Fellow Wine Lovers,
I’m back, you’re all back, the schools are back and Wayne is now about to sneak out the back on his hols, now that we’ve vacated the loungers
Did you have a good trip? Certainly we did.
Spain was hot, which is how we like it and expect it to be; Madrid was half empty, which is how we like it and certainly didn’t expect whilst the train from there to Malaga took just over two hours, which is how we would like our UK trains to be but have low expectations. Devon was warm enough to need suncream, which is always a treat; the news that Jona Lewi had moored his £250 million super yacht in Dartmouth Harbour turned out to be an entertainingly misheard fallacy of misdirection as did the ridiculous proposition from across the Tamar that you should put jam on your scone first…
But now we’re back and the traditional September Indian Summer seems to have disappeared behind the thunder clouds. I’m back wearing trousers and socks about a month earlier than usual, which feels weird and a tad disappointing particularly since I’m told Autumn doesn’t start until 22nd September.
We’ve still got rosé in the fridge though, just in case.
It’s been a busy first week back though, balancing the viewing of the Tour of Britain with the Vuelta a España has been Wayne’s job, whilst I have been mainly staring into the computer screen’s dark eyes, looking at the EasyJet website crunching the numbers. With the Paralympics also serving as a welcome distraction, it was heartening to see Tonbridge teenage swimming sensation Iona Winnifrith get silver in the Women’s 100m Breastroke SB7 yesterday whilst still only 13 years old – one of many great performances that have put GB second in the medal table.
Away from Arthur Road, generally sifting through the broadsheets we have little to comment upon – do we really think Liam’s voice can last for 17 concerts? At the same time, do we think the truce between the heavily-browed brothers will last beyond Cardiff? Or even get there? Definitely maybe has to be the call. The masterplan is that, at the moment, the boys are estimated to be in line for something like £400 million from the gigs and that’s before Netflix/Prime/Apple/Disney et al get into a bidding war for a fly-on-the-wall documentary. Imagine if they then took the tour all around the world!
Previously, we have mentioned a certain English winery in this missive:
Fellow Wine Lovers 28/06/2024: What we might know is whether Chapel Down is for sale or not, as it seeks to raise even more funds for expansion. Via Seedrs they raised almost £4 million in 2014, just short of £2 million in 2015 to build a brewery, raised £18.5 million by issuing new shares in 2017 and almost £7 million in 2021, once again through Seedrs. In the meantime they opened Gin Works at Kings Cross, a bar and restaurant that opened in 2019 and closed in February 2020, before COVID could take the blame.
What I don’t know is how much longer they can keep doing this.
Fellow Wine Lovers 26/07/2024: Further to our regular reports on the English wine scene, it seems that Chapel Down is not going to be sold to Treasury Wine Estates
thedrinksbusiness.com 05/09/2024: ‘Chapel Down blames off-trade ‘challenges’ for profit drop as CEO exits – according to its half-year results, the AIM-listed producer has seen its pre-tax profits reduce from £2.4m to just £40,000 in the six months to the end of June. Its results saw EBITA fall by 58% to £1.3m from £3.2m in 2023 and net sales fall by 12%, mainly driven by a 36% drop in the off-trade, which it said was due to a lack of re-stocking and a difficult comparison base due to King Charles III coronation the previous year.’
Hmmm, still not convinced by their business model or future survival…
In other news, CEO Andrew Carter joined Chapel Down three years ago has now decided his future is better spent running famous Yorkshire brewer, Timothy Taylor.
Talking of beer, we also hear that footballer and pundit Chris Kamara has launched his own beer to raise money for Prostate Cancer and is unsurprisingly named Kammy’s Un-beer-lievable Lager.
No, we won’t be stocking it.
Things we do stock though include Domaine Champalou Vouvray Sec 2022 – £24.99 – this Loire domaine was started by Catherine and Didier in 1983 and has gone on to become one of the most acclaimed producers in Vouvray. This cuvée comes from 35 year old vines and is lovely and crisp, with apple fruit on the nose. Somewhat rounder and richer on the palate leading to a lovely crisp dry finish.
We also stock Moulin des Chēnes 2021 – £19.99 – this is from Lirac, west of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and is a blend of 40% Cinsault, 40% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre and 9% Grenache – quite a low proportion of Grenache for the southern Rhône we thought. We always like the wines from here though, dark crimson in the glass with summer fruit and herb aromas on the nose that then continue onto the lovely juicy palate rounded out with velvety tannins. Get your hands on this before Wayne does…
Both these wines will be on tasting this weekend, so come and have a crack at them yourselves!
One final note before I go – we’ll be opening later on Tuesday 10th September as one of main suppliers is holding their Autumn tasting up in Camden and we really need to be there – should be back by 4pm though, in time for the post work rush!
Right, that’s me done, I’m off to find my lunch which I hope will not involve a tin of Heinz Spaghetti Carbonara – we’ll see what the Coop can do!