Our 2022 Tastings

February

This was a member's choice evening when we had seven excellent and very different wines presented by five members of our group. They ranged from a dry sparkling wine from Haut Poitou to a very full bodied Australian shiraz.

March

The meeting started at 7:30 pm with Chris Wrigley joining us for the first time. As we always we welcome all new members. The March presentation was from Alan & Jean Haigh titled Italy Top to Toe. The wines were excellent starting with a Pinot Grigio from Trentino Alto Adige, followed by a Prosecco from Veneto and a Venturina from Piedmont. Next came the reds with a Montemajone Chianti Classico from Tuscany, then a Corte dei Papi which is made from the Cesanese grape which we had never heard about before. You cannot do Italian wines without a Primitivo so we had a Primitivo di Manduria and completed the reds with an Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata. Alan & Jean finished the evening with a Marsal Superior Dolce from Sicily accompanied with home-made Biscotti.

April

George Barnes presented Wines from Southern Rhone. We tasted a Cremant de Die NV from the Wine Society followed by a Les Adhemar Blanc from Grignan. The remaining 5 wines, all reds and Grenache based, were wonderful; 3 came from the Wine Society and 2 from Waitrose. One of the outstanding wines was a Cairanne 2015 followed by a Clos St Michel Chateauneuf Du Pape 2020.

July

The Summer Garden Party was held at Tony & Anne Mansey’s house on 2 July. The weather was very kind, and we had a lovely afternoon with food contributions from many attendees. The wines were well received with a Loire Crémant, a Burgundy white, Spanish Alberino, and a Southern Rhone Grenache Rose. This was followed by 4 lovely reds, two lovely wines from Bordeaux a Fleurie and a Brouilly with a Saumur Champigny and finished with a Pinot Noir from the Languedoc.

September

Members Choice. This was a very good evening with presentations from:
Ann Peters - a Cotes de Duras Blanc and a Cotes de Duras Rouge
Aileen Barry - a Burgundy Chardonnay
Terry Gamble - a Tuscan Red
Chris Wrigley - a Valpolicella Ripasso
Steve Mellish - a Californian Zinfandel
 
October
 
Alan Gower presented My favourite Naked wines - A voyage of discovery. Alan presented 3 whites a Piquepoul from the Languedoc, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and a Chenin Blanc from South Africa. The 4 reds a wonderful Malbec from Mendoza, an Appassimento and Primitivo from Southern Italy and a Rioja Crianza from Northeast Spain. All 7 wines were well received, and all wines were medal winners, and a very enjoyable evening was had by all.
 
November
 
At the meeting on the 4th November George Barnes presented ‘Sparkling Wines, All Colours‘ and explored sparkling wines made in different regions from various grape varieties using different techniques. Six wines were presented two from Italy made using the Charmat method, two Cremants from France and one English wine all made with the traditional method. These were followed by a semi sweet sparkler made by the rare "Methode Ancestral".
 
December
 
At the `Fine Wines Presentation on the 2nd December, Robin Boar presented 9 gorgeous wines starting with a Champagne and an Alsace Gewurztraminer before moving on to a Rioja, a Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and a wonderful Pauillac. We then tasted a Lirac, Southern Rhone, Nessun Dorma, a Morellino di Scansano Podere 414, a Sangiovese and finished with a Sichel Sauternes. The wines were excellent, and a wonderful evening was had by all.