On Sunday morning I did something I never thought 1) I would ever do 2) Would ever have the balls to do!

When my alarm rang at half six it dawned on me that I would be starring on LIVE BLOOMIN TV, appearing on a Wine Segment on Something for the Weekend (BBC 2), in less than 4 hours….HELP. All week I’d been playing it cool at work, pushing the nervous thoughts to the back my mind (my teacher always told me I had an ostrich-like neck for burying my head in the sand!), but I had been wonderfully prepared by Vicky (our PR Manager), and JoJo (from the show).
 
Breakfast was a non-runner, All Bran wasn’t going to help today! A nip of Highland Park 18yr old to calm me? Perhaps not! As I got to the studio my angel for the day JoJo (Food Producer) temporarily calmed my nerves, running through the segment with me a couple of times, meeting Tim, Amanda and Simon (pictured above), who were so laid back they were horizontal, like the wiley old pro’s! Well with two hours to go the nerves were back and the pressure cooker inside this young novice was about to blow!
 
Well after some makeup to hide my spots, it was into the green room and some welcome distraction. Meeting the guys from Athlete and Paddy McGuinness, all top lads and very down-to-earth, just whiling away the morning talking about the footie and the Hatton Fight which Paddy is going to and attending the after show party (fame eh!!!).
 
Well as the show rolled on it was getting closer and closer, I could hardly walk, let alone talk about wine! Then…. there was the call, “Adam to the set”!!! I will never know what nerves footballers feel when they walk out to a World Cup Final, but by gee I think I now have some idea. I propped myself by the bar and held on for dear life, the legs were doing the Elvis and then it was the count down…. on in 30…20…10…5…4…3…2…1
 
I remember the intro from Tim and then that’s it…. BANG! GONE!
 
Just one hazy blur of adrenalin!
 
Looking back now I’m pretty proud and happy I did it. I’ve watched it and know I can do far better but as a first effort I’ll give myself a C. The biggest hurdle is over, the NERVE factor, but I’m all the better for this and I’m ready for action and the next time!!!
 
Ps….At the time I didn’t notice…. but what a top wine 2004 Ch. Fonbel is, a classic St Emilion with lots of muscular young Merlot fruit, well-integrated tannins, well-balanced oak - I can understand why people have quoted it as a mini Ch. Ausone! For just £15 you get a glimpse… a feel… a vision as to what one of the greatest wines on Planet Earth has to offer. A bargain! And perfect for Christmas lunch.

Every year, about the same time, an unceremonious and initially somewhat unexpected ritual takes place. It is known as the stacking of the LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) Port in the supermarket aisle; unceremonious given the fabled pedigree of this fortified wine and unexpected given the fact that its global production is relatively small; 10 million cases in total.

And yet the two major players, both with blue-blooded English pro-genitors, choose, for whatever reason,  to fight it out year in year out in this somewhat incongruous arena. Their loss is our gain; what they perceive to be their gain can only result in lost reputation in a category irrevocably linked to image and perceived status.

But beyond the duels between the Taylors and the extended Symington family one should not loose sight of the sheer magnificence of the product, its episcopal colouring and rich heady aromas presaging marvellous and infinitely complex flavours. Only in very special years are vintages declared and even then vintage makes up only 5 % of production; here we see the real port producers at work; their integrity has mitigated against a Vintage Declaration over the last three years, this in spite of real  and burgeoning  global demand.

When a vintage is declared, it is a cause for celebration indeed; older wines age with labyrinthine charm and infinite nuance; at the moment the 77s are dumb, but the 85s are singing; yet  this may be reversed again at least once over their long lives.

The 94s and 97s are promising great things, as is the legendary 2000; and  as for the older, rarer vintages, theirs is all grace and elegance. A far cry from the supermarket gondolas and their half-price ignominy. Let’s not forget what the real fuss should be about. 

With demand on the up and supply remaining static, getting hold of premium champagne is becoming increasingly challenging - particularly the larger bottles which are extremely popular during the festive season.

 This year we could only purchase 150 double magnums of our house champagne, such was the limited production at the supplier,  Mailly Grand Cru……….. and they have almost all gone.  Champagne house Bollinger have also run out of magnums  for the UK market and Pol Roger are restricting the number of large format bottles they are selling as they are in such short supply. 

In a few years time, we may well have to introduce champagne rationing. This term, redolent of post war hardship, hardly seems appropriate for the wine of celebration and decedance, but there may come a day when hitherto widely available Grandes Marques are allocated only to regular, loyal customers, much as we do with the First Growth Clarets at the moment!

Emerging markets such as India, Russia and China are fuelling the boom but, with the UK responsible for 10% of total consumption, and now by some way the leading export market,  us Brits will be amongst the first to be hit!

Some Champagne houses are now looking to England for suitable terroirs and lobbying French authorities to increase the size of the Champagne region. The enthusiasm and effort dedicated by some very serious Champenois to the former task is indicative of a lack of confidence that the authorities will allow more than modest expansion of the region.

Champagne is thus a victim of its own success, but also the punctillious demarcation of its geographical bounderies, which in itself has underwritten quality and ensured reputaion. They are right not to sacrifice either; but inevitably this can only result in higer prices and more focused distribution.

Getting hold of cheap fizz from supermarkets won’t be a problem but, if you want the best the region has to offer, you should think ahead to secure the bottles you really want.
 

Speaking to The Times , distinguished UK Wine Writer, Hugh Johnson, recently remarked that innovations created by wine growers to protect their crops from the elements have reduced vintage variations, making any year a good year for wine aficionados. Johnson also noted that vintage-specific demand & wine snobbery were intrinsically linked, sparking a debate within the wine world - are vintages still valid?

In some parts of the world, especially the Southern Hemisphere, it is clearly the case that vintage variation is less pronounced than in the more marginal climates of Northern Europe. Moreover, in the top appellations of Bordeaux and Burgundy, years of success have spawned a scale of investment in technology which has effectively eliminated the incidence of the truly terrible vintages of the past. The days when every decade brought three very good vintages, three shockers and four of average quality seem well past.

Nevertheless I believe that there remain enough variations between vintages, particularly amongst European wines, to ensure that comparison remains a valid and enlightening study. 2003 by Bollinger, encased in packaging which displays the vines under snow (left), is a great example of how vintage variations can produce very different styles from year to year.

I agree with Hugh Johnson that at the very pinnacle of quality, the First Growths of Bordeaux for example, the wines from what are considered the greatest vintages acquire a reputation and value which comes in part from their perception as “trophy wines”, and demand for them spirals as a result.

Slightly lower down the scale, however, I still find it fascinating to discern the different characteristics of vintages which might all be deemed “good” but which are borne out of widely differing climatic conditions. 2003 and 2004 in Bordeaux, for example, present a very interesting comparison, as do 2000 and 2001 in Burgundy, or 2005 and 2006 in the Rhone.

Furthermore, away from the top domaines, where investment in technology is less affordable, one still sees starkly the effect of differing weather conditions on vintages; in everyday Burgundy , for example, the heat of 2003 yielded wines with roasted characteristics, further pushed out of balance by clumsy acidification, followed by the green, herbaceous style of the slightly less ripe 2004s.

If the current global warming trend is permanent, which is far from certain, we may see greater regularity in vintages in European vineyards, but, for now at least, let’s continue to celebrate diversity.

Almost every day I see wonderful and increasingly rare bottles being drunk around me on the tables of the restaurants of Hong Kong, Macau (and to a slightly lesser extent, Shanghai).  To me, this is hugely encouraging – and I calm talk of a bubble in the Fine Wine market with examples of this.

To take one week, an ordinary week, as an example:  1990 Le Montrachet, DRC in magnum; 1986 Lafite Rothschild; 1982 Cheval Blanc; 1988 Petrus in double magnum; 1990 Haut-Brion; 1998 Lafite Rothschild; 1995 Margaux; 1983 Palmer and other lesser but still great bottles were drunk around me.

We could lament that the world has one less example of a masterpiece, but I prefer to think about the pleasure they bring and I am rather pleased to see them being used for the purpose for which they were designed. 

The other side of this equation does present all of us with a problem, however:  finding more of the same is increasing hard (and expensive).  When I joined the wine trade, the “great bottles” at the time being drunk we the 1947’s, 1955’s and 1959’s, with a few 1945’s popping up. 

Shouldn’t we give the 1982’s and the 1990’s similar reverence?