Fellow Wine Lovers,
Just to follow up from last week, Kemi Badenoch has told us that we all need to move away from the Frank Hester row and that the general public don’t really care about it.
Read the room, Kemi.
More locally, last weekend saw the annual elections to the Executive Board of Park Vintners Limited.
Once again, the combined post of Executive Chairman and Managing Director was up for grabs and the shortlist of candidates had been whittled down to two – Wayne, the incumbent, and Alexei, the token opposition. Wayne has held the role of Executive Chairman since 2010 and, following his Constitutional Revision of Monday March 23rd 2020, (coincidentally the start of the first Covid-19 lockdown) the role was combined with that of Managing Director, in perpetuity.
It was a free and fair election, with 100% turnout and it soon became clear that Wayne’s time on the hustings the week before would pay off, as he received 470 votes to Alex’s 71, a truly remarkable performance when one considers only two votes were cast… however, Alex did keep his seat on the board and looks forward to taking the minutes at any meetings – it is a dumacracy after all!
In a happy coincidence, Wayne’s hunting buddy Vlad P was also fairly elected for another term this week…
Hopefully though, Wayne won’t emulate his pal by considering the implementation of a 200% duty on wines from ‘unfriendly’ countries and members of NATO that has been proposed by the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia. Good news for Russian wineries, also those in Argentina, Chile, South Africa and perhaps China but even better news for those working in the black markets!
Hopefully Wayne won’t emulate Harrods by listing French Bloom La Cuvee Vintage 2002 though. This is the brainchild of French model Constance Jablonski and Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger, who spent time working for the Michelin Guide and is married to the Rodolphe, whose great-grandfather perhaps founded Taittinger. As the tasting note goes:
An exceptional vintage French sparkling wine, reveals all its complexity when tasted, like a great wine full of singularity.
Crafted from organic French Chardonnay grapes, this French sparkling wine surprises with its depth and complexity upon tasting. Despite its youthfulness, it exudes the character of a well-aged sparkling wine at its pinnacle, boasting a richness of aromas and flavors that defy expectations.
Sounds quite tasty to be honest and the revelation that it is 0% alcohol shouldn’t necessarily dissuade us from trying it as alcohol free wines seem to be improving by the week
However, what does dissuade us is the shelf price of £109 per bottle (including wooden box) – Seedlip eat your heart out!
Happily, the wines we have on tasting this weekend will contain more than 12% alcohol:
Vina Robles Viognier 2020 – £23.49
How Hans Nef, a civil engineer from Zurich, ended up with a wine estate in California is a story… he discovered Paso Robles in the mid-1990s and quickly became enamoured with the emergent wine country. Here, where the Pacific coastline unfolds into rugged ranch-lands and cowboy ambiance (and who doesn’t love a story with cowboy ambience?), a new generation of California winemakers was turning Paso Robles into one of the world’s most dynamic winegrowing regions.
This Viognier is planted in the highest part of the Huerhuero Vineyard benefitting from the cooling afternoon pacific breeze. Crisp and medium-bodied with peach and mandarin fruit with a long lively finish – really rather fabulous and a great wine for a hearty Sunday roast.
Il Palazzone Vino Rosso NV – £24.79
The Il Palazzone philosophy is based around terroir and tradition; they believe that it is the Montalcino terroir which is responsible for the character of its wines, that the winemaker’s job is to do as little as possible and simply allow this to be communicated and that the traditional methods do this most effectively. Reflecting this ethos, the Rosso del Palazzone is a blend of different vintages, so they cannot put a year on the label. The wine is produced with Sangiovese grapes and is an authentic expression of Tuscan terroir. Whenever possible, they declassify a portion of their Brunello to be blended with the Vino Rosso barrels to result in greater complexity.
Born of a desire to return to the tradition of “Il vino di tutti i giorni”, the Rosso is definitely a second glasser, revisiting the ideas of the old customs of wine and food of the people in Tuscany and Montalcino.
Red wine from Montalcino, Alex – what’s not to like?!
Before we send you back to your desks, a spot of Bank Holiday admin:
EASTER OPENING HOURS
Thursday 28th March – Noon – 7PM
Good Friday 29th March – Noon – 5PM
Saturday 30th March – Noon – 6PM
Easter Sunday 31st March – CLOSED
Easter Monday 1st April – CLOSED
Tuesday 2nd April – As you were – Noon – 7pm!
Finally, I’d like to thank the Executive Chairman for giving me the opportunity to type this email today; it’s been an honour and privilege to serve him!