What’s in a label?
Posted by Daniel Stewart on January 27th, 2012Love them or hate them wine labels can be one of the most influential factors in choosing a wine. Some of the finest wines in the world have very plain labels, offering no clue as to the quality of the wine inside.
If you didn’t know your Pomerols from your Médoc then what conclusions might you draw from these two Le Pins?
The one on the right costs around €9 the one on the left would set you back €1800!
The label on the left from Le Pin (Pomerol) has a simple, classic style that doesn’t need to catch the eye; it is not designed to lure a roaming buyer in a fine wine store. The buyers of this blue chip know well in advance exactly what they are looking for and getting. The Le Pin on the right however is trying hard to say “I am venerable Bordeaux Château – look at these gates, and the crest!- buy me!”
For lesser known wines and new producers the label design is a big deal, it is that all important first contact with the wine drinker and first impressions do count. Unfortunately there are some very average wines out there that have been dressed up to look the business with fancy embossed labels and engraved bottles but contain, at best, a mediocre wine.
Thankfully though, there are wines made whose labels scream out “try me I am as good as I look!” Labels that openly flirt with you as you browse the shelves and once tasted back up their claims with a wine that engages and delights the nose and palate.
Which brings me to the point of all this….my favourite new wine label: Jaspi Blanc.
Smart, eye catching and simplistically original. Made from Grenache Blanc and Malvasia from the DO of Terra Alta in north east Spain, it is every bit as good as it looks. Jaspi has a superb intensity of cool citrus and apple fruit and a remarkable minerality that underscores the wine but is reluctant to ever leave the palate.
The red equivalent (Jaspi Negre) almost equals the white in its balance of fantastic packaging and stunning wine. Hailing from the Monsant Mountains it’s a deeply coloured, rich red with superb acidity to balance the core of ripe, dark-berried fruit. It bears a striking similarity to the expensive wines of neighbouring Priorat but leaves these wines miles behind in the quality for money stakes.
Impressive labels are not the most reliable guide to choosing wines but sometimes the first impression is an honest one and the wine that follows more than lives up to the billing.