The Three Wine Men

Back in November Hubby and I had a day trip to London for the Three Wine Men's The Big Christmas Wine Fest held at Lindley Hall a location we used to visit for the Tesco Wine Fairs many years ago.

There were wines from around the world with Oz Clarke, Olly Smith and Tim Atkin chatting to everyone around the room and hosting some Master Classes, we didn't book any as there is never enough time to visit all the stands so adding an extra class in would make it a rushed time ... and we like to sip and chat. 

It was lovely to again meet Heather Dougherty who was hosting C.V.N.E wines, we began our day with a super glass of sparkling Cune Cava. We did return to Heather's stand later in the day to try some of the other wines from Spain. 

Staying with sparkling wine to begin our afternoon we stopped by Cap Classique with their extremely good Graham Beck; they had Pinot Noir Rose and Cuvee Clive along with my preference Blanc de Blancs. There were plenty of other South African sparkling wines to taste, I really liked Haut Cabriere Pierre Jourdan Belle Rose.

And staying in South Africa one of my favourite sparkling wines was being showcased at KWV; Laborie Methode Cap Classique Rose Brut, I really like this dry rose. We have enjoyed many bottles of KWV wine including their Mentors range, especially the Petit Verdot which is a wine you don't see so much of in the UK. The very complex Roodeberg 1949 was a delicious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Carignan, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this would be a great Sunday dinner wine. 

Whilst waiting for \hubby to go tot he cloakroom with our coats I was chatting to Oz Clarke who directed me to his favourite English wine from South Devon. It wasn't on the show listing, I was honoured to be able to try this newly released Sharpham 2024

 

My favourite new discovery wine was Ernie Els Big Easy Chenin Blanc 2023, it was so crisp and full of apply flavours. Hubby tried the reds in the range, Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa is not a wine we've had before. The highest priced wine was the Ernie Els Signature 2017 but Hubby's preference was the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was nice to have time to chat to the actual winemaker who was there, often at wine events it is wine servers behind the stands who know very little. This event had every stand hosted by the wine people involved, it was great to have a chat with Joe Wadsack at one of the other stands. 

Of course we made sure we visited the Sud de France Top 100 and to our delight a few of our favourites were there, namely from Domaine Paul Mas. And even more to our delight Les Domaines Paul Mas had their own stand with so many of their superb wines. I love all the Paul Mas wines, it's amazing how many vinyards and different labels there are, sadly not all available to the UK. 

There were so many wine stands, far too many to mention, as well as gin and whisky. I don't think we missed any out and enjoyed discovering new wines as well as visiting old friends. I couldn't possibly write about all the wines so have picked my highlights and will finish on a must .... Louis Jadot wines from France. A delicious selection of white and red wines from Burgundy with my favourite being Pouilly- Fuisse, although not a chardonnay drinker this chardonnay is one I very much enjoy. 

Thank you Oz (not inthe photo as he was doing a Masterclass), Olly and Tim, we had a great time chatting and sipping. You can never know enough about wine and we certainly discovered new tastings ... Merry Christmas