10^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Michael Broadbent MW - Friday 18 May

Wine Phenomenon, Phenomenal Wines

Michael Broadbent, who as you all know, is one of the world’s most experienced wine tasters, a wine writer, auctioneer and expert on fine and rare wines led the Oxford Wine Club in a special 10^th anniversary tasting on Friday, May 18.

Despite having recently celebrated a special anniversary of his own – his 80^th birthday – and having recently undergone heart surgery, Michael’s breadth and depth of experience shone through. With his wife Daphne beside him taking notes, it was soon evident that Michael’s knowledge base is not only instinctive but is also based on a forensic analysis of each and every wine he tastes. For example, one of Daphne’s tasks is to time when a wine is poured and when it is tasted and then re-tasted, enabling Michael to monitor the development of the wine in the glass. His detailed tasting notes form the backbone of Michael’s award-winning book, ‘Vintage Wine – Fifty Years of Tasting over Three Centuries of Wine’, signed copies of which he kindly sold to Club members at a discount.

But what of the tasting itself? Firstly the structure. Eight Bordeaux wines, four each from Leoville-Barton and Pichon-Longueville, both second growth St. Julien estates. The vintages ranged from 1990 to 2003 and were tasted both individually and alongside one another, so that not only could the structure and development of wines from the same year be contrasted but also the differences between and development of vintages from the same Château.

Michael demonstrated his knowledge of the area and his enthusiasm as he talked us through the vintages, their climatic differences, the impact this had on the ripening of the different grapes and how one can taste this in the glass. He improved our knowledge of the geography and architecture of the area also, having brought with him an exquisite hand-drawn map of Bordeaux, a skill which is a legacy of his early training as an architect.

Michael shared with us some of his philosophy, anecdotes and self-confessed prejudices and foibles too:

- ‘The Americans taught us wine was made from grapes – before Robert Mondavi none of us knew about cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir, did we!’

- ‘You don’t need to taste a wine to know its quality – the nose and appearance will tell you all you need to know’

- ‘Candlelight lights up wines and improves the ladies too.’

- ‘Drink lots of Bordeaux. Harry Waugh did, he fathered twins at 69.’

- ‘I drink wine with every meal, including breakfast – although I did once drink a Krug ’88 as Bucks Fizz by mistake!’

- ‘Don’t keep your best wine for last, you might die without enjoying it!’

- Only bring out your best wines for good friends – and get on and drink it, don’t spend too much time on the description, it is there to be enjoyed!’

- ‘Good value in a restaurant list can often be found in the Graves section, look for the lesser known red wines from there and the relatively unknown red grape varieties.’

- ‘Lower alcohol wines are more fragrant and delicate, over about 12.5% the wines are not pleasant to have with food, they are too strong and overwhelming. At 12.5% you can drink lots at a dinner party too and not get a hangover.’

- ‘I am not a legs man – twirling the glass basically just cleans it!’

I would not dare to reproduce my tasting notes here, despite having scribbled a whopping six pages-worth. Who could compete with the ‘master’ himself! For those of you fortunate enough to have a copy of his book you will find the definitive notes there. Even if your cellar does not span three centuries, it is a wonderful point of reference!

Finally, with true style and old-fashioned courtesy, Michael penned a letter of thanks to our splendid organiser, Sarah McCleery, praising the Club and the organisation of the tasting. Who knows, we may find ourselves written up in Decanter, a footnote, perhaps, in the history of a living legend.

A review by Hilary Reid Evans