The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We seem to be here already, Friday popping up on the calendar as we’ve barely wished the last one adieu! We’ve spent the week chasing up paper work from December, waving at customers as they pass by and trying to stay warm. Even the VAT return has been completed so I think we’re now ready to move gently into tasting season.

First up this week, our thoughts are with the poorly astronauts who had to cut short their stargazing. All those months of training down the Swanee. Being ill on the space station can’t be fun though and an 11 hour flight to splash down in the ocean is a smidge different to us popping to see the folks next door for a pack of paracetamol.

Elsewhere in the world, the news is fairly grim. We wonder if perhaps Donald might like to look up Napoleon to investigate the possible consequences of war on too many fronts, particularly Russia…

He wants Greenland to be part of the USA, apparently being an ally is insufficient. Fairwayland, Bunkerland and Teeland are all speaking to their lawyers, whilst Iceland has offered him a discount of 10% if he shops on Tuesdays. It made me wonder if we could interest him in Canvey Island, there’s a golf course, the remains of an oil refinery and a 17^th century Dutch cottage!

Closer to home, Kemi Badenoch has fired Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership for being about to defect to Reform. It seems the small bump in the polls might have been enough to push him over the top. No chance to succeed Kemi, with an improving Tory Party polling, naturally makes you think Farage I guess. Seems the genius left his resignation letter in the printer tray! Now he’s lost the ministerial car it is the duty of all of us to make sure he pays his rail fares.

Looks like he’s met Big Nige for that pint, as he’s already had his ‘welcome home’ press conference – I laughed out loud at “put aside personal ambition” and then the rather predictable lines were about a broken Britain. Given who formed the government of the last dozen or more years, you might wonder why Reform keeping hiring those who broke it!

Whilst we’re on the subject of Reform, they just announced their leader in Scotland as Lord Offord. Now, call me old fashioned but I struggle to understand why anybody in Scotland, or Wales for that matter, would vote for an English Nationalist Party.  

Points of Order/Diary Notes

It’s that time of year again when a plethora of tastings spread across our calendar. With that in mind, we will be closed for the entire day on Tuesday 20^th January as two of our bigger suppliers have, like last year, both chosen the same date.

Not tasting related but unavoidably we will also close early at 6.30pm on Saturday 31^st January.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

So whilst we’re on the subject of tasting, what are we having on the table this weekend?

White wise we’ll weigh in with Reserve de Gassac 2024 (£14.99) – A wonderful blend of Viognier and Marsanne from the Languedoc.  Fresh and floral with stone fruit and hints of herbs, it has an elegance to it too. The vines are planted in small plots or clearings surrounded by forest and garrigue. The wines consequently soak up the fragrances of the surrounding plant life. Wonderful attention to detail for a wine at this price.

On the red front, we’re going with Palacio Del Camino Real Reserva 2019 (£15.99) – A traditional style of Rioja that is anything but ordinary.Expressive from the first sniff: ripe, with succulent cherry, plum and strawberry fruit notes, complexity from oak spice and a balsamic lift. On the palate it’s beautifully balanced, with silky, well-integrated tannins framing the fruit perfectly. Swish with abandon, it’s a real second glasser!

Two final notes – our January Sale continues with the magnificent 6 for 5 offer on much of the wine on the shelves; also, we still have spaces on our Wine & Cheese tastings on Thursday 12^th February and Thursday 12^th March both starting at 7.30pm, £30 per person, should you care to join us!

That’s it from us, let’s all try and be nice to each other, it might rub off!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Right, it’s day 9, time to get this party started.  It’s the second Friday of the year, the second weekend coming up and January is cantering away, thank goodness.  For those of you who are about to fall off the wagon this weekend, we salute your endeavours and admire your persistence thus far but, let’s face it, it’s cold outside, it’s grey and the world needs to be made to look a little rosier right now (although perhaps not with Rosé, as stocks are quite low!).

Our year started with an avalanche of new pricelists blocking our doorway as we tried to access the shop on Monday morning.  Thanks to the Chancellors benevolence, all alcoholic drinks will go up by 3.66% on February 1^st and, given that duty rates are calculated in 0.5% ABV increments, this means that an 11.5% Vinho Verde will now cost us 10 pence more to buy whilst a 14.5% Aussie Shiraz is 12 pence more.  Sure, we’re talking pennies but this is before VAT has been added, so 10p becomes 12p and 12p becomes 15p and then, at some point the retailer needs to put a bit of margin on too, so yes, prices will creep up, again.  Shall we get this party started whilst we can still afford to?

But it’s not all gloom and doom because, as hinted last week, the Park Vintners January Sale is now in full flight.  We’re offering the same discount that we have done for the last 14 years – buy 6 bottles, pay for 5.  This is restricted to beer, wine and Champagne (with a few top shelf exceptions) and is fully mixable – you can buy 5 beers and a bottle of Bollinger and you’ll get the full 16.666666% off your purchase.  See, we can get the party started, at least for now.  This offer will cease at 5pm on the 31^st, so you’ve got a couple of weeks and, let’s face it, even if you are doing Dry January, wouldn’t it be nicer to buy wine that is 16% less rather than 4% more, ready for February?!

Whilst we’ve obviously been as busy as ever in this first week of the New Year, we did manage to grab a couple of minutes to look at the calendar and put some dates in for the first Wine & Cheese tastings of 2026:

• Thursday 12^th February – 7.30pm – 12 spaces available
• Thursday 12^th March – 7.30pm – 12 spaces available

The cost is £30 per person and as ever, first come – first served, don’t dally and risk disappointment!

In Westminster, insincere Keir has been talking beer, or more accurately he has admitted that many hospitality businesses would struggle with the changes in business rates.  Happily, he and his pit-crew are very used to executing U-turns in tight situations so expect one very soon.  Elsewhere, the last thing we never knew we needed is now finally available at eltonjohnzero.com.  Elton John Zero Blanc de Blancs is, according to the Rocket Man himself: “… born from a simple yet exquisite idea – to create a world where every moment of celebration can be shared by all. Our 0% alcohol Blanc de Blancs captures the elegance, effervescence, and joy of a traditional Blanc de Blancs, without compromise”

It’s also available at Sainsbury’s and Amazon and is made by Benchmark Drinks, who are responsible for all of Kylie’s ‘creations’, so I think we can all see what is going on here.  However, really the biggest disappointment must be the completely missed god-given opportunity to call it ‘I’m Still Standing’!

Sport has not been generous to some of us thus far this year: Harlequins, Spurs and England cricket all need to be watched from behind the sofa and the fact that Arsenal didn’t’ collapse over Christmas doesn’t make things any easier, so we’ll move on and return to wine.

To tickle your tastebuds this weekend, we’ll be opening the following brace of beauties:

Highgate Chardonnay 2022 – £14.99 hails from Hunter Valley in sunny New South Wales and has been an absolute hit since we listed it in October, here’s your chance to find out why.  Aromas of ripe stone fruits, citrus blossom and a touch of flinty minerality lead into a palate that’s bright yet textured.  There’s a subtle influence of oak, adding gentle spice and creamy weight, but it remains beautifully restrained, allowing the peach, nectarine and lemon curd flavours to shine.  A lift of acidity in the finish keeps it fresh, vivacious and hugely appealing.

San Marzano ‘Il Pumo’ Primitivo 2023 – £14.49 is from deep in the south of Italy.  Sometimes we think it’s important to just choose a wine because it makes for great drinking regardless of what food you have.  This is one of those – an aromatic wine with plenty of rich dark plum/prune fruit aromas, and some garrigue herbs.  All this is present on the palate too which is soft yet pretty full-bodied with nicely integrated tannins make it perfect for fireside drinking!

I think that’s probably enough from us for now, come and taste some wine, buy some wine and let’s get this year started!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Sorry to burst into your inbox on a Wednesday but we’d like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your support, derision, patience, purchases, sports chat, music chat and TV series tips. Looking over the course of the year, we don’t seem to have discussed much wine, again!

It would appear that the biggest contributor to global warming could be the hot air that continually flows from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW or from 126 Arthur Road talking about those goings on. For next year, we’re hoping to talk more about the orange in sunsets, sunrises or wine bottles than we do about orange in the Oval office.

It seems the travel bug is alive and well amongst you all as we have bumped into some of you in so many places; be they pubs, airports, swimming pools, islands in Greece or Richmond Park. We’ll wish you all safe travels and hope to keep bumping into you in places close and far.

We’ll be here today until 6pm if you are in need of some supplies and then we’ll be back on Monday 5^th January.

Our January sale will start then and will be the usual mechanic of six bottles for the price of five on most wines. That equates to a discount of 16.6% and as usual we’ll exclude spirits and anything we have to beg for an allocation of.

So, as we draw the curtains at the end of another year, we’ll wish you all a happy and healthy 2026 filled with laughter and high jinks.

After a year filled with so much idiocy we feel the last word should come from Albert Einstein: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Less than a week to go until Ashes winner Sir Alistair Cook turns 41, Ashes winner Simon Jones turns 47 and Ashes winner Marcus Trescothick raises his bat to the crowd, celebrating 50.  Multi-award winner DJ Armin van Buuren will be 49 and Oscar winner Annie Lennox starts her 72^nd year.  Weirdly, the most famous person celebrating his birthday on 25^th December, Jesus of Nazareth, by all accounts wasn’t born anywhere near December.  In fact, experts over the centuries have offered a variety of dates that he may have been born on but none of them coincide with the Roman Winter Solstice; and then on 30^th December, Ashes winner (2015) Joe Root will celebrate his 35^th birthday and we fully expect he’ll be given the day off work to celebrate.

“That should never happen to anybody. I don’t care what your political beliefs are” – Rob Reiner

“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies” – Marjorie Tayor Greene

“reportedly due to the anger he caused others through … a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” – Donald J Trump

Three examples of how 3 people, known to be outspoken, react to another person’s murder.  Rob Reiner now also murdered, seemingly by a member of his own family, showed grace in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s shooting.  MTG for once also showed some humanity whilst Trump once again shows zero empathy, typical of his current tenure.  We struggle to imagine any other current political leader who would survive or make such comments – why won’t the Republican party kick this sordid sociopath into touch? 

In booze news, not a lot to report really – everyone in retail is nose to the grindstone, whilst those who are involved in the wholesale agency side of the trade have already packed their cars as they slope off to the Alps for a couple of weeks, their work here now done, next stop 2026.  However, with a nod towards April Fool’s Day, we read that AB InBev, proud producers of Bud Light (?) and sponsors of the Buffalo Bills NFL team have made a beer using snow!  As written in The Drinks Business:

The limited edition beer, named Bud Light Blizzard Brew, “celebrates the great lengths Bills fans will go for one of the NFL’s greatest traditions,” the company said, noting that this season is the last for the Buffalo Bills at the stadium.

The snow used in the brew was gathered from the first snowfall at Highmark Stadium earlier this season. It was then transported to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Baldwinsville, New York. The brewery team then integrated the snow into the brewing process to create a limited-edition beer sold in custom 16oz cans.

Looks like they’ve found a way to give their beer even less flavour and using free snirt whilst charging more for it – I suppose that sort of innovation got them where they are today.

And our different approach got us where we are today, who’s laughing now, huh?!  Plus, we’re not just here today but everyday until Christmas Eve, when we’ll be closing our doors at 4pm, hopefully to a shop with significantly less stock than we have currently!

To help you decide what to drink over the festive period we’ll have a few bottles open for your delectation this weekend:

Lété-Vautrain 204 Brut NV – £33.00 or 3 for £75

Situated southwest of Reims, towards Paris, this is our house Champagne.  A blend of the usual suspects – Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, from a small producer who we think is really delivering the goods.  Ideal apéritif champagne, crisp and dry with complex apple and stonefruit notes, a touch of breadiness and dried fruit to finish – perfect with smoked salmon!

Creation Chardonnay 2021 – £26.99

100% Chardonnay from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge.  The grapes are hand-harvested before being barrel-fermented in 10% new oak and 90% second and third-fill French oak barrels.  It is then left on lees for another 10 months while undergoing malolactic fermentation.  The resulting wine has lovely fruit characters of ripe pear and yellow peach with a touch of fresh minerality and hints of spice.  We found it to be really rather sophisticated.

Bodegas La Horra Corimbo 2021 – £29.99

This is the Ribera del Duero estate with the same ownership and technical team as Bodegas Roda.  Similar to Bodegas Roda, they are also at the helm of innovation with the Tempranillo research and are conducting trials with clonal varieties of 243 clones in a designated nursery to find which are best adapted to coping with the extreme heat.  We really enjoyed it, not as polished as a Rioja Reserva possibly but no less delicious for that!  Savoury, spicy game notes complement the forest fruit aromas nicely.  The palate has sweet ripe raspberry fruit, a nice bodyweight and a lovely perfumed spice to the finish. 

All three of these appear in our Christmas Day mixed 6 box (£150) alongside another white and two other reds – could this be the gift you’ve been looking for?

We’ll also have the Krohn Late Bottled Vintage – £21.99.  Krohn ports always seem to punch above their weight for us.  Perhaps the secret lies in the high quality of their vineyards – the magical combination of terroir, locality, aspect, incline and low-yielding vines. Their Quinta do Retiro Novo estate in Sarzedinho, in the Rio Torto valley (where vinification takes place), is all A grade vineyard.  The generous plummy characters, freshness and pure berry fruit are surely the best way to end the day! That’s about it from us, if we don’t see you, have a very Buon Natale and if we do see you and you’re struggling for inspiration, we do still have some of the Foxdenton Estate Christmas Liqueur – £25 which is the bomb in a glass of festive fizz!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We’ll start with some good news. After 25 years of asking, The Rolling Stones have given Fatboy Slim permission to use ‘Satisfaction’ for a release of dancefloor bootleg ‘Satisfaction Skank’. They even delivered the original stems to him by armoured car so he could build it from the ground up. Possibly a bit late to make the Christmas No.1 slot but certainly something to get Grandma grooving in her slippers!

Whilst we’re on entertainment, there has been much debate over the years about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. As we move into that season, we have to admit to being a little surprised to find a remake of Pirates of the Caribbean live on news channels with oil tankers, warships and helicopters. The sound wasn’t great but did we hear a shiver me timbers from the White House?

Netflix is hoping to get Warner Brothers Discovery for Christmas, having launched an aggressive $83 billion takeover bid. Not to be outdone, the Paramount team, which includes Trump’s mates the Ellison family and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have also upped their bid. This could run and run and we can’t help but wonder if the political connections will win in the end.

If you’re not in the market for a film studio, alternative Christmas gifts we might suggest could be some Foxdenton Christmas Gin (£25) to get you in festive fervour or perhaps Debt Collector Whisky (£50) which comes from our talented chums at Doghouse Distillery. This is a stunning Bourbon style whisky made in London and is from the first release batch of just 1,000 bottles. Vermouth seems to be a bit of a thing lately and the Lacuesta Reserva (£18.99) is a bit of a stunner. From Haro in Rioja, this acacia barrel aged beauty is the perfect aperitif just over ice. Personally, I think I’ll go for a bottle of Jean Gimonnet 2008 La Guette Blanc de Blancs (£58) champagne. It is a great vintage bubbly that has spent nearly 15 years on its lees. Alex is hoping for some new socks but could be tempted with a magnum of Valenciso Rioja Reserva 2018(£58)!

CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS

Sunday 21^st December: 12 NOON – 3PM

Monday 22^nd December: 12 NOON – 7PM

Tuesday 23^rd December: 12 NOON – 7PM

Wednesday 24^th December: 12 NOON – 4PM

Thursday 25^th December – Sunday 28^th December: CLOSED

Monday 29^th December: 12 NOON – 7PM

Tuesday 30^th December: 12 NOON – 7PM

Wednesday 31^st December: 12 NOON – 6PM

Thursday 1^st – Saturday 3r^d January: CLOSED

Monday 5^th January: 12 NOON – 7PM and then back to normal.

Tasting This Weekend

Alex is keen to get his laughing gear around some Port, so we’ll be finishing with a nip of Krohn LBV (£21.99) but before we get there, we shall pull a cork on Christian Bergeret St Aubin 1er Cru (£36.49) a rather delicious little number from the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. Staying in that neck of the woods, almost, we’ll head along to Emma and Christian Sorine for a tipple on their Maranges Vieilles Vignes (£30.00). We’ve tasted this southern Beaune wine a couple of times and found it be a rather smart glass of Pinot Noir – come and have a sample and let us know if you agree.

Lastly, the shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year has arrived and Rory McIlroy is on it. A golfer hasn’t won since 1989, just saying!

Cheers!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s that time again – a month laden with celebrations. 

Monday saw us celebrating the birthday of one of our oldest customers, congratulations to him, have a glass of bubbly.  Come Wednesday, the Champagne flutes were out again, as Park Vintners Limited, aka the wine shop next to the chemist on Arthur Road, celebrated the 15^th anniversary of trading; congratulations to Wayne for keeping the boat afloat for so long, without any noticeable navigational assistance from his First Mate.  Thursday, the new Friday, saw us continuing the flow of bubbles from bottle to bouche as we hosted the perennially popular Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting, a fitting close to our events for 2025 – cheers!  And now it’s Friday, the old Friday, also referred to as Fizz Friday, so there may well be more corks a-popping as we slide into the weekend….

With a glance at headlines, it doesn’t look like there are many other reasons to bring out the bubbles unless you happen to be a famous Frenchman called Nigel.  Reform UK have just seen their coffers swell to the tune of £9 million, courtesy of Chakrit Sakunkrit, the Thai cryptocurrency investor, more commonly known in the UK as Christopher Harborne.  As leader of this party, we would imagine Nigel has the pin code for the company credit and will, much like his pal across the pond with his Qatari jet, use this donation in a rigorously ethical manner!

And we’re not talking sport this week, because we’re bored of Arsenal being Arsenal and Tottenham being Tottenham, whilst AFC departed the FA Cup over a month ago.  Cricket chat is verboten, too emotionally charged, whilst Harlequins are just a 15 man Spurs.

In 3 weeks’ time, the Wincanton Mares’ Handicap Chase will have gone off at 12.53 and any excesses of the previous day will be being washed away by pints of Guinness in plastic glasses and horizontal drizzle – at least, that’s the plan.  Yep, you’ve been warned, less than 21 days until Christmas, is shopping time running out?  If you think it might be, we might be able to help…

As ever we have put together some Seasonal Selections that look something like this:

Our December Selection – £100

• Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique 2013, Robertson, South Africa
• De Wetshof Bon Vallon Chardonnay 2024, Robertson, South Africa 
• Wairau River Pinot Gris 2022, Marlborough, New Zealand
• Geoff Merrill Bush Vine GSM 2016, McLaren Vale, Australia
• Herència Altés Cupatge 2023, Catalonia, Spain
• La Cantina Pizzolato Pinot Nero 2024, Veneto, Italy

Our Claret Selection – £130

• Château Cardinal 2015, Montagne-St-Émilion
• Château Clauzet 2017, Saint Estèphe
• Château de la Coste 2020, Margaux
• Château Grandis 2015, Haut-Medoc
• Croix de Marsan 2020, AC Bordeaux
• Château Mayne Viel 2020, Fronsac

Our Christmas Day Selection – £150

• Lété-Vautrain 204 Brut NV, Charly-Sur-Marne, Champagne, France
• Creation Chardonnay 2021, W.O Cape South Coast, South Africa
• Terlaner Classico 2024, Alto Adige, Italy
• Bodegas La Horra Corimbo 2021, Ribera del Duero, Spain
• Clos Henri Pinot Noir 2022, Marlborough, New Zealand
• Crociani Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2021, Tuscany, Italy

Our ‘Posh’ Selection – £250

• Champagne Tarlant Zero Brut Nature NV, Champagne, France
• Boekenhoutskloof Goldmine 2024, Western Cape, South Africa
• Sylvain Dussort ‘Cuvée des Ormes’ 2021, Burgundy, France
• La Fleur de Bouard 2014, Lalande de Pomerol, France
• Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2022, Oregon, USA
• Sesti Brunello di Montalcino 2019, Tuscany, Italy

There you go, something for everyone we reckon – tasting notes are attached to this email for further delectation!

With talk of wine and celebrations, here’s what we’re going to open this weekend.  As we are still only 15, we can only drink soft drinks but you lot might enjoy:

Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique 2013 – £20.99

Whilst hailing from Roberston in South Africa, this traditional method wine is named after the Brewer family’s Huguenot relatives from the Loire Valley.  Rich, yet elegant after spending the best part of 9 years maturing on its lees, the wine has a citrus character counterbalanced with creamy yeast notes and a complex finish with real finesse.  A fabulous way for you to celebrate our Birthday!

And then, two new listings to tantalise your tastebuds with:

Boekenhoutskloof Goldmine 2024, Western Cape, South Africa – £26.99

Crafted from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, and Viognier, this wine reflects both precision and personality, a worthy partner to Chocolate Block.  The Chardonnay was aged in French oak barriques whilst the other three varietals were matured in a combination of seasoned oak foudres, concrete eggs, and clay amphorae.  This gives a layered and complex wine, medium-bodied, elegant, and vibrant, with quince, poached pear, and nectarine with hints of bruised apple and baking spice and a clean, mineral-driven finish.

Montresor Capitel della Crosara Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2021 – £20.99

Made using 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Molinara all of which come from the Capitel della Crosara vineyard, in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico region and which gives its name to Montresor’s top Amarone and Ripasso wines.  Made in the Ripasso method, which involves adding the unpressed skins from the dried grapes, which were used to make an Amarone, to a young Valpolicella wine to impart extra flavour and body.  What we end up with is a nose rich with aromas of fresh morello cherry, ripe plum and hints of dried fruits. Similar characteristics appear on the palate complemented with some crunchy black cherry fruit and hints of spice/liquorice.

That’s probably enough from us for now, it’s cold outside, why not come in for a taster! 

Fellow Wine Lovers,

A good number of years ago when even Wayne was young, Elvis Costello wrote a song called ‘Shipbuilding’. The first line of the song was “Is it worth it” which was pretty much how we felt after listening to the Chancellor’s budget. We’ve had weeks and weeks of economic uncertainty whilst the government floated one tax rise after another to see which upset the Daily Mail the most. Rachel Reeves even called a press conference to tell us she couldn’t tell us anything and all would be revealed in the budget.

Now, call me old fashioned but that is not managing anything, it is polling. Given the length of time till an election, and the size of the government’s majority, we feel we should be getting governed not polled. Whilst I’m ranting, why is it that the duty on fuel never changes, the duty on cigarettes went up at midnight, but milkshakes stay cheap until 2028? That seems especially odd given the six month shelf life of the Yazoo I just drank!

Meanwhile, a number of old class mates of Nigel Farage have disputed his suggestion that racist comments he made at school were just banter. He has said he doesn’t remember them because it was 50 years ago. But surely, if that is the case, how can he be so certain he didn’t make those comments? He now thinks that the furore is because people don’t like his politics; I wonder if it may be there is a furore because his politics are racist. Should we start to talk about Nathan Gill and Russian money, I wonder?

Whilst we’re on the subject of Russian assets, the latest attempt at negotiating a peace for Ukraine seems to cede the entire Donbas region to Putin. An area which, by all accounts, seems unlikely to be captured by the Russian forces. Lead negotiator is Steve Witkoff whose qualifications for the job involve being a real estate mogul and golf buddy of Big Orange. Why anyone thinks Putin is in the strongest position of negotiation is beyond us but then we’d also stay away from open hotel windows in Moscow.

Whilst discussing Americans, we read about Pei Chung who has been arrested in Brooklyn. It seems she has been banned from several restaurants since October as she has a habit of arriving at smart restaurants, dressed to the nines in designer clothes, before ordering meals and leaving without paying. She has apparently become known as the “the-dine-and-dash diva” and police say they have arrested her numerous times for refusing to pay bills. Sounds to us like she is just a common thief!

The second Ashes test starts next Thursday but obviously by the time you read next week’s letter it could be all over! England are doing some extra training just in case.

Which brings us on to wine. The duty will go up by RPI, again. Duty on wine has risen by 40% since 2023, more than any other booze. Between April and September 2025 the Treasury received £300 million less in duty than the previous year. Seems like the Treasury may have already bumped into the law of diminishing returns.

Tasting This Weekend

In the white trousers we’ll open Enira White 2024 (£22.49) – Count Stephan von Neipperg, owner of several famous Bordeaux properties including Châteaux Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte, deliberately sought out Bulgaria’s Bessa Valley, where the wonderful clay-limestone soils displayed the potential to make great wines. This Rhone style white blend has plenty of citrus character, apricot and quince fruit and a lovely richness from 6 months on its lees. Awesome with some fish pie!

Trying not to spill itself over those white trousers we’ll have Herència Altés Cupatge Negre 2023 (£19.99). This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Grenache and Syrah from close to Montsant, which is inland from Tarragona.  Medium bodied and fresh with concentrated plum and cherry fruit, a touch of spice, fine tannins, a touch of minerality too.  We think this is a very versatile all-rounder on the food front. 

Which is pretty much us. If you fancy reacquainting yourself with the powerful lyrics of ‘Shipbuilding’, give Robert Wyatt’s version a spin.

Have a great weekend.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Snow?  On a Wednesday?  Whatever next?  Whilst the good folk of Hepple, who are quite used to such weather, were clipping into their bindings to shred the backcountry and the young folk in Exeter were bathing in winter sunshine, our correspondents in SW19 were not loving being out and about in it, yearning to be inside.  As ever in London life, snowflakes only lead to disappointment since the ground was so wet there was never a chance of settling and, by 11am, no-one would believe us when we related our daring adventures over a cup of vin chaud and a crêpe.

Anyway, enough of the Blizzard of 19/11 and all that.  According to cousin Paul in Subiaco, the weather in Perth is currently in the mid-twenties, shorts are being worn and the fine weather looks set to continue.  Lovely conditions to play cricket in, we suggest, which is handy because today one of the world’s greatest sporting rivalries opened a new chapter.  Yep, the Ashes have finally started, by the time they finish it’ll be 2027, very exciting.  The First Test hasn’t been played away from the Gabba for more than 40 years, we still don’t know why they have chosen to do so this time but let’s hope it is not the only innovation in this series.  The most obvious other novelty would be England winning every match down under, shall we suggest this?  By all accounts we have the fastest bowling attack for over 50-odd years, which one of them do you think will get injured first, perhaps we should ask Glen McGrath what the odds are?

Closer to home, as we get closer to the end of November, we get closer to Thanksgiving.  Ok, so we’re definitely not American but, given the ‘piggy’ running their country perhaps it is sensible to give thanks for this.  Equally, perhaps the Americans can give thanks for not being stuck this side of the pond, where our own dear leader has hit a record low net favourability rating of -54 (YouGov), one point worse than the rating Boris J had on the day he resigned!  Still, it’s the budget next week, so we suspect his ratings might not improve in a hurry – we don’t imagine there will be much in the Reeves Red Briefcase to give thanks for.

In hospitality news this week, we read (yet again?) that research, undertaken by UKHospitality, the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and Hospitality Ulster, found that 73% of businesses have less than six months of cash reserves to fall back on whilst 29% have no cash reserves at all.  The industry is teetering on the crumbliest of cliffs but not everyone is too concerned about customer flow, it would seem. 

The Independent has been getting a bit excitable about ‘news’ that a bar in Altrincham, known locally as Alibi, refuses entry to lone drinkers after 9pm to stop them ‘mithering’ other groups of drinkers.  A number of questions spring to mind here: if we were drinking alone, at 9pm, we’re not sure a cocktail bar specialising in karaoke themed events would be our first port of call; equally, if a group of friends go into the bar and then one of the group peels off and starts talking to another group, do they then become a ‘solo’ drinker and thus a pest in need of removal?  The owner says he’s prioritising people’s welfare and safety, saying “once or twice a month, and often at midnight stumbling around looking for someone to go” which we think means that every couple of weeks someone gets drunk and tries to start a fight.  So, if, as he states, the single-drinker ban has been in place since they opened in 2022, might it be reasonable to assume that it’s not the lone drinkers starting these fights because how would they be there in the first place?  Perhaps he should change the policy wording to something closer to what he really means, like ‘No Weirdos At Any Time, Ever!’ which would probably send The Independent into meltdown….

Another weekend laden with sporting opportunity beckons and, given the temperatures, TNT and the settee seem very tempting.  As mentioned, there will be cricket on in the mornings and then, on Saturday we have Wales beating New Zealand at 3.10pm; Ireland beating South Africa at 5.40pm; France losing heavily at home to Australia or Italy losing narrowly at home to Chile, both at 8.10pm.  Sunday brings us Scotland tying with Tonga at 1.40pm and England clashing with Argentina at 4.10pm, which itself clashes with Arsenal v Tottenham at 4.30pm.  Looks like the morning just might be cricket free on Sunday to squeeze in the dog walking…

Back to now, back to Thanksgiving, back to wine.  As is our wont, we’ll be opening a couple of American wines this weekend to complement the feasting next Thursday.

Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2023 – £20.99 – based in the Livermore Valley, Califormia, Wente’s vineyards were founded in 1883 and are still owned and managed by the same family, four generations later.  They were also one of the first to plant Chardonnay and, in fact, the Wente clone is the most well-known Chardonnay clone in California because they were one of just two commercially viable Chardonnay vineyards to survive Prohibition!  Crisp with fine elegant apple notes with a supporting touch of oak and bang on with all your festive treats!

Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 – £26.99.  Located in the Paso Robles region of California, they are particularly renowned for their Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with a smidge of Petit Verdot, and was aged for 20 months in a combination of French and American oak.  Rich, opulent and balanced, powerful aromas of dark fruits, cocoa, violet, coffee, and toasted oak dominate whilst the palate is dense, deep and full-bodied with balanced and ripe tannins.  A bit of age only adds to the pleasure!

That’s it from us for this week, last week of November incoming, Budget on Wednesday – think we might need a drink sooner than we think!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I’ve been writing this email for about an hour now and have got just this far. My ever supportive colleague observed: “Ooh, that’s going well!” – I’m fairly sure nobody around the cabinet table has uttered those words this week, whether in truth or jest.

A Prime Minister, with a working majority of 169, this week found their advisors briefing the press about a non-existent coup for leadership of the Labour Party. It would be really rather funny if it wasn’t for the fact that these people are supposed to be running the country. We really do need a grown up to come along and sit them all down to explain that ‘Traitors’ is just a television show for entertainment, even if it is on the BBC. On the plus side, the PM is going to get to the bottom of it and sack whoever did the briefing. On the downside, Downing Street staff has said nobody did it – A real dog ate my homework moment.

In the US, the drip drip drip of the Epstein files continues. I would have thought that the release of over twenty thousand emails would be the perfect place to get an AI application involved. Bizarrely, there seems little appetite for even a qualified speed reader!

Elsewhere, COP30 has been happening in Brazil, a place where acres of the Amazon get burnt every day, to the tune of 2.7 million acres this year alone.

We’ve covered events at some of the COP meetings in the past but it seems to us that they don’t work. We are now up to number 30 but the rhetoric has barely changed over the last 10 of them. People fly in from all over the world and talk for weeks about the heating of the planet yet here we are, still on target for a catastrophic 2.6˚C rise. That said, it did amuse me that the Californian delegation referred to Trump as an invasive species.

As an interesting counterbalance, I read that Pakistan is paying Qatar to not deliver Liquid National Gas because, even with the penalty, their solar and battery spending is much better value and saving them a fortune.

In other news, John Elkan, president of Ferrari has been rather blunt stating that his F1 drivers “should focus on driving and talk less.” It is that kind of no nonsense commentary that we think should be advising government ministers! Admittedly, the team has not had its best season but has our government?

In Olympic news, it has been announced that the Women’s 100m final will be on Day 1 of the games in Los Angeles 2028. That’s going to be hard work on the runners, three rounds all on the same day, but definitely a way to start the games with a bang!

On the Rugby front, England host the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday at the weird old time of 15.10. Even more surprising is that it looks like Marcus Smith is on the bench and they’ve drafted in Emma Raducanu! There is a wide selection of Internationals on Saturday, all at slightly odd times. If you plan your day well it could be back to back rugby from 12.40 till almost midnight if you watch one of the 8.10 pm clashes on catch up!

Which brings me to wine…

Parading themselves in front of you this weekend will be Theopetra Estate Terre Grec Assyrtiko 2024 (£15.99). This is a new one that hails from mainland Greece, just south of Mount Olympus. We found it to be a crisp and dry white with a touch of tropical to the finish.

On the red front we’ll zip over to Sicily and pour a glass of Giato Centopassi 2024 (£18.99). This is a winning blend of Nero d’Avola and Perricone with a medium to full body, black fruit character, a touch of clove spice and a decent finish.  As an aside, Centopassi is the winemaking entity of Libera Terra cooperatives that cultivate land confiscated from the mafia in Sicily.

And that, as they say, is that – have a bon weekend!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We did warn you November was coming and, now it’s here with horrific single figure temperatures and icy gales, you mustn’t complain.  Alright, we may be exaggerating a tad, since the daytime temperature this week has rarely gone below 15 degrees – just in time for COP30 next week where the great and the good will gather to discuss the ‘state’ of the climate.  Coincidentally, when I say the great and the good, this will not include the current POTUS since he has gone on very public record stating that climate change is a ‘con job’.  Do I suggest that the POTUS isn’t great or good?  Of course not, how could I…

Speaking of the great and the good, let’s talk David Lammy, who’s not been having a good week.  Leaky Wandsworth prison released two prisoners by accident, which is not a good look for the Justice Secretary whilst a French court found a taxi driver, accused of stealing money and luggage from Mr Lammy, not guilty.  Ignoring the fact that we were most likely picking up the tab for his 600km taxi journey to Flaine, for his ski holiday, what is more significant is that the taxi driver, since May, has been placed under judicial supervision with a driving ban and a 2,000 euro (£1,690) bail, which effectively took away his livelihood… given the not guilty verdict, who now picks up the tab for his loss of earnings and defamation?  Sadly, I think we might be able to guess the answer to that and his name’s not Dave.

Now we’ve opened the Great & Good Pandoras Box, the G&Gs come flooding out.  Next up, Rachel R. who is considering charging EV drivers a ‘per mile’ tax.  All the encouragement and incentive to adopt electric vehicles naturally leading to an opportunity to profit from people’s environmental choices was always going to be too hard to resist.  Having said that, rumours are circulating that the 5p Fuel Duty Freeze could be coming to an end; apparently, some retailers aren’t passing the savings onto their customers, who’d have thunk it!  This move alone would add a few billion to the treasury coffers each year, which might be helpful…

Other G&Gs worth mentioning in passing: Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the DWP and Joey Barton spring to mind but I’m sure you can add more.

Moving on, it’s another rugby weekend this weekend – Twickenham tickets in L4 are still available on Saturday for England v Fiji if you’ve got about £130; equivalent tickets, in the same block, for the New Zealand game next week are north of £500, which will you choose?  Meanwhile, in cricket, the Indian Women romped to World Cup victory on Sunday, whilst the Australian Ashes selectors have already started playing mind games by choosing a Masters squad for the First Test in Perth.

Back here, we’re keenly selling wine and trying not to upset anyone.  Definitely succeeding with the first, desperately hoping the second is as successful.  Hopefully, if we open some wine this weekend, that might keep us in your good books?

For the white, we thought a brief trip to Spain with the Valenciso Rioja 2023 – £25.99. This is a blend of 70% Viura and 30% Garnacha Blanca, sourced from 80 year old vines and then fermented with wild yeasts before lazing around for 9 months in Caucasian oak barrels.  Complex aromas combining pretty, floral characters with preserved lemon, truffle and smoky notes.  The palate is broad and well integrated with nuts and stone fruit characters.  Fresh candied peel, minerality and crisp citrus acidity on the finish.

For red, the Right Bank grabs our attention with Château Lucas 2016 – £24.99.  Hailing from lovely Lussac Saint-Émilion, our first taste was during a summer heatwave (not this year!) and, even then, its class stood out.  50% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it has raspberry and black cherry fruits, a nice silky texture whilst still having a bit of oomph about it.

That’s it from us for this week – bonfire night tomorrow in Wimbledon Park, so traffic will be bananas from about 5pm, fyi.  Apparently, Edenbridge are burning Keir Starmer this year (Starmer The Farmer Harmer) whilst Lewes already lit him up on Wednesday.

What a strange world we do live in!