The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So that’s it, Winter done, time to get the shorts on and the garden chairs out – BST starts on Sunday and we fully expect wall to wall sunshine until late September, thank you very much.  We can then have a month of autumnal colours and crisp mornings before the clocks change back and we hurtle towards Christmas and 2026 – any questions?

Whilst we’re enjoying the hottest summer since the last hot one, we can reflect on other things that have been going on.  Thankfully, because the weather is so nice, we won’t need to get on a plane.  This comes as a relief after the Heathrow debacle last week, which we think proved that, if there is a need for an extra runway anywhere, this west London transit hub is not the best location if we cite the ‘too many eggs in one basket’ theory.

Wayne observed the other day that the weather of late has been a bit reminiscent of that which we experienced in 2020, which could be a great omen, without the Covid bit.  He also pointed out that this time 5 years ago he was under quarantine.  Having been an early adopter of the worldwide pandemic and, as a keen observer of anniversaries, he then let me know that he intended to celebrate this milestone properly, so he’d see me in a fortnight!

And we celebrate other, lesser milestones.  The Chancellor’s spring statement failed to lighten our step, whilst we can raise a glass of bubbly (because it’s significantly cheaper) to Thames Water for their 31% increase in charges, starting on Tuesday.

In amongst all this, we also have Mother’s Day on Sunday, another great opportunity to raise a glass of bubbles and have a nice lunch.  Gentlemen, as we suggest every year, don’t imagine that your young children will have arranged anything for their mother and they certainly will not have bought champagne or booked a table, so you have been warned – the frosty reception when you attempt to nip out for a round of golf at 8.30 on Sunday morning is not worth risking.  Don’t forget.

Sadly, we may also be coming to the end of an era.  It seems likely that Bharat, the hardest working man in Wimbledon and the ruler of the newsagent at Wimbledon Park Station, will be closing at the end of the month.  It’s not his choice, it doesn’t seem fair and if he does go, a very important part of the fabric of Arthur Road goes with him.  ITV interviewed him the other day – here is the link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj2tM29zqqMAxXNWUEAHSUUBDcQtwJ6BAgMEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DiStS3Br6fqA&usg=AOvVaw1r5gF0qbWheGLe9FuMzOCn&opi=89978449

The world of booze continues to spin, as you might imagine.  The well-worn adage stating that the best way to make a small fortune in the drinks business is to start with a big one is still very true.  There’s not a huge amount of splash to share once you’ve paid the taxman and his pals, so there is little likelihood of anyone getting rich quick.  Equally, as with everything, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.  Once again we read of con artists fiddling punters out of thousands and thousands of pounds by selling them shares in casks of whisky, promising huge returns in years to come.  The likelihood of the staggering rewards that were promised was low to nothing, particularly as it appears that the casks didn’t even exist and if they did, certainly didn’t belong to the man selling them.  It’s truly horrible for the victims but as there’s no real regulation, there’s no real comeback.  Would you buy a car on Gumtree?  Use the same rules for your wine and spirit investments – deal with trusted entities.  Or go to Bill Hill and put £1,000 on the 4.40 at Kempton, you’ll likely do just as well…

Sorry, rant over, the sun’s out right now; let’s be more positive shall we.  There’s not much else to report – the only new listing this week is Hepple Wheat Vodka – £33 – here’s what they tell us about it:

Pure, Refined, Exceptional

At Hepple, we believe that simplicity can be extraordinary. Vodka, often likened to water for its clarity and purity, is the foundation of countless classic and modern cocktails. But not all vodkas are created equal.

We chose wheat as our base for its naturally high starch content, which yields a spirit that is smooth, subtly sweet, and effortlessly drinkable. Our Hepple Wheat Vodka is crafted through meticulous redistillation in our copper pot still, where impurities are removed, and delicate flavours are refined through our patented Aromat® system. The result? A creamy, clean vodka that elevates cocktails and stands beautifully on its own.

Originally developed for Kocktail, our vodka quickly proved its excellence—helping their Espresso Martini win two Taste Stars and top the Good Housekeeping RTD Drinks Awards. Now, we bring this award-worthy spirit to you.

Made with the finest English wheat grain spirit and the wild, pure water of Hepple, this is vodka, redefined.

As with all things Hepple, it is exquisitely packaged and tastes delicious – come and try a tot to double check!

If you don’t fancy hard liquor this weekend, we’ll also be opening these two delights:

Teliani Valley Kakhuri No 8 Amber Wine 2022 – £15.99 – a proper amber wine, Kakhuri No.8 is a blend of 4 Georgian indigenous grape varieties – Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Khikhvi and Kisi, harvested in Kakheti, east Georgia.  It’s not just the grape names that are a mouthful, this is really rather a splendid wine.  Fermented on the skins for 7 days, then aged on the skins for a further six months, it has a lovely dried fruit and nut character with a dry citrusy finish.

Château de Paraza ‘Cuvée Spéciale’ 2020 – £19.99 – hailing from Minervois, Syrah, Grenache Noir & Mourvèdre are the grapes here.  They give us a deep red, garnet coloured wine with cherry and raspberry compote notes, red liquorice string in the background and a lovely juicy acidity.  A great all-rounder of a wine, with red flowers and mineral notes entwining themselves with rich fruit into a great finish.

That’s it for now, apologies for the slightly sombre tone to this week’s epistle – imagine how jolly and uplifting it could have been if we’d looked across the Atlantic for our inspiration!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Much like most of the US civil servants fired by Elon Musk’s teenagers, I have been rehired. Alex has found that two weeks doing all the work on his own was more than enough and has now rehired me. Fortunately, with these actions we have not crashed either the stock market or the economy and had no near misses on the runway.

In the meantime, the worst American President since the last President Trump is still swinging the wrecking ball through the US economy, International relations and world peace. All this from a man who really wants to be given a Nobel Peace Prize!

The latest idea is signing an Executive Order to close the Department of Education. The future of the USA clearly doesn’t need educated children!

We’ve also had Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary, suggesting to viewers of Fox News:  “I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again.” I have to say, in my view, it is not the Commerce Secretary’s job to pump individual stocks. I thought there might have even been laws against it, but what do I know?

Following the success of the tariffs introduced so far, the good news is that there are more on the way!

One of the more absurd things we read this week was a little disheartening. Thousands of acres of protected Amazon rain forest have been felled to build a four lane highway to the city of Belém in Brazil for the COP30 Summit in November.  COP30 is, of course, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. You couldn’t make it up!

But that’s enough of all that.

The sun is shining, the temperature has risen and spring starts tomorrow. Tree pollen is a bit high though, so don’t forget your allergy medications!

Also, The World Happiness Report 2024 finds that “benevolence bump” of kindness that the world experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic has remained, with generous acts more than 10% above pre-pandemic levels. Acts such as volunteering and donating were more frequent in all generations and most regions, with Finland topping the chart for the eighth successive year. Perhaps saunas are a happiness superpower?

You knew if you persisted we’d get there: welcome to the wine section!

You’ve been very patient with our nipping out to tastings here and there the last month or so and the fruits of those tastings are starting to appear on the shelves. Have a look out for a new Nerello Mascalese from Sicily, a bargain from the Douro in Portugal, a Bobal/Tempranillo blend from Spain and Pinot Noirs from both France and New Zealand’s Nelson plus the return of one of Greece’s rarest reds.

Tasting This Weekend

We’ll swing by Austria for a sample of Funkstille Grüner Veltliner 2023 (£14.49). Niederösterreich is Austria’s largest Qualitätswein wine-growing region and home to the excellent Grüner Veltliner grape.  As with many Austrian producers, quality and sustainability are top of the agenda here – they produce their own fertilizer, hand harvest the grapes whilst their winery is energy neutral, and their biogas plant actually produces more energy than is required.  Oh, and the wine is vegan too, but how does it taste?  Excellent, is the answer; dry with ripe pear and fresh citrus aromas and a palate rich with melon and grapefruit and a refreshingly zippy finish.

For the red, we’ll be in Spain for one of the newbies. Rippa Dorii Crianza 2021 (£17.99) is a wonderful Tinta Del País (or Tempranillo if you prefer) grown at 900m altitude in Ribera Del Duero. Lovely bramble fruit character with a touch of vanilla character on the nose follow through nicely on the palate with some lovely ripe tannin keeping everything together rather nicely.

Lastly, we’ll be late on Tuesday as we have another of those tastings to attend. We’ll be back by 4PM.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

How was your summer?  I’m sure I remember them being longer and usually later in the year but, in fairness, I also remember when my Dad was taller than me and Donald Trump was a bit part actor in children’s movies.

The sun was out, the rosé was flowing and the mercury hit 17 degrees a number of times last week.  Yesterday, we had hail and the temperature struggled to stay above zero overnight, time to put the cover back on the barbecue and retrieve that tartiflette recipe.

In the meantime, in the great big wide world, the POTUS has finally over-reached.  I have been trying to avoid talk of the carrot coloured caricature but when he comes into my house, the wine house, and starts throwing his weight around, well, it can’t be ignored:

The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky. If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.

Ok, Donald, that’s a step too far.  First of all, whilst I wasn’t at the meeting over 30 years ago, I would be willing to bet the house on the fact that at no point did Helmut Kohl turn to François Mitterand and say ‘thank god we’ve finally got a mechanism to take full advantage of the US, it’ll take years for some genius to uncover our dastardly plot!’

Secondly, you are already expecting your fellow country folk to tighten their belts in the name of MAGA, for the greater good, and to put up with expensive maple syrup from the north and fresh vegetables from the south.  However, when you threaten the Friday Fizz market you’re angering a whole different type of voter.  The Champagne drinkers are not the ones living hand to mouth, the ones who’ve had support taken away and who will, through no fault of their own, suffer the most at the hands of tariffs.  The Champagne drinkers are the middle classes, the people who previously were prepared to suck up higher grocery bills without it affecting their lives to greatly but when a $30 bottle of house Champagne gets closer to $100 and a Bollinger Special Cuvée totters towards $200 then you’ll have poked the bear, you numpty.

In better news, if France decides to cut exports of Champagne to the US, there’ll be more for us here, as the second biggest export market, so perhaps our prices might get keener.  Donald, you’re a genius!

Speaking of genius, it looks like Peter Crouch got saddled with a 1,000 pint Guinness bill.  We like to misspend our adulthood as much as we misspent our youth and thus have been glued to Cheltenham all week.  Before the racing began yesterday, we watched Peter Crouch being interviewed by Oli Bell and, having embarrassed himself with an unwitting innuendo, he then got punked by Paddy Power on live TV.  Apparently, they had already had a pint bet over the winner of the Stayer’s Hurdle – if an Irish horse won Peter was buying, if a British horse won then Paddy was paying.  However, Paddy upped the ante by suggesting that the loser bought 1,000 pints for all the punters in the Guinness Village.  Rachael Blackmore won, we won money on her and Peter bought the pints!

In other news from Cheltenham, punters have been moaning about the high costs of drinks… accusations of profiteering being flung around.  I’m a bit bemused about what they expected – Lidl prices? – but as someone once said, there are cheaper places to drink but you might not like them!

Talking of prices, in the spare moments between races we have been to more tastings this week and frankly, having looked at some of the new lists, we really don’t want further tariffs to appear anywhere.  We were tasting some top end kit, granted, but with Ornellaia and Cristal both nudging £300 per bottle for the newest vintages we yearned for the days when our Dads were taller than us and you really couldn’t buy wine for over £100.  I know all about inflation but that’s not the only thing responsible for these high prices…. now imagine them with 200% added!

Anyway, enough of that, let’s focus on the weekend.  Last round of the rugby, England hopes being overstretched in the press and we have to think that France, at home, with such a points difference, should edge it.  Although we thought Ireland would fare better last week and clearly we still have to go to the cauldron in Cardiff.  Either way, we’ll be supping some wine whilst we watch, wines with no connection to the rugby, just good, mid-month quaffers:

Novas Gran Reserva Riesling 2023 – £13.99 – A cracking drop of grog this one.  Chile’s Bío-Bío valley is home to some increasingly fine aromatic varieties, as demonstrated here. Lifted aromas of lime juice, grapefruit, with perhaps a touch of honeysuckle.  Medium-bodied with a seam of minerality in the middle palate giving us a nice backbone to hang the freshness on, fab apéritif but also great with varied cuisines.

We were astonished to learn that we haven’t opened Barton Rouge 2019 – £10.99 since October 2023, which is weird as it is a firm favourite of ours.  A juicy blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot, gives us a rich and fruit driven wine with dark brambly fruits and a touch of spice, yet without too much tannin to get in the way of the fun. Another food all-rounder too….

That’s all from us for now, time to get back to the racing…

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So, it appears that the email we sent last Friday might have caused a bit of a kafuffle. 

By completely failing to read the room, we wrote a sad note about a couple of very successful small businesses that were having to close down (which was at no point meant to be a warning about our own situation) and then to follow this up we were then closed on Friday evening which apparently sent out all the wrong sorts of messages regarding our imminent demise, which was not at all the message we were trying to send.  However, in an unwittingly masterful stroke of marketing, I then saw a number of customers in the farmers market on Saturday morning who, having forgiven me for being closed the previous evening, promised to come in and give us a hug and buy a bottle of wine.  There you go Mary Portas, that’s how to boost sales!

To quell other rumours circulating, Wayne has not left the building to ‘spend more time with his family’; he has just gone on holiday for a couple of weeks, with his wife.  So yes, he is actually spending more time with his family right now but not in the euphemistic way.  God, how did I make such a simple explanation so complicated?!

Anyway, what’s been going on since we last spoke?  Not a lot, if I continue to avoid Trump rants and ignore the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, China, Mexico & Canada.  The sun has been shining most of the week and, by all accounts, this weekend could be the opening of the barbecue season as the mercury threatens to hit 16 degrees at 3pm on Sunday, all of which puts a smile on my face.  Another thing that made me smile wryly was a quick trawl through the archives – today in 2020 we were in the midst of an international loo roll crisis, little did we know what was to come next, which from memory was a long, hot summer and not much else.  And in the same week in 2019, Wayne had banned me from reading the news because ‘by all accounts it makes me ranty’.  That ban should probably still be in place.

I am still allowed to read news about the drinks business and one piece that caught my eye this week was the new crime against beer being committed by Molson Coors.  They have a long history of dulling our tastebuds via Carling, Coors and Pravha but perhaps one of their biggest sins has been the creation of Madrí – El Alma de Madrid, a lager that doesn’t exist in Spain, has no connection to Madrid and is brewed in Yorkshire, alongside the superstars mentioned above.  But now it gets worse.  They announced this week that they were launching a 0% ABV version – so we can now enjoy a ‘Spanish’ beer, not from Spain and now without any booze in it – not sure I can see the point!

To be honest, as often discussed in the shop, there are some decent alcohol free beers out there and probably the most popular is Guinness version.  Perhaps it’s because Guinness has such a unique flavour, perhaps it’s because the full fat version is only 4.2%, perhaps it’s to do with texture, who knows; I’m sure many of you will have a glass of the black stuff in your hands this weekend, so you can let me know.  Because, yes, the men’s 6 nations rolls back into town this weekend with England hosting the Italians on Sunday in a match that they need to win, in the French style, to stand any chance in the final weekend.  Of course, what happens in Dublin on Saturday has huge significance – given the inconsistent nature of French rugby at the moment, it should be amazing for the neutrals.  Meanwhile, Marcus Smith has been benched, something that would never have been considered 6 months ago – if his Cipriani-esque descent down the pecking order continues, at what point does he look at a couple of years playing in France to fill his coffers?  Generational talent, who needs it.

Enough of all that though, what about wine?  I went to a couple of tastings on Tuesday and have another to go to next Tuesday too – lots of interesting wines out there, lots of price increases, lots of alcohol reductions.  Some funky stuff from Austria raised my spirits and hopefully I can get some on the shelf soon.

More immediately, what shall I open this weekend?  Looking at recent and not so recent emails I notice that the two wines I have chosen haven’t been opened for far too long – that changes today.

Domaine Jouan Menetou Salon 2023 – £19.99.  Menetou-Salon is a small appellation of around 300 hectares right next to Sancerre to the south-west.  Here, the Sauvignon Blanc vines are planted on Kimmeridgian limestone soils, very similar to those of Chablis, and similar minerally notes can be detected in the wines.  It has always been the case you can find real gems that rival it’s more famous neighbour in the quality stakes.  This is a fine example of that: fresh and floral with aromas of citrus and blackcurrant leaves and elegant mineral tones with a long finish.

Glencairn Pinotage 2021 – £15.99 – This is made by Bruce Jack, one of South Africa wines larger than life characters.  My tasting note says Pinot Noir-like fruits, red cherry and strawberry on the nose, a fresh palate with ripe tannin and vanillin notes followed by strawberry all the through to the finish.  We’re having it with some barbecue, if the weather forecast holds firm!

Ok, that’s it from us for now – enjoy your weekend, enjoy the sunshine, ignore the news and see how much that makes you smile!