Fellow Wine Lovers,
Hello, hello, it’s us again, heralding the start of your weekend and the tempting prospect of Friday Night Fizz beckoning to you from the wings. Finally, an email that starts with some positivity….
Unbeknownst to us, it seems that this week is the week of the reverse ferret. In politics, Kwasi (it was the Queen’s fault) and Liz (it was Kwasi’s fault) famously decided to reverse their tax cut plans; in economics, the pound doesn’t know what to do, one minute it’s in the doldrums, the next it’s rallying, then it’s back down again….; and in boxing, Conor Benn tests positive for a banned testosterone enhancing substance and we were originally told that ‘The B sample has yet to be tested, meaning that no rule violation has been confirmed. Indeed, Mr Benn has not been charged with any rule violation, he is not suspended, and he remains free to fight.’ A couple of hours later British Boxing Board of Control decided to ‘prohibit’ the match between him and Chris Eubank Jr because, you know, testing positive has to count for something.
And then we had word from across the pond that the world’s greatest diplomat, Elon Musk, had come up with a solution to the ongoing war in Ukraine. His plans have not gone down well, as you might guess, however Elon’s reaction to the torrent of scorn, derision and anger from well, everyone, was to claim his tweet had undergone the ‘Biggest bot attack I’ve ever seen’. Bot or not, we did like the twitter response from Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nausėda:
‘Dear @elonmusk, when someone tries to steal the wheels of your Tesla, it doesn’t make them legal owner of the car or of the wheels. Even though they claim both voted in favor of it. Just saying.’
Burn.
Elsewhere, we’ve all started feeling a bit old as we celebrate 60 years since the cinema release of the first Bond movie Dr. No. Urusla Andress walked out of the sea; Sean Connery said ‘Bond. James Bond’ for the first time and the famous quote ‘A medium dry martini, lemon peel, shaken, not stirred’ was coined, although not initially by Mr Bond. We recommend that if you are doing Fizz Friday, a bottle of Bollinger might be a nice treat, although we don’t have the 1953 or the 1955!
Further to our promises over the last few weeks, we have taken delivery of a few more new wines, three from France. one from Italy, one from New Zealand and one from Argentina.
France
Domaine Joel Delaunay ‘Maceration de Soif’ Sauvignon Blanc Vin Orange 2021 – £21.49 from the Loire valley, another adventure with orange wine and if you’re a fan of rich minerals this is absolutely up your strasse – dry, hints of capsicum and as close as you will get to licking stones without actually going into the garden.
Domaine Rolly Gassmann Kappelweg de Rorschwihr Riesling 2014 – £36.59 from Alsace, Rolly Gassmann farm organically and bio-dynamically but haven’t sought certification for their wines. This wine is a powerful Riesling with a bit of age on it, where rich stone fruit is offset by a racy citric acidity. We could happily drink this all day….
Château Fleur de Lisse 2016, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru – £35.00 which as you can guess is from Bordeaux. As you’d expect from a GC from a great vintage and vines with an average age of 45 years, this is a lesson in red berries, black berries, spice, polish, texture, nicely structured tannins and a long rich finish.
Italy
Poggio al Tesoro ‘Solosole’ Vermentino Toscana 2021 – £26.59 comes from the famous Bolgheri estate owned by the Allegrini family, next door to Ornellaia. Famous for their reds, we decided to give one of their whites a go too. Crisp and fresh with citrus and herb notes, a lovely texture and a great finish – a fabulous all-rounder.
New Zealand
Akarua ‘RUA’ Central Otago Pinot Noir 2021 – £25.29. The Skeggs family, owners of the winery, were among the first to purchase and plant vineyards in Central Otago, in the mid 1990’s and as a result, they know a thing or two about making Pinot here. We tend to benchmark quality Pinot more from how it finishes than how it starts – and this finishes beautifully. Fruit on the attack which then ushers in some fine tannins and lifted aromatics that linger and linger – very tasty.
Argentina
Colomé Lote Especial La Brava Malbec 2020 – £24.99 is sourced entirely from the ‘La Brava’ vineyard, located 1750 metres above sea level. After spending 12 months in oak, the resulting wine is vibrant and aromatic, with a fine tannic structure and is delicately poised between being too dry or too fruity – for us, the perfect expression of Malbec.
So, having now tantalised everyone’s tastebuds, what shall we open this weekend? Some friends of ours are off to sunny Spain on Sunday, so perhaps we should wish them a buen viaje with a couple of wines they should keep their eyes open for?
Macià Batle Margalida Llompart 2019 – £20.99
Bodegas Macià Batle has been making wines in Mallorca since 1856. This one is a blend of Prensal Blanc, a local variety, and Chardonnay. It is an almost translucent yellow colour with greenish reflections, with an intense bouquet of tropical fruit, peach, grapefruit, apple and fennel. The palate is satisfying with ripe peach flavours and a creamy fleshiness that might work rather well with a selection of grilled fish in El Palo.
Torres Altos Ibéricos Parcelas De Graciano 2015 – £17.99
This low yielding grape is usually just a small part of the Rioja blend, bringing medium tannins, deep colour and intense aromas of mulberry, violets and chocolate. To have it as a single varietal is a bit of a treat (due to the low yields) so it is a regular resident here. Elegant, with a real velvety palate and a touch of spice from the oak, this has everything we might hope for in a wine and will be a treat with a bit of Secreto Ibérico.
That’s it from us for now, come and see us, buy a bottle of Bollinger and be happy!