Fellow Wine Lovers,
Step aside Ms Harry, sit down Sharkey, Peel – there’s a new game in town…
So, fresh back from a late night out carousing in the West End with newly crowned global legends One Direction, Wayne was barely able to contain his enthusiasm for their new medley arrangement of ‘One Way or Another’ and ‘Teenage Kicks’:
Alex, you have to realise that all the raw power and energy that the Undertones and Blondie brought to their performances has been smoothed off and replaced with a lovely, squeaky clean feel, overladen with saccharine smiles and tightly choreographed dance routines…
Elsewhere, it’s not been the best week: the voice of Roobarb and the housewives favourite Richard Briers passed on; the Pistorius case seems to be getting darker and foggier with each passing day; Arsenal continue their rich vein of form; Parisse being banned cannot bode well for Italy; and it’s still pigging cold!
However let’s try and focus on the positives: if you’re planning on flying to Madeira this weekend then the daily temperatures seem to be between 16 -18 degrees Celsius; the days are getting longer; it’s nearly March; there’s going to be a variety of wine open for tasting this weekend…
Wines we already stock:
It’s been absolutely ages since we tasted a Riesling so we thought we’d stick the Cave de Hunawihr Reserve 2011 (£12.99) on the table this weekend. Nicely aromatic, with classic notes of lime and grapefruit interwoven with floral, jasmine character and perhaps a hint of kerosene too? Dry, medium bodied, lively, zesty and very versatile – if it was human it would be the life and soul of the party yet as a wine, it often remains a wallflower.
It’s been absolutely ages since we tasted a Carmenère, so we thought we’d continue the theme of welcoming back old friends. De Martino Reserva ‘Legado’ 2010 (£12.49) is the choice here – rich plum fruit, a bit of tannic structure and a good length finish riddled with spice and warmth. If it was human… oh stop it…
Wines we don’t stock, but are thinking about stocking and thought a few of you might be interested in trying them before we buy them so that you can then give us appropriate feedback:
The thing is we need help. Our knowledge of Georgian wine is at best patchy and full of holes (no comparisons with the Arsenal defence necessary here Alex) but we thought perhaps if we all tried them together we might come to some sort of group decision.
Georgia has been cultivating grapes since BC 6000 and as such is considered by many to be the birthplace and cradle of wine production, and we have a white and a red to show you.
The white is called Iago’s Wine Chardakhi 2009 (£16 ish) and is made from the local variety – Chinuri. The wine is both fermented and aged in traditional amphora (Kvevri) from vines over 50 years old. The back label tells us that it has hints of wild peppermint and wild pear – to find out more pop in and take a gulp.
The red is named Pheasants Tears 2009 (£16.50 ish) and is made from the Saperavi grape. With our newly discovered knowledge I can confirm that this wine is also produced using Qvevri (spelt with a Q this time) and these vessels are lined with beeswax and buried in the earth, in the traditional method. Pomegranate, almond and tannins are all mentioned in the flavour profile, so we’ll see.
They’re both fully organic and hairy toed, I reckon they’re going to be really exciting and certainly eye –opening, so try something different this weekend!
Having taken John Peel’s name in vein at the beginning it is probably only fair I give the last words, allegedly uttered after his fiftieth birthday:
Think my chances of making the Liverpool side are gone now. Might still be able to get a game at one of those London clubs though…
Yours, ever so sincerely,
Alex & Wayne