Fellow Wine Lovers,
And suddenly it all judders to a halt, as abruptly as it started:
Wimbledon Men’s Singles Semi Final – Arthur Fery loses to Alexander Zverev 7-6, 6-2, 6-4
Men’s Rugby World U20 Championship Semi Final – England lose to South Africa 53-37
FIFA Men’s World Cup Semi Final – England v Argentina, we know what happened here…
Anyway, we’ve been here before, we’ve got this, we’re Winners in managing persistent sporting disappointment, many times over… looking for a positive, perhaps given this English sporting form, it might be worth a quick each-way on Matt Fitzpatrick in the Open?
Good news elsewhere though, as summer officially kicks off today. With schools finally breaking up this afternoon, we fully expect an explosion of exhausted teachers and support staff roaming the streets for the next 5 weeks, drinking rosé on a Monday lunchtime and working on their suntans. Best time of your life, the carefree period between taking A-levels and getting the results, and those clever teachers get to do it every year!
Speaking of taking the summer off, Sir Keir has been doing his farewell tour, to ensure people remember him, before giving up leadership of the Labour Party today and then handing Andy B the Downing Street Chubbs on Monday. Will he fly to Miami to watch the 3rd/4th playoff? Will Kobbie Mainoo get a run out? It’s all a mystery…
If you need a bit of cheering up and reminding that things could be worse, here’s what we wrote exactly 6 years ago today:
Last Sunday, for one of the first if not the first time, Mr Johnson was seen in a shop wearing a facemask. Quite why England’s second most famous Covid victim (yep, Dominic still tops it here) saw fit to suddenly wear a mask seemed a bit odd to us. Had he read some new research? Unlikely, given his reputation for reading. Had he got the virus again? Surely not because if so, he would have been at home, right. Had he got a lovebite? Hard to rule out. Had enough pressure come to bear that he now had decided the time to wear masks in shops was nigh? Hmmm….
And by the end of Monday, we knew the answer. As of next Friday, it will be compulsory to wear masks in all shops – however don’t feel like you have to wait until then, we might as well all start getting used to it because it’s going to be months and months before this decision gets reversed and we really don’t want you to stop coming to see us
At this point, BJ had been PM for just about a year and clung on for just over two more – little did we know everything that was going on behind the scenes including the £10 billion wasted on unusable PPE and thus, on reflection, I think I’m happier now than I was back then!
We have little news form the World of Wine – much like the teachers, the ‘Movers & Shakers’ of the wine trade tend to beetle towards the door once Wimbledon is over and won’t be seen out in and about in their red cords until mid-September, unless you follow their Instagram and catch them supping spritz on a sailboat in Salcombe.
However, we’re here all summer and, in the spirit of good sportsmanship , we’ll be opening a couple of wines from the two countries playing in the World Cup Final (thank God we didn’t have to try and choose wines from England or France!)
Representing Spain, we have Palacio del Camino Real Blanco 2025 – £11.99 which is a cracking blend of Viura, Malvasia and Grenache Blanc grown in the higher vineyards of Rioja Alta. Pale yellow in the glass, with lovely fresh aromas of stone fruit and citrus, framed with a touch of vanilla from a couple of months lazing around in the barrel and very more-ish – a bit of a winner!
And from Argentina, what else but Malbec! Famiglia Bianchi Malbec 2023 – £16.99 hails from Mendoza. The grapes for come from three different terroirs: Agrelo (Luján de Cuyo), Uco Valley, and from three different vineyards in San Rafael: Finca Doña Elsa, Finca Asti and Finca Constanza. The result is a typically dark hued wine with spicy, blueberry notes, a touch of savoury edge to the fine tannins and a nicely balanced finish – everything you’d hope for from a world class grape!
Two champion wines – which one will come out on top?
And now it’s time for us to leave you be – a bit cooler this weekend but still plenty warm enough, so enjoy it and revel in the fact that you’re not having to wear a face mask!