MY HEART sinks. Before me stand six unidentified red wines numbered 7 to 12. Fortunately my flight from London was late so I have missed the whites, which I later find out were excruciatingly difficult, but still, the prospect of identifying each wine as closely as possible sends me into a mild panic.
It's the fifth Edinburgh v St Andrews University blind wine tasting match. We're at the capital's newly opened Hotel du Vin, at the chef's table to be precise, which Pol Roger's James Simpson MW, the match co-ordinator, has requisitioned for judging.
Marks are awarded for the ability to identify grape varieties and to place the wines as close as possible to their origins. Additional marks are given for an intelligent explanation of how the tasters reached their conclusions.
I'm late and time is short, so I run through the reds making shorthand mental notes: Burgundy, possibly Beaujolais, claret, Californian shiraz etc. In the end my performance isn't bad but it's hardly up to scratch. Blind tasting is, of course, the most terrifying and humbling experience any professional wine journalist can put themselves through. Success depends on having a startlingly good palate memory or an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world's wine-growing regions. It is, of course, preferable to have both.
But more often than not blind tasting is a humiliation waiting to happen. If there isn't instant recognition, a laborious process of elimination is carried out which, in my case, usually leads to the wrong conclusion.
This particular match, now sponsored by Pol Roger, has been held every year since 2005, inspired by a similar one between Oxford and Cambridge which began in 1953. The format is simple. Each team has six students, plus a reserve whose score counts only if there's a tie. Twelve unknown wines (six white and six red) have to be identified by their predominant grape variety, country of origin, main viticultural region and vintage, with comments required on how the answers are arrived at. There are 40 minutes on whites, a break, then 40 minutes on reds. Scores are judged by St Andrews alumni Rose Murray Brown MW and Alan McMillan of Friarwood, representing Edinburgh.
An earlier event was staged in 2000 by Justerini & Brooks, its sponsors at the time. It's worth mentioning, not because as a past president of Edinburgh University Wine Society I helped organise it, but because in a deliciously close finish it was St Andrews that won. Edinburgh had been by far the better tasters on the night, but St Andrews clinched the trophy by a whisper on the back of identifying, correctly, the vintage of the port. Since then their form has dipped somewhat as Edinburgh have steamrolled themselves to victory in every competition.
This year was no different, with Edinburgh's captain, Frances Bentley, lifting the trophy to make it five in a row. She also picked up the best taster award. To complete the rout, Edinburgh's Claire Furness won the reserve match.
The secret to Edinburgh's success is application and hard work. Under the stewardship of Fraser Wright, the University Wine Society is thriving. I talked them through some wines at the beginning of the academic year and was immensely impressed with the calibre of tasting. One suspects they are already plotting their sixth victory.
2007 Gentil, Hugel & Fils, Alsace, France, £9.99Try guessing the blend in this one! It has gewurztraminer, pinot blanc, riesling, muscat and sylvaner. It's fresh, clean as a whistle with pleasant acidity and a scented finish. This will be superb with shellfish.
Pol Roger Pure, Champagne, France, £35This was introduced a few years ago, and I was impressed with its fresh and clean appeal. It doesn't have the customary addition of a sweetening dosage which means it is bone-dry and thus harder to detect in blind tastings. Its character matches light dishes.
Pol Roger Brut Réserve Non-Vintage, Champagne, France, £29.30
This is an absolute classic, with finesse, elegance, marvellous acidity and a searingly dry, biscuity finish.
Stockists: Harvey Nichols; Majestic; Justerini & Brooks; The Wine Society
The full article contains 684 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
