"OK, confessions first. Having only previously tasted two of Penfolds’ entry level wines, I really didn’t know what to expect of this event. The line up looked good, broadcasting figurehead Greg Dyke was planning to talk about his vintage year, Penfolds’ Chief Winemaker Peter Gago was also going to be there and of course, there were the wines!
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| Greg Dyke and Peter Gago |
There was a glass of wine on arrival and I opted for the Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008. Already, the venue seemed packed and I discovered that 130 invites had been sent out. We weren’t left standing for long and the movement towards the seating area began and I managed to nab a second row seat. Another confession, I’m one of those people that really doesn’t mind sitting at the front, at least you can see without getting neck ache!
Greg started by explaining that he usually offered 3 subjects when he was asked to speak, Leaderships, Democracy and Weapons of Mass Destruction but as none of these were entirely appropriate, he had opted for his Autobiography and his vintage year of 1991. He had been appointed CEO of LWTV in 1989 and subsequent to the Margaret Thatcher interview around that time, she started a review of how TV programmes were allocated and it was from that point that it then became about money, not about the production of the best quality programmes. Quite topical even today, as we read news reports of how prices for 140 year old bottles of first growth Bordeaux are reaching crazy heights when there is the possibility it tastes like vinegar!
The threat of auction of TV programmes was enough of a catalyst to bring about change so Greg’s aim was to make the franchise as efficient as possible so he could bid as much as possible for the programme allocations and due to ownership restrictions in place at the time, he put together a consortium to bid for TVAM.
He dug around for information on his competitors as to how they were going to finance a bid and went from there. Of course, he won. He never prepared a speech for losing. He thought that his staff would never have forgiven him, as they would have seen it as him playing poker with their jobs. I liked his sense of loyalty to them but also, his focussed, positive outlook – it was as if failure was not an option.
I can also appreciate that it helps when you have an incentive such as shares in the project too. He made millions out of the success.
He stayed on till Granada made a hostile takeover for LWTV and while he liked Granada with its great flair and competitiveness, he didn’t like the people who were running it so he turned the new job down. Nice to have a no mortgage to have the option to do such a thing!
During his time at LWTV, there has been intrigue, drama, great comradeship and not least success, but best part about the journey was that it had always been exciting! It was at the end of his talk that our real excitement for the evening began with a glass of 1991 Bin 28 Shiraz to match Greg’s vintage year. The initial unswirled aromas were caramelly, almost port like, but the black fruit aromas came through later. Beautifully balanced, it was soft in all the corners of your mouth and of had an adorable length. I was left wishing there was more! I’m sure 1991 Bin 28 Shiraz wasn’t quite like the 1991 Grange that Penfolds gave Greg as a present but it was good nevertheless.
Finally, Greg took questions on a number of topics from Politics to the new Daybreak show, the sale of the iconic BBC Television Centre building, the relationship between a chairman and a chief executive, and being a leader. After point, I was expecting Peter Gago to talk for a little while about Penfolds, the wines we were about to taste and how this all married up with Greg’s talk but Peter’s time on the platform was very short, disappointingly so for me.
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| The Lineup |
Personally, I’m not a fan of big oaky chardonnays and so I was pleasantly surprised by the Thomas Hyland Cool Climate Chardonnay 2009 at this price point. I thought it was far more aromatic than your usual Chardonnay and gave an initial rounded buttery flavour on the palate but I did feel it was a little shorter than I was expecting. The Bin 311 Chardonnay 2006 at a slightly higher price point showed more grapefruit aromas with the sweet vanilla oakiness not overwhelming the fruit.
Out of the reds, my preferences went to the Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006 and the St Henri Shiraz 2006. I discovered that the Bin 389 was colloquially known as the Baby Grange or the Poor Man’s Grange and as we were talking, the wine was developing the glass. Initially, there were very soft smoky notes but these were closely followed by jammy aromas and black fruits. The palate showed balanced black fruits and I could imagine this getter better with cellaring.
Other than the 1991 Bin 28 we were given earlier at the Q&A, the St Henri Shiraz 2006 was my favourite of the night. Sitting a gorgeous, thick ruby colour in the glass, the aromas of chocolate and cherry were definitely inviting and I thought it was actually one of the more perfumed reds I have tasted. I discovered that they used 50+ year old barrels to age this wine and consequently the barrier built up between the barrel and the wine from years of use slows down the transfer of some of the oak flavours to the new wine. I liked this element of the wine a lot and overall thought it was an elegant wine.
Looking back, I did prefer the more expensive end of the range that I tasted that night (that makes me wonder if I am now being spoilt with tasting all the fantastic wines that are out there or whether wine tastes are getting more expensive….?!). After finishing another taste of the St Henri Shiraz 2006 while chatting, I noticed that the room had thinned out quite considerably and I was soon on my way back to my hotel.
A big thank you to Penfolds and Treasury Wine Estates for the invitation and what was a superb event!
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| Myself and Christine |
