Hedonism Wines

Tomorrow a temple of fine wine opens in London. The Russian-owned Hedonism Wines in Mayfair boasts various vintages of all of the five first growths, along with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Super Tuscans Sassicaia and Ornellaia, Screaming Eagle, Pétrus, Le Pin and many other of the finest wines available to humanity.

Run by Alistair Viner, Harrods' ex head wine buyer, the most expensive single bottle on sale is Château d'Yquem 1811 at an eye-watering £100,000.  I was lucky enough to be invited to the press launch on Monday night. Descending into the cavernous basement, on catching sight of the giant large format bottles on display, from Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2000 to Château Pichon Baron Longueville 2005, I felt like Alice in Wonderland after she'd imbibed the 'Drink Me' shrinking potion. Hedonism is more Ferrari showroom than fine wine mecca.   

Turning a corner, I stumble across a Surrealist cave filled with sinister hands, from Mickey Mouse gloves to lobster claws gripping the bottles in a scene straight out of a Salvador Dalí and André Breton film, with a little Labyrinth and David Lynch thrown in for good measure. Taking another turn into the unknown, I enter what looks like a forest filled with wine bottles taken captive in the corkscrew-like twisted branches.

Stopping to drink in the curious mise-en-scène, I hear a squeak and watch one of the bottles move of its own accord. It's all very Lord of the Rings – I half expect Frodo Baggins to come bounding in barefoot. Though most of the liquid treasures remain unaffordable to mere mortals, Hedonism is worth a visit for the experience alone. With so many iconic bottles on show – their lusted after labels naked and exposed – it's a wine lover's delight. Go forth and drool...

Wine of the Week: Ornellaia 2008

Welcome to a new section of Wine and the City – Wine of the Week, where each week I will taste and rate a different wine from around the world. While I’ll endeavour to make the majority affordable and accessible, I’m starting the section on a high note with a very special wine, Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2008.

One of the three so-called “Super Tuscans”, along with Sassicaia and Solaia, it’s easy to forget the estate of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia was founded a mere 31 years ago in 1981 by Lodovico Antinori, who chose an unspoilt patch in the hills near the medieval hamlet of Bolgheri, set in a triangle formed by the Tyrrhenian Sea, Bolgheri and the town of Castagneto Carducci. The ambition was to create fine wines to rival the best in the world. Since establishing the estate, Lodovico has passed the baton on to current owner, the Marchesi de Frescobaldi.

Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore is the estate’s flagship wine, produced since 1985 from select, hand picked parcels across the estate’s 97 hectares of limestone-rich calcerous soils. Made from a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc and a 3% dash of Petit Verdot, while showing beautifully now, the 2008 vintage is one for lying down. The 2008 growing season was marked by a wet spring, which lead to low yields of high concentration. The summer was hot, but temperatures cooled at night, allowing for the development of colour, aromatics and phenolic ripeness in the Cabernet Sauvignon, resulting in a bold, structured wine built for ageing.

Crafted by German winemaker Axel Heinz, after the grapes are gently crushed, the wine is fermented in French oak barrels (70% new) then aged in small barriques for 18 months, followed by a year of bottle ageing. An intense deep purple, the nose is full of ripe blackberries and black cherries alongside tobacco, balsamic and herbal notes, and hints of dark chocolate, mocha, tar and spices. The Cabernet dominant palate is dense, concentrated, textured and giving. Fleshy, soft and opulent, with a sweetness to the fruit, it’s a Rubens of a wine, with velvety, fine-grained tannins and a lightening bolt of minerality running through it. Firm yet racy, with a liquorice finish and incredible length, it’s a clever balance of power and elegance made very much in the international style, which will go on happily for 20 years.

Wine and the City rating: 18/20.

Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2008 is available from Berry Bros & Rudd, Harper Wells and The Wine Society for £100-120 a bottle.

Albiera Antinori

Wine and the City talks to Albiera Antinori during the World Wine Symposium at Villa d'Este on Lake Como about the newfound Chinese love for Italian wine, Antinori's experimental vineyard in Romania, opening their doors to the public for the first time in 600 years, and whether her father, Marchese Piero, has any plans to retire.