Introducing Rob Rand, UK MD of Lanson and our speaker for the night, Hilary Reid Evans commented that he was ‘almost a local’, having gone to school at St Edward’s and played cricket on the Dragon grounds – not to mention playing against our very own VP, Jasper Morris.

But that was before champagne got him in his grip. He’s now had twenty years in the champagne trade – and never a glass of Prosecco has touched his lips (he said…).

The evening took the form of various Club members reflecting on their memories of Charles and then introducing one of the wines he had donated to the Club. None of the presenters were able to taste the wines ahead of the event, so their observations relied heavily on their own research! We were delighted to have Charles’ daughter Judith and her husband John Paul in the audience

Whilst presenting us with one wine made from Sauvignon Blanc and two others made from Pinot Noir, Richard’s underlying theme for the evening was to introduce Club members to top quality wines made from grapes other than the two ubiquitous grape varieties most of us would usually associate with New Zealand. In his introduction he highlighted how New Zealand wines now ‘punch above their weight’ despite a wine industry that has only really developed since the late 1980s. Furthermore, this has been achieved with just 40,000 hectares of vines; a third of the size of Bordeaux.

Setting the scene, Jasper referred to the way in which prices for the ‘humble’ wines of the Mâconnais have increased in recent years, with supermarket Mâcon-Villages prices now in the £13-15 range. There are 27 villages that can append their name to that of Mâcon, with the best-known being Lugny, now that Viré has become part of Viré-Clesse. Most of the wines of the Mâcon are made for early consumption and are vinified in stainless steel.

This was a remarkable tasting from a remarkable presenter. As one awed member of the Club commented afterwards it was a perfect demonstration of the Club’s rationale: to offer members the chance to try wines they wouldn’t or couldn’t usually drink.

Sarah Abbott MW has been described by the IWSC – for whom she judges – as a ‘pioneering force’ in the world of wine. She’s a Roederer-award listed writer, an ambassador for the London Wine Fair and is deeply involved in the ‘Judgement of London’ a tribute to Steven Spurrier which will set not just France against California but Europe against the Rest of World on 20 May 2024.

Currently Sommelier and Bar Manager at St John’s College, Oxford, Yannick Joseph has had a long and stellar career in both catering and the world of wine. An award-winning chef, expert in champagnes, born in the Auvergne and also expert on the wines of the Loire and Rhône as well as the Auvergne, Yannick brought a unique, refreshingly different and very personal approach to this tasting.

On 21st March, we were privileged to host Richard Kelley MW at St Cross for his 8th tasting for the Club. For this very special event, he returned to the Loire, specifically to the wines of Domaine Huet. For Richard the wines of Huet were truly life-changing. Why?

Well, in 1981, at the Bristol Wine Fair, a young man from a teetotal family had a taste of Huet 1969. From that was born in Richard a lifelong passion for the wines of Chenin Blanc, the ‘world’s greatest grape’. The Loire - an ‘underdog region’ in France - was ‘on our doorstep’ and over the last forty years Richard has not only got to know the region intimately but also the vignerons who have devoted their lives to Chenin Blanc.

Approximately 50 OWC members gathered at the Cherwell Boathouse Marquee on a mild winter evening for a wonderful ‘Greek odyssey’ tasting of some of the best in Greek wines. Our speaker, Czech born MW Lenka Sedlackova, who now works at Bancroft wines, is on the Greek wines judging panels for both Decanter and the recently established 50 Best Greek Wines Award.

For those who are unfamiliar with the ‘Call my bluff’ format, ‘en bref’ it is an evening of fun and involves a competitive viniferous guessing game. Each of the ‘wise men’ in turn describes the wine that has been poured then each table must guess which of the three is telling the truth. At the end of the evening the table with the most correct guesses wins. It probably took new members and guests a few minutes to settle into the rhythm of bluff and double bluff, however those familiar with the format, including our ‘Bluffers’, certainly pitched in with gusto.

The word ‘selected’ considerably underplays Mark’s generosity when he presented seven spectacular sweet wines to the Club at St Cross on 22 November.

For Mark, wines are under an imperative duty to be interesting. If they’re not, he’s not. In the case of sweet wines that means he’s always looking for good natural acidity so that the wines are not just ‘sweet’ but offer the possibility of refreshment. For our tasting he also wanted to show how these wines age. As he said, everyone knows what a young Sauternes tastes like – and he feels that in their middle years many sweet wines are uninteresting - but once they have thirty or forty years age? Well, we’ll come to that later…