The Merry Drinker

“UNQUESTIONABLY ONE OF THE WORLD’S FINEST WINE PRODUCERS” The producer is Mr David Powell of Torbreck, a firm in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. I do not know who described him thus; the quote flashes up on the Torbreck website without attribution. Perhaps it was one of Mr Powell’s friends. Perhaps it was Mr Powell himself. There is no law requiring winemakers to be modest, and to judge from the photo of Mr Powell underneath the quote, he is not a man crippled by self-doubt.

I remember Carlsberg beer used to be advertised in Britain as “probably the best lager in the world”. That “probably” must have taken up an entire creative conference. “For Christ’s sake, why are we using the modifier?” some ad man must have said. “Let’s just call it the best.” “Oh no,” someone else would have countered. “This is the UK. Everyone hates show-offs. By saying ‘probably’ we’ll sound modest and reasonable, while really, we’ll still be calling it the best.”

But Mr Powell is an Australian, and Australians rightly despise such Pommie weaselry. No “probably” for him. He is unquestionably one of the finest, damn it, and his site will say so in capital letters. Of course, if you think about it, the claim still does not amount to much. Had Mr Powell called himself one of the world’s top five wine producers, or better still, the world’s finest wine producer, period, that really would have been eye-catching. But to say merely that you are one of the finest is taking no risk. The claim is impossible to disprove, or even to dispute. But it sounds marvellous.

No matter.  I am happy to concede that Mr Powell is a highly talented winemaker, and that his wines are well worth seeking out. He describes “The Steading” with the words “If any one wine we produce most exemplifies what Torbreck is, then it’s this wine”. In that case, Torbreck is all about complex and interesting Rhône-style wines that combine strength (14.5% alcohol) with elegance. The Steading is a dense, swarthy blend of Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz, perfumed of smoke and blackcurrant, with flavours of chocolate, licorice and earth. It costs $27 in the US, £22 in the UK.

At any rate, I am now considering a small adjustment to this page. From now on I shall subtitle “The Merry Drinker” with the words “Unquestionably one of the world’s finest wine bloggers”. You don’t agree? Ha! Prove me wrong!