OK, I admit it. This purchase was definitely influenced by the packaging. That and a bit of jet lag.
I had intended to find a Hunter Valley Semillon whilst I was close by. Close by, that is, in terms of being in the right continent even if by the time I had the opportunity to go and look I was 4,000km away on the wrong coast. I failed. The day job kept getting in the way and so at what might have been 5am, or possibly mid-afternoon, on the way home I looked with little expectation of success at the bottles on offer in the duty free shop in the UAE.
Week H (2015) William Fevre, Hipster Edition Chablis, 2013. Dubai Airport AED 60 (£10.67)
I quite liked the idea of the 'Hipster Edition' wine, partly because I knew that in two days there would be an assembling of the family to belatedly celebrate my son's birthday and I thought (correctly) it might amuse, and partly because it appealed to my curiosity to understand whether the image of wine can be developed for new markets without diminishing the quality of the product.
I thought the design consisted simply of a white bottle with some green text in various fonts to make it look more interesting that the usual rectangular paper label, but I was wrong.
The bottle has been designed to sit on the shelves in trendy bars, clubs and who knows what other kind of places I'll never visit, under ultra-violet or 'black' light. When this is the case the bottle on the left, which was the one I had bought, turns into the one on the right, which I didn't even know existed until I scanned the QR code on the back of the bottle.
So, having been beguiled by the packaging I was prepared to be disappointed by the contents. But I should have had more faith. I like Chablis, which comes from the most North West part of Burgundy close to the town of Auxerre. This is a cool climate area and the wines reflect that through their steely / mineral character which (in all good examples) is refreshingly acidic under mostly white fruits and citrus flavours. This one is indeed a good example and, once I had checked the exchange rate to establish that I hadn't allowed my in-transit status to see me unintentionally splurging ten times more than I could afford, good value. I'm sure there is a small premium for the collectable bottle, but I'm happy with that.
I had intended to find a Hunter Valley Semillon whilst I was close by. Close by, that is, in terms of being in the right continent even if by the time I had the opportunity to go and look I was 4,000km away on the wrong coast. I failed. The day job kept getting in the way and so at what might have been 5am, or possibly mid-afternoon, on the way home I looked with little expectation of success at the bottles on offer in the duty free shop in the UAE.
Week H (2015) William Fevre, Hipster Edition Chablis, 2013. Dubai Airport AED 60 (£10.67)I quite liked the idea of the 'Hipster Edition' wine, partly because I knew that in two days there would be an assembling of the family to belatedly celebrate my son's birthday and I thought (correctly) it might amuse, and partly because it appealed to my curiosity to understand whether the image of wine can be developed for new markets without diminishing the quality of the product.
I thought the design consisted simply of a white bottle with some green text in various fonts to make it look more interesting that the usual rectangular paper label, but I was wrong.
The bottle has been designed to sit on the shelves in trendy bars, clubs and who knows what other kind of places I'll never visit, under ultra-violet or 'black' light. When this is the case the bottle on the left, which was the one I had bought, turns into the one on the right, which I didn't even know existed until I scanned the QR code on the back of the bottle.
So, having been beguiled by the packaging I was prepared to be disappointed by the contents. But I should have had more faith. I like Chablis, which comes from the most North West part of Burgundy close to the town of Auxerre. This is a cool climate area and the wines reflect that through their steely / mineral character which (in all good examples) is refreshingly acidic under mostly white fruits and citrus flavours. This one is indeed a good example and, once I had checked the exchange rate to establish that I hadn't allowed my in-transit status to see me unintentionally splurging ten times more than I could afford, good value. I'm sure there is a small premium for the collectable bottle, but I'm happy with that.
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