By the Dart • Antiques Invest in wines B


elieve it or not, there are some people who buy wines and spirits for the sole purpose of not drinking them! Ridicu-


lous as this may sound, occasionally a good case of wine will come up for auction or the occasional bottle turn up in an estate that brings out the sommelier in us all. Grown on the slopes and valleys east of


the Saône in the Burgundy Region of France, the red Burgundies are perhaps known best as dry red wines made from the Pinot Noir grapes. Unlike Bordeaux which is classified by producer, Burgundy is classified by origin – as there are over 400 different types of soil in the Burgundy region, great atten- tion is paid to the wine’s origin. Burgundy classification of wines is made up of over 150 AOC classifications – the highest being of Grand Crus like Montrachet or Corton and secondly, Premier Crus like Volnay down to wines of specific styles. The Romans introduced wine making to Bordeaux in century AD and the Bordeaux region has been


the 1st


making wines ever since. Its success as a wine region is due to the climate and geography of the Gironde Estuary which produces the ‘oceanic climate’ ideal for growing the permitted grapes for blending; Merlot, Cabinet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carménère. The 1st


Bordeaux Wine Official Classification


of 1855 ranked the wines according to price with the first growth being among the most expensive - wines such as


Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood Okehampton Street, Exeter. EX4 1DU Tel: 01392 413100 www.bhandl.co.uk


Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Margeaux, Château Latour, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild. A case of Mouton Rothschild from 2000 will still fetch up to £7,000 at auction. Port was traditionally a sweet dessert wine made in the Duro valley in Portugal, but was used by the English in the 17th


century as


a way of avoiding tax on French wines. By adding around 17% brandy to the fermenta-


tion process, the alcohol content was raised to the desired levels. English Port Houses like Taylors, Warres and Dow’s can buy wine from any region to make port. Portuguese Port Houses are restricted to using the grade A grapes they grow for their own port and selling the lower grades to foreign Port Houses. Madeira is a fortified wine from the Ilse of Madeira in the mid-Atlantic, often a stopping point for early ships in the 17th


century. The wine goes through


a similar process to port but is also heated during the process. It was noted on the long journey aboard a ship in the 17th


century that the heat on the voyage affected the


wine and improved the taste, hence the modern process of heating Madeira. So as we approach the season of good cheer and the


remorse of deciding on which resolutions to ignore, perhaps putting a few bottles away in the cellar might be a good idea.


47


ANTIQUES, CERAMICS & JEWELLERY VALUATION DAY KINGSBRIDGE


Tuesday 20th February Harbour House The Promenade Kingsbridge 10.00am - 1.00pm


All enquiries please call 01392 413100


St. Edmund’s Court, Okehampton Street, Exeter. EX4 1DU T: 01392 413100 W: www.bhandl.co.uk


E: enquiries@bhandl.co.uk


Sold for £4,800


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