Lutyens Wine Bar

With the carafe set to surge in popularity this year, in keeping with the casual dining and sharing plates trends currently sweeping the capital, I ventured out with my wine-obsessed flatmate one frosty night late last year to try a selection of wines by the glass at Lutyens’ newly relaunched wine bar. Owned by wine loving restaurateur and soft furnishings expert Sir Terence Conran, Lutyens is housed in the former Reuters building on Fleet Street, next to a church built by Sir Christopher Wren a tuppence’s throw from his magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral.

The often stuffy sphere of wine is being forced to keep up with our ever-changing, increasingly impatient times. Ordering a 75cl bottle of wine in a restaurant specialising in small plates seems old fashioned – anachronistic even. Londoners now expect their wine choices to be as varied and flexible as their food options. Enter Lutyens… Boasting over 40 wines by the glass – impressive even by London standards – each wine comes in five different measures: a 75ml or 125ml glass, a 250ml carafe, half bottle or bottle, encouraging experimentation and variety rather than having to commit to a whole bottle.

Ordered by grape variety and split into two key categories: “Young & Exciting” and “Fine & Rare”, the former gives charming and immaculately turned out French sommelier Romain Audrerie the opportunity to showcase expressive, fruit forward, young wines from emerging winemakers and up-and-coming regions that might not get a look-in on a conventional list. The latter meanwhile, is all about the great estates, and the chance to try high-end wines, from Chassagne-Montrachet to Barolo, without having to splash out on a bank-breaking bottle. Audrerie, formerly of the Hotel du Vin group, the Savoy Grill and Brasserie Roux, also offers thematic wine flights for curious imbibers, including one showcasing Old World icons and another rare European grape varieties, along with tutored tastings from 5.30-6.30pm daily.

But man cannot live on wine alone. Playing an important supporting role is a selection of dishes from young Swedish head chef, Henrik Ritzen, who has a penchant for smoking and pickling. Sharing menu space are the likes of charcuterie and cheese platters, oysters, tartines, and small plates such as venison carpaccio, steak tartare, grilled squid and cauliflower soup. Settling into a chocolate brown banquette, I order a glass of 2011 Louro Do Bolo Godello from Valdeorras rising star, Rafael Palacios, brother of Priorat pioneer Alvaro Palacios. Imported into the UK via Spanish wine trumpet blowers Indigo Wines, the subtly oaked wine was delightful in both flavour and texture, with notes of apple and peach wrapped around a mineral core given further complexity by the 70-year-old Godello vines from which it was made.

Romain Audrerie

Our second white, suggested by Audrerie, was a 2010 Pegasus Bay Riesling from New Zealand’s Waipara region in north Canterbury; a heady cocktail of petrol, squeezed lime, pineapple, lemon balm and herbal hints that hid the 14.5% alcohol deviously, and paired well with a Stichelton, pear and walnut salad. 

Moving on to the meat of the matter, we devoured a charcuterie sharing board loaded with earthy venison and pistachio terrine, creamy duck rillettes, salty ham hock and saucisson, washed down with a glass of 2010 Graci Nerello Mascalese from Etna, bright with notes of sour cherry and peonies. For the main event – a rich, comforting dish of crab gnocchi served in an orange Le Creuset dish, Audrerie served us an off-the-menu modern style Barolo redolent with cherries, garriguey herbs and black truffle.

Keeping us sweet, our feast ended with an indulgent spiced apple tart with caramel ice cream, the warm, textured tart contrasting pleasingly with the sweet, cold caramel. Our final wine, 2007 Bentomiz Moscatel de Alejandria from Malaga, charmed with notes of Turkish delight, nectarine and white flowers, offering a sweet, floral and refreshing mouthful. For the urban wine lover, Lutyens’ shiny new wine bar is a must, offering simple, flavour-rich food, enthusiastic and informative service, and an ever-changing by-the-glass selection. Be sure to rock up early though to secure a table, as it’s forever full. 

Spain: hot regions to watch

Bierzo

Bierzo is the emerging region garnering the most attention in the UK press, largely due to its native Mencía grape – believed to be a cousin of Cabernet Franc – which has got wine writers rhapsodising about its bright fruit, refreshing acidity and elegant tannins. According to Olly Bartlett of Indigo Wine: “Mencía from Bierzo is the most important ‘new’ style to emerge from Spain in the last decade. It’s the red Albariño: a fresh style, indigenous to its area, that shows great varietal typicity when treated right.”

Made a DO in 1989, today nearly 4,000ha are planted across the small valleys in mountainous Alto Bierzo and on the wide, flat plain of Bajo Bierzo. Descendientes de José Palacios, Raúl Pérez and Bodegas Pittacum have led the way with trailblazing Parker scores, while Martin Codax’s modestly priced Cuatro Pasos, imported by Liberty, is enjoying considerable commercial success. Mencía shot to fame when Spanish wine pioneer Alvaro Palacios, spotting Bierzo’s potential, bought plots of low-yielding old vines in the village of Corullón and embarked upon his Pétalos project with nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios.

“We saw the potential of the old vines and slate soil in Bierzo and set about making a wine that had a delicate balance of freshness, roundness, a touch of bitterness and a silky, approachable style,” says Ricardo Palacios. “But the beauty of Mencía is that while it’s approachable young, it also ages incredibly well. Our 2001s are magical now – the freshness is still there.” Ten years ago, while Spain was still seeking power and ripeness, Pétalos was an instant success in the UK, while the French also, somewhat surprisingly, embraced it.

“Palates have changed,” argues Palacios. “People are looking for lighter, fresher styles, and winemakers in Spain are adapting their wines to suit this trend. There’s a new philosophy of freshness in Spanish winemaking.” In recent years, more complex, concentrated, old vine wines are being produced by a new generation of winemakers. Mariola Varona Bayolo, export manager for Martin Codax, says: “Mencía is a very special Atlantic grape with bags of character. You get wonderful, bright red fruit from the old vines and minerality from the schist soils. It’s got fantastic acidity, good body, soft tannins and enticing spicy notes. Bierzo could be the next Napa Valley.”

Valdeorras

Kissing Bierzo to the west is Valdeorras – the gateway to Galicia in the east of the region. Like Mencía in Bierzo, white grape Godello is causing a stir among the UK wine press, and has been tipped for great things. Champion of obscure Spanish grapes Telmo Rodiguez is enjoying commercial success in the UK with his Gaba do Xil Godello, represented by Adnams, named after the river Sil, whose gorge divides Valdeorras from Bierzo. He also makes a Mencía in the region.

Godello has a similar stone fruit and citrus character to Albariño, with notes of apple, peach, apricot and honey, but is creamier and more lusciously textured than its northwesterly cousin in Rías Baixas. Godello gurus still seem to be experimenting with oak, and the better examples are invariably the lighter, less oaked styles. Martin Codax’s Mariola Varona Bayolo says: “Valdeorras is where Rías Baixas was 15 years ago. Godello is the new Albariño. Albariño will always be queen, but I’m excited about Godello. It makes clean, approachable whites with white flower, peach and hay aromas. The fruit character is easy to understand – they’re incredibly attractive wines.”

Bodegas La Tapada, owned by the Guitian family, is one of the leaders in Godello’s resurgence, and a winery to watch in the region. Meanwhile, near the 12th century monastery of Xagoaza, home to the acclaimed Bodega Godeval – the first winery to make a 100% Godello in Galicia – Rafael Palacios (above) has set up shop with Bodegas Rafael Palacios, where he makes a pair of premium Godellos: the barrel-fermented As Sortes, and Louro de Bolo, both of which are available in the UK through The Wine Society.

“I believed so strongly in Godello’s potential, it’s one of the reasons I left Rioja in 2004,” says Palacios. “It has the Atlantic influence of Albariño, and the creamy texture of Chardonnay. I began by experimenting with oak and lees ageing, but my winemaking style has changed a lot over the past eight years. I’m achieving more freshness, fragrance and terroir expression in my wines by moving away from oak and letting the terroir speak for itself. I’ve found my way.” Palacios’ wines are enjoying commercial success in Spain and the UK, along with Russia, Scandinavia the US and South America.