Fellow Wine Lovers,
St Patrick’s Day today, last day of the Six Nations tomorrow, Mother’s day on Sunday – it’s a busy weekend, are you ready?
But before we get into the weekend, what’s been exciting this week? Gary Lineker went back to work without having to plead for forgiveness, perhaps having learnt that watching Leicester lose 3-1 to Chelsea on a Saturday afternoon is far more palatable when you’re getting paid to comment on it. However, he was probably grateful that he chose to go to the King Power Stadium rather than the Twickenham one because losing to Chelsea by a couple of goals is just about bearable compared to losing to France by 43 points. Thankfully, unlike Gary, we were at work so were, effectively, being paid to watch it (through our fingers). Happily, as it’s been Cheltenham all week and as it’s St Patrick’s day today we’ve decided that we’re now fully Irish, so tomorrow’s rugby match holds no fear for us!
Jeremy Hunt, he of NHS infamy and certainly a man whose time running the health service wasn’t about paying the workers more money, is now in charge of the Exchequer and on Wednesday he gave us his version of a budget. Watching a man who is clearly so very, very pleased with himself was quite difficult and, when you add weak jokes and questionable data into mix, it almost had us reaching for the Rum. We won’t go into deep analysis of his suggestions but suffice to say, booze will get more expensive in August whether we like it or not, you have been warned.
Thursday brought Alex a couple of big wins at Cheltenham, although when you’re only betting a pound a punt, big wins aren’t really life changing. Wayne also had some big wins and is now looking at yacht brochures and topping up his pension pot….
And now it’s Friday and we’re wearing green. We don’t sell Guinness and we don’t sell Jameson’s but we do sell something better: JJ Corry The Gael Batch No. 2 – £73. Here’s a bit of their story:
In 2015 we built a bonded Rackhouse on the McGuane Family Farm and resurrected the lost art of Irish Whiskey Bonding. Whiskey Bonding is the practice of sourcing new make spirit and mature Irish Whiskey from Irish distilleries and maturing, blending and bottling unique whiskeys. During the ‘golden age’ of Irish Whiskey (in the 19th and 20th centuries), there were hundreds of distilleries operating on the island of Ireland. Most did not have their own brands of whiskey at that time, however. These distilleries made their new make whiskey spirit and sold it wholesale to the Bonders to age, blend and bottle. The Bonders were the publicans, grocers and mercantile owners. They would travel to their local distillery with their own barrels, fill them up with new make spirit and then cart them home for ageing and then blending. Bonders were present in every town in Ireland, giving rise to regional styles. Sadly, the Irish Whiskey Industry collapsed in the 1930s and the few remaining distilleries cut off the Bonders’ supply, leaving Irish Whiskey Bonding to die out.
The Gael Batch No.2 is a 60% Malt and 40% Grain blend comprising of
- 30% single malt bonded in 2002
- 26% single malt bonded in 2003
- 4% single malt bonded in 1991
- 40% single grain bonded in 2010
Aromas of shortbread, peaches and cream and sweet grass fill the nose, complemented by notes of lemon drizzle cake, honeycomb, rye bread and thyme throughout the palate.
Batch No.2 was of just 2800 bottles.
Tempted? I know I am…
However, if whisky is not your thing, how about trying some of the wines we’ve got on tasting this weekend?
A propos of nothing we’ve elected to taste a Gewurztraminer from Northern Italy and a new red from Portugal – should be fun.
Cantina Tramin Gewürztraminer 2021 – £19.99. So, a bit of background required, I think. Cantina Tramin was founded in 1898 and has 310 member winegrowers who follow its strict directives on the cultivation of the vines. If I were then to tell you that the sleepy village of Termeno/Tramin is thought to be the birthplace of the Traminer white grape variety, also known as Gewürztraminer, then you can probably guess why we love this wine. Add to all this the fact that in 2011, Cantina Tramin gained the “Double Stella” award, which is only given to a winery for achieving the prestigious “3 Bicchieri” 20 times which is awarded by the Gambero Rosso then I think you’ll agree you’re getting quite a lot of wine for your £20 note! An intense and complex nose, with aromas of tropical fruit, notes of spice and a layer of minerality, accompanied by the charismatic scent of roses. Creamy, with a balancing acidity and a deliciously long finish – there is no doubt that Tramin make our favourite Gewürztraminer!
Caves Alianca Quatro Ventos Douro 2021 – £10.49. We always enjoy reds from Portugal and here’s a new edition to our range. The hand-picked grapes are sourced from selected vineyards in the Douro Valley, where old vines are planted in schist soil in the ‘patamares’ system. The wine itself has earthy blackberry fruit with hints of warm vanilla spice on the nose, ripe plummy fruit on the palate and a characterful finish. Delicious with veal or lamb, or perhaps a platter of firm mature cheeses.
That’s about it from us, just a reminder that your Mum would really enjoy a glass of Champagne on Sunday, so don’t forget!
Sláinte!