Cheers to the end!

Another year is ending. For many it has been an annus horribilis — certainly for those involved in the hospitality business (no mistake about it: wines are very much part of it), things were bad. The “quadruple whammy” of the global recession, terrorist attacks, an adverse dollar exchange rate and higher prices saw miserable hotel occupancy rates and a concomitant falling-off in business to vendors.

Come December, however, many have much to celebrate: the recession seems to be receding, consumer spending is back, as are holidaymakers, and all seems right with the world. Amazing how things can change, and so fast.

 

So this is a good time to up your benchmark for the year-end wines, and I’m going to recommend you start with a remarkable wine: the Brancaia Tre Rosso Toscana, whose 2007 vintage was awarded 93 points and 10th place in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2009.

Wine Spectator is the most widely read wine magazine in the world, and for their Top 100 Wines award they sampled some 17,000 new wines during the year — so just being in the Top 100 list is a very big deal. For a wine to be in the top 10 wines means it’s a no-brainer to drink — particularly as, at $20, this wine is among the lowest-priced of the list. Good genes will always tell: sister wine IL BLU 2004 was #9 in the Top 100 list of 2006 with 96 points.

Noted wine expert James Suckling says of the Brancaia Tre, “There’s a wonderful intensity of fruit in this wine, with crushed raspberry and blackberry and hints of coffee and fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, soft-textured finish that shows loads of fruit: Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.” That’s a super-Tuscan blend.

The wine is imported by Vishal Kadakia of Wine Park and available mainly at star hotels (Taj, Leela, The Park, Hyatt, Four Seasons) and fine-dining restaurants like Caperberry in Bangalore, Indigo in Mumbai, Diva in Delhi, and the Olive Beach restaurants in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

The other amazing bargain in the list is the Yalumba Viognier 2008 from the Eden Valley in Australia (near Melbourne), which at 92 points and a price of $19 was rated 39th.

The winery has always been a serious player at the top end of full-bodied Aussie reds, was a pioneer in the use of screwcaps, and their Oxford Landing range has long been widely available on retail shelves in India.

The magazine’s tasting notes say that the wine is “Smooth and creamy, the polished texture supporting an explosive range of lemon meringue, pear, pineapple and spice flavors that ease into the long, vivid finish.” Sounds good — am dying to get my hands on a bottle (or two). Wines from Yalumba have long been imported by Sanjay Menon of Sonarys, and (again) are generally available only in the better hotels.

Wines I’ve been drinking: The Brancaia
Tre 2006 (among some six other wines) I tasted recently at both the Shiv Nivas Palace and the Lake Palace hotels in Udaipur is drinking really well (having benefited from a year in the bottle): berries and coffee aromas and velvety tannins combine to give a lovely wine.

With warm regards to all for a terrific 2010.

(al.chandra@gmail.com)