We held another Corporate Virtual Wine tasting this week, this time with a team from Linklaters and their clients UBS that were dialling in from Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Since Brexit, shipping small parcels of wine around Europe from the UK has been impossible, so we were pleased to work with the team at La Rioja Alta, who introduced us to merchants in the respective countries in order to deliver a bottle of Lagar de Cervera Albarino 2020 and La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 2011 to each of the tasters on the call.
With nearly 20 people on the call, after a brief introduction from the Linklaters home team, we cracked into the Lagar de Cervera Albarino 2020. It was interesting that Albarino was a relatively new find for many on the call. Perhaps it is not quite as popular in Switzerland and Luxembourg as it is in the UK?
As you will see from the slide deck, Lagar de Cervera in Rias Baixas is a relatively new set up, in fact it was first launched in 1988 when La Rioja Alta wanted to get a piece of the Albarino craze going into the 90’s. The weather in this part of North West Spain is the coolest and wettest in the country, so the wines from this area typically are quite mineral, with tropical notes too.
Following the scores of the Albarino at half time, that were a little mixed, we poured a nice big glass of La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 2011, then settled into the slides review this great estate and wine.
A much larger set up here, with circa 467 hectares of land under vine, making 1.4 million bottles per year across the whole range, this is a far more established estate. Making 150,000 of this 904 2011, this wine really sparked up interest among the tasters online, and sparked much discussion about the taste of this classical Rioja.
This wine did prove more popular, harvesting an average score out of 10 from the group of 8.47. (A step up from the 6.45 for the Albarino!)
A very enjoyable tasting with a lovely crowd – we look forward to hosting more corporate wine tastings in the run up to Christmas.
If you are interesting in hosting a Corporate Wine Tasting, whether virtual or real life, please follow this link: https://www.waudwinesgroup.com/corporate-wine-events
