House Wines: Red
2017 Gold: 9 Silver: 17 Bronze: 14 Commended: 33
2016 Gold: 4 Silver: 12 Bronze: 11 Commended: 26
As with the House Whites, so too for House Reds, with our teams happy, nay staggered, across the board at what they were trying in this key category.
The trend towards slightly lighter-style reds seems to be helping here. There were far fewer incidences of over-extracted, rasping tannins, and oak use – which has been in decline for a few years now – was really rather well judged. All in all, there was some exceptional value for money in here.
One interesting trend this year was the decline in French influence. Typically, the South has been a strong presence throughout the medals, but this year the top medal slots at least were more about the New World, with South Africa in particular putting in a strong performance.
As for macro trends? Shiraz, Malbec and Merlot (plus Spanish varieties) seem to be the grapes of choice; Cabernet (understandably) is now conspicuous by its absence at these levels.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Accessibility is the key. The wine has to be clean, ripe, technically perfect, with no greenness. Not necessarily interesting, but solid. So if we got a wine with a bit of character on top of that it really stood out.’ Giuseppe Longobardi, The 3A Pub Company
‘Sourcing house red is very difficult. You have to taste 60, 70, 80 wines before you can find the right wine.’ Tobias Brauweiler MS, Sake No Hana
‘Vintage is completely irrelevant. I’ve never had in 20 years people questioning the vintage on a house wine. The varietal character is more important than the vintage.’ Olivier Marie, team leader
‘The wines that didn’t get through tended not to have enough fruit. Either a bit green or rather flat.’ Laura Rhys MS, team leader
‘With house wine I’m looking for something that will appeal to a wide market. Some fell down because they were quite specific in style and a house wine should cover quite a lot of bases.’ Scott Levy, Smith & Wollensky
‘Only one of our flight felt chipped. There was less artifice in this category than I’ve noticed in the past.’ Simon Woods, team leader
‘The overall quality was the highest of any flight we tasted today. None of the wines were dirty or unclean. Some were jammy, but I think people like that as a quaffing style.’ Jade Koch, team leader
FOOTNOTE: The price limit for House Wine is £6 ex-VAT.