Quality of wine

It should be the quality of a wine that counts rather than the reputation of its label.The world of wine is a place where the snob value of brand easily outweighs the focus on taste. Oenophilia is supposed to be about the pure enjoyment of wine, yet it is clear that much of the pleasure derives from the label alone.

 

Two dinners, a couple of weeks apart, made this abundantly clear. The first was at the Clos Vougeot in Burgundy. It followed a brilliant concert in the medieval cellars and it was hosted by – among others – Aubert de Villaine, the owner of the Domaine de la Romanée Conti. Accordingly, the final red wine of the evening came from one of the Domaine’s estates and it should have been the highpoint of an impressive line-up of white and red Burgundy.

As things turned out, the 2000 Echezeaux was a little disappointing. While it had a lovely purity, a slight petillance on the palate marred the overall impression. Appalling food, glassware which would have embarrassed a waiter at a trattoria and shoddy service all played a role in diminishing what ought to have been a special occasion.

The second dinner was at a friend’s beach house in a small village on the Aegean coast. The occasion was something of a reunion and among the wines served were two South African classics he had bought while living in Johannesburg in the mid-1990s. One was a Plaisir de Merle Cabernet 1994, the other a Thelema Cabernet 1993. Both were in immaculate condition, and both were being served right at their peak of maturity. The food was simple but perfectly served and complemented the wines without upstaging them.

It is easy to argue that the dinner at Clos Vougeot conspired against the great Burgundy on the table at the time – though it is hard to imagine a venue (and occasion) better suited to the service of sublime Pinot. The same line of reasoning would suggest that the two Cape Cabernets profited from a splendid summer night in the shadow of Mount Pelion.

There is no doubt that great moments help ordinary wines and tawdry occasions undermine even the best bottles – except that the Echezeaux was a long way from perfection and both of the old Cape reds had a balance and complexity the world does not usually associate with South African wine.
How much of what makes the Echezeaux at least 50 times more expensive than either the Thelema or the Plaisir de Merle is a coincidence of place of origin, how much the willingness of wine drinkers to overpay for rarity?

I remember a post-judging dinner at the Royal Sydney Wine Show to which Australian wine critic James Halliday brought what turned out to be a slightly tired bottle of 1967 Echezeaux. Australia’s leading wine personality, the late Len Evans, asked the associate judges to comment on the wine – and everyone, without exception, described it as a brilliant red Burgundy. When they finished, the old maestro taught them – in a single sentence – the most important lesson of wine enjoyment. “I asked you,” he said, “to tell me about the wine, not about the label.”

We are all more excited about the prospect of a smart dinner accompanied by some of the world’s best known wines than a casual supper with some middle-aged Cape Cabs. We discount the achievements of the country’s finest winemakers but put even suspect bottles of legendary European appellations on a pedestal. This is – as Australians describe it – the sin of “cultural cringe” – and it breeds an abiding sense of inferiority. If we are always to expect less of ourselves, why should we be surprised to discover that this is also what the world thinks?

Michael Fridjhon is a leading wine writer and consultant with extensive international judging experience.