Fellow Wine\nLovers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blimey, it\u2019s\nbeen beastly cold, what? Who\u2019d be an Eskimo? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mostly this week\nwe\u2019ve been wishing we were a little bit more Australian, or at the very least\nin Australia for a little bit \u2013 26 Celsius at the moment, and it\u2019s midnight, admittedly\nwith 78% humidity, but currently a double figure temperature is something we\ncan only dream about. Plus, the prospect\nof a long weekend in the sun, celebrating Australia Day with a barbecue and a\ncold one in hand, feels like something we\u2019d be so much better at doing than\nstanding here, in the persistent gloaming, with cold hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But stood here\nwe did, with multiple sweaters and scarves on, feeling more Michelin Man than\nPirelli Calendar, with fridges that felt warmer than the outside air and listening\nto Test match cricket direct from baking Barbados desperately trying to squeeze\nsome warmth from the radiowaves\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh for godsake,\nstop moaning and cheer up, have a word with yourself. This is meant to be the chirpy, end of week\nemail that gets everyone through their lunchtime and reminds them that there is\nloads of fun to be had in Wimbledon Park as the weekend looms into view, not a\ndiatribe on your wardrobe shortcomings plus it\u2019s positively sweltering today in\ncomparison \u2013 why don\u2019t we look at what\u2019s been going on in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, Tim Martin,\nthe Wetherspoon equivalent of Michael O\u2019Leary, has announced that from now on\nhis prestige pubco (?) will no longer sell European wines or beers as a\nmetaphorical two fingers to the \u2018protectionist\u2019 European Union. They\u2019ve already binned Mo\u00ebt and Prosecco last\nyear, which for many people is no great loss, but now they are going to get rid\nof Pinot Grigio, Rioja and the rest. \nBold and impressive moves indeed but perhaps this stand against the evil\nEuropean empire would feel more bold and impressive if he wasn\u2019t planning to continue\nselling Stella Artois!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the one\npiece of sense that Tim did espouse was the suggestion that the government drop\nthe duty on draught beer and thus encourage punters back into the pubs \u2013 whilst\nthat\u2019s clearly in his interest, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s such a daft suggestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Globally, it\u2019s\nstill a mad world. Shutdown continues in\nthe US and sadly nothing has changed really since last week; Greece and FYR\nMacedonia seem to be closing in on a name change agreement; Catherine Deneuve\nis selling her clothes and, in a supremely morally bereft move, three paintings\nattributed to Hitler are being auctioned in Berlin \u2013 where are the snowflake\nprotests about this then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALLOWAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst Sydney\nswelters, the good people of Alloway on South Ayrshire woke up this morning\nwith the mercury showing a quite Bahamian 10 degrees and a nice bit of\ndrizzle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But why on earth\ndo we care about the weather in the south west of Scotland? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, we\u2019re not\nsure we do really but it does work as a clumsy lead in to the acknowledgment\nthat Alloway is Rabbie Burns birthplace and today is his day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it\u2019s all\nabout haggis, it\u2019s about neeps and tatties and Cullen Skink, about whisky and\nkilts and faux Scottish accents assassinating the Address to a Haggis<\/em>; it\u2019s about cultural appropriation in monster\nform and it\u2019s all a load of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially the\nwhisky bit. Serendipity was our friend\nlast week, as a gentleman called Graham Hadley dropped in to see us. We had never met Graham before but it\ntranspires that he owns the trademark to the words \u2018Mary Queen of Scots\u2019<\/em>. I\nknow, who knew? Anyway, as a\nconsequence, he was in town to support the launch of the film of the same name\nand at the same time pop around a few shops to see if anyone was interested in\nselling his whisky, again, of the same name. \nWe were one of those shops. To be\nhonest we were a little nonplussed by the whole thing \u2013 but being professionals\nthat we are, we took a sample of his wares, obviously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Introducing Mary Queen of Scots 12 Year Old Blended\nMalt – \u00a335<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This blend is\nproduced for Graham by the Master Blender at Ian Macleod Distillers of\nBroxburn, near Edinburgh. It comprises a\nminimum of 12 Premium Single Malts, all 12 years old, to reflect the 12 years\nin total which Mary Queen of Scots spent in Scotland. We know that there is Glenfarclas and\nGlengoyne in the Blend but the rest remain the Blender’s Secret, which is quite\nstandard practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We sampled it\nafter Graham had left, slightly concerned that it might be a bit of a gimmick\nand also unsure of how much it was going to cost \u2013 to be honest we were both\nslightly apprehensive. However, we\npulled ourselves together and gave it a try and we were very, very\npleased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Quite dark in\nthe glass, as can often happen with a blend, and really, really moreish. A floral nose with sweet hints of heather\nhoney is followed by a deliciously smooth palate with no sharp edges and plenty\nof warming floral character again and some characterful spiciness on the\nfinish. We thought it was absolutely\ndelicious and perfect as a foil to haggis or as a suitably warming digestif, so\nwe bought some so you could try it too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We do of course\nhave all our other whiskies available too, should you fancy something single\nmalt or smoky \u2013 here\u2019s what we have in stock:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Highland <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ardmore 1998 – \u00a370.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Royal Brackla 1999 – Connoisseurs Choice\n– \u00a360.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomatin 12 Year Old – \u00a341.75<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Island <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Islay <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bunnahabhain 11 Year Old – Discovery\nRange – \u00a350.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Caol Ila 13 Year Old – Discovery Range – \u00a350.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finlaggan Old Reserve – \u00a332.99<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mull<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ledaig 12 Year Old – Discovery Range – \u00a350.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Speyside <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Linkwood 15 Year Old – Distillery Label –\n\u00a365.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Benromach 15 Year Old – \u00a360.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Glenrothes Whisky Makers Cut – \u00a354.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Strathmill 2002 – Connoisseurs Choice – \u00a350.00<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Benromach 10 Year Old – \u00a337.99<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if you\nwould prefer your drinks to be less highly spirited this weekend then rest\nassured we\u2019ll have a couple of bottles of wine open to try too which will work perfectly\nwith your haggis tonight or even your barbecue tomorrow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pulenta Estate Chardonnay 2016, Mendoza,\nArgentina – \u00a314.99<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pulenta Estate\nis located in Alto Agrelo, Luj\u00e1n de Cuyo, Mendoza, one of the most prestigious\nwinemaking areas in Argentina. Its high\naltitude, at 980m, ensures a wide temperature range and a slow ripening of the\ngrapes. This Chardonnay has citrus and\ntropical fruit notes, gently underlined with vanilla from the oak, which is\ndelicately balanced with both fruit and freshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imperio Reserva 2011, Valdepe\u00f1as, Spain –\n\u00a310.99<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is made by\nBodegas Navarro Lopez, who have been making wine in the area since 1904. Absolutely classic old school style\nTempranillo, aged and rounded, with a colour heading to brick at the rim,\nliquorice and balsamic aromas combining with vanilla and spiced rich fruit on\nthe nose. Berry and cherry fruit\nflavours with spice again and a smooth satisfying finish \u2013 enormously food\nfriendly but equally as fab as a glass of wine on its own!<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADMIN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually\nsomething we are record-breakingly poor at, so don\u2019t get used to this\u2026 Anyway,\nas a warning we will be opening later\nnext Tuesday, 29th<\/sup> January.<\/strong> \nWe\u2019re going to steal some warmth in the West End as we have three\nsupplier tastings to charge through \u2013 we\nwill be back in the shop for 4pm<\/strong>, hopefully with a sheaf of tasting notes\nand teeth that aren\u2019t too black<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, that\u2019s it\nfrom us for now, come in and taste wine or whisky or perhaps both and marvel at\nour impersonations of Bibendum whilst we stand awestruck at your impressions of\nthe Ploughman Poet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sl\u00e0inte!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow Wine Lovers, Blimey, it\u2019s been beastly cold, what? Who\u2019d be an Eskimo? Mostly this week we\u2019ve been wishing we were a little bit more Australian, or at the very least in Australia for a little bit \u2013 26 Celsius at the moment, and it\u2019s midnight, admittedly with 78% humidity, but currently a double figure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1112,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions\/1112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}