This was our first tasting in Brydges Place, a unique private member’s club close to Theatre Land and Leicester Square, and much closer in spirit to the arts than the formal clubs of St James’s and Pall Mall. No ceremony or dress code here: you are welcomed as family. Everyone found the front door, no mean feat as it is in a narrow shadowy back alley (think film noir). So it was a full house of twenty four who just managed to squeeze cosily into the top floor dining room with its deep red carpets covering creaky uneven floors, purple walls covered in paintings lit by period lamps and quirky draped side passages.
Our theme tonight was inspired by the extraordinary long, hot, dry summer that Europe has experienced this year – which led to the earliest harvest ever in Burgundy – and so we tasted wines which reflected how climate change has affected wine. Not simply in the ripeness and quality of existing favourites, but how consumers preferences are changing. We tasted nine wines from Europe, America, South Africa and Australia and before any prices were revealed, a vote was taken as to the best. With each person having two votes for whites and two for reds, the overall favourite wine of the night was, as it so often is, red Bordeaux, this time the late, great Denis Durantou’s Lalande de Pomerol Cl Les Cruzelles 2015 with a four vote lead over the village level 2025 white Sancerre from the outstanding Vacheron brothers. The crowd pleasing Daou Cabernet-Sauvignon 2022 from Paso Robles took third, one vote ahead of the impressive chardonnay based Dorset bubbles Langham Corallian Classic Cuvée. The tasting was 6.30pm until 8.30pm. Richard crept away at 10.35pm and could hear a number of the party still going strong in the downstairs bar.
Organised by Tim Murphy