Fellow Wine Lovers,
Lulling them into a false sense of security
The Lions lose their last warm up game, the English cricketers lose to Sri Lanka but proceed to the finals of the Champions Trophy, Andy Murray ‘couldn’t even walk up stairs’ a few weeks ago but now wins Queens, and Justin Rose, well let’s just say that missing the cut in his first 21 professional appearances probably makes him King Lull.
Rain, Rain, go away!
The board outside our shop says: one day it’s rain, one day it’s shine but everyday it’s wine… This might not be so true for the producers in Vouvray (Loire Valley, France) this year, who were bombarded with hail stones the size of golf balls early on Monday morning, which destroyed the vines at a delicate time in grape production. The hail also destroyed roofs and dented cars, smashed windows etc so, all in all, a disaster. If you enjoy your off-dry Chenin Blanc then I suggest you buy now rather than wait for anything from 2013.
Gandolfini
Never a huge fan of the Sopranos but it seems incredibly untimely that a man who only really hit the big time in his forties should not be able to reap the rewards very far into his fifties. Carpe diem.
Any news?
Being in the habit of always starting a newspaper from the back, I feel ill-suited to make any pithy comment on current affairs. However, when the P of the USA refers to the Jeffrey, creator of power ballad ‘On the wings of Love’, in place of our beloved Chancellor, George, much mirth ensues. And to think our Second Lord of the Treasury was quoted, when questioned on adopting George as his nom de guerre in place of Gideon, as saying: Life was easier as a George; it was a straightforward name. Until now!
Wine and Cheese
Another successful event last night, filled to the gills with fine wine and cheese. The next one in July is sold out, and we’ll take a break over the summer, but come September we’ll be back in the dairy, separating our curds from our whey, ready for the new season of tastings – watch this space!
Weekend Wine Worship
As ever we will be opening a couple of bottles for you to sniff, swirl, sip, spit (the last one is entirely up to you!). From the fridge, looking resplendent in his crisp white robes, we have Saint-Véran 2009 from Domaine Botti (14.99) a deeply satisfying white burgundy with ripe apple notes, a touch of minerality and a crisp clean finish. Off the shelf, a cheeky red with a whiff of the Vatican about him, we have Cuvée Jean-Paul 2011 (7.29) a rouge from Vaucluse, in the southern Rhone – a classic Grenache-Syrah blend, very gluggable and delicious all the way to the bottom of the bottle!
That’s it from us and I’ll finish as I started. It’s Wimbledon from Monday, a fortnight of campers in the park, visitors emerging from Wimbledon Park Tube to discover that Southfields would have been more convenient, and British tennis victories to be applauded. If you need a drop of patriotic, celebratory bubbles then look no further than Gusbourne Estate Blanc de Blancs 2008 (31.99) a superb sparkler from Kent that has just been quietly going about its business, making top-notch wines and winning awards, whilst other producers make a lot of noise and blather. It’s all about the lulling…
Over and Out.
“You can’t be serious, man. YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! That ball was on the line! Chalk flew up! It was clearly in! You guys are the absolute pits of the world…”
32 years ago, wow!
Alex & Wayne