Notes & queries

Each month our experts answer readers’ wine queries and share their knowledge

English update

With the potential effects of both Brexit and ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, what’s the situation looking like for English vineyards as we approach the 2020 harvest?

Fiona Marshall, by email

Julia Trustram Eve replies: In these extraordinary and strange times, in the GB wine industry, sales to the hospitality industry in particular and producers with tourism businesses have been hit quite hard. One positive is that sales through retailers and online have risen significantly; there has been great enthusiasm and support for English and Welsh wines from customers. Producers have become more active online and on social media, boosting awareness of our industry, and cellar doors are once again open to visitors.

Exports have inevitably been affected – an area that will be growing when we can resume, and our overseas development plans will include promoting the ever-growing wine tourism sector in Britain. We remain very confident about the future growth of the industry.

This vintage looks like another good one and measures are put in place to allow overseas workers to come over for the harvest – many come for an extended period, picking soft fruit and orchard fruit before moving on to vineyards. Quite a few vineyards still work with supportive volunteers. Look out for a vineyard near you!

Appreciating mature claret

From time to time I buy very old bottles of claret from auction, rarely with provenance. Most are drinkable, a few go straight down the sink and sometimes I will find a gem. Last week I opened a half-bottle of Château Batailley 1970 without high expectation. The wine was beautiful still, with fruit though no tannin. As it slipped down too quickly, I wondered one thing: to what extent do wines of this age retain the characteristics of the appellation? Daniel Naftalin, London

Jane Anson replies: A great question, but not a straightforward answer. It’s often time that brings out the real impact of an estate’s soils and location – a great terroir is the thing that speaks the loudest as a wine ages. A young wine can be so overloaded with fruit and swagger that its sense of place takes a back seat; over time, that fleshy layer of fruit begins to soften and the underlying character becomes more obvious.

A great example of this is the 2009 vintage – exuberant and fruit-dominant at first, but starting to show its true long-term promise now, at 11 years old, with the best wines beginning to settle and show more clearly their (estate and appellation) character. At the same time it is also true that at the other end of the scale, age softens specific appellation or varietal character, and there are certain flavours and aromatics that are dominant in older wines more than young (truffles, undergrowth, menthol in Bordeaux, for example).

As with so much in wine, it’s about getting that sweet spot right, but quality wines, and the quality terroirs, keep their character intact for far longer than we often imagine. I have no doubt that part of the charm of Batailley 1970 comes from the fact that it is still unmistakably Pauillac, even as it approaches 50 years old.

Understanding Tokaji

Can you explain how Tokaji sweetness is measured, and advise on possible food matches for the different levels?

A Mackenzie, Edinburgh

Caroline Gilby MW replies: Tokaji Aszú is one of the world’s great sweet wines. Aszú is the Hungarian term for grapes that are affected by noble rot and have shrivelled – the region’s foggy mornings allow noble rot to set in and breezy, sunny afternoons shrivel the grapes. These Aszú berries are picked individually and soaked in fermenting juice for a day or two.

The traditional Puttonyos measure counted the number of buckets (Puttonyos) of Aszú added to a (gönci) barrel of grape must. However, today the classification is based on