Perfection – Well, Almost!

Now that I am a truly established wine and lifestyle journalist, (having now had 3 articles published!), I can safely follow in the footsteps of an ex-banking colleague of mine who also put down his quill pen in favour of a laptop from which he generates his somewhat acerbic, though always entertaining articles.

The trick seems to be this: whatever the main topic of the article, whether it's food, cars, wine, or travel for example, you spend 90% of the article on something totally different, and then say: "Which brings me to my main point,..." whereupon you then only have to dedicate 2 paragraphs to the actual subject matter.

So, what kind of person are you? In motoring terms, would you buy a Porsche or a Ferrari, or perhaps more realistically, a BMW or a Volvo?  Do you travel to exotic holiday destinations, and risk the odd coup/volcanic eruption etc, or do you head for the safety of Europe? In other words, do you buy with your heart or your head?

When looking for a car, do you check the column with the number of Newton-metres of torque, or the one with the airbags and cupholders?

(By the way, is there anybody on this planet who knows what a Newton-metre is?  I thought it was something to do with the amount of time it takes an apple to fall from a set height, but apparently I have been misled.)

Anyway, I digress. Are you the sort of person who seeks perfection, or do you believe that true perfection is impossible, because somebody will always try and improve on what has gone before?

Which brings me to my main point.

Can anyone make the perfect wine; can a wine get the perfect 20, or 100 on the Robert Parker scale?  And how should such a wine be made?  Should it be made Porsche-style – clinically precise, using every latest available scientific method to pinpoint exact blocks of vineyard where perfectly matched clones are planted, every single berry that doesn't meet the absolute test of size, shape & ripeness ruthlessly discarded?  Or should it be made with flair and passion, Ferrari-style, with the odd rogue grape sneaking through the selection process?

I have recently tasted both the 2002 and yet-to-be-released 2003 versions of the near-perfect De Toren Fusion V, a wonderful blend of the 5 Bordeaux cultivars, being Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.  Up to 15 different clones of these 5 cultivars are planted with pinpoint accuracy, using thermal imaging to monitor each block's progress, and then meticulously handled in the cellar to produce a really great wine, and one which has already garnered many awards in its short history.

But for me, the lack of aromas on the nose might be the reason that this wine is not quite cracking the 5* barrier.  With those 5 varietals each offering a wide range of potential bouquets, there should have been more coming out of the glass.  Perhaps the wines are still too young - they will certainly improve over the next 5-10 years – or perhaps that little bit of character that indefinable something which could set this wine apart, has been left on the vineyard or cellar floor in the rigorous selection process?

Nevertheless, this is certainly a wine which will offer great rewards in the years to come, and hopefully will also collect the great awards which it has the potential to achieve.

De Toren Fusion V, is available from Manuka Fine Wines.


Stephen Digby – Manuka @ Southeys – Somerset West