Oddbins Tasting
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Trade Tasting
On a rainy Tuesday in West London, Oddbins turned out their wines for the press tasting and the team of buyers at the event were keen to show off their new wares. They’ve added 400 new wines to their range and quite a few were presented today. I sat down and had a chat with Oddbins owner Simon Baile and quizzed him on a few points about what’s happening backstage. I was curious to know why Oddbins hadn’t entered this year’s IWC Merchant Awards. “We simply didn’t believe in the range back then, now we’re spoilt for choice” he told me. He highlighted how he thought they’ve managed to step up a level of quality in Bordeaux, having taken over from a company, Nicolas, who were supposed to specialise in the region. There were no snide remarks made, but I could tell this was the cat who is very pleased with the cream he’s got. But he believes it comes from the passion and determination from the staff, which until his intervention he believes lacked direction. With First Quench Retailing current situation Baile sees this as an opportunity for the high street buyer. I think he’s very confident with his range and biting at the bit to show the potenially new customer what his line up of wines are all about.
Julie Buckley is one of the buyers in the team. She told me she’s looking forward to giving South America a bit of a once over. Argentina could see it’s number of wines listed increase from 16 to 30, with potentially even some from Brazil.
There’s not much of photographic interest to see at a press tasting, but you might recognise the journos here
Of the very interesting bunch of wines on offer, I enjoyed the following:
Mas de Bressandes Cuveé Tradition Blanc Costieres de Nimes, 2008, Rhone
Wow! Aromatically on fire, this wine blows the hairs from your nostrils. Delicious aromas of peaches and apricots with a vanilla pod sweetness, lovely. Spotlessly clean, this wine has all the qualities of a perfectly made wine up in the road in the North Rhone, where you’d often pay three times the price. Great intensity and length.
Peter Lehmann Wigan Eden Valley Riesling, 2003, Australia
Powerful aromas of fresh toast with lemon spread, I found it hard to pull my nose out of the glass to taste it. Full of character and class, this is well worth the money and a great example to convince consumers of the power and qualities of the magical Riesling. An all encompassing flavour of limes and crunching acidity keeps the palate salivating for more. Great stuff.
Boekenhoutskloof ‘The Chocolate Block’, 2008, Western Cape, South Africa
I remember serving this wine when I was sommelier at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant Maze. Noel Edmonds came in on a summer evening and liked the name of the wine. I tried to explain that it was a rich, full bodied wine and maybe a bit OTT for a warm evening. He expelled any direction I might have had to offer by coming up with a quiz show punchline saying “Tonight, we’re chocolate blocking!!” He was very chuffed with his choice.
I enjoyed re-tasting it here and loved the big and smoky aromas that protruded from the glass. There were even notes of rosemary and some sweet black fruits. Various layers of character with what tastes like nicely developed black fruits. Herbals notes as well. Very nice gear
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