The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So, that was a fun weekend.  Waking up on Saturday morning to the news that Yevgeny Prigozhin was marching on Moscow gave us a feeling that we could be witnessing a significant historical event.

A march on Moscow has been attempted before of course.  Napoleon’s Grande Armée took 82 days to reach its gates, whilst Operation Barbarossa took the Nazi’s 6 months before they even got a glimpse of the Kremlin.  Both of these attacks on resulted in failure for the French and Germans, many lives were lost, in no small part due to the horrifically hostile weather conditions.  Prigozhin, in blazing sunshine and temperatures reaching the early 30’s, took a mere 24 hours to give up the ghost and skedaddle off to a comfy dacha in the Belarus countryside.  They don’t make putsch’s like they used to, however, I’m sure this is not the end of this since, as the old adage goes, it’s never a good idea to poke the (Russian) bear…

Meanwhile, Rishi went on record yesterday, after the Court of Appeal decision: “The policy of this government is very simple, it is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.”

I’m sure the Rwandan government could say the same thing.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees piped up: “We continue to urge the government of the United Kingdom to instead pursue other measures, including cooperation with the UK’s European neighbours and fair and fast asylum procedures, that would be more humane, efficient, and cost-effective” 

But the last word should got to Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, founder and chair of the Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi) political party: “If Rwanda is to welcome all its citizens back inside its borders, end the violence in Rwanda and the DRC, and truly emerge as a stable, democratic country that can welcome asylum seekers from around the world, the government needs to tackle the core issues that lead Rwandans to flee and refuse to return home”

Hmm, who to believe….

Away from murky political practices, I am told by our cycling expert that the 110^th edition of the Tour de France starts on Saturday, in Spain.  In fact it doesn’t get to France until Monday, which looks like a tough day to me.  Stage 14 finds us in Morzine, where I imagine there will still be no snow and it all finishes in Paris, of course, on 23^rd July.  For deeper insight, do please ask my colleague.

I also hear rumours that there might be some tennis due to start nearby but will confirm as and when I know more….

The cricket was a trifle tedious and no-ball laden on Wednesday but the arrival at Lords on Thursday of two of our special correspondents, festooned in red, clearly worked in England’s favour as we managed to get into bat before lunch.  Communication deteriorated mid-afternoon and the last we heard from our men on the ground was at tea, when they wired us a message ‘wine beginning to take hold’ which felt like the St Johns Wood version of: “I am just going outside and may be some time”.

And wine has taken hold here – we’ve been shopping and have debuted some new South African beauties….

Stellenbosch Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2021 (£14.99) – a rich and velvety Chenin from the Helderberg part of Stellenbosch.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Stellenbosch Vineyards Pinotage 2021 (£14.99) – From bush-vines all around 30 years old and a really good example with loads of cherry and plum fruit character.                     

Angus Paul Transient Lands Pinotage 2021 (£22.99) – We loved this, sourced from three plots across the Western Cape.  Summer pudding and bramble fruit lead onto a smooth mineral finish.                                                                                                       

Beau Constantia Lucca 2018 (£27.69) – Winemaker Megan van der Merwe described this vintage as a real pleasure to work with whilst we found it a real pleasure to drink!                                                                                                   

De Toren Z 2017 (£40.00) – We’ve made no secret of our admiration for the wines from De Toren over the years, this is the Merlot dominant one, plummy and delicious.      

De Toren Fusion V 2017 (£46.00) – De Toren’s flagship wine, a Cabernet dominant Bordeaux blend.  Delicious already with polished, fine grain tannins framing the cherry and blueberry fruit and a layered creamy finish.

To celebrate our successful purchases we’ll be opening the Stellenbosch Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2021 and the Angus Paul Transient Lands Pinotage 2021 tonight and tomorrow, so come, have a taste and let us know what you think.

And with that, like a cream tea in the Edrich Stand, we are scone!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Another week saturated with great news from all sides, as seems to be the new normal.

The Mirror got the ball rolling last weekend by ‘discovering’ that video of Dad dancing at CCHQ during lockdown.  Quite where this video has been up until now is anyone’s guess but it is quite astonishing that it has stayed hidden – still at least it stokes the flames beneath the gigantic cauldron containing the mangled carcass of Boris Johnson’s political career.

I know I risk being cancelled by someone for that last statement.  If I was called Clive and worked for the BBC I would be relieved of my current duties for displaying anti-Tory bias.  However, I think most of us would agree that Mr Myrie wasn’t showing anti-Tory bias, if anything he simply showed anti-Boris tendencies and let’s be fair, nothing he said was slander.

In other parts of SW1, David Cameron, the man in the shadows, had a bit of a turbulent time at the Covid-19 inquiry.  For those of you that don’t remember, Dave was PM from 2010-2016 and was very keen on austerity.  Coincidentally, in the six years leading up to 2020 the value of UK pandemic stockpile fell by 40%; in monetary terms £325m of the health department’s emergency stockpile (including PPE) was lost – not surprised people are a little miffed with DC and that’s before we raise a glass (half-empty) to him today whilst celebrating the 7^th anniversary of the United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum.

Cheers…

Elsewhere, the sea is getting warmer; core inflation is at a 30 year high; the base rate is now 5% – last seen in 2008; Elon Musk has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight and we can no longer listen to Meghan and Harry on Spotify – genuinely, I wish none of this was true, apart from the last bit!

So now we seek better news.  The start of The Ashes had something for everyone, including rain and a full house on the 5^th day, the Aussies shaded it with a proper captain’s innings from Pat Cummins.  Truly, if the next four Tests are as exciting we are in for a fabulous summer.  KC3 got his first winner at Royal Ascot yesterday with Desert Hero whilst Wayne has been doing a different sort of riding, out on his bike most days and not yet been caught for doing over 20mph in Richmond Park!  The oversized Discovery’s and Defender’s are back on the local roads which means the tennis must just around the corner and on Wednesday we celebrated the longest day – winter is coming…

Our teenage correspondent in Somerset informs us that she has been banned from visiting Glastonbury whilst other people from her school are actually performing there – look out for The Entitled Sons we’re told, 4 lads (and their Dad) who just happen to call Sarah Beeny ‘mum’.

Should teenage bands not be your thing, the Glastonbury Channel will be live from Friday 23 – Sunday 25 June on BBC iPlayer so if it’s Arctic Monkeys, Blondie, Guns N’ Roses, Rick Astley, Barrington Levy, Candi Staton or even big Reg Dwight, there’ll be something for you here.

When speaking of Zummerzet, it’s hard not to think of alcoholic apple refreshment.  In perhaps the clumsiest segue ever performed in this column, we thought it might be time to talk about our cider from Brittany, which seems to have suddenly become a bit famous.

On 16^th June, Charlie Teasdale wrote an article, in Esquire magazine no less, headlined Juicy Gossip: Why Breton Cider Will Be the Drink of the Summer.

I won’t reprint the whole article here because that would be theft but I will share this excerpt:

Until now, Breton cider has been somewhat overlooked, existing as the order of a learned-few – a discerning people who want the Gallic elegance of a bottle of wine and the stoic charm of a beer, for the price of a Zone 1 Guinness. But momentum is slowly building… this, I suggest, could be our Breton summer.

We, and a fair number of you, can now pat ourselves on the back for being amongst the learnèd, discerning few and it now seems fair for us to share our wisdom with the rest of the class.

The cidre that Charlie is discussing is indeed our Kerisac Cidre Breton – £6.00 (1 litre).

Originally founded in the Isac Valley in Guenrouet by Edmond Guillet in 1920, it now belongs to the Agrial cooperative; however the commercial department is run by Laurent Guillet, great-grandson of Edmond, thus the 4^th generation of the family to be involved.  They work with 50 apple producers in the region and have a truly excellent product that is full of Gallic character.   A golden pour with a gentle fizz, a nose and mouthful packed with sweet, juicy apples that then lead into a rounded, dry finish.

As it’s going to be warm this weekend, we’ll have the cidre open for tasting and you can all see what all the fuss is about.  Alongside this we’ll have a lightly chilled red from Germany to try:

Hanewald-Schwerdt Spätburgunder 2019 – £16.99 -Pinot Noir from Germany doesn’t appear on everyone’s radar very often but it should!  Bright strawberry and cherry notes lead the way with some delicious savoury character and good minerality.  Intense and medium bodied this is designed to be drunk easily (hooray) and can be enjoyed on its own (hooray again) but if you don’t subscribe to the ‘eating is cheating’ mantra, then it would be very happy with a smoked duck salad!

That’s it from us, have a wonderful weekend and keep your chin up!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So, we have the report from the Commons Privileges Committee and, as suspected, it’s not a great read if your name is Boris Johnson. We suspect that’s why he spat the dummy last week but, in our heart of hearts, we all knew, didn’t we?

Here at Park Vintners we are very heartened to discover there are one or two people in the Palace of Westminster who have the spine to display some integrity in public life and to defend what little is left of our democracy.

But let’s cut to the chase, what could we do in 90 days?

First up, we’ll be ditching our security detail and heading off to Perugia. Our friend’s Daddy has a lovely castle nearby and throws the most amazing weekend parties. He always has great wine, banging music and canapes to die for. We won’t mention the blondes, as Silvio can’t be there.

Then we’ll borrow Bamfies jet and fly over to the States. Do you have any idea what they pay for someone to bumble along with notes from the back of an envelope after dinner? They even give you a free feed too!

Bank balance restored, maybe Mustique on the way back, it’s always good to break a journey with a beach, and we really like this one. Rossy always lends us his house and the gin cupboard is always well stocked; Wilf even has his own armbands for the pool.

Then back to Italy, it’ll be time for another party and I’ve had a break on the passport stamps. That ninety day visa thing really is bothersome, who negotiated that?

That Michel Barnier thinks he’s the big joker. He sent me a link to an article “Here Are 6 Things You Can Do In 90 Days To Get Your Life Together”, it’s full of woke nonsense like helping people and paying off your debts. Doesn’t he know I had it oven ready and rolled out a vaccine?

I’m going to pop in and see Jacob in Somerset, he’s dull and rather smarmy but Nanny’s trifle is off the scale! Might see if Pater is at the farm whilst I’m down there but I suspect he’s off in Greece sulking about the ermine.

Mad-Nads finally saw some sense and realised that by not resigning as an MP she can get two salaries for the same work. Must phone her and ask for Lady Dorries or is it too soon do you think?

Amazing how much can be fitted into 90 days, Phileas Fogg made it around the world in less time. Mind you, Carrie is no Passepartout!

Tasting This Weekend

Given the forecast, we’ll go with something pink in the white corner.

Our parcel of Rosé de Béarn 2022 (£10.99) has arrived. From the foothills of the Pyrénées, this blend of Cabernet Franc and Tannat is really rather scrummy. Pale in the glass, dry with wild strawberry and raspberry notes – bang on with a barbecue, a picnic or just in the garden with some neighbours over the fence!

Casa Silva Cool Coast Pinot Noir 2021 (£18.99) Hailing from the coastal vineyards of the Colchagua Valley, this is a proper cool climate Pinot Noir with a nose filled with red fruit notes, strawberries, raspberries and a subtle background note of cinnamon and spice from the French oak it spent 12 months reposing in.  An excellent length of finish and a real pleasure to drink – lamb leg steaks on the barbecue should be perfect.

With that we’re off, but not before wishing Mr Johnson a very Happy Birthday for Monday, AKA the 3^rd anniversary of ‘ambush by cake’ and the beginning of the end!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I’ll be honest; I’m not sure what to write about today.

Having been hiding in the southern parts of Devon and Spain for the last couple of weeks, away from the news and scandals of British life, I feel strangely refreshed and happily uninformed – an unexpected digital detox and one I would thoroughly recommend.  I also quickly realised that I wasn’t really missing Rishi, Suella, Boris and the gang, in spite of all the joy they bring, because greater joy can be found in a fine platter of chuletitas, a glass of Ribera del Duero and a couple of old friends – who knew?

I fully expect to be fully jaded by Monday but, for now, I’ll happily bathe in the afterglow.

So, what to talk about?  It has come to our attention that this Saturday, 10^th June, is World Gin Day.  We assume this is an actual thing having only read it on social media because all of our Gin suppliers have been curiously quiet about it – perhaps every day for them is world gin day.  Certainly I have a number of close acquaintances for whom World I’m-Not-Having-A- Gin-Today Day would be a just once a year occurrence.

Anyway, I’ve found the website and here is what they have to say:

World Gin Day: 10 June 2023

A global celebration of all things gin, held on the second Saturday in June

Organised by everyone’s favourite gin swigging primate: Gin Monkey, the idea is simple: get people together all around the world and raise a glass to the brilliant spirit that is GIN. Whether it’s in a cocktail, a G&T or neat as part of a tasting, let’s celebrate this wonderful juniper-laced spirit in all of its glory!

Discover what’s on in your area by searching for the #WorldGinDay hashtag across social media!

Seems to me to be quite a simple yet effective celebration, so let’s do it… we always have gin open to taste, so what better way to spend 10 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.  The current selection is:

Eclectic Gin

Made for the buying group we are a part of, so only available in about 50 shops

• Original Blend 40% – £37
• The Spice Blend 45% – £39

Hepple Gin 45% – £38

Made by our good friend Walter up in the Northumberland National Park and our #1 best seller

Procera Blue Dot Gin 44% – £85

Made in Nairobi with botanicals sourced from across Africa, including Juniper Procera that only grows in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia.

Renegade Gin 42% – £38

Made in Battersea by our local Aussie distiller, Braden, who also makes the now infamous Chilli Bacon Vodka!

So, come and have a taste!

I imagine that for most of you The Portman Group will have little significance.  However for us in the booze business it is a well-regarded social responsibility body and regulator for alcohol labelling, packaging and promotion in the UK.  They have many guidelines and rules one of which is:

Appeal to Under 18s Rule 3.2(h) A drink, its packaging or promotion should not have a particular appeal to under-18s

So when we read the following, we thought of this rule:

‘Freixenet launches sparkling rosé ice pops in time for the summer.  The new 5% ABV frozen popsicles, produced with rosé wine to recreate the light and fruity characteristics of Freixenet Italian Sparkling Rosé’

What on earth could go wrong, when has a child ever asked for a Calippo on a hot day?!

In sport, we’re getting a sneak preview of how the Australian cricketers are shaping up prior to the start of The Ashes and the news from The Oval is a bit scary.  Football sees The Thames Ironworks FC travelling to Europe on Thursday nights next season, whilst Pep needs to stop overthinking things before tomorrow, as City bid to become the second club in Manchester to do the treble.   Speaking of middle eastern sportswashing investment, golf has rolled over in a way previously unimaginable and now has a newly created PGA/LIV Golf entity whose new chairman is Yasir Al-Rumayyan.  A quick search tells me he:

• is a key advisor to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia
• was appointed to lead Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF) in 2015, a fund that has become an increasingly powerful force in the sports world in recent years
• is chairman of the board for oil giant Saudi Aramco
• holds board positions with Uber and SoftBank
• is chairman of Newcastle United
• has played a key role in luring Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia’s domestic league

No conflict of interests whatsoever.

And now to this week’s tasting wines: the white will be orange and the red will be chilled…

Cramele Recas Solara Orange Wine – £13.99 – This estate is owned by Englishman Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira.  Their immaculate vineyards, in mountainous terrain, are a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 and much more recent plantings too.  A natural, minimal intervention wine, it is made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the pressed juice, creating a deep orange-hued finish.  The wine ferments naturally without the addition of yeasts, sulphur or any other additions.  The nose exhibits quince, Poire William and a hint of vanilla.  A complex and structured palate, it is elegant with discreet fruit flavours of stone fruits, backed up with a complexity and long, balanced finish, incredibly fresh.

Beaujolais Villages ‘Cuvée Six’ 2021 – £11.99 – hailing from the villages of Jullié and Emeringes, and grown on the sandy granitic soils that produce the best Gamay, this is tender, round and fruity as you’d expect from a pure expression of the grape variety. Awesome lightly chilled with a plate of charcuterie on a sunny weekend!

That’s it from us as we wave goodbye to the tall and tan and young and lovely girl from Ipanema as she goes walking off into the sunset….

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I can’t help but feel that if the country’s media was as keen to hold the Government to account as quickly as they have been Philip Schofield we might not be in such a mess. Sadly, it looks like Schofield is just another useful idiot keeping the real issues of the day away from the public’s attention.

Talking of idiots, The Cabinet Office had all of Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, notebooks and other sundry communications and were “reviewing” them before handing them over to Baroness Hallett who is conducting the Covid Inquiry. Then, as if by magic, they didn’t have them at all!

Mr Johnson says he is sure he’s handed everything over to the Cabinet Office (well anything before May 2021 doesn’t count, right?), and, now they do have them again, they are sifting through so that they don’t hand over anything relevant. No sorry, irrelevant. No sorry, my bad, perhaps the word is prosecutable? Do you find that some days you just have trouble finding the right words?

I do think that if you appoint a senior judge to run an inquiry it is surely up to the judge to decide what is relevant. Not Mr. Sunak though. Mr Professionalism, Integrity and Accountability has decided to take the Covid Inquiry to court to avoid handing over those pesky WhatsApps.  Far be it for us to suggest anything as crass as the possibility of a cover up, but to paraphrase a famous line from one of Mr. Johnson’s favourite movies,  “You’re gonna need a bigger blanket!”

Joking aside, you and I are paying for the enquiry, and both sides legal costs here. I don’t suppose anyone has thought to negotiate a bulk discount? Perhaps we can pay on the Government’s Amex so that Rishi’s helicopter flights can be purchased with Airmiles?

On the subject of Amex, in 2004 they ran an advertising campaign featuring none other than  Robert de Niro (79) who has just become a father again. Always seemingly tied together one way or another, his old chum Al Pacino (83) is also about to become a father again. Not sure how either of them will fare on the littl’uns first trip to the skatepark. Closer to home, Alex is just about coming to the end of a round of 50^th birthday parties just as Wayne starts on a round of 60^th parties. The eating and drinking is good, yet the dancing bad at both. Just the tunes are a bit different! No plans for imminent fatherhood expansion or skateboard lessons on either front.

We’d like to raise a glass and say ‘Chapeau’ to Adam Diver, who, this week, became the first person to swim from the UK mainland to the Isle of Man. He emerged from the sea smiling but shattered and declared the 46 mile swim a bit of a ‘suffer fest.’ The good news, Adam, is you’ve arrived in time to see the TT racing! And before you all start telling me the distance is just 32 miles, because of the tidal movement he had to ‘tack’ in a zig-zag fashion every six hours.

On the subject of swimming, those of you hoping for a summer return to Tooting Bec Lido in August will be frustrated to learn that the refurbishment works have been delayed due to the discovery of asbestos. This means that the scheduled summer re-opening won’t be happening.

As we head towards summer can I just ask a little request? Could we dial down the chilly breeze a little and up the heat of the sun? Quite happy for overnight rain if that’s your fancy, but I really would like some 22˚c days that don’t feel like 17˚c.

I find myself reaching for a glass, so what shall we taste this weekend?

I think we’ll populate the white corner with Paulett’s Polish Hill River Aged Release Riesling 2018 (£21.99). Polish Hill River is a sub-region of the Clare Valley and about a 90 minute drive from Adelaide. We always love the Aged Release that the Paulett’s keep back for a few years in their cellar. Crisp and dry with bags of citrus and minerals and a fab finish.

Over in the red corner we’ll visit North West Spain for a newish one that we listed in April. Las Tres Filas Mencia 2020, Bierzo, Spain (£15.99). We’ve been looking for one of these since our last one went missing in action, unable to survive the combined problems of Brexit and Covid.  As you’d expect from this north western part of Spain, silky in the mouth, medium bodied with dark fruits and just the ticket with some lamb chops, grilled tuna or some aged hard sheep cheese!

Lastly, we’d like to thank Mike Kerr from Royal Blood for proving the spirit of Spinal Tap was still well and truly alive.

The BBC Weekend audience in Dundee were treated to: “Well, I guess I should introduce ourselves seeing as no one actually knows who we are. We’re called Royal Blood and this is rock music. Who likes rock music?”

 “Nine people, brilliant,”

I’m sure they were turned up to 11!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Time to play spot the fib….

“If you have heard media hyperbole that a heatwave driven by an African plume will bring intense heat to the UK in the next few days, you are going to be disappointed – this isn’t true” – Neil Armstrong, chief forecaster at the Met Office and erstwhile moonwalker, Wednesday 24^th May 2023.

“Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well, if you’re watching, don’t worry, there isn’t!” – Michael Fish, broadcast meteorologist and lead singer of Marillion, on 15^th October 1987.

“I sought to explore whether bespoke arrangements were possible, given my personal circumstances as a security-protected minister. I recognise how some people have construed this as me seeking to avoid sanction – at no point was that the intention or outcome.” – Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary (resigned), tireless humanitarian, current Home Secretary (certainly not planning on resigning again), May 2023.

“It’s a lot of work, I’ll tell you that much, but I love it, I absolutely love it, and I want you to know I change a lot of nappies” – Boris Johnson, WhatsApp user, September 2021.

I know, difficult huh, perhaps they’re all fibbers?

I reckon though, with a view to it being the Bank Holiday weekend again, we want Neil Armstrong to be the one to be found telling porkies because, frankly, a heatwave weekend is exactly what we are all hoping for.  Currently, the weather for midday Saturday looks like this:

Wimbledon – 19c – real feel 22c – 0% rain

Fleet Services (M3) – 17c – real feel 21c – in-car temperature 21c – 0% rain

Stonehenge (A303) – 18c – real feel 21c – in-car temperature 40c (rising) – 0% rain

Exeter Services (M5) – 18c – real feel 22c – 0% rain – 0% chance of getting a West Cornwall Pasty

Thurlestone (Village Inn) – 17c – real feel 18c – 0% rain – beer temperature 4-5c

I think I know where I would like to be….

Meanwhile, in the world of booze that we lurk in, trade rag Drinks Retailing News has released its annual 100 Most Influential People in Drinks list.  Obviously we didn’t appear on it and it was not a surprise to see Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association coming in first; nor was it a surprise to see the buyer from Waitrose and one from Tesco in the top 5, alongside Jancis Robinson.  What did make us drop our cucumber and marmite ciabatta was the name that appeared at number 10…

Kylie Minogue, Creative Director Kylie Minogue Wines

Pop sensation turned wine industry powerhouse, Kylie Minogue, launched her wine brand in 2020 with Paul Schaafsma of Benchmark Drinks.  After three years, the brand now has a portfolio of nine wines, including its popular Signature Rose and Prosecco Rose, as well as an alcohol-free sparkling rose.  Minogue has also become a familiar face in the global wine community, showcasing her wines at Prowein in March this year.  Kylie Minogue wines are now available to purchase in 31 countries.

Having rubbed our eyes and pinched ourselves, we re-read the list and it still said the same thing: Ramsay Street tomboy mechanic, Charlene Robinson, is now considered to be one of the most influential people in drinks?  Stone the flamin’ crows, as Alf Stewart up in Summer Bay might say…

Whilst, clearly, the success of the wine is more likely related  to  the efforts of Paul Schaafsma/Benchmark Drinks, what made us smile was that the caption under the photo of the two said Paul (pictured left) and Kylie – I think we could have out who was who without the signpost!

Oz Clarke came 91^st.

Elsewhere, the cycling is just about coming to a finish in Italy, the Premier League  has all but ended and we don’t start our Ashes warm up until next Thursday, so we might as well entertain ourselves with a glass of wine and as it is going to be great weekend (fingers crossed) I think we’ll open some summer drinkers:

Château de L’Aumérade ‘Cuvée Marie-Christine’ 2022 – £17.99 – our perennially popular Côtes de Provence Cru Classé is back on the floorstack and is tasting better than ever. 

For those of you who haven’t come across it the Chateau de L’Aumerade is a 400 year old vineyard in the heart of Provence.  Its red soils are rich in minerals, giving it an edge on the quality stakes amongst its neighbours and this edge was recognised in 1955 when the estate was designated “Cru Classé”.  A lovely pale salmon colour, it is indeed cracking stuff with delicate red berry fruits, slightly floral and an impressively long finish.

We think it is the perfect wine for summer, great with all manner of food, or just with the Sunday papers and a deck chair.  It’s also suitable for vegans and, if you’re really thirsty, we offer 6 bottles for £90!

Talking of perennially popular wines, for the red we’ll open Palacio del Camino Real Crianza 2019 – £11.99.  A classic Rioja blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano aged for 12-14 months in a mixture of French and American oak, this wine has a real understated elegance.  Gently spiced red fruits, a touch of leather and a polished soft finish give it some good all-rounder appeal – you’re bound to be cooking over coals this weekend, so how about some new season lamb cutlets with it?

That’s it from us for now, just to remind you we’ll be shut on Monday as it’s the Bank Holiday and we’ll be raising a glass to the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll

“You can’t get hung up on age or beauty because you’re then always chasing after something you’ll never get back” – Tina Turner, Woman & Home Magazine, July 2016.

Wise words.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

This week we have not been eating cheese sandwiches. Not because we don’t like cheese, but more that we find Ann Widdecombe truly terrifying.  Wouldn’t it be nicer world if she spent her time spoiling her grandchildren rather than tell others they should just starve?

We have no plans to retrain as fruit pickers, lorry drivers or indeed, journalists. Not because there’s anything wrong with those jobs but frankly, we both feel we already have employment. Admittedly, we find working from home to be an insurmountable problem but do take comfort in that 63.9% of the working population are with us.

We’ve continued in our viewing of the Giro d’Italia and last week described it as having thrills and spills. That has certainly continued this week and, if I’m honest, it’s starting to feel less like a race and more like an alternate take on Squid Games. The weather has been atrocious, never before have racing cyclists worn their entire wardrobe with a waterproof over the top for so many days in a row. There have been riders falling victim to covid, the usual gastro problems, not to mention so many crashes, one rider even got taken down by a race official! Today’s stage has been re-routed through a tunnel, not because the GPS was playing up, but because the climb up to the Gran San Bernardo pass (at 2469m) is still buried under snow – questions still remain as to whether it will actually happen today, as torrential rain has delayed the start…  Remarkably, given it’s the Giro and there have been so many crashes, Geraint Thomas is still upright and wearing the pink sweater!

Whilst we talk about bike races I’ll mention it is just 43 days to the Tour de France and I do believe we may have lined up something rather special…

Tim Goodman, a customer since we opened, has been buying less from us so far this year as he is in serious training for cycling the 3500 kilometre Tour de France route. He also says that he is unlikely to try any wine during the three weeks cycling from Bilbao to Paris, over all five French mountain ranges (can you name them?). However, he is committed to making up for his abstinence at the celebratory dinner in Paris. He has also reserved a couple of bottles of Puligny Montrachet from us for when he gets back. 

He has committed to providing weekly reports for the newsletter during the Tour, a week ahead of the race, to let us know how he is getting on. He is raising money for Cure Leukaemia, which funds clinical trials to help beat this disease at hospitals around the UK, including UCL and Guy’s & St Thomas’s in south London. The team of 25 is aiming to raise £1 million by doing the ride.

In the meantime, if you would like to sponsor him, the link to his fundraising page is Tim Goodman is fundraising for Cure Leukaemia (justgiving.com).

If you are interested in sponsoring the team bus or an individual stage, or even want to have a go at riding the Tour next year please email Tim at timgoodman64@hotmail.com with Tour de France in the subject line.

In other news, it looks like Rafa is going to retire next year. Still struggling with the hip injury that has plagued him all year, he made the announcement at a press conference as he withdrew from the French Open. Manchester City are looking rather ‘on’ for their hopes of a Treble if the way they destroyed Real Madrid is anything to go by.

On the wine front we’ve just received the stunning new vintage of Domaine Lyrarakis Assyrtiko 2022 (£15.99). Who wouldn’t like a mini trip to Crete? We’ll pop that in the fridge for tasting over the weekend.

In the red corner we’ll pour Atal Sia 2019 (£25.99). This fabulous wine is from the Boutenac Cru in Corbières. A rather splendid blend of predominantly Carignan with Grenache Noir and Mourvèdre from vines older than Wayne, planted in the absolute best part of Corbières.  We loved it, come tell us what you think.

With that we’re off, have a great weekend!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We will be the first to put our hands up to being rather disappointed not to have this coming Monday off, we were rather getting into the swing of Bank Holidays.

So, what has happened since we last had a chat? The almost mediaeval pomp and circumstance discussed in last week’s missive passed without being disrupted by the drizzle. Despite not being The Lady of The Lake, it turned out that Penny Mordant can carry a sword and, as if by magic, the gold hat fitted the Charles formerly known as Prince rather snuggly. Having discovered that the King has a posse of long bow archers as his personal bodyguard, I was hoping the sword might have to be withdrawn from a stone or that a band of Merry Men might visit from Nottingham, but it was not to be.

The Merry Men from the Met did arrest some people for having some string, unloading a van and wearing a yellow jacket. The fact that these people had been liaising with the Met for weeks co-ordinating a peaceful protest was completely lost on the arresting officers, who seemed unable to contact Head Office by mobile phone, or the two way radio system that has been in use since the 1960’s.  Some sixteen hours later, these arrested folk were released without charge and the Met issued a long rambling statement expressing regret. That’s modern policing in action folks.

The local election results came in after we went to press last week but we are pleased to announce that finally something promised by the government actually came to pass. Rishi Sunak promised us the Conservatives would lose 1000 councillors in the local elections and they actually over delivered, losing 1061 seats and also control of 48 councils. UKIP, a party that is always keen to steal the headlines, lost all of their councillors.

Elsewhere, Lettuce Liz has decided to inflame relations with China by taking a trip to Taiwan, just as the region calms down a little after Nancy Pelosi did the same, which  resulted in the islands being surrounded by Chinese warships. I find it alarming the amount of trouble that can be caused by the vanity project of somebody who has already caused so much damage.

Over the pond, the parlous lay of the land was demonstrated in several awful fashions. Firstly, the consensus is that, despite being legally branded a sexual predator by a New York jury, it’ll make no difference to Trump’s electoral appeal in the next Presidential election. The other was the fact that the first 127 days of the year had seen 202 mass shootings where four or more people had died. Then Trump appeared on CNN in a ‘Town Hall’ discussion and, despite losing over 60 court cases related to the 2020 Election, still pressed on claiming it was stolen and then proceeded to talk absolute nonsense throughout the rest of the show.

Elsewhere, the Giro d’Italia has been winding its way through Italy, starting in Abruzzo. As always, it is serving up its usual mix of thrills and spills not to mention the stunning scenery. Mark Cavendish came fourth on a very wet Wednesday, sliding across the line on the floor. Remco Evenepoel was incredibly quick in the opening time trial and then was brought down by a stray dog a few days later. We even had a breakaway caught with just 200m to go, heart-breaking perhaps, but that’s the thrills and spills!  In Spain, Annemiek Van Vleuten won La Vuelta Femenina by nine seconds from Demi Vollering.

At this point we should probably talk about wine. The En Primeur campaign for Bordeaux 2022 is in flow and the vintage is, we understand, absolutely tip top. We sent our chum Clive off on a tasting trip and he came back with purple teeth and bags of enthusiasm for the vintage. In a surprise to nobody, the prices are around 20% higher than last year’s release prices.

Tasting This Weekend

We thought we’d open…

Follas Novas Albariño 2021 – £14.99

From Val do Salnés, the oldest, coolest and wettest of the five distinct sub-regions of Rías Baixas, yet also the birth place of Albariño sometime before the 12th century.  The vines for this wine are between 20 and 40 years old and vinified in a state of the art winery, completed in 2005.  Fabulously clean and crisp with citrus and floral notes on the nose, tangy stone fruit on the palate and a lovely mineral laden finish.

And in the red jumper we’d like to introduce a new one that we mentioned a couple of weeks back.

Solevari Reserve Feteasca Neagra 2017, Recas, Romania -£12.99

This is from the same stable as the ever popular Orange wine and, we thought, a bit of a find. As a reminder, the Cramele Recas Estate is owned by Englishman Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira who have put an enormous amount of work into modernising their winery. One of the results is this beauty:  spicy black pepper framing black berry fruit character, a hint of cherry, maybe even a bit Pinot Noiry, medium bodied and great value was what we wrote down.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I’m not going to lie, Wayne has been a tad over excited this week.

Yes, we’ve known the programme since it was unveiled in October last year and have had plenty of time to work out the best vantage points to watch all the action; we have kept a keen eye on who will be there and who, significantly will not; we have also regularly checked the weather forecasts and googled what different participants might be wearing, so are feeling pretty well prepared; however, even with all that, as the big day approaches the tension is palpable when he blurts out something for which I hadn’t prepared:

‘So, who do you think is going to be crowned?’

‘Errm, are you extracting the Michael, I think we’ve both spent all our lives knowing the answer to that question…’

‘No, no, no – who do you think is going to be crowned when they cross the line in Rome on May 28^th?’

Evidently, you can take the boy out of Essex but you can’t take him off the bike, as his agitation would seem to be stemming from the start of the Giro D’Italia this Saturday.  He’s paid his GCN subs and will be glued to the action from 10am on Saturday morning, don’t expect any bunting.

Meanwhile, for those of you less inclined to Lycra, you may be aware that this Saturday will be King Charles’ coronation – we will be open from 12-7pm as usual and are expecting 70% chance of drizzle all day with temperatures in the low teens, what could be more British?

So, anyway, for a lot of us, this is our first Coronation but, having become experts in Jubilees over the last few years, I imagine we have the requisite skillsets to cope with the novelty.  Ditto regarding the extra Bank Holiday, which we also have had a lot of recent experience in dealing with.  Street parties have been encouraged as ‘Neighbours and communities across the United Kingdom are invited to share food and fun together at Coronation Big Lunches on Sunday 7th May 2023, in a nationwide act of celebration and friendship. From a cup of tea with a neighbour to a street party, a Coronation Big Lunch brings the celebrations to your neighbourhood and is a great way to get to know your community a little better.’ www.royal.uk

So what should we be eating?  Looking back over previous events of this stature, courtesy of Professor Wikipedia, we discover a goldmine of trivia that needs to be shared.

The Victoria Sponge is named after the good Queen, who, whilst she didn’t invent it, was reportedly a very keen partaker of afternoon tea and this style of cake was her favourite.  Alfred the Great also had some cake based anecdotes but they are best ignored as cooking guides.

By all accounts, in 1902, King Edward VII organised (?) a ‘Coronation Dinner for the Poor of London’ where 500,000 dinners were served in multiple locations across town – apparently the King contributed £30,000 towards this.

According to the Bank of England Inflation Calculator £30,000 in 1902 is worth £2,974,268.89 today.

There is no obvious food association for George V; his son Edward VIII abdicated before we got to learn his tastes and very quickly a rather reluctant George VI was crowned in 1937.  We don’t learn much about the food side of proceedings but did find out that the event cost £454,000, just shy of £25 million today and I suppose you could argue they got two coronations out of that.

Next up, our Queen, the lady we all grew up with and who played a blinder, not only in her service to the nation but also in her dish – Coronation Chicken.  Still hugely popular in sandwiches today, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like it!

Charles has enlisted Nadiya Hussain, Ken Hom and Gregg Wallace to rattle off some tasty sounding main course but the choice of a quiche as the ‘signature’ dish has surprised a lot of us. 

To start with, it’s French, which has been a Republic since 1792.  If The Proclaimers get removed from the official playlist for Republican views how does this slide through?  Secondly, the ingredients:  If you want to unite the nation as one, offer them fish and chips or a cup of tea, not broad beans in an egg custard – might as well make marmite on toast the official breakfast too!  In fairness, I like broad beans and marmite but they are divisive tastes that only elicit binary responses – perhaps it’s a clever metaphor and, if it is, I must praise Charles for his cognizance!

QEII gave us Chicken in mayo, KCIII gives us Egg in pastry – I think we can now answer which came first.

I mentioned the Official Coronation Celebration Playlist that is available to enjoy alongside your French tart on Sunday.  Of course Coldplay and Ed Sheeran are on there, Queen too and Harry Styles but no Robbie Williams which comes as a surprise, but not necessarily a disappointment.  Noticeably no Prince either, another sign of Charles’s clever curation perhaps?  It was a bit disappointing to see that Coventry’s second finest band, King, failed to make the shortlist, their song Love and Pride would have been a banger!

So, I think that’s possibly all you really need to know about the Coronation to get the conversation started on Sunday.  As mentioned, we’ll be here as usual on Saturday but closed on Monday.  Should you be in need of a break from the television and a bit of a leg stretch then pop down and see what we’ve got on tasting this weekend: Chatelain Desjacques Chardonnay (£10.99) from the Loire Valley and Juliénas Chaintré Fleurie (£15.99) from Beaujolais – both absolutely bang on matches for your egg flan on Sunday and both unashamedly French.

Vive La France – Long live the Quiche!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s been a bit of a week and it feels like only five minutes since I last typed that if I’m honest. We also know that a number of you have had birthdays and anniversaries during the course of this week, so felicitations one and all!

You’ll have seen Cruella Braverman has been doing the rounds again this week and on that front we’d like to bring you a bit of a scoop: we only got to help out on a bit of speech writing!

Obviously, we’re in full agreement with all parties on the right to free speech and were chuffed to have this opportunity.

[This speech has been edited by HM Government to remove political content.]

Thank you, Rory for that introduction. You know better than most, from your own experience on the beat, the realities that our brave police officers face when going up against MP’s and other criminals, and the damage that crime can do to people and communities.

And that’s why it’s wonderful to be here welcoming the launch of The Public Safety Foundation, an organisation committed to making the UK the safest place to live, work, vanish taxpayer funds and raise a family. Alongside Rwanda obviously.

This really is the perfect forum for setting out my ethos for common sense policing.

Everything that our police officers do should be about doing what I say, wearing Hi-Viz, fighting crime, catching criminals, and keeping the public safe.

My mantra at the Home Office is simple: common sense policing.

Common sense policing means more common sense.

It means better police culture and not wasting time investigating our elected officials.

It means giving the public confidence that Parliament is unequivocally on their side, not pandering to politically correct or, indeed, incorrect preoccupations.

It means measuring the police on outputs such as public response times, Hi-Viz deployed, crimes solved, and criminals captured.

It means police officers freed up to spend their time on proper police work like jogging alongside the PM’s motorcade.

It means police prioritising the highest harm crimes and those that matter most to the public. We are particularly concerned with that noisy man on Parliament Square and those nasty teenagers who keep glueing themselves to things. The public is mistaken in their belief that all the missing fast track covid money should be investigated.

And above all else, common sense policing means officers maintaining a relentless focus on wearing Hi-Viz, fighting crime, catching criminals, and most of all, common sense.

It is central to common sense policing that the public wants to see more Bobbies on the beat and so do I. Particularly if that beat is provided by Justin Bieber.

Everyone who has been part of the government’s Police Uplift Programme should be immensely proud of what we’ve told you we’ve achieved in the last few years.

We’ve delivered an additional 20,951 officers into policing over the past three years, coincidentally replacing the 20,000 officers that we cut 2010-2017. I’ll also point out that we’ve increased the police numbers to a new record of almost the same despite a rise in the population of 5% over the same period.

I have widened the pool from which we can recruit, by enabling non-degree holders to be part of policing. It’s not about how many exams you sit or essays you can write – important skills though those are, believe me when I say I was never top of the class in any of those.  It’s about common sense, problem-solving, strength- of character and how your physique looks in Hi-Viz. You will, of course, still be required to be dishing out the third degree!

Lastly, I repeatedly get asked about the common sense policing of Michelle Mone and the large amount of money that may or may not be missing. Let me be clear, there is nothing to discuss as Michelle has a big boat and it’s only small boats that are illegal. Actually, I wonder if I can skip the crowning thing and join her for some cocktails.

Anyway, thanks for listening, and remember, 20,000 officers is not just a statistic in a press release!

In the interests of balance the real speech is available here…

Suella Braverman: Full speech on ethos of ‘Common sense policing’ | West Bridgford Wire

Elsewhere, Labour’s Jess Phillips appears to be in trouble with the Standards Commissioner over some untimely declarations, Kier Starmer has distanced himself from looking at Proportional Representation, the SNP continue to gently implode and Arsenal fans are starting to wobble.

It’s been quite a while since we ordered wine from our New Zealand supplier; the journey has been a long and arduous one that included the moving from a warehousing facility that was small and crowded to an enormous one where nobody can find anything. However, that’s all in the past and we are chuffed to announce now that our bestselling Marlborough white has finally arrived. Yes folks, Southern Dawn Sauvignon Blanc 2022 (£12.99) is back in da house. We’ll open a bottle to let you all re-discovers its charms.

We’ve spoken to a number of you planning holidays in Greece this summer. As part of our remit to public and community service and definitely not because we fancy kleftiko on Sunday, we will be opening Monemvasios Red 2013/14(£23.99). It’s from the southern part of the Peloponnese, in the southern part of Greece, made from 90% Agiorgitiko and 10% Mavroudi but I imagine you knew this already.  It’s absolutely delicious, the fact that the wine has a nice bit of age means we have some lovely mature dark fruit and silky polished tannins – all in all a wine that gives scores high on both tasty and satisfaction scales.   

With that we’re outta here – have a great long weekend and remember as it’s a Bank Holiday we will be closed on Monday, so we’ll see you Tuesday at noon!