Another tasting of imported wines: no, it’s not that I’ve suddenly become a Wine Snob; it’s just that suddenly there seem to be many more wines showing up in Bangalore — perhaps due to the lamentable conditions in Mumbai (where the impasse regarding exorbitantly high state duties continues).

The wines were from Naresh Uttamchandani’s “Sovereign Impex” (Delhi), and we were at the Olive Beach fine-dining restaurant in Bangalore which has a classic Mediterranean ambience — the alcove set aside for the tasting was lit just by scores of chunky candles, giving the setting the look and feel of being in a cellar — awesome!

Our first wine was a Mastroberardino Greco di Tufo 2005 — the white Greco grape is not widely known, but the company is a member of the Instituto Grand Marchi (18 leading family-owned wine makers of Italy). The wine itself started on the sharpish side (blame that on the saliva glands working overtime) but emerged as a clean, crisp medium-bodied wine with fresh acidity and aromas of peach and apricot and a nice yeasty after taste. Wine Spectator rates it at 88 points.

The next was a Wildekrans Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from the Cape area of South Africa. A soft, smooth wine, medium bodied, with cedar smoke and blackcurrants on the nose and a berry/spice taste, supple tannins and a good finish that left people smacking their lips (and asking for more!). The 84 points from Wine Spectator does not seem to have done justice to the wine.

Another Mastroberardino followed, this one the Lacryma Cristi del Vesuvio 2005: tears of Christ, from the (unknown to me) Piedirosso grape grown on the slopes of the volcanic Mount Vesuvius. Intense berry and spice aromas that carried through to the palate, but with a short finish that had traces of chalk. An 86-point wine that was most interesting.

Followed by another Instituto Grand Marchi wine: a Lungarotti Giubilante Rosso dell Umbria 2004 — a “Super Tuscan”, made from mostly Sangiovese, with some Syrah and Merlot. A lovely wine, with raspberries and cherries mingling with spice and plums on the nose and nice soft balanced tannins in the mouth. Full bodied, complex, lingering finish — most enjoyable. 90 points from Wine Spectator.

Last (but not least) we had the Valdivieso Caballo Loco No. 7 (“Crazy Horse”) from Chile. The 125-year-old award-winning company makes this limited edition wine from a blend of all the great French grapes by a unique method not unlike the solera process used for sherry, with part of the previous year’s wines being blended with the current vintage. The wine itself was very complex: a fascinating but balanced medley of aromas and flavours, mouth-filling hints of leather and cigar box and spices, and a taste that lingered long after the wine had gone down. Surely more than the 85 points given by Wine Spectator — but I’m told that the No. 8 and No. 9 (each successive vintage is numbered serially) have made up.

Again, if you haven’t heard of these wines before, it merely goes to prove my hypothesis: that there are many, many good wines out there just waiting to be sampled and appreciated; that the wine consumer has eclectic tastes that demands variety and choice; and that once you breach the Rs 1,000/bottle barrier (all the above will be priced at between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,500, with the Caballo Loco being about Rs 2,500), you get wines that spoil you (as going back to ordinary wines becomes difficult) Happy imbibing!

THE WINE CLUB / New Delhi