Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n
Yesterday, whilst Alex was out picking up his daughter from school, he left his Amazon Wish list page open:<\/p>\n
Fruit or Flowers It\u2019s fascinating what can be learnt about one\u2019s business partner or is it perhaps worrying. Aware that it\u2019s our Christmas Party coming up, I hadn\u2019t expected to make a costume quite as elaborate as that which he seemed to be planning; maybe I hadn\u2019t read the invitation closely enough?<\/p>\n On his return, I decided to confront him, or \u2018out\u2019 him, as I believe the vernacular goes… <\/p>\n Once his spluttering indignation had subsided and I had reminded him that if he is going to leave his computer open in a shop then people might well read it, he took great pleasure in reminding me that next Wednesday is our 4th Birthday as Park Vintners and that whilst trying to find an appropriate gift for the occasion, a website in the US had made these suggestions for fourth wedding anniversary gifts, which is kind of like a birthday but not really.<\/p>\n We did agree that we still need an explanation as to why anyone would give, or want to receive Nylon as a present?<\/p>\n Anyway, the point of this entire preamble is that we are about to be FOUR! We\u2019ve come a long way baby since those frozen, snowy days in 2010. We\u2019ve seen Yummy Lounge, Wine Rack and Bunting come and go; we await eagerly the arrival of Saucer & Cup (which is currently trading at the same level as Estella); we are still wowed on a daily basis by the range in the Co-op; and we are, as yet, unclear as to what the formula is for hairdresser super-saturation. Best coffee on the street \u2013 Cake Parlour. Best Source of local gossip \u2013 George from Strands. Best Wine Merchant \u2013 we do hope so!<\/p>\n So I told Alex, \u2018the only way to celebrate such milestones is not with topaz, nylon or appliances but with bubbles and Bollinger bubbles to be precise\u2019<\/em> and I continued \u2018they\u2019re turning on the Christmas lights and doing carols at the church on Saturday so, in essence, this is what we should do: have Bollinger open for tasting all day and also open some of the delicious wines from Domaine Treloar that were showing so fabulously on Wednesday evening. You choose a white to sample and we\u2019ll be on for a good, fun day. Now shut your computer down and starting stocking my shelves please.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n He chose to follow my advice, put his laptop away and selected Tamboerskloof Viognier 2013 – \u00a317.99<\/strong> from Stellenbosch and a wine that really floats both our boats. If we add the Bollinger NV – \u00a345 (or \u00a333 per bottle if you buy six)<\/strong> we have whites covered. <\/p>\n The reds from Domaine Treloar that we will be opening are as follows:<\/p>\n Le Ciel Vide 2011, C\u00f4tes du Roussillon – \u00a310.49<\/strong> an unoaked red made from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan. It is the most approachable of their red wines with crunchy forest fruits and an earthy, smoky character that’d be great with a sausage casserole.<\/p>\n One Block Grenache 2011, C\u00f4tes Catalanes – \u00a311.99.<\/strong> Since we listed this it has rapidly become a firm favourite. Mostly Grenache but with a small splash of Lledoner Pelut (not permitted in the AOC hence the C\u00f4tes Catalanes tag) this has lovely dark brambly fruit. Wayne loved it with some Merguez sausages and it would appear the team at jancisrobinson.com are regular guzzlers too; Richard Hemming certainly seemed to like it: \u201cDark chocolate \u2013 much blacker fruit than expected. Furry tannin, really aromatic and scented. Much more nuance than the typical voluminous Grenaches.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Three Peaks 2011, C\u00f4tes du Roussillon – \u00a312.99<\/strong> Motus 2011, C\u00f4tes du Roussillon – \u00a316.99<\/strong> Definitely worth giving us a visit this weekend!<\/p>\n Other news<\/strong><\/p>\n A number of you have signed up for, or signed up other people for our Wine School in January. We have attached details to this email but suffice to say if you want to learn how to survive the wine list\/supermarket aisle\/dinner with your boss scenario then this is the course for you. Six weeks of sniffing, swirling, supping and possibly even spitting 60 different wines will give you a fantastic grounding in all things vinous. It costs \u00a3150 per person and will definitely make the opening months of the New Year far more palatable!<\/p>\n It\u2019s the time of year when we are welcoming new wines into the shop on a fairly regular basis \u2013 recent arrivals from Burgundy include whites from Domaine Jacques Prieur Meursault \u2018Clos de Mazeray\u2019 2010 – \u00a349.00, Etienne Sauzet Chassagne Montrachet \u2018Les Enc\u00e9gni\u00e8res 2011 – \u00a352.00<\/strong> and a red from Domaine J. Cacheux & Fils Nuits-Saint-Georges \u2018Au Bas de Combe\u2019 2009 – \u00a336.99.<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh, and another we received, just in time for Thanksgiving, is Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 – \u00a313.99<\/strong> from Livermore, California a fabulous stablemate to the ever popular Morning Fog Chardonnay.<\/p>\n Finally<\/strong><\/p>\n Regular readers will be used to us trawling through the newspapers looking for quirky items at which to point our derision. This week we refrained \u2013 there is so much sadness, death, murder and unpleasantness in the news, and even in sport right now, that I don\u2019t think any of us need further reminders.<\/p>\n Hope to see you tomorrow for a glass of bubbles and a discussion of the gifting merits of Nylon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow Wine Lovers, Yesterday, whilst Alex was out picking up his daughter from school, he left his Amazon Wish list page open: Fruit or Flowers Linen, Silk or Nylon Appliances Blue Topaz It\u2019s fascinating what can be learnt about one\u2019s business partner or is it perhaps worrying. Aware that it\u2019s our Christmas Party coming up, […]<\/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-525","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\/525","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=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":526,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions\/526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLinen, Silk or Nylon
\nAppliances
\nBlue Topaz<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u201c50% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 30% Mourv\u00e8dre. Rich aniseed and liquorice character on the nose, with a really charming violet scent. Very fine tannins, fresh acid. Chocolate and spice. Dry tannins that would support ten years of bottle ageing easily.\u201d <\/em>
\nRichard Hemming, JancisRobinson.com 17+ Drink 2013-2023<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u201cBased on Mourv\u00e8dre. Wow \u2013 creamy and sweet and soft, with gorgeous fruit purity. American oak aged (preferred to French to give a sweeter element and preserve the fruit). Long and fine. Smooth and succulent texture. Lovely tension between the tannin and acid.\u201d <\/em>
\nRichard Hemming, JancisRobinson.com 17.5 Drink 2014-2016<\/strong><\/p>\n