Fellow Wine Lovers,
We’re not even half way through January but 2024 is already starting to feel a little bit meh.
Why we thought a change of year would suddenly make a huge difference to the status quo I don’t know but hope we did. However upon reading this ‘tweet’ by the Member of Parliament for Witham:
I was pleased to pay tribute to the brave sub-postmasters whose fight for justice has captured the nation. Since I was elected in 2010 I have fought their cause in Parliament because for me this is personal. Post Office and Fujitsu must be held to account.
We realised that it was business as usual in Westminster – tell a big fib in order to enhance your reputation whilst arrogantly expecting everyone to accept it as fact – and Hansard soon proved this.
Meanwhile, Rev Paula has handed back her CBE when she should really be handing back her bonuses and Fujitsu shares seem to be bouncing back from last week’s drop…
But it’s not all bad news – we could all be working for Brewdog who have generously dropped out of the Living Wage Foundation but have pledged to pay their ‘crew’ the legal minimum wage, which is clearly a good way to improve staff retention.
Knowing how much you have missed his sports reporting, Wayne is keen for you all to know that there has been plenty of Cyclocross to watch over the holidays, so if you are a fan of grown-ups cycling around extremely muddy fields, this is for you. He also wants you to know that he fully supports the selection of Andy Farrell as head coach for the Lions tour Down Under in 2025 but is at a loss to predict who will be the fly half in the starting line-up.
Very little news in the world of wine save that prices seem set to rise again. As Bollinger informed us a week or so back, their increases are due to the price of grapes rising by as much as 10% combined with increasing costs of labour, energy, and packaging materials, from paper to foils and cases, as well as, most importantly, glass, which is up 40%.
Happy, happy days.
With this in mind, why not future- proof your wine drinking a little by dipping into our annual January ‘sale’ – the good old BUY SIX, PAY FOR FIVE mechanic.
It’s as simple as it sounds – choose 6 bottles and we promise to give you a 16.6666% discount off this purchase, which we think is a pretty decent offering? There are a few exceptions to this offer – spirits, top shelf Champagnes and wines that we only get a small allocation of but, apart from these, there are still plenty of bottles for the discerning shopper to choose from.
Some of you have already taken full advantage of this deal and will likely return for round two but many of you are yet to dip you toes into this wine lake. We suggest you don’t tarry too long, we’ve got lots of empty cardboard boxes waiting to be filled and we have more stock now than we’d like to have on the 1st February when we return to the standard 5% off 6/10% off 12 discount so, in this instance, it’s worth being an early adopter….
Sales pitch done, what shall we open this weekend? I reckon a couple of Spanish speakers from our £100 Case Club might fit the bill nicely:
Pulenta Estate Chardonnay 2021 – £18.49
Pulenta Estate is located in Alto Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza – one of the most prestigious winemaking areas in Argentina. Its high altitude, at 980m, ensures a wide temperature range and a slow ripening of the grapes. This Chardonnay has citrus and tropical fruit notes, gently underlined with vanilla from the oak, which is delicately balanced with both fruit and freshness.
Bodegas Resalte de Penafiel Lecco Crianza 2019 – £21.99
It took us a while, and involved kissing a lot of frogs but finally we found a suitable replacement for the Emilio Moro. This is 100% Tempranillo from 30 year old vines aged for 14 months in a mix of 70% French and 30% American oak. A complex and rich wine with a medium body, dark red fruit character, a touch of coffee and touches of spice into the long, lingering finish. Slow roast lamb anyone?
So, shake off that early January ennui and take a walk to your local wine shop – a spot of exercise rewarded by a nice box of wine, perfect and we can raise a glass to JPR and Franz, two sporting giants who pulled the cork this week…
Cheers!