MWs know how to make wine, right? Hmmm.... good question, brilliantly answered at yesterday afternoon's tasting after the first session of the IMW Symposium in Florence.Some 20 winemakers presented 36 wines from 9 countries and there were some superb wines on taste.
For me Robin Tedder MW's Aristea Shiraz from the Hunter Valley was a super wine - a true textbook wine with gorgeous fruit. Across the room Nick Bulleid MW's Brokenwood ILR Semillon also from the Hunter was pure heaven. Drew Noon MW's Eclipse Grenache was intensely flavoured and amazing well-balanced given its 16.2% abv! Fiona Morrison's L'If from St Emilion was in a tricky spot being a tank sample between some excellent Australian wines but showed real elegance and class. It isn't a finished wine yet but stood up well to the test.
Beside Fiona Kate McIntyre MW's Moorooduc Pinot Noir from Mornington Peninsula was just gorgeous - seriously sexy pinoy with amazing flavour depth. The pinot theme was further explored with Jurgen von der Mark MW's "Here we go again" and "Hey Jude" wines from Baden, both stunningingly good and both showing how far German pinot has progressed.
Bob Betz MW's La Cote Patriarche Syrah from Yakima was a really serious wine, full of Norther Rhone syrah character with a warm Oregon twist, and aptly namede in honour of the late David Lake MW. Giles Cooke MW's Vagabond Grenache from McLaren Vale was an amazingly fragrant and perfumed wine with astonishingly pure fruit notes. Michael Hill Smith MW's Tolpuddle Pinot Noir from Tasmania was another seriously good pinot while Justin Howard-Sneyd MW's Domaine of the Bee Carigan grenache was like perfume in a glass - all the flavours of the garrigue is a single taste! Richard kershaw's Chardonnay from Elgin had a vibrant intensity and superb balance and was an excellent example of what can be done with chardonnay in the right hands.
I have only mentioned the absolute stand-out wines of those I tasted but this was a truly rewarding, exciting and fun tasting.
About Me
- DermotMW
- Dublin, Ireland
- Hi, I'm Dermot Nolan, and I became a Master of Wine (MW) in 1997, and resigned from the Institute of Masters of Wine in 2023 after being an MW for exactly 26 years. I opened a wine shop in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, called The Wine Library, which closed in 2018, and this is my personal wine blog. I will do my utmost to be fair and responsible in my posts – please read my Who Pays article in re the ethics of wine trips and writing. I have worked in wine education, retail, and consultancy since 1990. I was a Director of the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) from 2008 to 2014 and was also a member of the Events Committee, founder of the Trips Committee, and member of the Governance Committee. Having had problems with potentially libellous comments from unidentifiable posters, I now require that if you post a comment, you must identify yourself properly or it won't be published. Please note that I do not review products or services on request so kindly don't ask. I value my independence and I believe my readers (few that they may be) do so also.
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