Fellow Wine Lovers,
It’s been a bit of a week so we hope you’re sitting comfortably as there’s a bit to get through.
Monday brought us news that Switzerland’s largest bank had swallowed up the second largest bank without any need for chats with competition authorities or a vote in parliament, controversially wiping out a layer of bond holders ahead of shareholders… Something had gone very wrong and Credit Suisse was no longer able to “build lasting value by serving our clients with care and entrepreneurial spirit” without the help of Union Bank of Switzerland. It was also the start of spring with the Spring Equinox happening at 9.24pm.
Tuesday came and went without Donald Trump’s expected arrest. Alex is convinced there’s some smoke and mirrors going on there – the fact that Trump received $1.5 million in donations after announcing his imminent arrest may be it. Bluff and bluster, bluff and bluster.
Wednesday though, was the big deal. We had the Commons vote on the Windsor Protocol. This, of course, is not an edict on the way to knot your tie but rather the new protocol to allow Northern Ireland to function properly for goods and services with both the UK and the EU. Despite much bluster from the usual suspects the bill passed comfortably, certainly a win for Rishi Sunak. In entirely unrelated news, Rishi Sunak chose to publish his long spoken about tax returns. With attention focused elsewhere, there was little to comment other than why did it take so long!
Then we were up in front of the Privileges Committee (or Kangaroo Court if you listen to Rees-Mogg for your news) chaired by Harriet Harman, impeccably turned out in a dark suit and wearing Jay-Z’s gold necklace. Boris appeared, flanked by legal counsel we’re all paying for, with his usual impeccably coiffed straw mat and fresh from the jumble sale grey suit. No necklace for him, just an oath on the St James Bible. He was very keen to highlight that being Prime Minister during a pandemic really was a Hard Knock Life and that everyone in No.10 was working really rather hard. The reason all the photos showed bottles of alcohol was “essential” for staff morale and the running of Government.
Clearly he didn’t like being questioned, becoming quite testy at times, continually interrupting…Excuse Me Miss, he kept trying. Blustering, huffing and insisting, when questioned, that he’d been assured that no rules were being broken when in fact two of the people he claimed told him this had given opposing evidence in their submissions to the committee. I think he may be in a spot of trouble with HR for naming one of them who was assured anonymity!
It seemed to us that Harriet Harman got straight to the nub of the argument with her comment: “If I was going 100 mph and I saw the speedometer saying 100 miles an hour, it would be a bit odd, wouldn’t it, if I said somebody assured me that I was not”. Clearly remembering her own shortcomings as she was fined for doing 99mph on the M4 in 2003!
Anyhow, we could go on with this but Boris has had his say and the committee has gone off to decide whether he’s a fit person to ever Run This Town again. We think we rather agree with the Secret Barrister: “There’s a reason that criminal defence lawyers will tell you that the defence case is usually at its strongest before the defendant gives evidence.”
On the sports front, we’ve moved into International duties in the football with Qualifying for the European Championship across this weekend. England and Northern Ireland both came away with wins last night. Congratulations also due to Harry Kane for becoming England’s top scorer ever!
In real sports, La Volta a Catalunya is rolling around the hills of Catalonia with Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel duking it out for the spoils, ahead of Sunday’s finish in Barcelona.
In wine news, a collaboration of 89 scientists from 17 countries have used genomics to establish that grapevines were probably the first fruit domesticated by humans and it seems to have happened in two separate places simultaneously! Eleven thousand years ago in fact, in both the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan) and the South Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan). Imagine that farmers, just 650 miles apart, started the ball rolling on what put Park Vintners on the map in Arthur Road.
With that firmly in mind, we shall visit Georgia and open Vachnadziani Winery Krakhuna 2019 (£13.49) – a dry white wine, made from Krakhuna grapes grown in the river Kvirila valley, West Georgia. It is citrusy and somewhere between a Furmint and a north eastern Spanish white – very versatile.
Once we’re done there, we’ll pull on our red trousers and head over to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and have a taste of Massaya Terrasses de Baalbeck 2018, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon (£29.99) – a wine Alex first tasted in 2008, so not the swiftest turn around we’ll accept. The famous Rhône producer, Vieux Télégraphe, has a big interest in this winery and the 40% Grenache Noir, 30% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre blend is a bit of a giveaway. Rhôney, but not Rhôney, is not the most helpful tasting note but I think you’ll understand once you try it.
So that’s probably us for another week, will Boris out last Conte? Let’s wait and see…