Fellow Wine Lovers,
There’s a lot to get through this week so, if you’re sitting comfortably, let us begin.
Cop28 has started in Dubai. This, of course, is the United Nations Climate Change Conference where heads of state, government officials, global industry leaders, climate experts and private sector representatives fly in to discuss how the rest of us need to cut down on our flights, recycle our sandwich wrappers and stop breathing out so much CO2. Some of you may recall that at COP25 in 2019 Greta Thunberg suggested that it “seems to have turned into some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes”. With these words echoing in their ears, this year the hosts, United Arab Emirates, have denied it’s just an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals!
The Covid enquiry has been plodding along at its own pace and we’re getting to the pointy end now with members of the then Cabinet taking their turn to help out. We’ve had Dominic Raab demonstrate why he may be considered a bully by talking over everyone, Michael Gove being as slippery as any snake you’ve encountered and just yesterday Matt Hancock was helping out. Only a year ago he was dining out on kangaroo parts for considerably less than Nigel Farage is – that’s inflation right there ladies and gents, less is more!
Elon Musk, owner of the platform formerly known as Twitter, this week launched a bit of a rant against all the companies that have withdrawn advertising from the platform describing it as “blackmail” and that it was likely “to kill the company.” You have to admire his self-awareness, eh?
This time of year we find ourselves thinking of music rather a lot. Spotify has sent us all our playlist round up for the year. We were a bit surprised to find Dorothy Ashby’s ‘Afro Harping’ at No1 and certainly they seem to think we’ve listened to a lot more Jah Shaka than we imagined and about the correct amount of Demis Roussos!
Whilst on the subject of music, we’d like to pay tribute to wordsmith Shane MacGowan who has passed away this week – he lived it large!
As has become something of a tradition for this time of year we have prepared a number of cases that we hope might inspire you all. Tasting notes are attached, but to whet your appetite here’s a taster…
6 Bottles of Claret – £135 (Includes tasting notes and gift box)
Château Gabelot 2016, AC Bordeaux
Chapelle de Potensac 2017, Médoc
Seigneurs d’Aiguilhe 2016, Côtes de Castillon
Château Saransot-Dupré 2016, Listrac-Médoc
La Fleur de Boüard 2012/14, Lalande de Pomerol
Château Puy Guilhem 2009, Fronsac
6 Bottles For Christmas Day – £150 (Includes tasting notes and gift box)
Lété-Vautrain 204 Brut NV, Charly-Sur-Marne, Champagne, France
Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2022/23, Marlborough, New Zealand
Sylvain Dussort ‘Cuvée des Ormes’ 2020, Burgundy, France
Domaine Belleville Mercurey Les Perrières 2019, Burgundy, France
Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2021, Toscana, Italy
Krohn Late Bottled Vintage 2016, Portugal
6 Bottles of Posh – £300 (Includes tasting notes and gift box)
Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut NV, Champagne, France
Joseph Pascal Puligny-Montrachet 2020, Burgundy, France
Pieropan ‘La Rocca’ Soave Classico 2021, Veneto, Italy
Pintia 2015, Toro, Spain
Tenuta Guido al Tasso Cont ‘Ugo 2018/2019, Bolgheri, Italy
Porseleinberg Syrah 2019, Swartland, South Africa
As always, numbers for some wines are more restricted than others and we have chosen them all for their deliciousness.
The Cresidents will be illuminating the street with seasonal cheer on Saturday with the turning on of the Christmas Lights at Christ the King. The St Luke’s Choir will be leading the carols, 4.15pm for the big switch on.
This weekend also marks our thirteenth birthday. Yes, Park Vintners officially becomes a teenager, hoping to avoid acne, we’re not going to start smoking, we’re not promising to get up early and we’re certainly not listening to what anyone tells us to do.
Today, to celebrate we will open a bottle of Sancerre Le MD de Bourgeois 2020 (£35) tiptop Sancerre from a family with 10 generations of experience and a decent size plot on Les Monts Damnés, a very steep slope just outside Chavignol which Wayne thinks is just about the best site to grow grapes for Sancerre and is often regarded as an ‘unofficial’ Cru.
To add a red, we’ll head down to the southern Rhône for a sip of Domaine de Côte de l’Ange Chateauneuf du Pape 2019 (£33.50) a delicious blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre that got a whopping 96 point score in Decanter. Why not see if you agree with them?
Then tomorrow (Saturday) we shall open a bottle of Joseph Perrier Cuvée Royale (£45 or £100 for a magnum). Founded in 1825 and with six generations of handed down knowledge, we are rather fond of this champagne house and we always like to celebrate our birthday with some bubbles!
Lastly, we say goodbye to Alastair Darling, one of our better Chancellors, Henry Kissinger adviser to twelve American presidents, Charlie Munger, one of the world’s best investors and, of course, El Tel…
We’d like to leave you with two views of wisdom:
“Develop into a lifelong self-learner through voracious reading; cultivate curiosity and strive to become a little wiser every day.”― Charles T. Munger
“The most important thing to remember about drunks is that drunks are far more intelligent than non-drunks – they spend a lot of time talking in pubs, unlike workaholics who concentrate on their careers and ambitions, who never develop their higher spiritual values, who never explore the insides of their head like a drunk does.” – Shane MacGowan
Godspeed, one and all.