According to hard-core believers in biodynamics, the day on which you choose to drink a bottle of wine will necessarily affect its flavour. Their view is that the best time to drink a wine is on ‘fruit’ or ‘flower’ days, while so-called ‘root’ and ‘leaf’ days should ideally be avoided. Unfortunately, this means that 50% of the time is sub-optimal for enjoying a glass of wine.
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How do you know when it’s a fruit or root day? One way is to consult ‘When Wine Tastes Best’, a biodynamic calendar for wine drinkers, published by Floris books for £3.99.
Personally, I’m extremely sceptical about following this lunar-based advice. Not least, because I’ve just been looking back at what I drank over the festive season.
For instance, December 19th should have been a very inauspicious day for drinking decent wine. However, bottles of 2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, 2005 Lafon Batard-Montrachet, 1985 Margaux, 1985 Las-Cases, 1973 Haut-Brion and 2001 de Farges were utterly exceptional.
All these wines were thoroughly enjoyed at a wine writers’ lunch generously hosted by Gary Boom at wine merchants, Bordeaux Index. Apart from myself, guests included Jancis Robinson, Neal Martin, Steven Spurrier, Joanna Simon and Charles Metcalfe. I certainly don’t recall hearing any complaints about underperforming wines. Instead, the opposite was the case.
Christmas day, on the other hand, was, for the first time in three years, a much more favourable ‘fruit’ day. Yet, if anything the 2002 Dom Perignon we opened was a little tight and reticent. Fortunately, Guigal’s 2009 Condrieu was cracking with Christmas turkey.
New Year’s eve, involved some delicious Roederer champagne and an outstanding 2003 Pontet Canet alongside a fillet of beef. (In my book, this is currently one of the best wines of the vintage and unlike many still has some way to go – providing you can resist the temptation to pull the cork.) Did the fact that December 31st was a ‘leaf’ day deter me from opening it?
Somehow, I don’t think so.
Written by John Stimpfig
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