Indian Wines Rated by Steven Spurrier
At a tasting of over 40 wines from 11 wineries organized by Rajeev Samant of Sula, Indian wines were rated in a first ever tasting by the famous British wine writer and taster, Steven Spurrier. “It was a unique experience for me,” writes Spurrier in the latest issue of Sommelier India, May/June 2008.
Read the whole story in print. SI is available by subscription and at select locations, including Oberoi Hotel bookshops country wide and at select Taj Hotel bookshops. Meanwhile, given below are the scores on a 20 point scale and Spurrier’s tasting notes for the white wines: 10 = bad; 11 = poor; 12 = mediocre; 13 = acceptable; 14 = fair; 15 = good; 16 = good+; 17 = very good; 18 = very good+; 19 = excellent; 20 = superb.
Watch the blog for tasting notes and scores for the red and rose wines to be published next week. Below are the tasting notes for the whites with Sula's Chenin Blanc doing the best.
WHITE WINES
CHENIN BLANC
Sula Vineyards Late Harvest 2007.
Full greeny yellow, fine honey and flowers bouquet, very good natural fruit, demi-sec style, sweet but well balanced. 16.5.
Mercury Vineyards Aryaa 2007.
Clear pale colour, fine varietal honey & flowers plus citrussy fruit aroma and flavour, just off-dry, good balance, good example. 16.
Sula Vineyards 2007.
Fine pale colour, fruity, ripe, quite sweet attack, good floral fruit and nice balancing acidity, good quality wine. 16.
Seagrams. Nine Hills 2007.
Very pale yellow, fresh, floral bouquet, zippy fresh fruit, almost dry with lemony finish. 16.
Renaissance 2006.
Bright medium yellow, floral, slightly honeyed nose, off-dry with good clean flavours, nice ripe wine with good balance. 15.5.
Vinsura/Sankalp NV.
Medium pale, touch of green, white flowers bouquet, quite glyceriny/oily, pleasant wine but low acidity. 15.
Reveilo/Vintage Wines Late Harvest 2006.
Full amber colour, quite good rich wine, but at 17° more alcohol than is needed. 14.5.
Indus 2006.
Fresh pale yellow, soft and off-dry fruit, broad and phenolic, could be fresher. 14.
Reveilo/Vintage Wines 2007.
Full greeny yellow, quite good fruit, but short on the palate and high green apple acidity. 13.
Steven Spurrier (b. 1944) is the British wine authority and former merchant in Paris, France, who organized the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, which unexpectedly shattered the myth of French wine superiority and promoted the expansion of wine production in the new world. He is also the founder of the Academie du Vin and Christie's Wine Course in addition to authoring and co-authoring over a dozen books on wine.
Alan Rickman will play Spurrier in the upcoming movie Bottle Shock.
Comments
Sauvignon Blanc / N D Vineyards
It comes in an enchanting pale gold green color. The nose develops the exotic aromas of blackcurrant leaves touched with a sweet whiff of pineapples, grapefruits, bananas and guavas with a noticeable aroma of grapefruit
I'm impressed that some of the newer winemakers are doing so well. I have to try Mercury Vineyards.