Fellow Wine Lovers,
I must start the email with an apology, having been taken to task for mentioning the birthday for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. How could I possibly neglect to mention one of the greatest happenings of all time? Ladies and gentleman, I prostrate myself before you, apologise profusely, and would like to wish belated birthday felicitations to Woodstock; 46 years old on 15th August.
Meanwhile back in the present day (with apologies to the many for who Woodstock is still the present day!) the Barmy Army’s UK tour draws to a close with some good solid partying in South London as the final game of The Ashes takes place at The Oval.
Saturday is when the real fun starts though. After one of the most thrilling Tour de France races in years all the main protagonists line up on the start line of the Vuelta a España. The first stage is a short (7.4k) but rather technical Team Time Trial from Puerto Banús to Marbella, usually a strip more equated with Ferrari’s and holidaymakers. The race looks like it could be a thriller with eight new mountain top finishes (Ochos Picos!) and a time trial in week three.
Grand Prix action is in Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend. Certainly the most beautiful of circuits on the F1 calendar, yet also one of the most challenging, hilly and twisty with a long fast straight. It’s not unknown for the circuit to have rain on part, but not all, of the course. In purely unrelated information, Belgium produces 220,000 tons of chocolate a year!
Elsewhere in wine stuff, waiting patiently at the door for me on Monday morning was our first shipment of Maison des Bulliats Regnie 2014 (£10.99). Always nice to get stock of a new wine in, especially when the winemaker thinks it’s the best the estate has produced. Made from vines almost as old as Wayne, this is top quality Gamay, with crisp raspberry and blackberry fruit and a soft fresh finish. Coincidentally we tasted a bottle of 2009 recently which was delicious too, in a much more mature way!
Wine school places are filling up too, did you check the diary yet? 16th September start.
We also now sell ice, a bit of infrastructure investment on our part and we’re all over those bags of cubes like a rash! Ice 2kg bag – £1.50
Tasting this weekend
The white corner will be represented by Hungary this week, a deliciously zippy fresh white with some spicy peach fruit in the shape of Tournai Zenit 2013 (£10.99), whilst the red corner will be amply represented by the Maison des Bulliats Regnie 2014 (£10.99) as above!
Nice weekend people!