Wine flights at Fortnum's

With half an hour to kill I finally managed to get to Fortnum & Mason’s groundbreaking wine bar 1707 the other day. It’s situated in their very posh new wine department in the basement and offers an impressive range of wines by the glass with a modest menu of snacks that would make a good pre-theatre supper.

It’s also - curiously - one of the few bars and restaurants in London to offer wine flights, an opportunity to compare and contrast different wines of the same type. I don’t know why this has never taken off in London. Restaurateurs argue that they get left with open bottles but I think it’s a great way to encourage customers to become more knowledgeable and acquire the confidence to buy more expensive wines.

I ordered a Sauvignon flight which consisted of their own label Sancerre (a 2005 made by Dezat, a 2006 Neudorf Sauvignon Blanc from Nelson in New Zealand and a 2005 Vieris Sauvignon from Vie di Romans in Friuli. I also had a plate of potted shrimps.

The classic minerally Sancerre stood out on first sip. The Neudorf initially seemed a bit clumsy with an overload of gooseberry, asparagus and green bean flavours and the Vieris, too, with its powerful lemon zest character, a little one dimensional. With the shrimps, which were served with a creamy dressing rather than the traditional spiced butter, the Neudorf acquired an intense limey note which drew me to it more, the Sancerre’s flavours became even more intense and the Vieris remained unchanged. After a few more mouthfuls and sips the Neudorf really blossomed and become rich, lush and complex. I ended up liking it the best of the three.If flights don’t appeal you can order many of the other wines on the list by the glass - a great way to try before you buy.

Fortnums own bottlings, which are made for them by top producers such as Billecart Salmon (the ros champagne), Bruno Sorg (their Alsace range) and Torbreck (their Barossa Shiraz) are well worth exploring too.

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