There's too much champagne. The 2003 Rhône reds may turn fizzy. Californians are making wine for critics, not consumers. The 'Wine Report' makes worrying reading, writes Tom Doorley
Have you ever wondered, as you leaf through reams of information in the latest glossy, beautifully illustrated and extraordinarily comprehensive guide to the wines of the world, how one person could possibly know all this stuff?
Well, the simple answer is they don't. No matter how obsessional a wine writer may be - and we are, by nature, a pretty obsessional bunch - he or she simply can't have a detailed knowledge of every wine region in the world. True, there are two or three blazingly intelligent and and unusually energetic people who come close. Jancis Robinson Master of Wine (MW), springs to mind. Her website www.jancisrobinson.com is, in effect, the ultimate wine lover's blog.
But the vast majority of famous wine writers, whose profiles have been created by television exposure, simply don't have the time to research all that appears under their names. As a result, there is a small industry comprising unknown or little-known wine writers who do the donkey work for the big names. I've done it myself, on occasion, and the pay is reasonable.
Big-name wine writers are not alone in depending on the labours of others. Many celebrity chefs employ talented but unknown cooks to create recipes for their cookbooks. Indeed, in the really major league, I reckon there's a very slim chance that the "author" has cooked his or her recipe, let alone tasted it. The bigger the name, with a handful of honourable exceptions, the less time they spend in the kitchen.
The reason I mention all of this is the publication of the second, and expanded, edition of Tom Stevenson's Wine Report (Dorling Kindersley, £9.99). The concept is simple, but brilliant. Stevenson, himself one of the world's most knowledgeable wine commentators, has put together a detailed snapshot of global wine, written by the leading authorities in their fields.
Thus, within one cover, you have access to David Peppercorn MW on Bordeaux, Rosemary George MW on Vins de Pays, Nick Belfrage MW and Franco Ziliani on Italy, Richard Mayson on Portugal, John Radford on Spain, Huon Hooke on Australia, to name just a few.
The result is the single most useful book currently in print for the keen wine enthusiast. And in addition to a round-up from each of the world's wine regions, including lists of best buys, top producers and most improved producers, there are articles by experts on subjects such as wine and health, vintages, auction prices and, for the real anoraks, viticulture and wine science. All packed into little more than 400 pages.
So what's the news? Dipping in at random, I find that the CIVB, Bordeaux's regulatory authority, says that 20 per cent of the region's vineyards must go, thus taking one million hectolitres of wine out of production. Things are not rosy down there. Over-production is also a problem in Champagne, where the 2004 vintage was vast and could have been reduced if growers had acted responsibly. A lot of wine should have been declassified, but there is no sign of the authorities doing what they are meant to do. There is a warning that some Rhône reds, in the whoppingly ripe 2003 vintage, have so much residual sugar they may turn fizzy in the bottle.
According to reporter Olivier Poels, however, the best Châteauneufs, some of which contain 16 per cent alcohol, have remarkable balance. He also adds that drip irrigation is being used by several unscrupulous producers without any action being taken by the authorities. France was ever thus.
In Languedoc-Roussillon, the workhorse Carignan grape, once the most widely planted in France, is making a comeback. After 100,000 hectares were ripped up, it has been found that Carignan is particularly suited to some terroirs and that taming its insatiable tendency to over-crop by pruning can lead to decent wine, especially for blending.
It seems that Germany's plantings of red grapes have increased three-fold over the past 20 years - bad news for people like me, who have rarely been impressed by the results and who, when we are impressed, are shocked by the price. The reason for this trend is, apparently, climate change and the influence of a German journalist called Rudolf Knoll.
Nick Belfrage reports that Italy, too, has a problem with over-production. He says that some 39 million hectolitres of wine are lying in warehouses throughout the country and that much of the 2004 vintage was simply not harvested. Rumour has it that grapes were picked close to roads, so as to give the impression that all was normal. High prices, especially in reds, seems to be one of the reasons for the surplus, while the generally cheaper whites, especially Pinot Grigio, are more buoyant.
Land prices in Spain's Ribera del Duero have gone so high that now only huge companies and winemakers with very rich backers are moving in there. Bodegas Felix Solis from Valdepenas, newly arrived there, has put the cat among the pigeons by pointing out that most of Ribera del Duero's vineyards are too new to produce rich, dark, complex wines. They are making a lot of simple wine to retail at everyday prices. Doubtless you need to be a big operator to have the courage, and the sense, to do that.
A fascinating story, reported by Dan Berger, concerns the ever-increasing levels of ripeness in California's most expensive red wines. Wineries are encouraging growers to let the grapes hang on the vine until the sugar content reaches staggering levels. The real advantage to the wineries is that, as sugar goes up, water content goes down and the resulting grapes weigh less. And growers, are, of course, paid by weight. As it happens, a new US wine law allows the addition of water to grape juice, which can be done without lowering alcohol content.
The gist of the report from California seems to be that wines are not made for consumers, but to please the palates of Robert Parker and the people at the Wine Spectator. Nothing new there, then.
For me, the most arresting item in this remarkable book was a tasting note for Château de Loei Reserve Syrah from Thailand. It has "ripe plum and mocha", it seems, and "white pepper characteristics more commonly associated with cool-climate Shiraz". I bet over-production isn't a problem there. u
The Wine Report 2006, edited by Tom Stevenson, (£9.99, Dorling Kindersley)
IF YOU'RE IRISH . . .
Among the many rare wines listed by the contributors to The Wine Report 2006 is this one which is available in Ireland: Wakefield Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (€11.99) This old favourite of mine "oozes sweet cassis and blueberry ultra-ripe Cabernet flavours. Fruit-driven and long - and can be cellared for a decade plus", according to Huon Hooke. From Superquinn, SuperValu and other stockists (call Rhode Gordon on 048-41753869 for details).