The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Last week we started with a fabulous quote about fools in April. This week we saw video footage from South Africa of a guy in a supermarket trolley hanging on to the back of a fuel tanker driving down the highway at some speed. Now that’s definitely taking the old CB radio term ‘suicide jockey’ to another level. By all accounts Pretorian Police are unamused.

On the subject of fools it seems the Chancellor, the man charged with collecting tax and administering the country’s finances has found himself in a spot of PR bother. He has just broken a Conservative manifesto promise and inflicted an increase in taxation to most of us through a National Insurance rise so it’s awfully difficult timing to discover that his wife, the daughter of a billionaire, is a ‘non dom’ when it comes to tax.

Now even we can see that’s a bad look for a Chancellor, for a start we all know she lives at No.11 Downing Street. It might not be permanent (especially after this news) but surely that is where she is currently domiciled? Maybe the HMRC might want to have a look at that. We just don’t understand why a change wasn’t suggested by that army of advisers when he became Chancellor, or when he became an MP? Absolute school boy error, we really are governed by clowns.

On the subject of clowns, the Prime Minister announced the UK’s new energy strategy. New nuclear is definitely on the cards, but given the cost and build time that is unlikely to help much in the next five years. We will admit surprise that insulating properties didn’t feature. It seems a relatively straightforward, fast and effective fix to us but what would we know, it’s not like we spend the day in front of a draughty window!

Staying on topic with clowns, you may have noticed Wayne out and about in the trusty Volvo this week, dropping off a case here and there. Do you remember that biblical rain on Wednesday evening about 7.30? Well guess who had to pull over because the trusty windscreen wipers went every which way but loose. So Wayne utilised all his mechanical skills by phoning the kind gentlemen at Naismiths who suggested he pop in. Between you and I he was there about 30 seconds, the chaps at Naismith wielded a spanner, Wayne blushed at his own ineptitude and all was fixed. Every day’s a school day!

In a move that many find akin to cultural vandalism, Culture Secretary Mad Nads has decided that the best way forward for Channel 4 is for the government to sell it off. Founded in 1982 under Margaret Thatcher’s government to foster the British film and TV industry, the channel has always been publicly owned but funded by advertising. Any rumours that Mad Nads has made the announcement in a fit of pique after being rejected for Naked Attraction don’t bear thinking about. We suspect it’s more likely that stunts like replacing the no-show Prime Minister with an ice sculpture during a debate on climate change that have led the decision.

Still on the cultural front, ‘Replicas’ by Tubeway Army celebrated its 43^rd birthday this week. I, for one, am struggling to understand how an album that came out when I was a teenager is now older than me!

It must have been years since we mentioned it, but the race to be the next James Bond appears to have taken a turn. Idris Elba has ruled himself as too old, odds on Tom Hardy have lengthened whilst odds on both Aidan Turner and Cillian Murphy have shortened. We can’t comment on whether Alex has popped his tux into Manuel for a press, but we can say that Jane Seymour is “so fed up of hearing, should a woman be James Bond?”

What shall we wrap our taste buds around this weekend? I’ve had a look, and these two look like decent candidates…

Produttori del Gavi ‘Gavi Mille 951’ 2020 – £15.99 – is the white choice – made at their winery overlooking the historic Gavi fortress, this cooperative has been making wine for over 65 years.  Aromas of pear peach, apricot and yellow plum greet us on the nose whilst on the palate we have the same fruit characters with hints of almond in the background.  Dry, light and moreish, a perfect aperitif! It’s even organic and suitable for vegans.

Viña von Siebenthal Parcela #7 Gran Reserva 2018, Aconcagua, Chile – £20.99

It probably says something for this winery that two of their top wines have both received 95+ points from Robert Parker, no mean feat.  Their focus is on small production and high quality and they achieve this in buckets.  Whilst it is a Bordeaux blend with all the usual elegance, there is a ripeness of fruit and a sense of weight that you rarely get in claret.  Well, let me just suggest it might be really rather tasty with a slow roast shoulder of lamb.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.” – Charles Lamb

So, did someone prank you yet today?  To explain, for those of you less date obsessed, today is 1^st April, April Fool’s Day, the day on which the most irritating people you know get carte blanche to play a joke on you, tell you a tall story or perform some sort of silly stunt all of which is supposedly excused by them exclaiming ‘April Fool’ which somehow allows them immunity from retribution.  As you can tell, we’re not totally on board with all this.

For some though, it seems silly season started early.  Will Smith is the obvious example here, crossing many boundaries and in the process making the story all about him whilst Jada just rolled her eyes.  Then we have our Chancellor saying that he empathises with the Fresh Prince’s situation, something that won’t do either of them any favours.  Honestly though Rishi, people criticising Infosys continued involvement in Russia isn’t quite the same as someone deriding your physical appearance.  Plus, the claim that Akshata Murthy doesn’t have anything to do with the company’s operational decisions is undoubtedly true, however that £400 million bank balance didn’t just spring from the ground.

Rishi also referenced Joe Root in his quest to appear down with the kids, opining that he too hadn’t had the greatest weekend.  True that but it’s not just young master Root who should take the blame for the dismal England batting performance last weekend.  As they slumped to a ten wicket defeat, there was silliness from top to tail but I imagine they all said ‘April Fool’ to each other in the changing room and thus will get away with it and be picked again when New Zealand pop over in June.

Whilst on the cricket though, it is worth mentioning that England will face Australia in the Women’s World Cup Final on Sunday – if you just get the chance to admire Sophie Ecclestone’s finger spin for a few minutes you’ll be in for a treat.

And it seems the weather has decided to act the silly sausage too.  Last weekend we were getting complaints that we’d run out of a couple of our Rosés whereas right now it’s gone so bloomin’ Baltic we’d probably struggle to give them away.  Oh, and look, the fuel prices are going up today too, what timing!

Returning to the scene of Mr Smith’s Sunday night slapfest, the real reason for the great and the good (and the not so good) to be assembled was for the Oscars of course.  It would seem that not only did Agent J win a Best Actor Oscar but he also was one of the lucky few to scoop the Oscar swag bag of free goodies that redefines excess and good taste.  Having trawled the gossip columns it would seem that amongst other goodies, the most expensive item in the bag is a $50,000 three-night stay at Turin Castle in Scotland, complete with butler service and a bagpiper welcome when they arrive.  Other treats include, according to our chums at E!News:

• A $15,000 four-night stay at the Golden Door luxury resort and spa in California.
• A $12,000 “Celebrity Arms” liposuction procedure from cosmetic surgeon Dr Thomas Su.
• A small plot of land in Scotland, along with the title of “Lord” or “Lady of Glencoe.”
• $10,000 of “treatments and rejuvenation procedures” from Dr Konstantin Vasyukevich.
• A life coaching session with wellness expert Kayote Joseph, worth $1,200.
• $25,000 worth of home renovations from Maison Construction.
• A pair of TurboFlex glasses featuring a 360-degree rotating hinge.
• An assortment of “Flavor wrapped” popcorn packages from Opopop.
• A bottle of Ariti extra virgin olive oil infused with edible gold flakes.

Because, like, that’s what your average Hollywood A-lister needs, right?!

Meanwhile, back here in Blighty, Wayne & Alex have keenly tasted wines again and as a consequence have a couple of new listings worth a mention:

Amotera Vino Biologico Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2020 – £12.29 – a delicious white from Abruzzo with floral notes on the nose leading to some nice, easy orchard fruit character on the palate – a proper pre-prandial quaffer.

Another organic Italian white, this time from Sicily, is Colomba Bianca Vitese Zibibbo 2021 – £11.99.  Now, as you are all well aware, Zibibbo is more commonly known to us as Muscat of Alexandria and so has a charming nose of apricot, almonds and orange blossom.  What made us sit up and pay attention was the lovely dry finish it showed on the palate.  We’ve often been told that a dry Muscat is a great sparring partner to asparagus, which is handy as the season is just starting.  Oh, and a fun fact we just learnt,  asparagus has enzymes said to fight a hangover, which sounds like the makings of a very fancy breakfast!

In red we have Peninsula Vinicultores Vino de Montaña 2018 – £13.69.  This is a wine from high-altitude vineyards in Sierra de Gredos and other historic growing areas in the Sistema Central, the mountain chain that divides the Iberian Peninsula in its Northern and Southern halves.  This is a field blend based mostly on very old Garnacha vines but with some Rufete and Piñuela in the mix too, all grown on granite soil and in the glass we have lovely fresh red fruits and hints of white pepper – the altitude gives the wine a delicious freshness that one doesn’t always associate with Spanish reds.

And finally, an old favourite of Wayne’s, Ktima Gerovassiliou Avaton 2018 – £28.  As his tasting note states, this feels like a Bordeaux blend but with entirely the wrong grapes.  The reason for the wrong grapes is because it comes from Epanomi in Central Macedonia, Greece and the grape varieties are 60% Limnio, 20% Mavrotragano and 20% Mavroudi.  Try it, I think you’ll like it…

And that’s about it from us, we’ll be opening a couple of bottles of wine as usual this weekend with the Amotera Trebbiano doing the heavy lifting on the white front whilst the red team will be represented by Le Ciel Vide  – £13.49, from Domaine Treloar, in anticipation of Jonathan’s visit later in the month.

Over and out.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

This week we have been raising a quizzical eyebrow for many reasons.

Firstly, it’s our game face when we’re out tasting and we’ve been to four this week. You need a game face when tasting in order to avoid any embarrassment when a winemaker reveals the price somewhere around double what you were expecting for the wine you have just written “Meh” beside in that tasting booklet. It also helps to hide that the wine just taken on by a supplier with great fanfare is not coming anywhere near your shelf regardless of its reputation.

Then we raised an eyebrow at the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. Much was made by the press of the 5p cut in fuel duty, indeed Sunak even pretended to fill up a Kia Rio at a Sainsbury’s petrol station for a photo op.  It is, as usual, a smoke and mirrors exercise that will make no difference to the average family. If we assume the average driver gets about 10 miles for their litre of fuel, and on average drives around 10 000 miles a year then they will save a whopping £50. In the meantime their gas and electric bill has just risen by around £800.

We raised an eyebrow at news that David Cameron volunteers at his local foodbank a day or two every week. In 2004 the Trussell trust ran only two foodbanks, indeed many of us had never heard of them. According to the House of Commons Library, in February 2021 there were over 2200 food banks with the Trussell Trust running 1300 of them. David Cameron was elected in 2005.

We raised an eyebrow (we’re in danger of cramping any minute!) at the Volta a Catalunya as Mattias Skjelmose crashed on a descent, falling 10 metres down a ravine, climbed back up shouting “ I’m OK just give me a bike” got on that new bike to ride the last 58km and finished the stage in the top 10. Adrenaline is a powerful force eh?

An eyebrow was raised as we sat enjoying the sunshine in the garden sipping our morning coffee, we’ve not even put the clocks forward yet and we were basking in 18˚C. Muesli tastes so much better in the sunshine, doesn’t it? We’ll take this while we can, even at the risk of Wayne’s shorts arriving earlier than usual.

An eyebrow was raised as the head was shaken witnessing Joe Root go for a duck as the Final Test starts with an England collapse in Grenada. Being rescued by the biggest number 10 and 11 10^th wicket stand since 1885 is probably not the look they were going for.

Whilst we massage our foreheads and relax our eyebrows into a less alarming position we thought we should open some wine for tasting.

We’ll stroll down a road less travelled for the white, Adobe Gewurztraminer 2020(£10.49) is an organic example hailing Rapel Valley in Chile. We think it’s just the ticket for this spring weather we’re enjoying.

Red wise we’ll visit Puglia for a glass of Verso Salento Rosso 2020 (£14.99). It is a rather winning blend of Negroamaro, Primitivo, Malvasia Nera with notes of plums and raisins nicely balanced with a hint of mocha in the finish. We are assured by the winemaker it is a great meditation wine, so here we are looking after your wellbeing.

Don’t forget the clocks go forward Saturday night so that late one may be later than you think!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Welcome to another Friday in Wimbledon Park.  This week we’ve noticed the sun getting out of bed earlier and hanging around for longer.  The Sahara was nice enough to send some greetings sprinkled all over the car and there is a reasonable risk that the keenest of us might light the barbecue this weekend.

We finally found something we could all smile about in Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe finally making it home after many false starts over the last six years. Like many, we suspect her ordeal may have been considerably shorter if Johnson had been on top of his brief as Foreign Secretary.

He was again in full diplomatic mode this week as he visited Saudi Arabia hoping to strike a deal on some cheap oil.  Disappointed to find the champagne was less free flowing than when he’s normally at work, he came away empty handed without even a cake ambush.  Stories that the Saudis raised worries about the state of democracy in the UK and the loss of the right to protest could be wide of the mark.

Meanwhile, in Rwanda, a bat that has been missing for 40 years was rediscovered in Nyungwe Park.  After being scolded for being late for supper, the pair of Hill’s Horseshoe bats were measured and their call recorded to make it easier to identify them in future and then released. We’re glad to see they were shy rather than extinct and hope that the experts are able to keep them that way.

At the bottom of a quarry in Midlothian, Skyrora, an Edinburgh based rocket company, open the UK’s largest rocket engine testing facility.  It seems the space race is alive and well in the UK with spaceports now being developed in Wales and Cornwall as well as Scotland.  Call me old fashioned but wouldn’t pooling the resources into one site have been a good idea?

This week wouldn’t be complete without a cultural section mentioning that the Rolling Stones will be playing Hyde Park this summer celebrating their 60^th Anniversary.  They are often a feature of our musical algorithm and tickets are on sale now.  Talking of tickets, Sigur Ros are coming to Brixton for a couple of nights in November and the tickets went on sale this morning.

On the sports front, we’ve had a mixed bag at the Cheltenham Festival this week; Alex is a tiny bit up and Wayne about flat, which is weird when it’s over hurdles!  Wayne’s had a farthing each way on Protekorat in the Gold Cup and also for Peter Sagan to win Milan-San Remo on Saturday.  It’s also Super Saturday for the Six Nations with Wales v Italy at 14.15, Ireland v Scotland at 16.45 and then France v England at 20.00.  We’re not sure how we’re going to fit all that in but will certainly be giving it a go and we haven’t even considered the cricket!

On the table this weekend we’ll be visiting our chums down under in Western Australia.

Flametree Wines have consistently maintained a five star rating from James Halliday since 2011 and we’ve long been fans of Cliff Royle’s winemaking (we’ve even had him pop in the shop!) we think he makes really tasty wines. We’ll have their 2020 Estate Chardonnay (£18.99) and the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (£19.99), so why not come down and sample their tastiness.

Cheers,

Wayne & Alex

PS  Monday 21st March we will be closed as we have several tastings to attend – many apologies for any inconvenience, perhaps grab an extra bottle on Saturday between games!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Oooh, doesn’t life just get jollier with every week that passes!

Since last we met we have seen more lives lost in Ukraine, more people being driven out of their homes, more oligarchs sanctioned and still Russia attacks whilst days have turned into weeks in the ‘special military operation’ that should never have happened.

Further to our contemplations regarding the status of Mr Abramovich last week, it seems our words didn’t fall on deaf ears and he too now faces a bit of a squeeze – probably this won’t be quite as effective as it might have been a week ago but then what do we know…

We’ve also managed to lose not one but two famous Australian cricketers, the younger of whom could have been at school with us – just goes to show it can happen to anyone of us at any time, so seize the day everyone.

Wayne returned from his abortive search for the pet detective on Fuerteventura to the happy news that the ship he mislaid in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica 107 years ago has been found in pretty good nick.  However, he has decided to leave it there, since nowadays he is less about the boat and more about the bike, which is helpful when you live in a two bed flat and I’m not sure Mrs Wayne would be that pleased with a Bay Class Tugboat in the front garden considering her usual choice of Icebreaker is the trifecta of gin, tonic and lime…

What has come to our notice is that whilst the headlines have rightly been focused on the developing situation in eastern Europe, there is now a lot less about Covid that we can see and, more worryingly, the whole Partygate thing seems to have disappeared into the inside pages – we do hope Boris isn’t going to get away with this purely because of a change in media focus.

Sport can be a great distraction at times like these and we have an array of distractions on the horizon.  The England Cricket Team, post Broad and Anderson seem to be toiling towards a draw at the moment, although we can never underestimate our ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

Twickenham this weekend sees the Irish in town, with a team that now sees Jonny Sexton back at the helm.  Bizarrely, they have dropped Mack Hansen out of the squad but the good news for England fans is that they have brought James Lowe instead, plus his leaky defence.  England had a couple of Covid cases earlier in the week but the backing of Harry Randall at scrum half and the removal of Eliot Daly to the bench certainly pleased Wayne.

Then we have the Cheltenham Festival starting again next week, Wayne’s tips so far are limited to drinking Guinness and betting on an Irish horse – seems like a decent each-wayer to me!

We’ve teamed up with the lovely folks @posta_hug on Instagram and have a drop box here if anyone would like to send a message or letter of solidarity to a child, adult or parent in Ukraine. Check out their page for full details.

And now wine, because that’s really what we’re here for, and the tasting of it.

Today we’ll be opening Domaine de Morin-Langaran ‘Cuvée Caroline’ Picpoul de Pinet 2021 (£13.99) perennially popular around here and frankly we’re glad to see it back after the winery ran out before this was ready. We find it crisp and dry, with nice fruit and a touch of minerality, but why not come and taste for yourself?

For the red we’ll zip over to Marche in Italy, Belisario Lacrima di Morro d’Alba 2020 (£15.99) is a medium bodied red from the town of Morro d’Alba. Flavour wise we’re looking at fresh dark fruits, a touch of floral character and maybe even a hint of cinnamon at the end. It’s weight and freshness make an awesome partner to salami and cold cuts.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I have to admit, my heart’s not in it this week, certainly there is no humour to be found.

At least with Covid there was/is a sense that we are all in it together, irrespective of nationality, geographical location or belief.  We are all fighting against a disease that has touched all corners of the earth, all age groups and we all miss someone who is no longer with us as a result.  We have suffered the frustrations and restrictions to life, all the while knowing that this was for the global good.

Putin the Sociopath has no sense of camaraderie or benevolence toward his fellow beings.  However, by all accounts, he is terrified of Covid and has taken many extreme measures to avoid infection by isolating himself from all but the closest aides, which certainly cannot have helped his delusions.  The man is a coward, ordering cowardly attacks on innocent people and he needs to be stopped right now.

Apologies for the dark thoughts but frankly what we should all be doing right now is embracing each other and looking forward to some brighter days, not bombing the $^!£ out of our neighbours.

Meanwhile, in London, all the oligarchs are scrambling, liquidating assets and trying to get cash out of the country. 

Or perhaps not, in the case of Roman Abramovich, who has instructed his team to ‘set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated. The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.’    Sounds pretty good doesn’t it and a large part of me wants this to be a grand gesture of faith and support to the Ukrainian people and a massive two fingers to Moscow.  However, a little bit of me wonders what ‘net proceeds’ means and how much can be winnowed away as I guess that charitable assets might not be frozen; it also wonders how rich he really is if he can write of all the Chelsea loans as well; is there so much more stashed away that losing a few billion here and there is just a cost of business if he ends up not being sanctioned and keeps his assets unfrozen?

Time will tell.  As I say, I want to believe Roman is doing the right thing (just to clarify my football allegiances lie in North London) but I fear I might be disappointed…. Time will tell.

Possibly the most startling news this week was that Gav ‘hide of a rhino’ Williamson is to get a knighthood.  Really?  I’ve attached a link below to an article from The Guardian last September which clearly summarises all the reasons he should never work again, let alone ascend to the House of Lords.  It’s a toxic farce, there are legions of people who should be ahead of him in the queue for ermine lined robes; however I imagine they aren’t bothered by such fripperies, being keener on saving lives, protecting the vulnerable or teaching our kids, whilst desperately chasing a lie in and a day off.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/15/russia-should-go-away-shut-up-gavin-williamson-biggest-blunders

I need a drink, come and join me.

I’ve got a couple of wines from Chile open – oft overlooked, which is a crying shame.

Aromo Viognier 2020 – £9.99 – from the Maule Valley, one of Chile’s traditional wine growing areas, just about 250km south of Santiago.  There’s not a great deal of Viognier planted there but when you taste this you’ll wonder why.  We really rate this wine and have been selling it for over 10 years now, one way or another as it is consistently great value, great quality with lovely peachy-apricot fruit characters and a nice crisp finish. 

From the same producer, we have the Aromo Carménère 2018 – £9.99 – a treat if you like a Merlot but fancy something with a bit of added spice and interest.  Carménère is almost Chile’s own grape, it having been lost to most of the rest of the world but originating in Bordeaux.  Interestingly, through DNA testing, they have found that Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenère all share the same parent – Cabernet Franc – one to remember for the pub quiz on Monday.  Anyway, this one has some lovely damson spiced fruit notes, a medium weight with just a touch of oak lurking in the background.

And now I must be gone but I will leave you with some words of wisdom from Frederick Coolidge, a professor at the University of Colorado who has studied the personality traits of autocratic leaders that shows us what we are dealing with in Putin:

“They tend to have an excessive fear of death or infection… They fear losing control, they fear losing everything and have a need to control everything…. And they are not always rational about it.”

Send help.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any crazier, a fragile attention seeking dictator decides he needs to kill thousands of people who’d rather just be left alone to get on with their lives. You’d have thought the world had suffered enough sorrow the last couple of years.

In other news, the Six Nations is back this weekend, unaltered by the addition of any South African representatives who have opted to stay where they are. England, who host Wales at Twickenham, will be boosted by the return of Lawes but not Tuilagi – at what point does Eddie stop waiting for his Manu. Anyway, we always enjoy this fixture as many of our Welsh readers like to teach us naughty words that we have to Google translate.

We worry many of our Scottish readers will be watching from behind the sofa as an in-form France visit Murrayfield. Let’s hope it’s not a horror show. Italy will be bringing their special brand of hope to Dublin, where Johnny Sexton is set to make a return to the Irish team.

In proper sports, the Spring Classics kick off on Saturday with Omloop Het Nieuwsblaad. The Elite Women’s race is 128 km between Ghent and Ninove. We think it’s difficult to see past Annamiek van Vleuten but would suggest keeping an eye on Sarah Roy too.

The men’s race is between Ghent and Ninove too but, in typical fashion, nobody wanted to ask directions and as a result the route is 204km. Difficult to pick here but Tom Pidcock, Wout van Aert and Stefan Kung are all worthy of attention.

Sunday sees Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne with some new climbs but without Oude Kwaremont this year. Along with the names above I might just mention Peter Sagan who hasn’t ridden Opening Weekend since 2017.

In wine news, if you’re planning a trip to Bordeaux this year it might be worth looking up Wine Cab. It’s basically a London Taxi that takes you on a tasting tour of vineyards. However, if you’re after a more serious tour in Bordeaux, do let us know and we’ll put you in touch with our chum Hamish who knows just about everyone in that part of the world.

In Warrington, Julia Iverson, who’s just celebrated her 108^th birthday, says the secret of a long life is definitely a glass of red wine a day. 

Now that we’ve finally got around to the subject of wine we’ll be opening some of that this weekend.  We have discussed some eye watering price changes in Burgundy with a number of you lately so feel we should look at alternatives. We will start on the white with De Wetshof Estate Lesca Chardonnay 2020 (£16.99). The estate is known as one of the most important Chardonnay producers in South Africa, being pioneers for the Burgundian grape in the 1970’s.

On the red, we’ll head off to the Douro in Portugal for it is here we will discover Quinta do Espinho Colheita 2017 (£13.99) a rather fabulous blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca demonstrating to us once again that there’s great drinking for your money in Portugal.

And finally a reminder:

Today is our annual close-early-and-go-and-run-the-bar-at-the-KCS-quiz-night. 

So, we must apologise because we will be closing at 5pm.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow at Noon.

Go in peace my friends.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We’d like to start off by saying that we’ve never met Prince Andrew, never been to Tramp or even Pizza Express in Woking, so where do we need to send our BACS details? We suspect he’ll disappear from public life and be found on a golf course in the sun somewhere in the desert.

Quite a topsy-turvy week one way and another. St Valentine decreed that we should all start drinking on Monday and we duly did, declaring undying love, indeed loving it so much that we kept it up on Tuesday too.  Windy Wednesday, or Storm Dudley seemed to put us all off though and his partner Eunice is still going. Plenty of sweeping up to be done later and a bit of splicing of the odd electricity cable here and there. I have to say, they may sound more like a mid-70’s sitcom couple but the havoc caused seems a bit more Hammer Horror!

We see in the chilly sports Britain’s Curlers have finally managed to get us on the medal table, so well done them. We also noted that the Wikipedia entry for the skeleton might need an amendment given the statement: “Great Britain is the only nation to have won a medal every time skeleton has featured at the Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal in each of the five contests of Women’s skeleton since its introduction with five different athletes.” Oops.

Something that rather warmed the cockles will happen at St Pancras Station on 8^th March. The station will become a stage for a series of brand-new, train-themed micro-operas created by female composers from anecdotes submitted to the Royal Opera House by members of the public, exploring themes of time, motion, meetings and farewells. It seems a lovely addition to your journeys and what a great way to celebrate International Women’s Day.

We read this week that 2021 saw the highest volume of Champagne produced for a decade, sadly the news arrived after all the emails from all the big brands pleading poverty and dry goods problems leading to price rises. The production figures are for the grapes of the 2020 vintage which saw the earliest Champagne harvest ever, with July 2020 being the driest one ever recorded. All that said, the UK’s thirst for Champagne remains undiminished, surging 30% to 29 million bottles in 2021.We shall continue to seek out small producers offering great wines that are interesting and well-priced.

The Domaine Treloar Tasting is now full up, and we’re all rather looking forward to it.

Today is National Wine Drinking Day 2022, how fortunate that it falls on a Friday eh?

Tasting This Weekend

Propping up the bar in the white t-shirt this week will be Menade Verdejo Ecologica (£15.29) an organic Verdejo from the Castillo Y Leon region of Spain. From 25 year old vines, the wine gives us a glassful of citrus and herb notes, a touch of minerality and a lovely finish.

Rolling in with the red bomber around it’s shoulders will be Domaine Treloar’s Three Peaks (£14.99) a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre from the French Pyrennes and an ideal chance to taste Jonathan’s handiwork for those of you who can’t make the tasting.

Finally, one important piece of admin before we go:

Next Friday, 25^th February, is our annual close-early-and-go-and-run-the-bar-at-the-KCS-quiz-night. 

So, we must apologise because we will be closing at 5pm that day.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I will confess to being in a bit of a crisis this week, a crisis of excess. 

In one hand, we’ve got 50 letters being sent out by the Met to various unnamed recipients, relating to potentially shady goings on in Downing Street; we’ve got the ongoing fallout from the Sue Gray report and we’ve got a famous bodice ripper written by EL James.  Ideally, in the other hand, I would have a clever pun combining all of the above, that would make us all smile for a moment as we unwrap our lunchtime burrito; however, as I uncurl my fingers I find that the palm is empty, there is no pun to be found, just a P45 named Dick.  So, if anyone can come up with something clever using the tools provided, please do let me know before the end of the email and I’ll slot it in.

Were you one of the lucky 50 recipients of a letter from Scotland Yard?  I imagine not, given that you were all at home isolating for the last two years but I have to say I’m intrigued to know what the emailed questionnaire is going to ask, or perhaps should ask:

1. Did you go to any parties in Downing Street in 2020 or 2021?
2. Was Boris Johnson there in a work capacity or was he working the room?
3. As these questions are part of Operation Hillman, which of the following Hillman motor vehicles did you see at Downing Street? Minx, Husky, Super Minx, Imp, Hunter, Avenger or Hustler (please tick all that apply)
4. And finally, to help our sponsors, do you prefer Claret or Beaujolais with your Brie de Meaux?

This questionnaire has formal legal status and all responses are required within seven days.  You must answer every question with either ‘YES’, ‘NO’ or ‘IT IS SIMPLY THE CASE THAT WE WOULDN’T WANT TO BE SEEN TO BE PREJUDGING THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION.  GIVEN THE CLAIMS AND SPECULATION THAT’S BEEN REPORTED ON, WHAT’S RIGHT IS THAT THE INVESTIGATION IS ALLOWED TO CARRY OUT ITS WORK’

However, we have to assume that we’ll never know the whole truth, so I’ll move on to other things and this week we have a couple of diary notes for you.

It’s the 11^th February today, I imagine many of you are all dusting off your passports in anticipation of a snow filled half term break and I fully applaud this.  Anyway, if today is the 11^th, tomorrow will likely be the 12^th, Sunday should be the 13^th which will result in Monday being the 14^th.  The 14^th February aka Valentine’s Day.  I’d pack a card and a bottle of something nice in amongst your long johns if I were you…. don’t say you weren’t given enough warning!

Almost as exciting as the prospect of drinking Champagne on a Monday night is the prospect of us hosting a winemaker tasting here instore.  On Tuesday we received the following email:

Howdy,

We’re planning on coming to the UK in April for a friends 50th and wondered if you would be interested in doing a tasting on the evening of Thursday 21st April with Jonathan like in the old days

To which we replied:

Yes please, we’d love too

To clarify, the email came from Rachel, Rachel Treloar to give her full name, one half of team Domaine Treloar, down in Roussillon in the nice warm part of France.  Now, over the years both Rachel and her husband Jonathan have done tastings for us here and they have gone down an absolute storm – the combination of great wines, great anecdotes and the opportunity to ask the winemakers some really geeky questions is Alex’s idea of atop night out.  It would seem that, historically, you all have a pretty good time too, given the speed with which tickets tend to sell!

The last time we did a Treloar tasting was with Rachel on 17^th October 2019 and prior to that Jonathan filled us with wine and information on 26^th November 2014, which just goes to show that another visit is well overdue, where has the time gone?

WINES FROM DOMAINE TRELOAR WITH JONATHAN HESFORD

THURSDAY 21^ST APRIL 7.30pm – £20 each – limited numbers, when it’s full, it’s full!

Very exciting!

Back in the here and now, we’ll be having a wee tasting of our own this weekend as usual and these two characters will be on show:

Cramele Recas Solara – £11.99

We chose this because frankly, on this most romantic of weekends, what says ‘I love you!’ better than a vegan natural wine from Romania with a slice of orange pretending to be the rising sun on its label?  See, we’ve got all the moves. 

Anyway, back in truthful-land, we first listed this wine last summer in our Case Club and it sold out really, really quickly.  When we tried to re-order in September we were told it was out of stock until 2022.  Well, we’re in 2022 now and the wine is here once more.  The estate is owned by Englishman Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira who have immaculate vineyards, in mountainous terrain, containing a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 alongside more recent plantings.  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. 

Or, in simpler terms, try it, it’s fab!

Keeping the romantic theme, the red is Spanish this week.

Valenciso have become a leading light amongst Rioja’s small, yet growing, band of micro, terroir-focused producers.  Leaving behind excellent careers at Bodegas Palacio, Luis Valentin (see what we did there!) and Carmen Enciso started Compania Bodeguera de Valenciso in 1998.  The vineyards and cellar are located in Rioja Alta in Ollauri, Spain, a small village 4-km away from Haro and we’ll be opening:

Valenciso Reserva 2012 – £25.99

“2012 was a warm and dry year, when some vines were blocked and stopped ripening the grapes. Surprisingly enough, many wines have retained more freshness than what the natural conditions of the year anticipated. Valenciso’s 2012 Reserva has more stuffing and power than the 2011 and comes from a year that was saved by some rains in September and big temperature contrasts between day and night. It’s very tasty, almost salty (the words of Jean Gonon from St Joseph saying “our wines are salty, to be enjoyed with food. There is no room for sweetness in our wines,” comes to my mind). It’s a modern classical Rioja in the making, still young but showing some development and incipient complexity. These wines develop slowly and nicely in bottle and seem to hit the spot after some eight years after the harvest.”  

93 points Luis Guttierez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (6/2019)

Now, that should probably be it from us, you finished your burrito a while back now and I’m sure are itching to get on with your afternoon but, just to confirm, yes, you’re right, there’s a very good reason why we haven’t mentioned the Six Nations….

Fellow Wine Lovers,

As the world goes Wordle mad, we thought we’d share an anagram somebody was kind enough to share with us: Rogue Partyers = Sue Gray Report!

So, hot on the heels of just writing off £4.3 billion lost to fraud just last week, the government has announced that they will be writing off £8.7 billion on Personal Protective Equipment. Some of this loss is understandable, as stock is revalued at prices that have dropped as the demand has fallen, something that we all recall from GCSE economics.

Perhaps you’ll remember that some was purchased through the so called VIP lanes from Matt’s mate down the pub. We’re not sure if that’s

1. the £673 million worth of masks that were not fit for purpose
2. the £750 million’s worth that went of date before it could be used
3. the £2.6 billion that was spent on “items not suitable for use in the NHS” but which they hope to sell

That’s £13 billion and counting of OUR money that has been wasted rather than aiding economic recovery! As a guide, the 2012 Olympics cost £9.3 billion to stage and led to the regeneration of an enormous swathe of East London with more than 10,000 new homes.

To say we are a little peeved may be perceived as an understatement. It’s not so much the paying top of the market, there was a pandemic after all and somebody always ends up buying at the top, it’s more about finding ourselves on the same side of outrage as the Daily Mail that makes us feel distinctly grumpy.

Earlier this morning we had the opening ceremony for Winter Olympics in Beijing. We’ve seen Team GB in action already of course, as the curling started on Wednesday with the mixed doubles team Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds carrying the weight of our expectations beating Sweden, Canada and Australia thus far. Rumours that the curling started early because it is so slow are apparently less truthful than a speech by the Prime Minister.

Personally, I’m looking out for Brad Hall and co in the bobsleigh and then Kirsty Muir and Zoe Atkin in the freestyle skiing. Ski jumping with its new mixed event seems even better than ever, no prizes for guessing who’s been watching Ski Sunday! 

At the risk of raising the excitement levels just a little further, the Six Nations starts on Saturday too.  An injury diminished England travel to Murrayfield for the Calcutta Cup game, however the injury list has forced Mr Jones to pick some of the names that you’ve all been shouting at your TV for ages, although perhaps not Eliot Daly…. Scotland look injury free so Mr Townsend has full choice and it should be a bit of a game.

Ireland host Wales which I suspect the fans are grateful for given plans to sell weak beer and close bars at half time in Cardiff! I suspect Ireland fancy it, given Wales have an injury list to match England’s.

Italy find themselves on the road on Sunday, facing tournament favourites France at the Stade de France, I don’t fancy their chances if I’m honest!

Whilst we’re on the subject of travelling, in real sports, the European Road Racing Season has started with both the Etoile de Bessèges and Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana taking place this week. Mads Pederson and Remco Evenepoel respectively pickied up early season stage wins.

Perhaps now we should look at tasting some wine this weekend. Given that Italy had a starring role last weekend we’ll open with France occupying the white corner: Reserve de Gassac 2020 (£12.99) an unoaked blend of predominantly Viognier with Marsanne, Roussanne and Chardonnay from 25 year old vines. Soft and ripe on the palate with stone fruits, herbs and a mineral backbone. Very versatile with food, but a fish stew with plenty of garlic would be heavenly.

Spain will roll in with the red; Time Waits For No One (£13.99) is from Jumilla, just a short bike ride from the race. Made from 100% Monastrell it is dark in the glass with earthy black fruits, a touch of smoke and a plumper of a finish.

With that we’re off quicker than your MP can pop a letter in!