Fellow Wine Lovers,
Well, his nibs has returned from his sunfilled sojourn abroad, looking bronzed and relaxed and catching the eye of the single ladies of Arthur Road (60+ category). If I have to hear one more time how ‘this time last week I was wearing shorts and eating souvlaki in the sunshine’ or ‘why does it rain so much in your country? When I was away I didn’t see a cloud for weeks’, I might just end up doing him a mischief!
Joking aside, it’s nice to have him back. I can now pop out to the Coop for two minutes and get my lunch without running the risk of missing the delivery or courier that I have been waiting for since first thing; I can do local deliveries in the daylight rather than at 9pm and perhaps I might even get a day off – welcome back, Wayne, watch the shop whilst I pop out will you?!
Every year, with Wayne’s return, we hit a watershed in the Park Vintners calendar. Up until his departure in mid-September there was still the occasional waft of barbecue in the air and memories of summer and bank holiday weekends filled with rosé induced siestas still remained fresh in the memory. However, we’re now in October, it’s getting darker earlier, Rosé is turning into red and before we know it we’ll be launched headlong into December festivities.
With this in mind, whilst I’ve had a bit of peace and quiet, not content with listing the English bubbles from Hawkins’ Bros, I’ve been buying Champagne – to get the party started, if you will.
First up, we see the return of the Champagne Thiénot Brut NV – £35.99. This has been a regular guest on our shelves for the last few years and it’s great to see it back in its smart red livery. Lots of bright fruit on the nose and palate and a touch of honey and nuts on the finish – quite a lot of wine for a NV style we reckon.
Then we have a couple of new additions. First up we have Champagne Canard-Duchêne Cuvée Léonie Brut NV – £30.99. Alex has long had a soft spot for Canard Duchêne, it being a fizz that often slides under many peoples’ radar whilst offering excellent quality and value. A red grape heavy blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay this is a seductive and elegant drop with hints of floral, tropical fruits and a hint of pain d’épices. The palate continues this theme and finishes with a lovely, lingering freshness.
And finally, as a replacement to the Moutard Rosé which seems to have been dropped by our supplier we have decided to have as a guest the Champagne Lallier Grand Rosé Grand Cru Brut NV – £37.99. A blend of 35% Chardonnay and 65% Pinot Noir what most appealed to us was the fact that it has crisp, fresh fruit, a gentle pink hue and a lovely soft mousse – very tasty.
DINING ROOM
Not sure if we’ve mentioned this before but always worth a repeat. For the last year we have teamed up with Francesca who runs a twice monthly pop-up in Wimbledon Chase, providing wine to go with her delicious menus. We’ll let her introduce herself:
‘Where to begin? In the old days, before kids and endless responsibilities I used to work in restaurants – Alistair Littles, The River Cafe, Chez Pannis and Rick Steins to name but a few. And then I set up my own restaurants – The Cow Dining Room and The Vale to name a couple. Late nights, relentless hours, not much sleep, all work and not much play! But then kids came along and I knew that working nights and weekends was over. I found a day job which luckily enough was working for Riverford Organics for the last ten years. It has been great but somewhere deep inside I have always dreamt of doing my own thing again. The Dining Room is only very small, only the very start but like all good things, I hope that it will grow – like the kids did.’
Her next evenings are Friday 11th and Saturday 12th October and if you’re interested in learning more, the best approach would be via her website – www.dining-room.co.uk – judging from all the reports back, you won’t be disappointed!
I’M A CELBRITY
Quite purposefully we’ve been avoiding a look at the news this week because most of it just feels like groundhog day reporting but one snippet that did catch our eye was the fact that ITV are planning on building an ‘I’m A Celebrity….’ theme park in Salford Quays, famous for its rain, less famous for its tropical rainforest – squeeze the franchise ‘til the pips squeak lads!
DOMAINE TRELOAR – Thursday 17th October at 8pm – £20 per person
Three tickets left for this brilliant evening with Rachel Treloar from the eponymous wine estate. She was with us in May and it’s certainly not an evening to be missed. As a teaser, we’ll be tasting:
White
‘La Terre Promise’ 2016 – 50% Grenache Gris, 40% Macabeu, 10% Carignan Blanc
Red
‘Le Ciel Vide’ 2015 – 70% Syrah, 30% Grenache
One Block Grenache 2015 – 70% Grenache, 30% Lledoner Pelut
Three Peaks 2016 – 39% Mourvèdre, 31% Grenache, 30% Syrah
‘Le Secret’ 2013 – 80% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre
‘Motus’ 2015 – 80% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 10% Grenache
‘Tahi’ 2011 – 60% Syrah, 25% Mourvèdre, 15% Grenache
Sweet
Muscat de Rivesaltes 2013 – 100% Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
THIS WEEKEND
Wines will be open once more from 5pm today until close tomorrow and this week both come from Spain.
The white will be Val do Xuliana Albariño 2018 – £13.99 – a crisp, orchard fruited and gently mineral dazzler from Rias Baixas in the northwest, whilst the red will be a return to an old favourite, absent from our shelves for a couple of years now – Campos de Luz Garnacha 2017 – £10.49 – which is made from old vines in Cariñena up near Zaragoza and is a constant pleasure to drink.
So pop in and have taste, compliment Wayne’s tan and book up for Treloar – done!