Fellow Wine Lovers,
Well, I’m not sure if that has solved much but quite a few things will change.
The most important General Election in our lifetime has involved lying, misleading adverts, graphs and polls and, to cap it all, a Prime Minister hiding in a fridge to avoid scrutiny. These things, it would appear, are the secret to a landslide.
I looked up Integrity in the Cambridge Dictionary: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change: “No one doubted that the president was a man of the highest integrity.”
someone’s high artistic standards or standards of doing their job, and that person’s determination not to lower those standards: “Keen to preserve his artistic integrity, he refused several lucrative Hollywood offers.”
Let’s hope we now discover some, eh?
In the meantime, life moves on regardless and, at the risk of creating minor panic, in just 12 days it’s Christmas. The turkey will be going in the oven, you’ll have stood on numerous bits of Lego and be wondering if it’s too soon to open that second bottle of champagne: I’d say go ahead, it’d be rude not too.
At this stage I might just invoke a song about Christmas that seems appropriate (with apologies to Frederic Austin)…
On the first day of Christmas my True Love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree
– We’d put a Faiveley Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Myglands (£29.99) with the partridge.
On the second day of Christmas my True Love sent to me two turtle doves
– We’ll go with Sylvain Dussort’s Meursault-like Cuvée des Ormes 2016 (£21.99) for the doves.
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me three French hens
– We’re suspecting the JP Moueix Saint-Emilion 2015 (Magnum £46) will be just the ticket, let’s face it, three hens needs more than a bottle.
At the risk of labouring a point, we’re of the opinion that if the Ladies are to be dancing and the Lords leaping, you may want to enjoy our Six Bottles of Bollinger for £210 offer.
That’s enough singing for one Friday and if you’d heard me sing, it’d definitely be more than enough.
We’ve been
discussing the merits of seasonal special sandwiches and plan to trial a couple
over the next week, any top tips greatly received.
Tasting This Weekend
We’ll be opening Hawkins Bros Brut Reserve (£30each or 3 for £75), a cracking English sparkling wine made at Greyfriars Vineyard near Guildford. A classic cuvée, based on vintage 2014, made and grown on the Hogs Back in Surrey. This is a blend of 56% Chardonnay, 22% Pinot Noir and 22% Pinot Meunier and has spent over three years ageing on its lees.
We’ll open Sylvain Dussort’s Bourgogne Blanc Cuvée des Ormes 2016 (£21.99) mentioned above. A classic white burgundy which is, in fact, the estate’s flagship wine. The grapes are hand-harvested from vines from 35 to over 60 years and the wine is aged for 12 months in barrels on the lees. The wine is racked off once and assembled in a single vat before bottling. This takes place at between 16 and 18 months, depending on the vintage. Delicate, rich and elegant, with good length, we reckon in a blind tasting it would easily be mistaken for a Meursault and this was awesome value for money.
The red corner will be ably represented by Domaine Billard ‘Les Bons Feuvres’ Beaune 2017 (£24.99) Domaine Billard has approximately 12.5 hectares of vineyards in different appellations throughout the Côtes de Beaune. The domaine passed from father to son recently and Jérôme Billard has brought a new philosophy to the domaine where all the farming is done with respect for nature and follows organic principles. Previously, Jérôme’s father sold his wine to the local cooperative but Jérôme is now estate bottling his entire production and why wouldn’t he be proud to put his name on this wine? Lush and juicy with bright cherry and black berry fruits, lovely fine tannins and a smooth finish.
And if that doesn’t tantalise those taste buds, we have got Gin, Whisky, Vodka and of course the Foxdenton Christmas Liqueur all open and awaiting your attention.
Christmas Opening Hours – This is when we’re here and when we’re not.
MONDAY 16th – FRIDAY 20th DECEMBER 11AM – 8PM
SATURDAY 21st DECEMBER 10AM – 8PM
SUNDAY 22nd DECEMBER 11AM – 3PM
MONDAY 23rd DECEMBER 11AM – 8PM
TUESDAY 24th DECEMBER 10AM – 5PM
WEDNESDAY 25th – FRIDAY 27th DECEMBER CLOSED
SATURDAY 28th DECEMBER 12PM – 6PM
SUNDAY 29th DECEMBER CLOSED
MONDAY 30th DECEMBER 11AM – 8PM
TUESDAY 31st DECEMBER 11AM – 6PM
WEDNESDAY 1st – MONDAY 6th JANUARY CLOSED
TUESDAY 7th JANUARY – BACK TO NORMAL – 11AM – 8PM
Ho! Ho! Ho!