Vive la (Gewurztraminer) Révolution!

Due to its sheer popularity and dominance on our supermarket shelves, occasionally I yearn to escape the all-encompassing world of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Not that I have anything against New Zealand or indeed the fabulous expressions of the grape it produces – far from it – but sometimes it’s just nice to get away from the norm. If, like me, you hanker after a New Zealand Sauvignon rebellion, then there are very few wines which would be further from than the style than Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Although often likened to one another for their pronounced aromatics (indeed, with typical examples, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc wines should be among the easiest for wine students to pick out in a blind tasting), the similarities stop there: while Sauvignon Blanc produces wines with tropical and citrus aromas and crisp acidity, Gewurztraminer often produces wines which are off-dry, low in acidity and exotically flavoured, with typical nuances of rosewater and lychee. The prefix ‘Gewürz’, after all, means ‘spiced’ or ‘perfumed’ in German.

Another primary difference between the grapes is preferred growing regions. Whereas Sauvignon Blanc can make superb wines in its spiritual home of the Loire Valley and its ‘new classic’ region of Marlborough, as well as other premium cool climate sites in the New World, Gewurztraminer seems to be rather more picky in selecting its growing location. Although decent efforts are made in Germany and the USA, nowhere really beats the French region of Alsace for Gewurztraminer wines of distinction and complexity.

One such Gewurz I tried recently is the Kuhlmann-Platz Gewurztraminer 2013 from Alsace’s first and largest co-operative, Cave de Hunawihr. Elegantly bottled in true Germanic fashion, the wine is actually fairly muted on the nose for Gewurz: hints of citrus fruits and stone fruits emanate from the glass, as well as a touch of ginger spice, but overall the wine is a little reticent on approach. However, this fleeting sense of disappointment is quickly rectified on the palate, where the wine explodes into a symphony of Turkish Delight, rose petal, lychee and honeyed melon; all supported by a comforting blanket of sweetness and sufficient acidity to keep things fresh. As with all medium-dry whites, spiced Asian dishes and soft ripe cheeses work a treat: specifically, I found the Hunawihr Gewurz to be a perfect match to Malaysian Chicken curry.

Although an exuberantly fruity and edgily-different wine, admittedly the Hunawihr Gewurztraminer not one that will tempt Marlborough Sauvignon lovers away from their glasses of Brancott or Villa Maria. For the contemplative wine lover, however, it will succeed in providing a delightful if temporary distraction from New World Sauvignon. My advice is to enjoy a glass now and to savour its lingering, sweetly spiced succulence, before quickly reaching for the bottle of Oyster Bay.

Tom reviews the world's best Chardonnay!... almost

I was recently in the beautiful Lincolnshire market town of Grantham and wandered into a local branch of M&S Food. As all wine addicts will know, the default thing to do when one enters such an establishment is to head straight for the wine section for quick foray. As I was absent-mindedly browsing M&S' (rather impressive) range, my eye was drawn to the bottles of their own-label Mâcon-Villages standing proudly on the top shelf. Remembering that this was the very wine that was recently crowned Decanter magazine's Best Chardonnay Under £15, I promptly bought a bottle to see for myself whether the £10 Mâcon was deserving of the title. On arriving home - much to my annoyance and also slight amusement - it transpired that I had actually bought the 2013 vintage, as opposed to the 2014 which had scooped such high praise. Undeterred in my quest for excellent Chardonnay, I persevered and proceeded to try the wine regardless.

 

And what a wine it was too. Produced for M&S by the Mâcon co-operative Vignerons des Grandes Vignes, the wine is selected and blended from specific cuvées within the Mâcon-Villages appellation. A medium lemon-coloured wine, its aromas were immediately expressive of everything that great Mâcon-Villages should be: crisp citrus tones mingling with stone fruits, coupled with a beautiful florality and minerality. I found the nectarine and white peach notes to be slightly honeyed too, almost reminiscent of a good Chenin, which I put down to the additional year that the wine spent in bottle. On the palate were more pure lemon and peach fruits, joined with a suggestion of green apple. Although unoaked (you can relax now, ABC clan) the wine's mouthfeel was smooth and plush: evidence, I am sure, of malolactic fermentation. The finish, too, was pleasant and lingering, with the mineral flavours remaining on the palate long after the wine's disappearance. 

After cocking up with the vintage, I felt justified in choosing M&S' Mâcon-Villages to taste, as it was a brilliant expression of Mâcon terroir, as well as an excellent ambassador for classic Old World Chardonnay. Not that I was the only person to have enjoyed the wine: writer Ned Halley in 'The Best Wines in the Supermarkets' found the wine to be "lively, leesy and [a] lush authentic regional unoaked Chardonnay". Furthermore, the wine also confirmed my belief about drinking Mâcon-Villages a few years after the vintage. Aside from the basic Mâcon blanc which is best drunk as young as possible, there is no reason why Mâcon-Villages and named village wines can't be enjoyed for up to five years after their conception, as the best will retain their fruit and develop honeyed nuances in the bottle, as I found here. 

 

So although I failed miserably in my efforts to review the world's best sub-£15 Chardonnay, I have managed to stumble across a brilliant little wine which is incredibly hard to fault at a tenner. All that remains now is to try its younger sibling to see how it compares. If it truly is better than the 2013, it promises to be an absolute belter.