Fellow Wine Lovers,
So let’s get this clear, it’s all a bit full on if I’m going to try and watch all the sport this weekend:
Saturday
6.30am Women’s World Cup Rugby Union FINAL – New Zealand vs England
2.30pm Men’s World Cup Rugby League SEMI FINAL – England vs Samoa
3.15pm Men’s Autumn International Rugby Union – England vs Japan
Sunday
8am Men’s T20 World Cup Cricket FINAL – Pakistan vs England
2.30pm Men’s Wheelchair World Cup Rugby League SEMI FINAL – England vs Wales
Monday
7.30pm Women’s World Cup Rugby League SEMI FINAL – England vs New Zealand
As you may have noticed, with the obvious exception of the men’s rugby union team who frankly still look a long way off, there are a lot of events with the word FINAL in their title, which is very exciting indeed. Wayne was pleased to work out that his accumulator of Six England World Cup wins in the next Six weeks will fulfil his retirement yacht budget requirements until I explained that, whilst the first five are very doable, the sixth would be his heartbreaker, especially since no AFC Wimbledon players have made the squad.
However, at least all the sport will be a distraction from politics which I know we tend to get a bit bogged down by. Nothing to report in the UK, all ticking along nicely just like last week; ditto in the USA, no outrageous Trump led distractions there; meanwhile, in a jungle far, far away and probably not far enough away, Matt Hancock is getting far more attention than he deserves.
In the world of wine, we have just taken delivery of the new vintage of Chocolate Block. For those of you new to this wine, it is made by Boekenhoutskloof, in Franschhoek, South Africa and the 2021 vintage is the 20th iteration of this great wine. Mark Kent, the winemaker, tells us: “We made an important decision in 2015 to shift from general appellation Western Cape to Wine of Origin Swartland. The significance is that we can directly manage the majority of the fruit being vinified for The Chocolate Block and farm the vineyards using our sustainable approach to viticulture. After more than a decade of working with these Swartland vineyards, our Porseleinberg and Goldmine farms represent about 60% of the fruit in the final blend. Notably, we can see that the wines have changed stylistically. It’s about the purity of fruit, elegance and structure.”
The 2021 is a whopping 74% Syrah blended with 10% Grenache, 8% Cinsault, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Viognier. Although somewhat riper it shows lower alcohol and good natural acidity, which should develop very well for years to come but they would say that wouldn’t they! How about we ask someone a bit more independent but nonetheless very knowledgeable:
“It takes a lot of talent – and good grapes -to make one million bottles of something this impressive. Using fruit from Goldmine, Porseleinberg and a block in Malmesbury, it’s a seamless cuv?e of Syrah with 26% Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier. Polished, scented and glossy, with blueberry and blood orange flavours, fresh acidity, good structure and nuanced oak. 2023-30” 93/100 Tim Atkin MW
The Chocolate Block 2021
” Half Bottles – £15.99
” Bottles – £25.00 (6 for £135) – we also have a few 2020 left, if anyone is keen to compare them
” Magnums – £55 (arriving mid-December we hope!)
” Jeroboam – £130
And if you really fancy pushing the boat out, we also have the single vineyard wine, Porseleinberg Syrah 2019 – £65 which again Mr Tim Atkin MW has thoughts about:
“This remarkable site has established itself as one of the world’s great Syrah vineyards in less than a decade. Sourced from four blocks totally 4.5 hectares, Callie Louw’s stunning red is just short of perfection this year, but is still brilliant, confirming the evolution in style of the Jamet-inspired 2018. Leafy, spicy, rose petal aromas are supported by pure red berry fruit, detailed tannins and the faintest hint of oak. 2022-32.” 99 points
Nice.
However, if you’re not in the mood for iconic South Africans this weekend perhaps the two wines we’ve got on tasting might be more up your street?
We’ll start off with a trip to Epanomi, which is about a twenty minute drive south from Thessaloniki airport. Lurking in this vicinity, we find Ktima Gerovassiliou who are entirely responsible for this week’s choice white: Ktima Gerovassiliou White 2021 – £19.49. In 1981, Vangelis Gerovassiliou started reinvigorating the 2.5 hectare family vineyard approximately 25km south-east of Thessaloniki. The vineyards are about 3 km from the sea, which borders the vineyards on three sides, tempering the warm summer days. This wine, a blend of Malagoussia and Assyrtiko, is a deliciously crisp citrus and peach flavoured drop with a splendid seam of minerality. Ktima Gerovassiliou is internationally recognised too – US publication Wine and Spirits Magazine has named them ‘Winery of the Year’ four times.
The red this week is from the Mas Blanch I Jove winery in Costers del Segre, which is just west of Priorat. We’ve spoken about them before but just to recap, most (99%) of the energy they use is solar, the vineyard has been certified as organic since 2015 and they have a great arrangement with artists and sculptors in the vineyard too – they have more than a dozen masterpieces scattered over the property, which look awesome.
Mas Blanche I Jove Sao Abrivat 2019 – £18.99 is a blend of 40% Tempranillo, 35% Grenache and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon matured in a mixture of French and American oak barrels for around 12 months. The wine is soft with a lovely dark red fruit character and a melange of vanilla, cinnamon and black pepper spice notes before the long balanced finish. A regular visitor to both our dining tables?.
And now that we think we’ve kept you away from your work for far too long, we will wish you well and look forward to seeing you soon!