Fellow Wine Lovers,
The film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was released in 1998, to much critical acclaim but also much collateral damage caused by mosquito brained Vinnie Jones breaking into Hollywood. Anyway, as I’m sure most of you are aware of the subject matter of the movie, it might lead you to wonder what a southeast London gangster caper has to do with a southwest London wine shop and at this point I can assure you, they have very little to do with each other.
However, there is a quote that I often recall, made by Tom as he makes a deal with Nick the Greek:
Well, this seems to be a waste of my time. That is 900 nicker in any shop you’re lucky enough to find one in. And you’re complaining about 200? What school of finance did you study? It’s a deal, it’s a steal, it’s the sale of the …. century! In fact, Nick, I think I’ll keep it!
Brilliant, you should all watch the movie again.
In other news, the Park Vintners annual 6 for 5 January offer comes to a close next Tuesday – that’s a 16.666% off six bottles for the more mathematically inclined and, frankly, it’s a deal….
Elsewhere, life in the Wild Westminster continues apace for our parliamentary outlaws – pick your favourite rogue frontiersman, there are plenty to choose from currently – Jonathan Gullis probably the worst after managing to plumb new depths on Wednesday.
Meanwhile on Arthur Road, Alex went to Cavan Bakery and got some sausage rolls and left without paying, He then went to Saucer & Cup and took away a couple of coffees, again without paying. The Coop was his next stop as he came away with some soup and apples, once more his wallet stayed in his pocket. On his return to the shop, having been informed of his activities, I thought that rather than ask him directly whether he had knowingly not paid these bills, I would actually ask my newly appointed ethics advisor what I thought with a view to getting a reply in about six months’ time. Obviously, Alex still has his job and will just brazen out this minor bump in the road but, in the meantime, if anyone could lend him £800,000 unsecured that would be great as he has some bills to pay….
A quick scan through the booze news doesn’t give us much to talk about unless you have shares in Diageo. One article did catch our eye though and it was the classic January page filler telling us what the ‘key trends’ will be this year; here’s the list, in no particular order, but focus on these and you’ll be the hepist of cats:
- low/no alcohol drinks (water?)
- tequila rather than Gin (last year it was Rum that would breakthrough, we’ll see)
- light-bodied wines
- off-the-beaten track styles and regions (because have you seen how Burgundy now costs)
- sustainability including organic, vegan or carbon neutral wines
- packaging – tin of wine anyone?
- drink less but better (this fits nicely with our business model)
- at-home drinking rather than going out out (alsofits nicely with our business model)
- and finally make sure that as much as possible you only buy on-trend drinks in creative packaging formats and presentation vessels, such as single serve, pouches and cans, to show that you are fully in tune with today’s evolving lifestyles and drinking occasions (what does this even mean?)
So there you go, this year’s trends, we’ll check in December to see how you’ve all got on!
Back to the here and now, it was Australia Day on Thursday, so to bring a little sunshine into our lives this weekend we thought we’d open a couple of wines from Margaret River
Flametree Chardonnay 2020 – £18.99. Showing no compromise in quality since the 2019 version was proclaimed Decanter White Wine of the Year, this is stunning. Citrus, floral and grapefruit notes on the nose lead to a tad richer palate with the same fruit characters, light creamy oak notes and a dry, savoury finish. A wonderfully elegant wine.
Flametree Embers Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 – £15.99. Wines from Margaret River always seem to exude a little more elegance than the slighter beefier versions from the other side of the country and this wine only emphasises this. A cracking drop, this displays aromas of violets, ripe black fruits and just a hint of chocolate and coffee too; lovely and juicy in the mouth, with fabulously forward fruit, it comes as no surprise that Langton’s Master of Wine, Andrew Caillard, once opined that “Winemaker Cliff Royle is regarded by critics as one of the most gifted winemakers of his generation.”
Come and have a taste.
That’s it from us for now, come and buy some wine, 6 bottles we suggest, and if you know anyone who’s birthday is on Sunday, wish them well and let them know that they share their day with such greats as Tom Selleck, Oprah Winfrey, Clare Balding and Mikey Nyren!