Price: c. £7
From: Legacy Wines
Country: California
ABV: 14%
If you are a Twitter user, you may have seen the #7wordwinereview hashtag floating about. This is an easy and accessible way for anyone to tweet about a wine they want to share.
A few recent examples include @sterlingtalk with "Plums, leather and smoke. Drink with meat" or @1accidentalchef with "Black pepper, red berries, perfect classic syrah!" A few more humerous reviews include @104highst with "Drank it last night so it's gone" and @MajesticStrat with "Tighter than Scrooge before he woke up".
A mixture between tasting notes and a scoring system, the #7wordwinereview is used by people in and out of the wine trade to describe a wine. Funny, serious or just plain ridiculous, it doesn't matter, as long as it is done in 7 words.
This movement has gathered momentum and now also manifests itself in the form of wine tasting meals for which I currently co-ordinate the Manchester, UK chapter. The format is slightly different to conventional tastings as the wine is brought by each participant who then shares it with everyone else at the meal. The beauty of this is everyone gets to try numerous wines, all of which have undergone careful consideration, and are already firm favourites with the people who brought it. This informal and fun evening takes place at the Market Restaurant in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where the food provides a high quality backdrop to the numerous liquid stars of the show.
I was lucky enough to encounter this week's wine at the most recent meal. The velvety smooth texture and big fruit flavours pushed this unknown contender firmly into the limelight, where it sat out as a favourite for several diners, including myself. The label is striking and bold in its simplicity and joins the ranks of new thinking wine producers who are aiming their produce at a different generation of drinkers: people who like to drink wine but have no interest in deciphering the confusing and often misleading terminology perhaps.
The nose picks up a light perfumed scent of toasted vanilla which envelops a robust backbone of wood, indicating a bottle with some muscle. Giving the glass a good slosh releases big red fruits which curiously settle back beneath the wood as the liquid calms again. On the palate is an immediate sensation of smooth and warming strength with obvious strawberries, blackberries and plums, making this distinctly drinkable. Despite having a full bodied texture, it is able to hide a high alcoholic content but sufficiently grippy tannins provide a balancing structure which sees the wine well into the aftertaste. The emphasis and lasting impression is firmly fixed on the fun and fruity ease at which this wine can be devoured.
Whether you go for the 'new generation' look of a label or not, it doesn't really matter, as long as there is enough to convince you the content is worth the purchase. It is like buying Harry Potter books: you know the story inside is the same but you need to chose which cover you want to be seen in public with.
Legacy wines currently sell direct to the public through numerous consumer events. For more information go to www.legacywines.co.uk. All wines are available to buy online through www.wearewines.co.uk and at Cash & Carry outlets such as Parfetts or Landmark.
The #7wordwinereview concept is created by @12x75 and now sees monthly meals taking place in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Oregon and Toronto. Other cities will follow.
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