The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Good morning, how has your week been? I noticed we had some kind of wet substance fall from the sky yesterday morning. The park still looks like shredded wheat, but perhaps it’s a start, certainly the Bank Holiday arriving normally triggers such behaviour from the skygods. Looking up and down Arthur Road it seems that parking around here is still remarkably easy so I suspect you’re reading from Devon, Wales, the Lake District or Provence and that traffic will be challenging on Sunday or Monday.

Andy Burnham has abandoned plans to cap political donations; it seems he was got at by vested interests that fund the Labour Party. Seems a bit of an error to me, I think we’d rather the entire funding was reformed to keep the dirty money and bad influence away from our politicians.  In unrelated news, it seems Thames Water is not about nationalised either.  I guess that’s more dirty water than dirty money, but who knows?

In the US, Facebook owner Meta has paid $18 billion to 48 states, the District of Columbia and three US territories to settle a lawsuit that claimed Facebook and Instagram harms children. There will also be a host of protective measures implemented. As you’d expect, Meta claimed they have done nothing wrong. Seems a lot of money to pay to stay out of a public trial though, doesn’t it?

In football, UEFA are pursuing criminal legal proceedings against both FIFA and Gianni Infantino over his, now binned, attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup. Closer to home, ever larger amounts are changing hands in the transfer window, and rather oddly, Savinho of Manchester City has changed his name to become Sàvio of Tottenham Hotspur.

We’ve had the Champions League draw, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and two Manchesters now all know who they’ll be facing. There are of course other British teams available, but not in the Champions League.

Way down in the National League, a place we visit scarcely, I’d just like to point out that Southend United are top. Mostly because 14 year old Wayne can’t imagine writing “Southend are top”. Even if it is the National League!

In real sports, La Vuelta finished stage six yesterday withTadej Pogačar winning the stage (his third!) and remaining in the red jersey with a lead of over 3 minutes. He almost came a cropper on a descent, overcooking a corner and coming off the road so it’s not over till it’s over! Honourable mention to British Rider Matthew Brennan who has won two stages already and this is his first Grand Tour! The Tour of Britain starts next Wednesday in Lincoln with most of the world’s best sprinters on the start list.

In wine news, Majestic staff has, according to The Sun, been busted buying Bollinger from Sainsbury’s after receiving an internal email stating “Please visit Sainsbury’s today and buy as many as possible using petty cash. If there are fewer than six bottles available, top up the order using Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc to secure the 25 per cent discount.” The email continued:  “park in a discreet position” and to “wear plain clothing over your uniform so you are not recognisable as Majestic staff”. Sounds all a bit peculiar to us!

Tasting This Weekend

In the white jersey we’ll head to Haute Vallée de l’Aude in the Languedoc and start with Altugnac ‘Turitelles’ Chardonnay 2024 (£15.99). Burgundian in style but without the Burgundian price tag.  This makes a lot of sense when you learn that the two owners have a very successful Domaine in Mâcon and have brought their skills across to the sunny south.  Refreshing acidity and notes of peach, hazelnut, all rounded off with an elegant finish.

Sharing the red jersey with Tadej will be Duas Quintas 2023 (£22.49). The Duas Quintas of the name refers to the two Ramos Pinto Douro vineyards where the grapes for this wine are grown.  The hotter Quinta de Ervamoira produces ripe rich flavoured fruit, while the high altitude Quinta dos Bons Ares adds freshness and balance.  The wine has an expressive, vinous nose with spices, tobacco leaf, sweet peach and orange blossom notes.  Rich and full in the mouth, with fine tannins and body followed by floral and spicy notes and a long finish.

Lastly, thanks to Dolly Parton for the songs, entertainment and the books, Tim Curry for playing Dr. Frank’n’Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dr. Yevgeniy Petrov in Hunt for Red October and especially Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island.

Cheers!

Fellow Wine Lovers

A-level results done, GCSE results also done – it feels like we are waddling towards the end of the longest school holidays on record.  The other obvious signal of approaching winter is the start of the football season – most started last weekend whilst Arsenal play Coventry in the Premiership this evening at 8pm, hoping to maintain their spot at the top of the table on more than their alphabetical merits.  Of course, Spurs are starting the season at the bottom of the table, let’s see if they can improve on that at any point between now and 30^th May!

However, whilst we are veering towards September and it has rained at least 4 times this week, we are still in summer holiday time and SW19 is still quieter than a Harry & Meghan welcome home party… where are you all?

Devon & Cornwall, I imagine.

Every morning we read the news and not a lot holds our attention.  However, there was some  excitement when we saw that Clément Vandenkerckhove, a junior car salesman at Garage Dhont in Deinze, Belgium now has a new career as a half-blood Prince, after his father, Prince Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie de Saxe-Cobourg recognised him as son and heir.  It may not have escaped notice that the House of Windsor is in fact Saxe-Coburg in disguise but we’re certain there wouldn’t be any ‘surprise’ Princes lurking amongst our Royals…

For a mere $100,000 a month, we have signed up for early priority access to Truth Social, the World’s Wildest Wig-Wearer’s two-bit Twitter wannabe.  Is this money well spent?  We’ll let you know once our first bit of insider trading goes through and hopefully there won’t be any footage from inside that catering truck.

I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention the return of the martyrs and masochists of men’s bicycle racing.  La Vuelta a España starts tomorrow (Saturday) but, due to a lack of space in Spain (505,992 km²), is teeing off in Monaco (2.08km²) and then spending a couple of days in France and Andorra before becoming Spanish.  We’re keen for Stage 19 Vélez-Málaga to Peñas Blancas, Estepona which includes the fast, windy descent from Ronda to San Pedro d’Alcàntara however there are bound to be fireworks before then because we’ve got Tadej Pogačar in attendance for the first time since 2019 which may upset fellow countryman, Primož Roglič, who has won this five times out of the last seven.

In wine news we keep hearing reports of early harvests which doesn’t seem that odd given the summer we’ve had.  Some English sparkling wine producers are talking about mid-September as a start date which makes me a bit nervous – if we get proper, biblical storms then there could be damaged vines and flattened grapes and no wine to show for all the fabulous growing conditions earlier on.

Whilst you’re all enjoying Hugo Spritz on the west facing veranda, we’ll be standing here with a couple of open bottles of wine, should anyone happen to be passing by.  As it’s La Vuelta, we’ll do Spain:

Ameztoi Txakoli 2024 – £18.99 is a deliciously fascinating white wine, from the slopes above San Sebastian, in the Basque country.  Lots of green apple and lime aromas on the nose with touches of herb and flowers in the background.  A very elegant mouthfeel with a natural zingy spritz, which is its defining style.  For many it is reminiscent of a crisp dry cider of all things and is an absolute wow with seafood in all its forms.

In red, we have Lopez de Haro Gran Reserva 2016  – £23.99.  We’ve been selling this for many years now and find it hard to beat –  and we do conduct extensive tastings!  A blend of Tempranillo and Graciano aged for 30 months in oak barrels, it has complex berry, coffee and vanilla notes and a lovely velvety finish.  Well suited for dining inside as well as outside, depending on what the weather decides to do!

And with that, like you, we’re gone – be seeing you dreckly!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Not going to do too much heavy lifting in the email this week – we’ve all been warned to be careful not to overdo it, amber alert, extreme heat and all that jazz – so we’re sitting here in our sombreros and sandals, doing very little!

What you need to know this week:

• If the queues are too long at Lilywhites, you will now be able to buy your Everlast Punchbags, Lonsdale underpants and Slazenger tennis balls at 109-125 Knightsbridge
• Demi Vollering (FDJ United–Suez) won Le Tour de France Femmes 2026
• In real sport, reigning champion Alexandre Voisine won The Beachy Head World Championship Penny Farthing Hill Climb Time Trial last Sunday, in a new record time
• We currently have 292 cold bottles of wine and 70 cold beers and ciders on site, awaiting consumption
• There are 2 spaces left for the Wine & Cheese Tasting on Thursday 10^th September
• 2 spaces left for the Wine & Cheese tasting on Thursday 15^th October
• 5 spaces left for the Wine & Cheese tasting on Thursday 12^th November
• £30 per person, you know the rules
• On Wednesday, Aston Villa lost 2-1 to PSG in what is known as the Super Cup with the Villa goal scored by 17 year old Brian Madjo – remember that name, he’s 6 foot 4 inches and seemingly scared of nothing
• Matt Vigurs may have hit the longest hole-in-one in UK history after completing a 411-yard par-4 in one shot at Great Barr Golf Club
• August 14^th is Falklands Day, commemorating the first sighting of the Falkland Islands in 1592 – a jolly long time ago
•  

What you don’t need to know:

• Nigel Farage is still MP Farage for now
• 28 men, 5 women and 1 intergalactic space warrior faced off in the Clacton by-election yesterday and everyone got at least 7 people to vote for them
• The Farage share went up to 63.34% but significantly fewer people visited the polling stations – 10,000 fewer than in 2024
• Essex Police did not advise any candidate to not attend the by-election count
• Closer to home, the current population of Wimbledon Park is hovering around 107 but this is likely to change as many more of you go on holiday this weekend
• The Costa del Sol Cervezas Victoria Cup stays at home as  Málaga drew 2-2 with Fulham in their final preseason fixture.  Fulham opted not to take part in the penalty shootout, meaning the 36th edition of the trophy stays at La Rosaleda.
• 38.1 degrees in Kew yesterday, which is 5.2 miles west of us, so we were probably 38.2….
• Zach Holland, an amateur golfer, faked making a hole-in-one at a tournament WingHaven Country Club in Missouri, having fraudulently placed a ball in the cup at the fourth hole earlier in the morning, before his round
• Andy Burnham’s favourite Greggs’ amuse bouche is the Sausage, Bean & Cheese Melt
• 133 days until Christmas
• Thursday 13^th August was International Left-Handers Day
• It was also International Prosecco Day
• There’s a joke in there somewhere – mini bottle of Prosecco for whoever finds it…

Anyway, enough of this piffle, what shall we taste this weekend?  Given that we haven’t tasted this in the shop for a couple of years, we thought we would open Les Vignobles Foncalieu Piquepoul Rosé 2025 – £15.99 which is from close to Beziers and is the palest of pinks in colour, with a delicate nose of cherry blossom, strawberries and peaches.  The palate is bone dry and fresh with summer berry flavours and notes of crushed rose petals.  The fruit notes are balanced perfectly with a lovely, crisp citrus acidity – frankly, it ticks a lot of boxes!

The red will be, understandably, at the lighter end and will also be a new wine to many of you, having only landed with us a few weeks back.  Domaine de la Mariniere Chinon Vieilles Vignes 2023 – £21.99.  We always enjoy Cabernet Franc from the Loire and this old vine character is just the ticket.  All the vines are at least 25 years old and has been certified organic since 2018.   A very classy drop, the epitome of the modern take on classic Chinon.  Perfumed, with youthful intensity whilst still maintaining that tell-tale crunchy fruit mid-palate.  Who knows, we might pop it in the fridge too!

That’s all from us for now – if it’s your birthday today, just remember, as the highly respected philosopher said:

“Age is just a number, maturity is a choice”  (Harry Styles, Redditch)

Fellow Wine Lovers,

How’s it going? We’ve had some news drift in here and there from returnees and passers through. I understand the traffic in North Devon left a bit to be desired over the weekend, that Edinburgh and environs have been hogging all the rain that was forecast for this week, welll except for the minute and half we got on Wednesday at 10.54. Outside of that, Belgium is hot but the mussels are delicious, Spain is hot, the pool is comfy and the sea a little wavy. Here it is a little cooler, but only for a couple of days.

Elsewhere, Gianni Infantino is still clinging onto his job by his fingernails. Such is his commitment to cleaning FIFA up; he thinks a “sorry” might cover it. Nigel Farage is still arguing with a bin, EasyJet has been sold to US firm Apollo Global for £5.7 billion and there was a very weird merger/non-merger between AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squib that neither company now seems to want to talk about.

In proper sports, the Tour de France Femmes hits Mont Ventoux today with Marlon Reusser in the Yellow Jersey again, 14 seconds ahead of Demi Vollering. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney has made no secret of her excitement for this stage, but Anna Van der Breggen lost a lot of time yesterday so will have to give it a real go. We’re expecting fireworks.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, and all the other political parties, Ofwat, the Environment Agency and all the water companies for a job well done. All of England’s rivers and lakes are polluted with chemicals and only one in seven of them could be classed as being in anywhere approaching a good ecological condition. That’s no improvement at all since 2019 and deserves a slow handclap all round.

Booze news this week was mostly very dull: blah blah barley project, blah blah cost-cutting at Diageo. Then we saw the news that Westminster Council is trying it’s best to kill off Soho and the West End. Given the challenges the industry is facing, already much discussed here, this no laughing matter.  They seem to think that nobody should be standing in pubs (vertical drinking apparently) and that all service of food and alcohol should be by waiter or waitress service only. Personally I think it’s a ludicrous idea, but is, by all accounts, going out to consultation to residents and visitors to Westminster. I, for one, will be a firm no on that one!

There was one drinks news highlight, and that was Denmark Hill railway station! The Camberwell Society planted 30 Bacchus vines on land at Denmark Hill station and is expecting to harvest enough Bacchus grapes to make around 22 bottles. It’s unlikely to come up for sale though, as the Camberwell Society has agreed that with Network Rail. We thought it was an interesting way to spruce up your local station.

Closer to home, just a reminder that we’ll be hosting Wine & Cheese tastings on:

• Thursday 10^th September – 7.30pm
• Thursday 15^th October – 7.30pm (only 2 places left)
• Thursday 12^th November – 7.30pm

All the tastings are £30 per head and, as ever, first come-first served, so don’t tarry!

Tasting This Weekend

Sporting the white swimmers will be…

Domaine Fournillon Bourgogne Chardonnay 2024 – £16.99. 

It is likely the name looks somewhat familiar, since we have been selling their Chablis and their Epineuil Pinot Noir for a number of years.  From the 23 hectare family-run domaine situated in the small village of Bernouil, close to Chablis, this is lovely and crisp and clean. The clay-rich soils of Bernouil give this wine its depth of fruit combined with freshness and intense stone-fruit aromas. Unsurprisingly, it is a rather Chablis-esque drop.

Whilst over in the Baywatch styled red trunks we’ll go for…

Sensale Nero d’Avola 2024, Sicilia, Italy – £11.99

We’ve been rather chuffed with the wines we’ve had from these guys.  Nero d’Avola is one of Sicily’s indigenous varieties and seems to cope rather well with the heat and sunshine without throwing loads of alcohol into the glass.  Bright ripe red fruits all the way through from nose to finish, a lively fresh finish too.  Alex likes to lightly chill this one, the ever helpful back label suggests meat as a partner, and we’d wager cheese on toast would work too.  It’s also organic!

Cheers!