Fellow Wine Lovers,
So, this is what the BBC forecasts for SW19 over the next few days:
- Friday 2nd October – High 21°c Low 11°c – sunny intervals and a gentle breeze
- Saturday 3rd October – High 22°c Low 10°c – sunny intervals and light winds
- Sunday 4th October – High 22°c Low 12°c – sunny intervals and light winds
- Monday 5th October – High 22°c Low 12°c – sunny intervals and light winds
- Tuesday 6th October – High 21°c Low 12°c – sunny intervals and light winds
I cannot remember a time when I was hanging my laundry up outside in October – probably never. For context, on Sunday in Sydney they are forecasting:
- Sunday 4th October – High 23°c Low 15°c – sunny intervals and a moderate breeze
In Cape Town:
- Sunday 4th October – High 23°c Low 12°c – sunny intervals and a moderate breeze
And in Buenos Aires:
- Sunday 4th October – High 20°c Low 14°c – sunny and light winds
Whilst, in Washington and Auckland, it’ll be raining.
Not sure what any of this proves, save the fact that we are going to have a lovely weekend whilst simultaneously begging the question as to what might be the difference between a gentle breeze and a light wind…
So, with such meteorological chaos we have decided that we shouldn’t dismantle the Rosé stack just yet – this could be the last barbecue weekend and we should cherish it!
Out there in the real world, Mr Trump wants to rename AI as SI because apparently it sounds ‘fake’ and SI sounds much better. Important stuff to be focusing on when you’re currently involved in at least 3 wars. Anyway, Register.si, the Slovenian national registry for the .si country-code top-level domain, has a total of 244,406 domains registered as I write. 46,066 of these were registered in the last month whilst 12,546 were in the last 24 hours. A 23% increase in registrations in the last month – it’s enough to give conspiracy theorists palpitations. Season this with the fact that Melanija Knavs was born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia and you might need to call an ambulance!
Back here in Blighty everyone, particularly politicians, seems to have an opinion on the Man City furore. For the neutral, this feels like a mix of the first time you found out that Father Christmas didn’t really exist with the day in 2013 that Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah that he was a drug cheat; you kind of knew it was all too good to be true but were happy to go along with it all because of the fabulous theatre. One thing you can be sure of though, the Sky Blues won’t be playing a Tuesday night match at Plough Lane anytime soon – too big to fail is the theory, I think.
Another week, another slew of tastings but now I think we’re done. More a question of revisiting old friends than necessarily making new acquaintances but we did manage to confirm that we continue to like what we used to like and still aren’t so keen on the others!
In spite of the weather, we are now into October, into Autumn and, thus, into bolder wines on the tasting table this weekend.
The white, to match the high of 23°c in Cape Town, will be Boekenhoutskloof Goldmine 2024 – £26.99. Launched last year to sit alongside The Chocolate Block, this is crafted from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, and Viognier. 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.
For the red, seemingly a good match for the sunshine and light winds of Buenos Aires, we have Famiglia Bianchi Gran Corte 2022 – £19.99. An exciting blend of 47% Malbec, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 16% Tannat, 3% Petit Verdot gives us an awful lot of wine in the glass. Spice, herbal notes and red berries greet us on the nose. Malbec gives us plum and violets; Cabernet Sauvignon brings ripe blackcurrant notes that blend with the spices and quince that Merlot provides. The Cabernet Franc also contributes ripe currants and spices such as red and black pepper whilst Tannat and Petit Verdot provide tannin and structure. It’s a complex wine, worthy of a fine steak.
We haven’t opened either of these wines in the shop for over a year, so are quite excited to taste them both again, fancy joining us?
I’ll leave you with the big question for the weekend – shorts or long trousers?
Cheers!