Meeting of the Birmingham Bob Parkers – 8th May 2024
Here at Nickolls & Perks, we are certainly passionate about wine. We’re all about discovering new and exciting wines, so we thought we would share some of our latest tasting experiences.
At a recent dinner we enjoyed a variety of wines, all tasted blind, amongst friends. Which certainly provoked some interesting discussions.
In a small Syrian restaurant based in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, we took advantage of the free corkage and shared a selection of wines amongst our group. This meeting of the ‘Birmingham Bob Parkers’ certainly served its purpose; to start interesting, albeit competitive, discussions of exciting and exquisite wines!
We started off strong with a bottle of the Vincent Couche ‘Elegance’ Champagne, which sure enough turned out to be one of the stand outs of the evening. An exceptional, biodynamic expression of champagne with a great energy. This blend of 73% Pinot Noir and 27% Chardonnay, it explodes on the palate with plum, green apple, and fresh notes of cassis. It has a persistent aromatic style which would certainly lend itself to pairing with food. We decidedly summed this one up as a ‘wine lover’s champagne’. We were off to a great start.
As the evening continued, we were presented with a pale-lemon wine, which exuded citrus, crisp white peach and green apple along with a salty minerality. As we began guessing grapes and producers, one thing which we all seemed sure of, was its youth. So we were very surprised when it was revealed to be a 2016 Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon from Hunter Valley. It displayed a floral nose, with hints of citrus zest. The palate was lively and fresh, with good acidity and a long finish with lingering flavours of lemon, lime and melon. Delightful now, it was clear that this wine had near limitless ageing potential. And those who are patient would certainly be rewarded if you lay this wine down for 5-10 years.
Next came a bottle which certainly proved to be a challenge. Whilst the group managed to guess Italy, they were stumped on the style, understandably so given the unique nature of the bottle. This wine, brought along by myself, the ‘Nostalgia’, made from Maturano in Lazio. This ancient, indigenous grape was rediscovered by I Ciacaa, a small family producer based in between Rome and Naples. The nose was dominated by stone fruit, honey and almonds, with a smooth, rich palate. Beautifully persistent and balanced, with a long finish. Quite a challenge to guess such a unique grape, but the wine went down well.
The final white of the evening was very well received. On the nose, we were immediately presented with citrus, kerosene and stone fruit, so Riesling was the natural first guess across the group. The palate seemed to take a slightly different style, as the mid-palate almost felt reminiscent of a Sauternes, with notes of honey, citrus and stone fruit dominating. The finish was dry, and exceptionally long. Age was evident, but I don’t think any of us expected it to be as old as it was to be revealed. This 2003 Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling seemed to still have potential to hold even at 21 years old. We were all very grateful for our colleague who chose to share this with us after he brought it back from a trip to Austria over 10 years ago. Truly terrific.
Moving into the reds, the theme of Austrian wine continued, potentially chosen to balance the complex, spiced foods. After much debate over grapes and regions, one member of the group correctly landed on Blaufrankisch. This 2011 vintage from Gerhard Pittnauer was a terrific expression. The nose showed dark plummy fruit, forest floor, pepper and leather. The medium-bodied palate was very pleasant, dominated by savoury notes of coffee and tobacco, with hints of black cherry. Again, quite a nice choice and tricky to identify blind, so we were all satisfied when one member of the group managed to pinpoint the grape.
Another surprise of the evening came soon after. As we began tasting a glass of deep ruby red wine, guesses ranged from Spain, to the Rhone Valley. A complex wine, offering an abundance of juicy red and black fruits, with subtle hints of spice, it astounded us. We were certainly baffled when it was revealed as Pinot noir from Sancerre! Whilst this wine did not show as we would have expected, it was enjoyed by all. The 2018 Domaine la Clef du Recit Anthony Girard may have been the shocker of the evening, but for a group of geeky-blind-tasters it was certainly exciting to debate over dinner.
This evening brought a very broad range of wines, unusual for this group where the classics normally dominate. However, it was found to be a pleasant change to step off the beaten track with our choices, and certainly proved to be challenge for the blind tasting. It was a night of weird and wonderful wines, all of which went down a treat.
Links to view these wines: