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About forty club members drove to Chimney Heights, the
popular resort just outside Chandigarh on a pleasant Sunday evening last
week. They were welcomed by the Club President Siddhartha
and his charming wife Anant who is still with him despite
constant threats during the two years of his presidency because of his
single minded devotion to the club activities.
Architects both, he is a perfectionist for details. Not only did he make
all arrangements for the evening including the venue and menu selection,
glasses, choice of interior décor that converted the banquet room
to a fine dining restaurant, he even had the walls of the banquet hall
plastered with beautiful works of art, borrowed from a member, Diwan Munna,
an internationally renowned photo artist.
Siddharth is not the first President of the club, founded 5 years ago
by the wine connoisseur and industrialist Yasho Saboo
who had invited Arora to conduct a couple of cheese and wine evenings
at the opening of Ethos, a high-end watch store in Chandigarh. The response
and the appetite to enjoy and learn about wines were so tremendous that
he immediately took to his suggestion and founded the club. Siddharth
was drafted as the unanimous choice a couple of years ago after Saboo
got busy opening Ethos stores across India.
The evening kicked off with the uncorking, oops, unscrewing
of Australian Chardonnay Caspia 2005 from Buller
Winery in Victoria. The chilled, unoaked selection with Chablis-like character
turned out to be a perfect choice as an aperitif, with the aromas making
you feel like you were in a garden. The simple wine with crisp acidity
and freshness had a 'yeh dil maange more' quality.
The surprise package was the red, off-dry, semi sparkling
(frizzante) Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro with
the Opera label, served as an aperitif, with some of
it to be tasted later with the dessert as well, for comparison. I wonder
if the members were predisposed towards it, as my advance tasting notes
suggested that women would generally find this wine appealing. Most men
loved it too for its tangy bubbles and refreshing flavour. One of the
five DOC Lambrusco appellations of Emilia Romagna, the low alcohol wine
(8% alc.) made from the Lambrusco grape is a young wine meant for picnics,
pasta and pizza; easy on the palate and the purse.
The sit down dinner kicked off with salad and Pignoletto,
also from Opera. Made from this native grape, grown on Bologna hills,
it also makes good sparkling wine. The still-dry, clean white had fruity
aromas with floral hints. It had a persistent palate, and a good level
of acidity, with pleasant freshness. But it failed to impress, the difficult
pairing with salad notwithstanding, perhaps because some Italian wines
made from indigenous grapes need time and a few glasses before one gets
used to them.
The next wine, Sangiovese from Emilia
Romagna, was the usual dark ruby red colour with berry aromas and a layer
of spice that carried into the flavour. But it did not hold interest in
the back palate after an impressive initial attack.
Black Dog Creek Shiraz 2005 from King
Valley, North East part of Victoria, was also from Buller. Here was something
the scotch lovers could immediately relate to, because of the label that
was popularized by the British decades ago. Fragrance of cherries, hints
of sweet vanilla oak and berry flavours with mild tannins, this rounded
wine with slightly spicy after- taste that persisted, was the darling
of the crowd - vegetarians included.
Domain de Mayol 2003 AOC Luberon was
a late entry to the show. The French Syrah Grenache blend (60-40) from
Provence was exploding with aromas of red berries. The full bodied, hot
vintage wine was luscious and spicy with a good mouth-feel and a persistent
and complex end. This versatile wine got an instant, unanimous thumbs-up.
Subhash Arora
April 23, 2008
Gallery
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