Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ll start with Admin this week: many apologies but we\u2019ll be opening later on Monday 16 & Tuesday 17th<\/sup> September<\/strong> as we have four supplier tastings, two on each day and we really need attend them \u2013 we should be back by 4pm though, in time for the post work rush!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, I\u2019ve got nothing to report. The streets have been quiet, often damp and, on occasion, bitterly cold. Since the big boss went on holiday last week the shop has also been eerily quiet, however it has been exceptionally well swept, tidied, faced up and is looking amazing, should he ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, I journeyed up to Camden to taste an awful lot of wine, the majority of which I will not be buying, and caught up with acquaintances from around the country. The mood was typically \u2018shopkeeper\u2019 \u2013 pragmatic with a heavy lean towards pessimism with the most oft used phrase being \u2018it\u2019s not great but we\u2019ll be fine\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jamie from Cornwall related that the combination of a stupidly short summer, holiday home deliveries from supermarkets resulting in less shopping locally and general inflation meant that his season was not great but he\u2019ll be fine. Colleagues from the Midlands, hardened campaigners all of them, reckoned that European holidays had definitely replaced the staycation and that they were more likely to bump into their customers on a Balearic beach than in their shop. Whilst it wasn\u2019t necessarily the rosiest of news, at least it wasn\u2019t just Wimbledon Park that filled with tumbleweed\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then we read the news. You possibly read the report too \u2013 it was on the BBC after all \u2013 which told us that, so far in 2024, 38 shops are closing each week. PWC back this research and have a long history of retail analysis, so we pay attention. Obviously the shops closing headline is what grabs you but the type of store is worth noting \u2013 an average of 18 chemists, 16 pubs and 9 banks each week, all of whom provide a very important service that I think is not necessarily replicated in the arrival of a new Costa or Greggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve got two empty sites here on Arthur Road right now, both of whom have closed this year. Meanwhile, in the village, the LK Bennett site is still empty (5 years now? More?) but otherwise, most sites are filled \u2013 mainly bars and restaurants but also a butcher (used to be 3) and 4 wine shops (used to be 1). Not sure what point I\u2019m trying to make here, suffice to say I\u2019m very happy to be down here rather than up there, with my chemist next door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the wine world, it looks like my colleague might have been using the company credit card even more than usual. Footage captured by @rudyschmudy shows a group of men (because it will always be men) making sangria using Petrus from the 2006 and 2011 vintages. Now, 2006 was a good vintage in Bordeaux, whilst 2011 was a bit of a stinker \u2013 with the 2006 retailing at over \u00a32000 per bottle and the 2011 north of \u00a31500 \u2013 and both costing substantially more in a club in the South of France, I imagine. The argument was that they had booked a premium table with a minimum spend of 100,000 euros and he was bored of buying Ace of Spades \u2013 it\u2019s all on TikTok and it makes for quite enlightening viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside the world of wine and indeed the actual world, billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman has become the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space \u2013 we\u2019re not sure how much he paid but he could probably have paid for at least 2,000 of my business partner\u2019s premium tables\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBack home we have a lot of work to do, but from here Earth sure looks like a perfect world\u201d<\/em> were Jared\u2019s first words and we\u2019ll have to trust him on how it all looks from up there, perhaps it\u2019s billionaire speak for it\u2019s not great for you but I\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in wine, a quick warning about France. The 2024 vintage is predicted to be the smallest since 1957, 18% smaller than 2023 and 11% lower than the 5 year average. In simple terms, as you can probably guess, it\u2019s to do with the \u2018great\u2019 weather we\u2019ve all been having this year. In a nutshell, using data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (Agreste):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alsace – mildew and flowering disrupted by cool, wet weather – 13% decline<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aude & Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es-Orientales \u2013 drought – 4% lower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bordeaux – coulure, millerandage, mildew and hailstorms – 10% down<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Burgundy & Beaujolais – mildew and hail \u2013 25% lower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Champagne – spring frosts, coulure, hail, mildew and scalding – 16% lower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Charentes – low number of bunches and poor flowering due to wet conditions – 35% down<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jura – severe frost and mildew – production to fall by 71%<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Languedoc-Roussillon, mildew, significant summer rainfall – reduced production<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Loire Valley – mildew and coulure – 30% lower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Savoie \u2013 spring frost, summer mildew – 5% lower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n South-East (Rh\u00f4ne etc), millerandage, late frost in the spring – down 12%<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n South-West France – coulure, millerandage, mildew, frost, hail – reduced production<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n *Coulure is a condition in grape bunches where many flowers fail to develop into grapes, whilst Millerandage results in a high proportion of seedless, often smaller\/different size grapes of different ripeness in a bunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, perhaps we might need to find our vinous fun elsewhere for a bit \u2013 how about we start with Germany and New Zealand on the tasting table this weekend:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep Roots Riesling Trocken 2023 – \u00a314.99 – <\/strong>A group of young vine growers in Rheinhessen all got together with the idea of sharing their marketing costs but in the end decided to make just the one wine to showcase their talents. Almost a mini co-operative, if you will. Winemaking duties are spearheaded by the talented Stefan Winter, and this is a cracker – citrus and orchard fruit notes on the nose, minerals join them on the palate<\/p>\n\n\n\n Petit Clos Pinot Noir 2021 – \u00a321.99 – <\/strong>Nestled under the southern foothills of Marlborough\u2019s Wairau Valley, Clos Henri is the wine estate, organically run by the famous Sancerre wine growing family of Henri Bourgeois. Petit Clos is made from the younger vines on the estate, giving aromas of red fruit dominated by cherry and plum notes. Juicy red berries flood the palate supported by very fine and supple tannins while retaining freshness all the way to the long finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll let you get on with your day now \u2013 if you\u2019re taking Friday off to celebrate your birthday or an anniversary have a lovely day and try also to find time to celebrate that two years ago today we were at the end of the first week of Liz Truss as PM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raise a glass to the past!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow Wine Lovers, I\u2019ll start with Admin this week: many apologies but we\u2019ll be opening later on Monday 16 & Tuesday 17th September as we have four supplier tastings, two on each day and we really need attend them \u2013 we should be back by 4pm though, in time for the post work rush! \u2026 […]<\/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-1874","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\/1874","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=1874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1875,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1874\/revisions\/1875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}