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The Walnut Tree Inn

 

We continue our assessments on wine lists on the Celtic fringe by looking at Shaun Hill’s very personal choices at The Walnut Tree Inn near Abergavenney.

 

Neville Blech reports:

 

Following Franco Taruschio’s tenure at The Walnut Tree for over 30 years was always going to be a hard act to follow and so it proved with a couple of casualties on the way before Shaun Hill took up the reins just a couple of years back. This, however, is not a review of his cuisine (although this will surely come at a later date), but thoughts on his sometimes idiosyncratic wine choices. Like his cuisine, Shaun’s wines are full of character - none of the bland and wishy-washy stuff you see on “safe” wine lists, but an array of full-blooded real Dolly Parton’s sometimes, that show off Shaun’s approach to gutsy cuisine.

 

Shaun states on his website – “I wanted an easy-to-read compact list of around 100 wines. With a good choice by-the-glass. Really good half-bottles are notoriously hard to source, but we have found a few goodies. Also whilst I’ve tried to cater for the full taste range, the wines are unusually grouped...

ESSENTIAL whites, rosé and reds. A good solid mainly varietal-based selection.
CORE whites and reds. A few wines loved by myself and Anja from The Merchant House days, plus some exciting new stuff - shining stars that are good value too.
CLASSIC whites and reds. Mostly top-end drinking, but not exclusively. These bottles have to be worth some ‘serious’ money.”

 

Well, the first good point is that you don’t have to spend a couple of hours perusing the wine list and there is also just about enough depth and width to the list to make it a very interesting one.

The list kicks off with a few aperitif suggestions and it’s nice to see one of my favourite Vermouths there – Chambèry from Savoie. It’s a great palate awakener and its zesty, aromatic flavours certainly open up the taste buds.

The Essential selections are I suppose what you might consider as his “House” wines. They are served by the glass (125ml., 175 ml., and 250ml., as well as by the 35cl. carafe and of course, by the bottle.) Ch. Ste. Michelle’s Stimpson Chardonnay 2008 looks good at £18 the bottle and Tyrrell’s Moores Creek Shiraz 2009 from New South Wales at the same price looks equally acceptable.

 

In the sparkling wine section, Gosset’s Grand Rosé NV is 3 star quality at only £55 whilst there is also a goodly selection of non Champagne fizz including a pink Prosecco at £22 (not allowed under Prosecco DOC rules but who cares?) and a sparkling St. Péray at £28. How often do you see one of those on a list? Unfortunately the producers of these wines are not named on the list, so it’s difficult for me to judge the quality.

 

Core whites and reds comprise the main body of the list and in the main they are middle-of-the-road wines of 2 to 3 star quality with the Spy  Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Marlborough in New Zealand looking particularly good value at £24. Up a notch in quality is Saintsbury’s Chardonnay 2007 from Carneros in California at £34 and a useful half at £18.50. Classic whites go one step further up in quality and here Pieropan’s Soave Classico “La Rocca” 2007 is top quality wine at £37. Bouzereau’s Meursault Poruzots 2007 at £48 is well priced for a premier cru. Penfold’s 4 star “Yattarna” Chardonnay 2000 at £68 is a little pricey but that’s probably not Shaun’s fault.

 

Pudding wines are an interesting mix. An intriguing Merlot Ice wine from Biegler-Müller in the Rheinhessen is available only by the glass at £6, whilst a 30 year old sherry from Matusalem at £8 a glass is also another intriguing experiment to be taken. For those with a larger capacity to drink sweet wines, then Anselmi’s 4 star I Capitelli is reasonably priced at £32 for a half bottle.

 

There is some good kit at the upper end of the core reds. Best quality/price ratio goes to the 3 star Abadia Retuerta’s Seleccion Especial 2006 at £29 and the 4 star Nine Popes 2006 from Charlie Melton at £39. Classic reds, too, have some ace wines with the 4 star Bandol 2003 from Ch. de Pibarnon at £39 looking good value on the list. There is a 5 star Barolo “Parafada” from top grower Massolino at £48 but the 2002 vintage listed was the worst in the last decade , so it might not be as opulent as one might expect. More reliable Italian 5 star reds can be found with Antinori’s Guado al Tasso 1995 and Luciano Sandrone’s Barolo “Le Vigne” 1996, but at £94 and £148 you might well decide to risk the Massolino even if it is from a duff vintage. It’s not clear as to whether Arnaldo Caprai’s Sagrantino di Montefalco 1996 at £66 is the “25 Anni”, the “Collepiano” or the “Passito”. If it is the 25 Anni, it is fabulous value and if it is the Passito it is decidedly not.

 

It’s clear from the list that Shaun’s wines take no prisoners. Prices are fair for the quality of the cuisine although a bit on the high side for Wales. Whilst there are a lot of wines under £30, it seems to me that the best price/quality ratio can be found in wines costing £30 to £50. Shaun’s cuisine deserves the extra investment in wine drinking, although you might need to be a bit careful afterwards negotiating the B4521 back to Abergavenny!

 

The Walnut Tree Inn

on the B4521, two miles East of Abergavenny

Open Tuesday - Saturday.

Lunch, 12.00 - 2.30pm

Evening, 7.00 - 10.00pm  

Tel: 01873 852797   

Fax: 01873 859764

 

Best value white wine:   Saintsbury Chardonnay 2007   £34

Best Value red wine:   Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial 2006 £29

 

 

 

 

Shaun Hill

The Walnut Tree Inn