oeuf Poche Victoria - Le Gavroche

Once seated in the comfort and splendour of the downstairs dining room the revels could commence with a fine pairing of a rare white Chinon from Château du Ligré and a weightier, oilier, organic Côtes du Luberon from Château la Canorgue – both in the newly released (and very promising) 2010 vintage. I then talked guests through the first 3 wines and Le Gavroche’s Executive Director, Silvano Giraldin, told us how the dishes we were about to sample had been selected and prepared. Kent asparagus with aged parmesan and truffle vinaigrette proved a popular pre-starter and had a terrific affinity for the white Chinon (see previous entry) but the ‘Oeuf Poche Victoria’ that followed was a veritable show-stopper. This dish is an old Roux family favourite – a poached egg served on a bed of lobster on top of an artichoke heart. There were lots of different flavours at work here and personally I thought this offering favoured the Château la Canorgue.

Confit Collar of Lamb - Le Gavroche

Our main course was a sublime collar of lamb confit served with white beans and wild garlic. We partnered this with a youthful red Vin de Corse Sartène 2009 from Domaine Saparale. The wild Maquis scents and tastes of this unusual Nielluccio-Sciacarello blend married perfectly with the tender, salty lamb so it was going to be a tough act to follow. Fortunately, Ron and Elva Laughton from Australia’s celebrated Jasper Hill estate in Heathcote were in town for the Natural Wine Fair (www.thenaturalwinefair.com) and we indulged ourselves with their iconic Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz 2005. Ron told us about his non-interventionist wine growing philosophy and explained why he is an ardent champion of ‘dry-grown’ (un-irrigated) root-stock despite the pressures of draught and global warning.

Vanilla Panna Cotta - Le Gavroche

A delicate dessert of vanilla panna cotta with Alphonso mango and ginger went down very well with Pascal Labasse’s Jurançon Mœlleux 2008. This unctuous sweet wine has a lovely palate-cleansing acidity to offset the tropical fruit flavours and I think it met with widespread approval.
We rounded off a very convivial event with coffee and Petits Fours and some stout-hearted folk even availed themselves of the digestif trolley before dispersing back into the daylight fully sated.

Jason Yapp holding court at Le Gavroche…

I am already keenly anticipating to our next visit in the Autumn because if you want to enjoy classic Gallic cuisine with superb service in elegant surroundings Le Gavroche sets the Gold Standard!

Over the last 2 or 3 years, roughly coinciding with the onset of the Global Financial Crisis (which we used to naively call the ‘Credit Crunch’), there has been a growing ground swell of interest in ‘natural’ wines. One might assume that as wine is made from fermented grape juice it essentially a fairly natural product anyway, but sadly this is not always the case. As with other areas of agriculture, big businesses have left no stone unturned in their efforts to maximise yields and profits and many of them readily deploy all manner of pesticides and chemical fertilizers to achieve those goals. Happily an increasing number of wine drinkers are starting to question the provenance of what they are consuming and are no longer content to buy the mass-produced, ersatz, branded wines so beloved of supermarkets.
One difficulty for the nascent ‘natural wine’ movement is that there isn’t actually an official definition of what a natural wine is. Obviously a natural wine should be made in sympathy with the environment in which it is produced, but unlike organic and bio-dynamic wine there are (as yet) no clear-cut parameters. Enthusiasts agree that natural wines should be made with ‘minimal intervention’ in the vineyard and cellar, but that is open to very broad interpretation. Nearly all natural wines are certified as organic, bio-dynamic or are en conversion to one of these two, but there are some celebrated producers that see the certification process itself as back to front.  Take Ron Laughton of Jasper Hill Vineyards in Heathcote, South Australia: “What I don’t understand, though, is that the dirty bastards who can indiscriminately use agrochemicals don’t require any certification, yet I am being pressurized to be certified to be clean. It’s all topsy-turvy and we should be working the other way, to have the dirty guys certified to poison our environment.”

Ron Laughton - Jasper Hill Vineyards

Natural wine makers eschew the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and other commendable precepts that they favour are hand-harvesting of grapes, not using cultivated yeasts and not fining or filtering prior to bottling; which inevitably increases the amount of sediment but also makes for more characterful wines.
A further key question is the adding of sulphur dioxide [SO2] to wine as a stabilizing or preservative agent. This is a bit of a thorny issue as there is a small group of purists who don’t hold with deploying any sulphur at all. Personally I think this stance is rather extreme as I have had some nasty experiences with unstable wines suffering from problems, such as secondary fermentation after bottling, and I favour the more catholic stance that ‘low’ levels of sulphur [less than 50 milligrams per litre] are more prudent.

Anyway regardless of doctrine (and I rather like fact that the natural wine movement is broad-minded enough to permit some flexibility) I think it is terrific that people are becoming more environmentally conscious about how wine is produced and are looking for more carefully-crafted, greener and less rampantly commercial wines.
An exciting new development for any discerning wine lover is the inaugural Natural Wine Fair to be held in Borough Market, London in May (Sunday 15th for private customers, Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th for press and trade visitors). This pioneering event is the brainchild of globe-trotting, Gallic wine guru Isabelle Legeron (the first French female Master of Wine: www.thatcrazyfrenchwoman.com) and Eric Narioo and Doug Wregg of inspirational and iconoclastic importers Les Caves de Pyrenne.

Isabelle Legeron MW

The Natural Wine Fair is being co-hosted by 5 founding wine merchant partners, among whom we are very pleased to feature – Dynamic Vines, Wine Story and Aubert & Mascoli completing the quintet. The Fair will play host to over 100 acclaimed wine makers who will be on hand to talk visitors through their wine-making philosophies as they sample their wares.  There will also be talks and presentations by experts on related topics, so this represents an ideal opportunity for those interested in natural wine to get further acquainted with the concept.

Some further happy news is that we have managed to cajole our old chum Glen Baxter into designing this superb poster for the occasion which is sure to become a collectors’ item.

So if you are bored to the back teeth of staid supermarket offerings, want to try some green, characterful and expressive wines, or are just curious what all the fuss is about do visit: www.thenaturalwinefair.com and book your tickets to what promises to be one of the best wine tasting events of the year. I look forward to seeing you there.

Heavenly Heathcote

A blog entry can’t be expected to do justice to a visit to world-renowned Jasper Hill, but I’ll try and distil the flavour.

Based an hour and a half north of Melbourne on an iron-rich, 100m wide, 2m deep strip of Cambrian soil, the Jasper Hill estate and its creators Ron and Elva Laughton, have been producing outstanding wines for thirty years.  The wines are biodynamically-farmed (but not even certified organic), not racked, filtered nor fined; only natural yeasts are used to initiate fermentation, the vineyards are un-irrigated and yields are between 10-20 hectolitres / hectare.  Ron modestly describes his non-interventionist methods as ‘lazy’, but his passion and expertise are plain to see.  In the course of our two-day visit we walked the 3 hectare Emily’s Paddock vineyard, 15 hectare Georgia’s Paddock and La Pleaide (a successful joint venture with Michel Chapoutier), Cornella vineyard (20 minutes north by car), as well as dining splendidly with Ron, Elva, their daughters Emily & Georgia and Emily’s husband & chef extraordinaire, Nick (all of whom are involved in this family affair).

In the cellar and at the dining table (in the house that they built themselves beside Emily’s Paddock), we tasted, drank and enjoyed a succession of fabulous wines as the family regaled us with tales of bush fires and vineyard encounters with red back spiders and lethal brown snakes (which made for a restless night at our remote digs, ‘The Hut on the Hill’).

Emily & Ron Laughton

So how good are the wines?  Like many in the wine trade, I’ve been asked countless times what my favourite wines are and I can sincerely say that Jasper Hill Emily’s Paddock is right up there with the best from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and elsewhere that I have had the privilege to enjoy.  To try and express this rather more objectively, I looked at the average Wine Advocate score for Emily’s Paddock over the past five vintages 2003-2007.  OK, perhaps not the basis for an MW thesis but, as you’ll see, it sits firmly amongst those Second Growths that aspire to First Growth status. Bearing in mind that only 400 cases are made every year (so the UK gets maybe 15-20!), at under £70 per bottle, its definitely a wine to try before you die (and, indeed, features in Neil Beckett’s “1001 wines you must try before you die”).

For the record, we tasted:

• Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz 2007, 2008 & 2009 (latter in barrel)
• Emily’s Paddock Shiraz 2007, 2008 & 2009 (latter in barrel)
• La Pleaide Shiraz 2007, 2008 & 2009 (latter in barrel)
• Occam’s Razor Shiraz 2007, 2008 & 2009 (latter in barrel)
• Georgia’s Paddock Viognier 2009 (first vintage, soon to be shipped to UK)
• Georgia’s Paddock Riesling 2009 (still not available commercially due to ‘drought’ volumes, but should be available in 2010 vintage)
• Georgia’s Paddock Riesling 1989
• Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz 1996
• Emily’s Paddock Shiraz 1996
• Georgia’s & Friends Shiraz 1988 (which combined GP fruit with that provided again by friends of the family following the bush fire devastation in 1987)
• Emily’s Paddock Shiraz 1988

As you will note, our dedication to QC was exemplary and we can report that the 2007 and 2009 vintages are magnificent, with the 2008 a little lighter but still very good.  In tandem with the wines, the Laughtons’ generosity and unfailing good humour rounded off a truly memorable couple of days in the Victorian countryside.

Despite the impact of the GFC* on the CBD** (Australians love abbreviations) Melbourne boasts a vibrant and innovative restaurant scene that can rival anything to be found in Europe or America. Melbourne also hosts a magnificent food and wine festival each March which attracts an international roll call of chefs, critics, wine-makers and sommeliers.

A brief visit on a trip to see some of Victoria’s vineyards, in February, meant that dining opportunities were limited but we were determined to sample some of the city’s gastronomic highlights. Here are details of four restaurants with which we were really impressed.

Blue Chillies

Located on super chic Brunswick Street in Fitzroy this no nonsense Malaysian diner enjoys a diverse urbane, urban clientele and is deservingly popular. This was recommended to us by local resident Dan Buckle, the gifted young wine-maker at the celebrated Mount Langi Ghiran estate.

Attentive but relaxed black-clad waiters brought us the short, confident menu and wine list. Two of the day’s special starters featured whitebait – fried in fritters with a spicy dipping sauce and marinated with vegetables in a dark unctuous amalgamation. Both were delicious with a steely Clare Valley Riesling 2008 from Neagles Rock (which we import to the UK so were pleased to see on the list) but the light and crispy, piscine fritters won the day. Main courses were equally successful. Slow cooked pork belly with bak choi and a ragout of spicy shredded beef were deeply satisfying and perfect comfort food for weary travellers. Service is efficient if a little detached and pricing restrained for this part of town. 3+/5

Jacques Reymond

Secluded in the smart suburb of Windsor (which looks and feels like Hampstead) this is the address for refined Gallic gastronomy in Melbourne. The sprightly, silver-haired, eponymous patron is something of a celebrity chef Down Under but that doesn’t detract from the day job of serving up cutting edge contemporary cuisine based on a firm classical French foundation.

Thick white linen and (arguably over) attentive uniformed waiters set a deliberately opulent tone in a tastefully designed dining room. At eight courses the Menu Dégustation is not for the time poor (or cash poor for that matter) but this is high end cooking from a talented chef at the top of his game. Small portions of exquisitely presented food dazzle the taste buds. Highlights included Hiramasa Kingfish and Ponzu with Hervey Bay Scallop and a fantastic Crispy Quail Breast with Tajine Flavours and Black Rice but everything here is meticulously crafted and very well thought out.

Jacques daughter Nathalie, who is head sommelier, has compiled a list featuring lots of iconic Aussie wines as well as a fair smattering of fine French bottles. Brian Crozer’s clean, dry, Petaluma fizz saved us from the enthusiastically suggested Dom Perignon comme aperitif but a Grosset Springvale 2006 Riesling and a stonking Curly Flat 2005 Pinot Noir both showed Australian wine in a very pure light. 4/5

Cutler & Co.

Cutler and Co., on Gertrude Street, which opened to a fanfare of favourable criticism last year, is widely acknowledged to be the hottest dining address in town. This former metal works artfully blends old (unpainted plaster walls) with new (a space-age black bar and Blade Runner-esque neon sign). The customers are a similarly mixed bag of middle-aged gastronomes and bright young things.

The food is knowingly accomplished but stays the right side of poncy. The service is equally astute – Adam at front of house and head sommelier Sally both manage to be on the ball but quite discrete which is typical of Cutler and Co.’s understated élan. Everything we sampled here was delicious: flaky anchovy pastries and feisty peppers de Padron to start with, followed by Heirloom tomato salad with marinated vegetables then a delicate pressed quail terrine with a foie gras ‘cigar’. A tuna sashimi with cucumber and cuttlefish was also faultless. Indeed, the only slight oddity was the cheese offering of our local Montgomery Cheddar which is excellent but seemed unnecessary food mileage.

The wine list here is noteworthy and Sally’s selection of a Springvale 2007 Pinot Noir, from Tasmania, was a treat as was a Mount Langi Ghiran 2006 Shiraz that was generously gifted to us by thoughtful Mr Buckle.

The patrons also own Cumulus Inc. An ‘informal all day eating house in the CBD, which we very much look forward to visiting. 4+/5

St. Jude’s Cellars

To prove the point that Cutler and Co. isn’t a one-off gem Fitzroy also boasts St Jude’s Cellars (on Brunswick Street) that exudes a similar minimalist perfectionism and quiet self confidence. The Victorian dining room is light, airy and welcoming with a central bay of floor to ceiling shelving that doubles as a wine shop. Bottles can be bought here to ‘drink in’ for a modest $15 corkage fee. If anything the service here is even more astute that at Cutler and Co. The savvy staff sensed that we weren’t au fait with the menu and offered to bring us a selection of dishes until we’d ‘had enough’. This took quite a while because the cooking here is exemplary. A nervy Shobrook Riesling was delicious with a dozen Fine Claire oysters followed by whitebait and terrific little balls of smoked haddock ‘Kromesky’ wih garlic mayonnaise. Main courses of poached veal loin with corned hash browns and Western Plains pork bell with confit fennel, apricot and burnt honey were also impeccable. A bottle of 2007 Emily’s Paddock Shiraz from our friends the Laughton family at Jasper Hill was necessarily costly but helped round off an exquisite dinner and a wonderful trip. 5/5

Clearly one could linger far longer in Melbourne and sample other great restaurants but our brief snapshot was more than enough to start us planning a return visit.

Jason & Tom

With thanks to the Laughton family at Jasper Hill for their terrific hospitality.

*Global Financial Crisis

**Central Business District