Wet Wax Jacket

TODAY'S RADIO TASTING went well, although it did feel a tad 'Antiques Roadshow' at times, especially when I was faced with questions like: "...when should I drink my 60YO Grand Marnier?" (-never), and: "...is my commemorative ceramic bell-shaped Bells Scotch worth anything?" (-to you, priceless!) I am darn sure at least two of the dozen or so people phoning in were sloshed. Cut throat razor-sharp wit from acid text-messaging individuals was fortunately cut, the all-time classic being "how do I stop my wife wining?" With magazine-type shows, tone often segues violently, hence the pre-recorded item about slavery broadcast before the Torrontes rather put a dampner on things...

As snow cascaded outside, I showed Chapel Down's Flint Dry NV sur lie, dans le studio, an English take on Muscadet. With pungent, musky, nettle leaf aromas and a curiously plump palate somehow like chard (spinach meets asparagus), this mouth-watering wine could easily piercingly collaborate with native Irish oysters which to me tend to be slightly greasy.

A barrel sample of Polo Vineyards Torrontes '03 gifted to me by a long-haired Frenchman attracted particular interest from the DJs who were by then slurping pros. This snappy Argentinian was like a wet wax jacket rubbed with a dusty unripe orange studded with cloves before being draped over a French polished chair.

Across the Andes, Los Robles Carménère '06 packed a fermented damson punch, brushed with the crumbly sides of slightly stale chocolate brownie. This is the first Fair Trade wine from Chile and only the second in the world. Drinking a wine with a halo above its capsule tastes especially saporific!

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Shouldn't this be Mumbai Sapphire?