Fellow Wine Lovers,
Well, Wednesday was nice, wasn’t it, and we know this thanks to The Daily Express who, for the first time this year, was able to use some of their favourite headlines: Met Office maps show 25 areas hotter than Ibiza as 26C scorcher hits Wednesday – full list (Tuesday 07/04/26) followed by Met Office names 33 hottest UK areas over next 3 days as 26C ‘mini heatwave’ hits (Wednesday 08/04/26) – Ibiza must be so embarrassed. The Daily Mirror, not wishing to be outdone, told us: Met Office declares hottest day of year – but maps reveal snow just hours away – surprisingly, no comparisons with Ibiza here…
Given this coverage, it appears that Wednesday was a day without much noteworthy news from anywhere else experiencing high temperatures, like the middle east, for example.
In fairness, whilst we mock, there was a small patch in the back of our minds that went to bed on Tuesday night wondering if Trump was going to go nuclear. The man who has been “blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!”, has promised that “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” and has requested that they “Open the *$!?/#@ Strait, you crazy ba234rds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” Thankfully, the POTUS is a stable, reflective and moderate sort of chap, so a ceasefire was always part of his great masterplan.
So that’s the Straits of Hormuz re-opened, business as usual, time to move on, nothing to see here, to the victor the spoils, time to invade Greenland…
Back here in the UK, we’re coming to the end of another 4-day week and, when you have some nice weather in the middle of it, it’s easy to get distracted from the day-to-day stuff, which often means big events go unreported or at least get buried behind more pressing meteorological headlines.
Thus, whilst breakfasting the other day, Wayne abruptly looked up from his copy of The Thunderer, simultaneously dropping his marmalade toast whilst splurting a mouthful of coffee over Alex’s hidden copy of Viz… ‘what the devil is this wickedness?’, he exclaimed, thrusting the freshly pressed broadsheet beneath his companion’s conk, who adjusted his glasses and proceeded to read the headline out loud: ‘Gentleman’s Relish fans hope for pot luck as production stopped’. And he went on: “While we recognise that this Victorian relish has a niche and loyal following, it sadly does not have wider commercial appeal and, despite our best efforts, retailer distribution has dwindled. With Gentleman’s Relish no longer commercially viable and unable to secure a buyer for the brand, we regrettably stopped production earlier this year.” Almost 200 years of Patum Peperium’s anchovy-based fun gone, just like that, without a word of goodbye… Marmite, you’ve got some big boots to fill!
Having recovered from this upset, the day continued without too much further ado.
Following on from the excitements of the Boat Race and Manchester City’s march towards the domestic treble this weekend sees us watching the Augusta Masters with one eye (Marco Penge e/w 80-1; Keegan Bradley e/w 150-1 10 places) with the other glancing towards the Grand National (Oscars Brother 14-1 e/w; Mr Vango 66-1 e/w). The Women’s Six Nations will also gather our attention – hopefully England can do better here than the men did early this year.
And now to wine… this weekend we’ll be opening an old favourite and a new wine that Wayne discovered at a recent tasting.
Macia Batle Margalida Llompart 2023 – £26.49 – Bodegas Macià Batle has been making wines in Mallorca since 1856. This one is a blend of Prensal Blanc, a local variety, and Chardonnay. It is an almost translucent yellow colour with greenish reflections, with an intense bouquet of tropical fruit, peach, grapefruit, apple and fennel. The palate is satisfying with ripe peach flavours and a creamy fleshiness that hangs around nicely!
The red is from Côtes Catalanes, right down near Perpignan. Famille Lafage Côté Sud 2023 – £17.49 is a Grenache-Syrah blend from old vines grown in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Open, lively black fruit, a toasted herby note with a touch of pepper and hint of spice. Lovely and juicy in the mouth, a wine that you’ll quickly be pouring a second glass of and exactly what we like about reds from this neck of the woods… would it work with Scotch Woodcock?
Anyway, pop by and have a taste, have a chat and have a lovely weekend!