The invitation was for lunch with Neil McGuigan. I had been at a dinner earlier in the year when he had launched The Shortlist range to Majestic staff plus a few bloggers like me. As he’s an entertaining and witty man I jumped at the chance to get to meet him again, this time to taste through the Semillons he makes. As it turned out the lunch took place the day after he had been announced IWSC Winemaker of the Year for a second time. To win it once is amazing but twice is unheard of.
The focus on the Semillons was because of the launch of McGuigan’s Semillon Blanc, a bit of a play on Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc. It’s an attempt to woo drinkers away from Kiwi savvy and, having tasted the wine, I think it will work. Soft and easy drinking, it's like a glass of tropical fruit and at £6.99 or thereabouts it's great value for money. There is also a non vintage Sparkling Brut which is an easy drinking and fruity glass of bubbles which willl really give Prosecco a run for its money when people taste the flavour to it.
We also got a chance to taste through the Bin 9000 Semillons ranging in age from the 2011 to the 1997, perfectly illustrating the development of Semillon from a fresh and zesty youngster to a gorgeous aged wine with toast, hay and marmalade flavours. The medals these wines have won at the IWSC including several "Best in Class" show what an amazing and consistent job McGuigan do in producing world class wines. Detailed tasting notes can be found over at my fellow taster's site David Lowe.
We also got a chance to taste through the Bin 9000 Semillons ranging in age from the 2011 to the 1997, perfectly illustrating the development of Semillon from a fresh and zesty youngster to a gorgeous aged wine with toast, hay and marmalade flavours. The medals these wines have won at the IWSC including several "Best in Class" show what an amazing and consistent job McGuigan do in producing world class wines. Detailed tasting notes can be found over at my fellow taster's site David Lowe.
However the following day it was back to reality when I saw a poster outside my local Sainsburys advertising the McGuigan Bin Series for £4.99 down from £9.99. It got me thinking what kind of producer McGuigan are.
McGuigan may produce some amazing Semillons but they are better known amongst regular supermarket wine drinkers for their everyday Black Label wines. However although they may be better known as a large producer making mass market wines for the supermarket, as I have found out they perfectly balance that with the production of small batch, award winning, best in class wines.
Now I don't think there are that many producers who can claim to do both ends of the market place that well.
McGuigan may produce some amazing Semillons but they are better known amongst regular supermarket wine drinkers for their everyday Black Label wines. However although they may be better known as a large producer making mass market wines for the supermarket, as I have found out they perfectly balance that with the production of small batch, award winning, best in class wines.
Now I don't think there are that many producers who can claim to do both ends of the market place that well.
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