Wines from Mother Rock, Rogue Vine and Jamshed Wines were among many that jumped off the table and screamed “write about me”.
Known as something of an Iberian specialist among the small to mid-sized importers Indigo proved at its 2018 Portfolio Tasting that while it’s very familiar with the wines of Spain and Portugal there’s a lot more to its offering, including stunning wines from the rest of Europe and the New World.
The ever-popular Vinyl Factory – home to this year’s Indigo portfolio tasting
The pick of the wines from the Indigo ‘Free Pour’ table
Taking place at the ever-brilliant Vinyl Factory in Soho there were 22 tables of wines from right across the spectrum – some 14 of these were given over to the Indigo Spanish and Portuguese portfolios. There was also a very welcome Free Pour table featuring 50 further wines, and it was here where some real gems were to be found, mainly from the New World.
Two Semillons really impressed; the Triangle Wines Salvo Semillon 2017 from Argentina’s Uco Valley was clean and saline with lily, dandelion and white peach characters and spiky tannins and spice, while the Mother Rock Force Majeure Semillon 2017 from Swartland charmed and thrilled in equal measure with its golden hue, spiced apple notes and sea salt finish.
Other white wines that jumped off the table and screamed ‘write about me’ included the ginger and lime-laced Jamshed Wines Le Blanc Plonk 2015 which is a barrel-fermented blend of King Valley Gewürztraminer and Great Western Riesling from Australia, the Rogue Vine Jamon Jamon 2016 from Chile which is silky with hints of lime marmalade, Plasticine and rose petal, and Donovan Rall’s Rall White 2016, a blend of Chenin, Verdelho, Viognier and Chardonnay that’s chalky and precise with pineapple, guava and beeswax.
As well as the Force Majeure Semillon, two reds from South African producer Mother Rock were also incredibly strong. The Grenache 2016 is made in the classic Swartland style – it’s crunchy and lean with red cherry and dried raspberry fruit, gravel and a brittle acid backbone. The Holocene 2016, meanwhile, is fresh and lively with ripe red fruit and a kick of acidity and sweetness at the close that’s like licking a sour gobstopper. A delight.
Two other New World reds that stood out here were the JH Meyer Signature Wines Carbonic Pinot Noir 2017, also from Swartland, which is tight and herby with a redcurrant jelly and earthy twist, and the Jamshed Wines Sagrantino 2017, sealed under crown cap and shot through with summer fruits and delicate floral notes. The perfect summer sipper… actually make that a summer quaffer.
On the discovery trail amongst the other wine producers…
Away from the Free Pour table there was plenty to explore, including classics from Germany, Italy and Spain, English fizz, and plenty of interesting esoteric serves.
The Hoffmann & Rathbone Classic Cuvee 2013 from Sussex was a revelation. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Meunier it spends almost four years on the lees and enjoys a further six months in bottle pre-release. This ageing really helps to bring out the developed characters of hazelnut and candied ginger, but there’s fresh stone fruit too and a creaminess which is lip-lickingly good.
Time is also on the side of the delicious Antonio Madeira Branco 2015 from Portugal’s Dão, which is made from vines between 50 and 120 years old. It’s so pure and mineral-led and smells of Alpine meltwater. There’s lemons too as well as beeswax and stone.
Another white which wowed was Fattoria di Sammontana’s Prunecchio 2017 from Chianti. It’s a blend of old vine Sauvignon Blanc, Trebbiano Toscana and Malvasia Bianca and is intense and buttery with a popcorn richness and bags of stone fruit.
Two wines from Germany really stood out. The first was the Georg Breuer ‘Terra Montosa’ Riesling 2016, which is made from a blend of grapes selected from the second best sites of each of the estate’s single vineyards. It doesn’t taste like a ‘second wine’ though; it’s serious and punchy with bright lime fruit and a mineral tang. The Andreas Bender Pinot Noir 2015 was just as good – austere and linear with ripe cherry fruit, forest floor, mushrooms and leather. Beautifully complex.
And finally to Indigo’s heartland of Spain where Fedellos Do Couto’s Lomba dos Ares 2015 and Casa Castillo’s El Molar 2016 both impressed. The Lomba dos Ares is a field blend of Mencia, Mouratón, Garnacha Tintorera, Caiño and Bastardo. The vineyards lie at 750m above sea level which offers a delightful freshness to a wine shot through with chewy, sticky, red fruit and dreamy, smooth tannins. There’s a savoury hint too of peppered steak.
The El Molar hails from Jumilla, it’s 100% Grenache and spends 12 months in oak adding a creamy, smoky lick to the summer fruit and Christmas pudding richness. Both were outstanding and very modern.
And so in conclusion….
There was a lot to like about this tasting, and it’s clear that Indigo’s buying team have a nose for interesting, ‘out there’ wines as well as a thorough knowledge of the European and New World classics.
They also have a keen eye on the on-trade as there was nothing on show here that wouldn’t work in a restaurant or wine bar environment – this is a portfolio that’s admired and much tapped into by restaurateurs, and it’s easy to see (and taste) why.
