Gagging on John Terry ('s Wine)

A review of JT’s contribution to ‘The Wine of Champions’

“John Terry (JT), come over here and sniff this”, says the Italian Football Director, Businessman, and Winemaker Fabio Cordella. JT takes off his shin pads, his boots click against the winery’s floor, he then dips his nose into the barrel sample, “Smells like Ribena” says JT. Fabio is quick to laugh, “John Terry, enough with the jokes, I know your palate is sharp like a woodpecker’s beak”. JT takes another sniff, “stewed plums, blackcurrants, some spice. This smells like Negramaro makes up 80% of the blend?”. Fabio smiles at JT and says “that's right Woodpecker, welcome to the Wine of Champions project”. Thats how I imagine the conversation took place in 2019 when JT collaborated with Mr. Cordella to produce a selection of wines from Salento, a place deep in the heel of Italy. 30,000 bottles were made and the wines were not given the press they deserve. This is both an injustice and missed opportunity for amusement.  

John Terry’s wines are part of the wider ‘Wine of Champions” collection. Fabio began the project when an Italian football club swindled him out of a directorial role and left him twiddling his thumbs in between cigars. Fabio’s family have made wine in Salento since 1911 and this bout of unemployment inspired a synergy of sorts. The thinking was to make his dream team of players as a collection of wines and ‘instead of the team competing on the pitch they compete in restaurants and on the dinner table’. Is this what attracted JT to the project, thoughts of possibly staining someone’s dress at the dinner table?

Fabio’s capacity for courting retired footballers must not be underestimated. He has spun an extensive web of high profile connections as sporting director for clubs like Budapest Honved FC, currently 16th in Hungary’s second League, and Africa Sports d'Abidjan, winners of 2 Ivory Coast Championships during his tenure. Among others, the Wine of Champions squad includes Ronaldinho (lending his name to 7 of Fabio’s wines, including Primitivo from Salento), Gigi Buffon (imported Chardonnay), Roberto Carlos (Negramaro from Salento and a rogue beer), and of course John Terry. Fabio is eager to stress that plastering famous retired footballers on wine labels is not just a marketing trick but a sincere collaboration aiming to ‘craft’ individual wines reflective of each player and their tastes. 

“I said to Fabio [Cordella], I’m going to be really picky as I love my wines and want these to be just right”, recalled John Terry. It’s a shame due to the Coronavirus pandemic that the ‘intense period of trialling’ by JT and Fabio was largely done remotely. Adequate detail on how the pair collaborated or how the wines were made is difficult to come by. Controversially, I’m not convinced JT was that meticulous. As per the Wine of Champion’s website, the ‘John Terry 26 Salice Salentino’ was ‘Hand picked’ in early October and aged for ‘about’ 18 months in barrique. The grape varieties are indigenous to Salento with 80% of the blend being Negroamaro and the remainder Malvasia Nera. For 30 euros you may purchase a bottle. 

Decanter Magazine’s James Button offers a tasting note very different from mine, “...dark, ripe and spicy, with plenty of black and white pepper accompanying rich, slightly meaty flavours of black cherry, raspberry, chocolate and black fruits. Finishes a little bit short. - 89 Points”. A lot of points, yes, but commercialised wine scoring is well known to be unforgivably lenient. And not a single reference to JT, whose ‘picky’ taste and character defines this wine? As someone who subjected themselves and others to this bottle, I found several features reflective of the man. 

Like a heavy tackle, JT's Salice Salentino greets the nose with two feet and the studs up. ‘Mission accomplished’, I thought, ‘he’s in the bottle and I can smell his shin pads’. It's a dark plum colour and smells bad. I wondered if a cream Bentley Continental had done a burn out as my nostrils filled with rubber. Cheap jam and nail polish followed suit before an awkward chocolate whiff made me think a Cadbury’s fruit and nut bar had been left in a Stamford Bridge urinal. Cloying and sweet with rough, jarring tannins the main positive is how short the finish is.

Both are tough on stains…

I’m deeply concerned John Terry thinks I’m being unfair and opportunistic. The latter I’ll concede, but to verify my disgust I enlisted the help of Sam Hancock, ex-Head Sommelier at London’s Michelin starred Clove Club. “It almost has all the faults all at once”, said Sam, “volatile acidity, somehow over ripe and under ripe, like Ribena made love to boot polish”. I watched Sam spit it out repeatedly, sort of desperately. I apologised with a smile.

I can’t speak on the rest of the collection but at the very least JT’s Salice Salentino is a blemish on the Wine Of Champions project. At most it’s evidence Fabio Cordella is merely producing novelty booze merchandise for football fans over 30. Belgian Beer, Prosecco, Brunello, and a football decanter all for sale and clumsily branded with any player willing to give Fabio their name. Should further evidence for questioning the Wine of Champions be necessary, the eponymous top cuvee ‘Don Fabio’ is available at a wallet-bullying 750 euros. I’d cautiously advise you towards some top end Grand Cru Burgundy for that price.