Fellow Wine Lovers,
Here we are again; another Friday has crept up on us almost before we’ve finished the last one. With time flying along like this, those 14 days to Christmas Day are going to flash by. So, how was your week?
We’re both glad we haven’t booked our holiday in space yet after a SpaceX rocket that exploded on landing was viewed as a success. We feel we’d like a softer landing than a controlled descent ending in a fireball and are beginning to think that Thunderbirds and Space 1999 made it all look a bit easier than it’s turning out to be.
On the Brexit front, despite all the radio ads warning all businesses to be ready it appears the Oven Ready deal is still lacking some of the ingredients. The baking powder is lost in Felixstowe in an unmarked container that may or may not have been unloaded or accidentally shipped off on the wrong ship. The fishermen are still all at sea over the John Dory, and Boris has dashed off on a charm offensive for dinner with Ursula von der Leyen. We’ve learnt, rather amusingly, that he ate fish but it’s not clear whose waters they came from. He has now returned to his happy place in the fridge leaving Carrie to carry on running the country.
We’re not talking about last week’s football for obvious reasons. We thought we might mention the Olympics which, under normal circumstances, would have enjoyed many more column inches from us in 2020 than it has. Tokyo has been rescheduled for July 2021 and hot on its heels is Paris in 2024. The Olympic committee has decided that the hot new sport for 2024 will be Breakdance. Now, I don’t want to take anything away from Breakdancers, its fabulous to watch and takes an enormous amount of skill, practice and sheer hard work to be any good at it but is it a sport? I don’t think so; surely the clue is in the name? We don’t have Ballet or the Foxtrot in the Olympics, and, much as it may be entertaining to have Len Goodman on the commentary team, I can’t help but think that perhaps squash or Individual Pursuit in the Velodrome may have been a better fit.
Anyway, we’re here to talk about beverages of some nature or other so how about I start with the information that our deliveries this week contained the following.
Foxdenton Estate Christmas Liqueur – £20
Made with Winslow Plums and a blend of traditional Christmas spices including Ginger, Clove, Cinnamon, and Star Anise, our Christmas Liqueur, is the ideal winter warmer.
All this needs is a mince pie and an open fire. However it is equally at home in a glass of Fizz…..
Champagne Tarlant Brut Nature (£45) has had a bit of a revamp and I know a few of you are big fans of its long aged style. This is based on the 2012 vintage (fantastic in Champagne) and aged for six years we could only get a small amount this year.
Bollinger Grand Année 2012 (£112) just arrived too, and, having hit The Wine Spectators Top 100 wines at number nine, won’t be around for long.
The final wine for the Christmas cases that we mentioned last week has eventually managed to negotiate its way through the ports chaos and arrive here in SW19. So, we’re now good to go with those too. More on that wine below…
Our house champagne Lété-Vautrain Brut 204 (£30) has definitely gained a loyal following and its worth mentioning that we’re still offering 3 bottles for £75.
CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS
MONDAY 14th – WEDNESDAY 16th DECEMBER NOON – 7PM
THURSDAY 17th & FRIDAY 18th DECEMBER NOON – 8PM
SATURDAY 19th DECEMBER 11AM – 7PM
SUNDAY 20th DECEMBER NOON – 3PM
MONDAY 21st – WEDNESDAY 23rd DECEMBER NOON – 7PM
THURSDAY 24th DECEMBER 10AM – 5 PM
FRIDAY 25th – MONDAY 28th DECEMBER CLOSED
TUESDAY 29th DECEMBER – THURSDAY 31ST DECEMBER NOON – 6PM
FRIDAY 1st – WEDNESDAY 6th JANUARY CLOSED
THURSDAY 7th JANUARY NOON – 7PM
Tasting This Weekend
Well it’s a long time since we’ve typed that. We have looked at it long and hard, the glasses are all dish-washed and we’ll remove them from the box with sanitised hands. We can’t allow you to spit, but thought it would be really nice to offer something to taste.
So on Saturday we’ll open the Christmas Liqueur clearly and also Sylvain Dussort Cuvee des Ormes 2018(£21.99) a cracking white Burgundy from Meursault very much in that style without the price tag. It is the estates flagship wine from vines between 35 and 60 years old and aged for 12 months on its lees in barrels before 16-18 months age in the bottle.
For good measure we’ll also pull a cork on the red that’s been hiding out at Tilbury causing all the trouble. From the Loire Valley, Antoine de la Farge L’Enfant Rebelle 2019 (£15.99) is a storming Pinot Noir with a bit more oomph than we’re used to from that area. Antoine has taken over the family estate in Menetou Salon, but also produces some wines under his own name. These wines are produced on a small scale and with great care, everything is picked by hand and fermentations happen naturally. The wines are made in stainless steel to emphasise their purity and freshness. You’ll experience that here, pure plum and cherry fruit, a touch of undergrowth and some fine tannins.
So come and see us, email if you’d like a delivery, pop in for a taste.
Cheers,
Wayne & Alex