Neal Martin's Review of 2019

BY NEAL MARTIN | DECEMBER 27, 2019

“Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing.” — The late, great Clive James

Introduction

Does it change you? No, in the sense that I reverted back to the person I was before; I didn’t mind him. Yes, in the sense that mortality now loiters offstage, giving a merry wave, so don’t waste the little time you have. Every second is a second gone. Is my attitude toward wine different to what it was 12 months ago? I have not lost my passion for tasting and writing about wine, as attested by my productivity. However, my alcohol intake is far less than it used to be. Wine is not the be-all and end-all. It is no mystical elixir upon which life depends... but I still bloody love it.

Health issues will affect me for the rest of my life. I will never be completely out of the woods. Next year is about putting my best foot forward and grabbing opportunities. It’s a cliché, but I have no intention of living life anything less than to the fullest.

So let’s take one last look back at 2019. I’ll start with my passions – wine, food and music – before branching out into other areas for a bit of fun.

I asked my wife to take this photo exactly one week to the hour after I underwent eight hours of heart surgery. I wasn’t exactly in a condition to run a marathon. But it is amazing how the body can repair itself.

Wines

Despite self-imposed abstinence for half the year, I didn’t half drink a few good bottles. Again. This is thanks to my job, hard work and friendships with amazing and generous wine lovers (they know who they are). These bottles are listed in chronological order and take absolutely no account of rarity or price; I loved drinking that 2014 Rully Chênes from Dureuil-Janthial in Beaune and marvelling at the time-defying 1865 Latour in Hong Kong. There are even a couple of champagnes on the list! No Selosse, but then again, who knows what will happen in 2020?

Wine of The Year: 1991 St. Joseph - Domaine Jean-Louis Grippat

Although there are far more elusive, ancient and wallet-busting bottles on the list, I’ve racked my brain and nothing gave me more pleasure than this St. Joseph, poured blind at Noble Rot restaurant in London with a couple of mates. Bliss.

Red Wine of the Year (Money No Object): 1865 Château Latour

Born in one of the legendary 19th-century vintages. How could this 154-year-old Pauillac taste so crystalline? Maybe it’s the magic in them pre-phylloxera vines?

White Wine of the Year (Money No Object): 1999 Montrachet Grand Cru - Domaine Ramonet

This bottle looked at the 2001 Montrachet from DRC and then, once it had spent an hour sizing up the opposition, wiped the floor with it. Astonishing precision and complexity.

Red Wine of the Year (Value for Money): 2018 Syrah Estate Reserve - Lismore

There are so many great-value offerings from South Africa. Winemaker Samantha O’Keefe is creating some amazing wines from her vineyards. [Postscript: this was my choice despite learning of the terrible wildfire that wiped out Samantha’s home. Fortunately, the vines seem to have survived and the bottle cellar was untouched. She’ll be back.]

White Wine of the Year (Value for Money): 2017 K5 Argiñano - Bodegas Txakolina

A fabulous Spanish white with stunning tension and salinity, and at around €20 on a list? Yes, please.

Sweet Wine of the Year: 1893 Château d'Yquem

It was not the name of the château or the age, but the circumstances of the growing season that ensured this was easily the most remarkable sweet wine of 2019.

The following were memorable and I have no apologies for drinking any of them. I mean, would you refuse if you had the chance? I thought not.

1900 Château Latour

1932 Chambertin - Domaine Joseph Drouhin

1937 La Tâche Grand Cru (Moingeon Bottling)

1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild (the bottle in Hong Kong and not the ex-cellar one in Paris)