Remember the slightly awkward kid at school
who was actually very good at sport, the scruff who seemed to somehow get all
the girls or the party animal who, to the shock of everyone, aced all his exams?
You probably do – perhaps you even were one of these ‘don’t judge a book by its
cover’ characters. We’ve all heard the expression, and no doubt disregarded it
from time to time, resulting in a slightly awkward back-tracking not too long
afterwards. Life is full of little lessons like this, lessons which have to be
relearnt with sometimes alarming regularity.
I’ve already discussed one supermarket wine –
Sainsbury’s Grenache Rosé – and how impressed I was with its overall presence
and its ability to complement one of my home-brewed Indian feasts. Yet I
managed to catch myself out again! Tesco Châteauneuf-du-Pape this time, the
2012 vintage; a snip at £10 per bottle. Clearly this wasn’t the bargain
basement end of the wine shelf, so I would have been extremely surprised if it
drank like rancid strainings, but Mr Tesco, you’ve surpassed yourself with this
selection. Pierre Martin, the producer has obviously found the Holy Grail of
quality at sensible production costs, despite using what we are told are
traditional methods. Beautiful is not a bad word to describe this wine. Perhaps
not the most effective word for conveying the Middle-Eastern spices, the body,
the fruitiness and the finish, or even the delightful nose of stewing rhubarb,
but an efficacious word nonetheless. This wine is beautiful.
Why do we so often make the wrong assumptions
based on appearances? Conditioning, prejudice, experience and many other
reasons I’m sure, but we need to challenge these preconceptions occasionally
and watch the spindly boy score the try, then do it again just to prove that it
wasn’t a fluke. This wine is just that, causing the raising of that single
eyebrow, Roger Moore style, as its full-bodied rubiness caresses your taste
buds.
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