Fellow Wine\nLovers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, his nibs\nhas returned from his sunfilled sojourn abroad, looking bronzed and relaxed and\ncatching the eye of the single ladies of Arthur Road (60+ category). If I have to hear one more time how \u2018this time last week I was wearing shorts\nand eating souvlaki in the sunshine\u2019<\/em> or \u2018why\ndoes it rain so much in your country? \nWhen I was away I didn\u2019t see a cloud for weeks\u2019<\/em>, I might just end up\ndoing him a mischief!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joking aside,\nit\u2019s nice to have him back. I can now\npop out to the Coop for two minutes and get my lunch without running the risk\nof missing the delivery or courier that I have been waiting for since first\nthing; I can do local deliveries in the daylight rather than at 9pm and perhaps\nI might even get a day off – welcome back, Wayne, watch the shop whilst I pop\nout will you?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year, with\nWayne\u2019s return, we hit a watershed in the Park Vintners calendar. Up until his departure in mid-September there\nwas still the occasional waft of barbecue in the air and memories of summer and\nbank holiday weekends filled with ros\u00e9 induced siestas still remained fresh in\nthe memory. However, we\u2019re now in\nOctober, it\u2019s getting darker earlier, Ros\u00e9 is turning into red and before we\nknow it we\u2019ll be launched headlong into December festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this in\nmind, whilst I\u2019ve had a bit of peace and quiet, not content with listing the English\nbubbles from Hawkins\u2019 Bros, I\u2019ve been buying Champagne \u2013 to get the party\nstarted, if you will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First up, we see\nthe return of the Champagne Thi\u00e9not Brut\nNV – \u00a335.99<\/strong>. This has been a regular\nguest on our shelves for the last few years and it\u2019s great to see it back in\nits smart red livery. Lots of bright\nfruit on the nose and palate and a touch of honey and nuts on the finish \u2013\nquite a lot of wine for a NV style we reckon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then we have a\ncouple of new additions. First up we\nhave Champagne Canard-Duch\u00eane Cuv\u00e9e\nL\u00e9onie Brut NV – \u00a330.99. <\/strong>Alex has\nlong had a soft spot for Canard Duch\u00eane, it being a fizz that often slides\nunder many peoples\u2019 radar whilst offering excellent quality and value. A red grape heavy blend of 50% Pinot Noir,\n30% Pinot Meunier and 20% Chardonnay this is a seductive and elegant drop with\nhints of floral, tropical fruits and a hint of pain d’\u00e9pices. The palate continues this theme and finishes\nwith a lovely, lingering freshness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally, as\na replacement to the Moutard Ros\u00e9 which seems to have been dropped by our\nsupplier we have decided to have as a guest the Champagne Lallier Grand Ros\u00e9 Grand Cru Brut NV – \u00a337.99<\/strong>. A blend of 35% Chardonnay and 65% Pinot Noir\nwhat most appealed to us was the fact that it has crisp, fresh fruit, a gentle\npink hue and a lovely soft mousse \u2013 very tasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DINING ROOM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not sure if\nwe\u2019ve mentioned this before but always worth a repeat. For the last year we have teamed up with\nFrancesca who runs a twice monthly pop-up in Wimbledon Chase, providing wine to\ngo with her delicious menus. We\u2019ll let\nher introduce herself: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Where to begin? In the old days, before\nkids and endless responsibilities I used to work in restaurants – Alistair\nLittles, The River Cafe, Chez Pannis and Rick Steins to name but a few. And\nthen I set up my own restaurants – The Cow Dining Room and The Vale to name a\ncouple. Late nights, relentless hours, not much sleep, all work and not much\nplay! But then kids came along and I knew that working nights and weekends was\nover. I found a day job which luckily enough was working for Riverford Organics\nfor the last ten years. It has been great but somewhere deep inside I have\nalways dreamt of doing my own thing again. The Dining Room is only very small,\nonly the very start but like all good things, I hope that it will grow – like\nthe kids did.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n