It was back to school, as Clive set the members the task of assessing and comparing the quality, style and age of three distinct varieties. Just to make matters a little harder, they were all tasted blind.

Flight 1 – Chardonnay
The idea was to compare two White Burgundies, with a rather subtle and sophisticated New Worlder, from cool-climate Victoria (Australia). The Chablis was a classic unoaked style, yet the Les Setilles Burgundy was quite heavily oaked. The Kooyong Clonale was oaked, but in an understated manner.

1. Jean Dauvissat Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon s2002 (c£18 CHP stock/Linlithgow Wines Edinburgh)
Classic Chablis from a great vintage. Minerally, taut and lean, with a flavour like wet pebbles. Developing cream on the mid-palate, producing a long, long finish. Classy stuff and at its peak now. (cHP 18+, Bin Ends 5 votes)

2. Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay 2008 Mornington Peninsula Victoria (£14.50 Wine Society)
Very bright pronounced fruity citrus flavour. Fresh, forward easy-drinking with a pleasing degree of complexity. Great Value. (CHP 17+, Bin Ends 5 votes)

3. Bourgogne Les Setilles 2005 Olivier Leflaive (£14.00 Corney & Barrow)
Still taut and unyielding, but minerally and toasty, developing butterscotch. Good length but lacking fruit. I think the fruit has dried out and the wine is past its best. (CHP 16, Bin Ends 0 votes)

Flight 2 – Malbec
Malbec is a native grape from South-West France, and pre-Phylloxera in the 19th century, it was the dominant Bordeux black variety. It has since fallen from grace, but is still the mainstay of Cahors, at one time famous for its “black” wine.

During the 19th century, vignerons from the region emigrated to Argentina where, in the foothills of the Andes, it has established itself as the Argentine flagship variety. It thrives in the hot sunshine, where it develops into a much fuller, softer and riper style. Cool-climate Malbec can be difficult, as it can have high acidity and mouth-puckering tannins.

In this flight we compared relatively simple VdP Malbec from Cahors with a first-rate example by Catena, a leading producer in the Mendoza region, and a super-premium also from Argentina.

4. Catena Malbec 2008 Mendoza (£11.39 Waitrose)
A big wine, with damson and blackberry fruit flavours, supported with firm fresh tannins, developing chocolate and spice, producing a satisfyingly toasty finish. It delivers in spades. (CHP 17, Bin Ends 0 votes)

5. Rigal “The Original Malbec” 2009 VdP du Lot (Asda £7.69)
Very fresh, ripe jammy blackberry and blackberry fruit. Surprisingly luscous and sweet right through to the finish. Perhaps representative of the vintage, but a rather commercial style. I thought it was unoaked, but the publicity notes indicate that 50% is matured in oak. (CHP 15+, Bin Ends 2 votes)

6. Francois Lurton “Piedra Negra” Malbec 2006 Mendoza (Tanners £25.70)
Fully mature and amazingly complex, with spicy notes, supported by grainy tannins, developing toast, tobacco and mocha. Fabulous length and very satisfying. (CHP 18+, Bin Ends 7 votes)

Flight 3 – Primitivo/Zinfandel

It’s Primitivo in Puglia, on the heel of Italy, but Zinfandel once transported to California. This variety generally produces a big cuddly red wine, with briar fruit, spice and very low tannin.

7. Canaletto Primitivo Puglia (£6.99 Waitrose)
Simply jammy blackberry fruit enlivened with a little spice. Sweet and commercial, but satisfying. Finish was abrupt. (CHP 15, Bin Ends 0 votes)

8. Sinfarosa Primitivo 2009 (£10.95 Wine Society)
Some freshness with sweet briar fruit, developing a silky soft easy texture. Moderate finish.
(CHP 16, Bin Ends 0 votes)

9. Ridge Geyserville 2001 Sonoma California (£26.00 Wine Society)
Fully mature, with developed tertiary characters of polished wood, spice and cough mixture. Super-soft, developing extraordinary character and complexity, with an everlasting finish. A very fine wine.
(CHP 18+, Bin Ends 9 votes)

This was a lot more than a tasting to guess the variety and provenance. It was about comparing and contrasting different wine styles at different price-levels, and – surprise, surprise – the best wines in each group shone out. One member summed it up by saying that, if all wine over £20 would be this reliable, she’d happily spend the money. All were agreed, though, that the three top wines were utterly superb, but actually, there wasn’t a bad wine on show all night. Finally, congratulations to Paul Robinson for achieving the highest score on the night!

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ... (Please note date changes)
Tuesday, 26th April 2011
“A Decade of Bordeaux”
A chance to assess 10 consecutive vintages from 2009 to 2000, from
Petits Chateaux up to Cru Bourgeois standard.
It should be a memorable tasting and not to be missed
(£15.00 per head entry)

Tuesday, 17th May 2011 (two weeks earlier than usual)
Old World v New World Comparing and contrasting 4 classic varieties.
A blind tasting to compare winemaking across 8 different
wine regions, using four varieties (£15.00 per head entry)

Tuesday, 28th June 2011
“A Cruise Along the Loire
We’ll be sampling a cross-section of reds and whites from this
great-value region of France. (£15.00 per head entry)

Saturday, 16th July 2011

The Annual Bin Ends Barbecue
To be held at the home of Tony Kennedy & Kate Booth in Moseley
£20.00 per head, for a great evening of wonderful food, excellent wine and superb company ….
Tickets are available now, so please contact: Derek & Barbara Lamb Tel: 07879.110022
Or e.mail: deklamb@lineone.net

Tuesday, 23rd August
Supermarkets v Independents
With deep discounting, BOGOFs and “3 for a Tenner”,
supermarkets now dominate 80% of wine retailing in the UK.
We’ll be comparing, blind, a selection of comparable supermaket and
independent wine merchants to see what turns out to be the best value (£15.00 per head entry)

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And please find below the dates of Bin Ends tastings
For the rest of this year ….

Tuesday, 27th September
Tuesday, 25th October
Tuesday 29th November
Tuesday, 20th December (1 week earlier, because of Xmas Bank Holiday)

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And – also coming up in the summer …

The Annual Bin Ends Barbecue: date and venue to be announced shortly

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And please find below the dates of Bin Ends tastings
For the rest of this year ….

Tuesday, 28th June
Tuesday, 26th July
Tuesday, 23rd August (1 week earlier because of Bank Holiday)
Tuesday, 27th September
Tuesday, 25th October
Tuesday 29th November
Tuesday, 20th December (1 week earlier, because of Bank Holiday)