“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
– Samuel Johnson
What a treat it is to travel in 2021! With border restrictions eased and vaccine passports in place, all that was left to do was for Alix, Laura, Anne and Orlaith from iDealwine’s international team to hop on the Eurostar train – next stop, London’s Wine & Spirits show!
With approximately 2,000 visitors over three days, the team spent the days waxing lyrical about their favourite cuvées – it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it!
iDealwine’s tasting included the following:
Champagne
White
- 2018 Domaine de l’Ecu, Taurus, (previously Muscadet-Sevre-et-Maine), Vin de France
- 2019 Francois Mikulski, Bourgogne Cote d’Or
- 2018 Pattes Loup, Vent d’Ange, Chablis
Red
- 2020 Arnaud Lambert, Clos Mazurique, Saumur
- 2019 Andrea Calek, Babiole, Vin de France
- 2019 Fanny Sabre, Bourgogne
- 2005 Chateau Poujeaux, Bordeaux
- 2010 Château Haut Marbuzet, Bordeaux
- 2003 Domaine de Chevalier, Cru Classe de Graves
Visitors’ Favourites
“Everyone was immediately drawn to our mature vintage Bordeaux wines – wine enthusiasts lined up to taste Domaine de Chevalier and Château Haut Marbuzet – they raved about the 2005 Château Poujeaux” said Alix Rodarie, head of international development at iDealwine. Laura Salis, our Italian Project Manager said visitors also “really appreciated trying some of the ‘new’ names in Burgundy” – the rising stars of the region, and the winemakers on our watchlist – “Mikulski’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or, Fanny Sabre’s red Bourgogne and Chablis from Pattes Loup were new names for most visitors, and they simply loved them”. Visitors were also very curious about our organic and biodynamic selection, and winemakers who put the environment first – Anne Okolowitz, our German Project Manager, said it’s beautiful label was what first attracted people to Domaine de l’Ecu’s Taurus cuvée, “they came for the label but stayed for the wine”.
Blind Tasting
With iDealwine vouchers up for grabs, we had a great turnout for our blind tastings! From old and new vintages, wildly different French wine regions, and from well known and under-the-radar producers, we really put wine connoisseurs to the test!
- Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots Courcel, 2006
50% correctly guessed Burgundy as the region, and 57% correctly identified Pinot Noir as the grape variety.
Browse all Pommards on sale here
2. Morgon Lapierre, 2020
30% correctly guessed Beaujolais as the region.
3. Marcel Deiss Gruenspiel, 2010
Deiss’ unorthodox blend of native Alsace grapes made this one a tough one for our tasters – with just two participants getting close.
4. Château Haut Bages Libéral, 2005
About 75% of tasters correctly identified Bordeaux and its grapes – bravo!
Shop 2005 Château Haut Bages Libéral
5. Aligoté A+P de Villaine, 2019
This relatively unknown and underappreciated Burgundy grape truly stumped our tasters! It’s fruity bouquet and floral palate led many astray to the Loire Valley – a great learning experience for all! Check out our Aligoté wine on sale here
The results are in, and we were very impressed!
The winners have been contacted – they will each receive a €25 voucher for iDealwine.com
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