Fellow Wine Lovers,
How did we get to Friday already?
We’ve had the Conservative Party Conference, it seemed very sparsely attended, and I even saw photos of an empty hotel bar on a Saturday night! Kemi made a surprisingly traditional party leaders speech and will be chuffed because it went well on social media. That said, there was little in the way of new ideas in it except, perhaps, the promise to abolish stamp duty on your main residence. Unfunded tax cuts seem to be recurring theme that is not being learned from. Other than that, everything is spiffing and she should keep her job until at least the May local elections. Michael Heseltine was on Newsnight the other night, he didn’t swerve the questions, answering succinctly and briefly, almost felt like he was reminding us what we’ve lost!
Over in France they are enjoying the revolving door for Prime Ministers that we had for a while in Downing Street. If anybody has a spare couple of days in the next week or two, just drop Macron a line, I gather the lunch is rather good!
Over in the US, there is little sign of improvement. The Tango Tariffmeister is still sending unwanted troops to cities whose citizens chose to democratically elect people with the wrong colour rosette. The latest story is that the National Guard is there to protect ICE. If ICE didn’t feel the need to keep zip tying children in the middle of the night, perhaps they wouldn’t need protection. As usual, the official communications have less truth than is told at an MP’s expense audit. A sad old state of affairs causing havoc and chaos everywhere you look.
I’m sure you’ve heard that “Every day is a School Day”. I had an absolute wowser of one this week. I learnt how they track the migration pattern of the Monarch butterfly! It seems you catch one in a net, pop it in a fridge for a few minutes, which works like an anaesthetic then they pop it in an envelope and weigh it (1.75g), then brush a few scales off its back and apply a tiny tracker with non-toxic glue. Then, with the tracker attached, the butterfly is released. The one I read about did a couple of circles then flew off and was tracked from Southern Ontario to Oklahoma!
Finally, thoughts turn to wine and not before time! This week we’ve started to see the arrival of some of the fruits of our tasting sessions:
Cap Classique Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blancs 2013 (£20.99) – we’ve been looking for a Cap Classique on and off for ages but hadn’t quite found what we were looking for. Now we have. This is crisp, dry and elegant with a decent amount of complexity as well as being different enough to our other non-champagne sparklers.
Gilles Remoriquet Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2023 (£23.99) – this is selected from a number of plots across Nuits Saint Georges and the Cote de Beaune. A wine with lovely pure cherry fruit, a touch of spice, and elegant and supple structure. Deliciously charming in the glass. We’ve also got some of his Nuits Saint Georges 2023 (£45).
Chateau Grandis 2015 (£22.99) some of you may recall drinking plenty of the 2010 of this wine, we sold cases and cases of it and then didn’t like the next vintage. Well, we’re definitely back on board now, this is absolutely on point. It’s a small estate with all the farming done organically and by hand. The blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. My notes say “absolutely top value claret just like 2010 was” and gave it the double tick.
Christian Bellang Cuvée des Gouttes 2023 (£22.49) this isa cracking Chardonnay from one of our favourite Meursault producers for the price of a wine from the Mâconnais.
Highgate Chardonnay 2023 (£14.99) my tasting note says “nothing wrong with that at all, great value!” make of that what you will but I think I liked it.
Fernando de Castilla Yema 2024 (£21.50) made from 100% Palomino grown in a vineyard just south east of Jerez. This is a vino de pasto the name given to the unfortified still wines of this area. Cool fermented and aged on its lees for six months, this has apple and stone fruit character, some leesy complexity and a lovely minerality too. Fish pie anyone?
Which bring me nicely onto what we’ll taste this weekend…
We shall start off in the white shirt with the new Christian Bellang Cuvée des Gouttes 2023 (£22.49) mentioned above.
Making the red mark on that white shirt will be Croix de Marsan Bordeaux 2020 (£17.49) from the Entre Deux Mers region of Bordeaux, this is a Merlot dominant blend aged in barriques for six months.