Wednesday Wines – Episode 222 – A host of unmissable delights at Decorum Vintners
On Tuesday, I met up with Rupert Monier-Williams and Mark Roberts, the palates behind Decorum, along with wine guru and consultant James Price, at Decvin HQ. We then retired to an utterly outstanding Italian restaurant called Pollini for lunch, where we looked at the wines again with food. Before I talk about my favourite wines of the day, it is worth pointing out that Pollini is an absolute gem. It is situated in the beautiful Ladbroke Hall building, once home to Sunbeam (Clément-Talbot) car administration block, sporting the earl’s crest high above its main entrance. It is now a gallery, and Pollini sits at its heart. Emanuele Pollini was voted best Italian Chef by Gambero Rosso in 2020, so the food is delicious. Between the four of us, we have fortunately dined in some of the finest Italian restaurants in London, and I have to say that the food was incredible: right at the top of the pile. We gave the menu a real workout, and having eaten at the River Café, Enoteca Turi and Archway recently, it most definitely bears comparison with these terrific joints, albeit strikingly different and highly memorable. We chose not to sit in the main dining room as it was a warm day and were led to one of the most beautiful bamboo gardens imaginable. I urge you to visit.
So, the wines that caught my eye are as follows.
Champagne
2018 Marie Demets, La Forêt, Champagne, France £75.00, www.decvin.com
A far cry from the leaner Demets styles of old, this is a dense, indulgent wine with considerable depth of fruit and a mighty finish. La Forêt is not an aperitif wine but a rather glorious, multi-layered creation that demands serious food and large wine glasses to appreciate its ripe Chardonnay core fully. There are many Champagnes I can think of with three-digit price tags that pale in comparison to the bravado and class on display here. 18/20
2018 Marie Demets, Brut Nature Periscope, Champagne, France £135.00 (very limited stock), www.decvin.com
It would be best if you suspended disbelief here. Demets conducts this wine’s 754-day élévage submerged in the River Seine not far from his vineyards in the Aube. It is in extremely short supply, so if you want to taste this extraordinary wine, shout now. It is as focused and resonant as any Champagne I have tasted in years, and while I tried hard to disconnect the image of this ‘submarine’ of a wine lounging in the icy depths of the Seine, the chilly, crystalline images kept coming back, augmenting the flavours and bringing a sense of drama to proceedings. It opened in the glass over an hour into a fascinating wine. I highly recommend that you taste it, especially if the image of a periscope wine affects you the way it did me. 18.5/20
White
2023 La Tène, Chardonnay, IGP Pays d’Oc, France £12.95 (from September), www.decvin.com
This is a new find for Decorum, and we were all so impressed that Rupert and Mark have decided to ship this dreamy Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir (below) without delay. With smooth white peach and pear notes, clean, silky lines and nothing interfering with the sheer deliciousness of this, you do not need me to tell you that this calibre of Chardonnay at a mere £12.95 is a steal! 17/20
2023 Jules Taylor, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand £16.75, www.decvin.com
Jules makes tremendous wines, and her style celebrates minerality and control as opposed to the tinned fruit characters favoured by less judicious winemakers in the region. This is a zesty, bright, pithy wine with wet river stone tones and gorgeous, discreet fruit. It is the perfect switch from old-school Sancerre. 18/20
2022 Jules Taylor, Grüner Veltliner, Marlborough, New Zealand £16.75, www.decvin.com
I am not a fan of chubby, oily Grüner, so it is always a pleasure to taste more linear, refreshing styles. Jules makes her Grüner in precisely the same manner as her Sauvignon, but with accurate ginger lily and pink peppercorn hints one finds in the subtlest and more evocative GVs. If you love this grape and would like to drink an affordable, dynamic and dry version, this is it. 17.5/20
Red
2022 La Tène, Pinot Noir IGP Pays d’Oc, France £12.95 (from September), www.decvin.com
The red sibling to the delicious Chardonnay above, this is the most impressive, inexpensive Pinot of the year so far. Silky, enticing, bright and grippy, there is even some classy earthiness under the sleek red cherry fruit. 17/20
2020 Château Tour du Moulin, Les Terres Rouges, Fronsac, Bordeaux, France £15.95, www.decvin.com
Goodness me, Bordeaux is coming in for some flak at the moment, but I have no idea why because it still manages to make the most celestial Cabs and Merlots on Earth! While we are all entranced by top-flight wines, carefully selected, bargain-priced wines from great vintages can offer some of the best value red wine on earth. This is a ridiculously toothsome creation with clean, fresh, and accurate fruit and an unexpected boost of plumminess in its core. ‘Party claret’ has never tasted so good. 17/20
2022 Rosso di Montalcino, Pietroso, Tuscany, Italy £25.00, www.decvin.com
This was my wine of the day regarding sheer value for money and epic excitement. A mere twenty-five quid buys you a slice of sheer Tuscan brilliance. Awesome and so classy, there is everything you could want in a young Brunello, and while this wears a Rosso label, if I were served this blind, I would not hesitate for a moment in naming this a fully-fledged Brunello. It is incredible, and it offers so much excitement you should not hesitate for a moment to place an order. 18/20
2019 Barolo del Comune di La Morra, Crissante, Piemonte, Italy £38.00, www.decvin.com
If you have yet to find a heart-warming, robust, tub-thumping Barolo that swings in under the magical £40 barrier, this is it. With gorgeous masses of forest fruit and liquorice, this is a brilliant wine, and it is just starting a decade of joy-giving. Honest and life-affirming, this is a beautifully open and welcoming Nebbiolo. 17.5+/20
2018 Cornas, Les Chailles, Alain Voge, Northern Rhône, France £39.50, www.decvin.com
I have gone on record saying that Voge makes some of my favourite Syrahs on Earth, and my cellar’s contents back up this statement. Finding that Decorum has a perfect parcel of this beautiful wine was so exciting. Drinking perfectly and showing why these wines are so sought after, this is a thrillingly balanced, velvety-smooth wine with blackcurrant and iodine themes that confound the senses and lift one’s mood to the stars. It is stunning and offers incredible value, too. 18.5/20
2018 Brunello di Montalcino, Quarantennale, Pietroso, Tuscany, Italy £48.00, www.decvin.com
For twice the cash, you can trade up to a mature, deeply luxurious and finely-tuned wine from the great Pietroso. I am selfishly pleased that this estate has played it cool, remaining under the radar for a long time because the prices are so fair they look like they were taken from a catalogue printed a decade ago. I am sure this will not always be the case, so if you want to taste a silky-smooth, refined Brunello from a ridiculously underrated vintage, look no further. 18/20
2017 Brunello di Montalcino, Piaggione, Salicutti, Tuscany, Italy £75.00, reduced to £65.00, www.decvin.com
This glorious, fully mature, utterly jaw-dropping creation sits at the top of the pile. Fresh spices, woodsmoke, charcuterie and oceans of redcurrant and cherry fruit make this a genuine treat. It sang during the tasting, and then, as it gulped more air, mellowed, and unravelled in the glass, it was spectacular, along with our main courses at Pollini. There is so much to discover in this wine; it is incredible, and, once again, the value here, at £65, is astonishing. 18.5/20