Fellow Wine Lovers,
Welcome to a sunny Friday and, with potential for a rain free weekend ahead of us, I thought I’d jinx it all by opening some rosé this evening on the tasting table… so, when you’re standing under a brolly tomorrow afternoon watching under 13 cricket whilst wearing wellies with shorts (a very British nod to high fashion), you’ll know who to blame!
Anyway, before we get tucked in to all things pink, what’s news?
Well, it’s been a good week for:
Wayne – as he is finally off on a well-earned cycle extravaganza in the Balearics, apparently a key part of his training for challenges later in the season. Not sure if he means cycling, dancing or drinking beer challenges but I am sure he is working hard on all three.
Boris Johnson – yeah, who’d have thunk it. Whilst here in the UK many feel he has outstayed his welcome it would appear that in Ukraine they can’t get enough of him. Fresh from having a street named after him in Fontanka, near Odesa last month, it was announced yesterday by the mayor of the city of Vasylkiv, that their “new embankment on the Stugna River … will now have the name of a great friend of Ukraine: Prime Minister Boris Johnson.”
Shareholders in Shell and BP as both companies post record profits
Real Madrid – showing us all how important it is to play the full 90+ minutes and to not start easing up when the clock starts ticking down
However, someone’s good week is always someone else’s bad one:
Will Smith – the ongoing fallout from his Oscars performance leads to Dave Chappelle receiving an uninvited armed guest on stage during his act
Boris – Mr Becker this time. Not only given a prison sentence but now facing the distinct possibility of deportation – not how we thought Boom Boom’s fairytale would end
Golf – as Lee Westwood (estimated net worth £40 million) becomes another golfer keen to play for Saudi money and thus becoming an apologist for them. Lee, I get that other sports have taken their cash too and I get that playing golf is your job but really, no one is making you do this
Manchester City – showing us all how important it is to play the full 90+ minutes and to not start easing up when the clock starts ticking down
Wandsworth Tories – not sure they saw that coming
Hay fever sufferers – high pollen count for the next few days, you can almost see it in the air – Wayne, stay away!
For the rest of us, I imagine it has been a reasonably decent week, shorter than some thanks to the Bank Holiday and finishing off with a bit of sunshine, what’s not to like!
Anyway, at the top I suggested opening some rosé, who’s with me? I am going to start the season with our perennial best seller and a wine many of you know and love but not all of you have tasted, Château de L’Aumérade ‘Cuvée Marie-Christine’ Côtes de Provence Cru Classé – £15.99. The Chateau 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. 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!
Oh, and did I mention we also offer 6 bottles for £80….
Whilst lots of people like rosé, it doesn’t rock everybody’s world. For those of you who rock to a different beat, I’m going to open Juliénas-Chaintré Beaujolais Villages ‘Cuvée Six’ – £10.99. There’s been a quiet revolution going on in Beaujolais, some of the smartest burgundy winemakers have been buying up parcels of land, Co-operatives have been merging and there has been a quality revamp too. This wine is from the villages of Jullié and Emeringes, and grown on the sandy granitic soils that produce the best Gamay. Tender, round and fruity as you’d expect from a pure expression of the grape variety and very tasty lightly chilled at lunchtime!
Think that’s about it from us for now – I just want to leave you with some further fruits of my meanderings into the worldwide web. Whilst googling Messrs Johnson and Becker I kept on being offered details of a Japanese band named BORIS, who by all accounts have been active since the earlier 90’s and have a varied genre of musical influences, to wit:
experimental music, experimental rock, noise music, noise rock, experimental/avant-garde metal, doom metal, post-metal, drone metal, sludge metal, psychedelic music, psychedelic rock, psychedelic metal, stoner rock, sludge metal, drone music, old-school industrial music, ambient music, acid rock, garage rock, shoegazing, dream pop, J-pop, crust punk
Now, I’m sure that all you people who are far funnier than me could come up with some amazing jokes about The Johnson and The Becker using the tools provided above, so over to you, Hugh!