Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n
Enough, already \u2013 enough of the ego, or is it id, either way I\u2019m sick of it?<\/p>\n
Look at all the sordid activities going on in Hollywood.\u00a0 The torrent of allegations against Kevin Spacey and his rampant inability to keep his hands to himself has sullied his whole oeuvre.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got the Weinstein case.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got a growing list of actors and writers and directors amongst them Ben Affleck, Dustin Hoffmann, Steven Seagal, Oliver Stone and even George Bush Sr.\u00a0 Accepting that accusations are only accusations until guilt is proven, it still doesn\u2019t paint a pretty picture.<\/p>\n
Look at all the sordid activities going on in Westminster.\u00a0 Around a dozen MP\u2019s accused of misconduct and half of them confessing to it.\u00a0 Alongside this we\u2019ve got a Foreign Secretary totally incapable of understanding from his diplomatic advisors that every word he says is recorded and analysed and that even the slightest mis-phrasing can put peoples life at risk; and we\u2019ve got a, now ex-, Development Secretary whose extra-curricular meetings in Israel, again without any diplomatic support, have got us all asking \u2013 what was she thinking?<\/p>\n
And what is the one thing that perhaps all these people have in common?\u00a0 An ego, a sense of self-worth above the norm.\u00a0 An ego that has such girth that it blocks out a lot of common sense and reality.\u00a0 An ego that says, effectively, I can get away with this because I am who I am, I am a very<\/u> important person and I am beyond reproach, advice and retribution \u2013 do you know who I am?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was really cocky, had this big grin on his face like he was going to get away with something\u201d<\/em> Carrie Stevens<\/p>\n Sick of it.\u00a0 Apologies for the rant, here\u2019s to happier times.<\/p>\n Happier times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m sitting here, writing this, in what can best be described as an armchair of flavoured Gin – I know, what\u2019s with all the moaning and ranting.\u00a0 Anyway, our delivery from our pals up at Foxdenton Estate that was due to arrive on Monday has just turned up and the only place to put it was around my escritoire.\u00a0 My left arm rest is the Recognisably Different Sloe Gin (\u00a324.99)<\/em><\/strong>, that numerous of you have enjoyed as a winter warmer for numerous years; perhaps more exciting though is my right armrest.\u00a0 Last time we spoke to Nick at Foxdenton he very kindly sent us down a few samples of his other fruit fancies \u2013 specifically his Apricot and his Rhubarb gins.\u00a0 Now the apricot was like drinking alcoholic jam, which was great in small doses but actually the consensus was that it was all a bit too sweet.\u00a0 The Rhubarb, on the other hand, was an instant hit.\u00a0 Sweet and rhubarby as you would hope but with just enough tartness in the finish to keep it honest.\u00a0 So we bought some, hence armrest number two.\u00a0 It comes in a particularly smart 35cl bottle and has a delicate pink hue (which our sample didn\u2019t, to its detriment probably) and seems likely to fit perfectly into a stocking in the early hours of 25th<\/sup> December.<\/p>\n Foxdenton Recognisably Different Rhubarb Gin (\u00a314.99).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Even happier times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n As intimated above, we have been gathering more stock in this week, which makes us happy and ideally you too in the long term.\u00a0 A few examples below:<\/p>\n From France we have found another magnum from a cracking vintage, the Chateau Lamothe-Cissac, Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2010 – \u00a336.99.\u00a0 <\/strong>I\u2019ll bring this if you organise the rib of beef.<\/p>\n From Italy, we see the return of Riecine di Riecine 2012 – \u00a352.00<\/strong>, which is, in their own words, \u201cour ultimate expression of the best wine that can be made from Sangiovese \u2013 true to the vineyard and the very essence of the Gaiole terroir, capturing everything that\u2026. is the essence of Riecine\u201d<\/em> and also their Riecine Chianti Classico 2015 – \u00a322.99<\/strong>, of which wine critic James Suckling wrote: “A firm and silky red with blackberry and tile character. Medium body and a flavorful finish. Drink now.”<\/em>\u00a0 He then proceeded to give it 92 points and proclaim it as the best Chianti Classico 2015 – we already knew it very was good and now you can too!<\/p>\n Plus we tasted the totally stonking Borgogno Barolo Riserva 2003 – \u00a348.00<\/strong>, which has oodles of delicious fruit from this warmer vintage and is absolutely singing right now.\u00a0 We\u2019ve always wanted to get a Borgogno wine on the shelf but have missed out in the past \u2013 not this time though!\u00a0 Finishing off Italy, and a bit more wallet friendly we have managed to list the Feudo Antico Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2014 – \u00a311.99<\/strong>, our previous M d\u2019A went missing so it\u2019s nice to have a replacement.<\/p>\n For the more spirited amongst us we also have some new delights:<\/p>\n Delamain Pale & Dry XO Cognac – \u00a397.00 \u2013 <\/strong>real artisanal cognac with an average age of 25 years \u2013 smooth, delicious and very smart.<\/p>\n Antica Quaglia Ciliegia Liquore – \u00a322.00 \u2013 <\/strong>cherry brandy or is it bottled Bakewell tart?<\/p>\n Antica Quaglia Orange Brandy – \u00a335.00 \u2013 <\/strong>really pithy Seville orange notes with hints of Terry\u2019s Chocolate Orange between Grand Marnier and Cointreau in flavour and far superior to both.<\/p>\n Antica Quaglia Fernet – \u00a324.00 \u2013 <\/strong>classic aroma of herbs and medicine and old apothecaries, bitter and sweet, herby with a touch of mint decent length \u2013 a real hangover fix style, whatever a hangover may be\u2026<\/p>\n Park Brewery Park Porter 4% – \u00a32.59 \u2013 <\/strong>a Porter from our pals in Kingston and not at a stupidly high alcohol level \u2013 perfect seasonal drinking.<\/p>\n Happy Hour<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n And so it shall come to pass that at around 5pm this evening the weekend shall commence.\u00a0 Drinks will be drunk all around the country and we will open a couple of bottles here for your tasting pleasure.<\/p>\n The white will be an old favourite of ours \u2013 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2016 – \u00a318.99 \u2013 <\/strong>we\u2019ve been buying this ever since Kevin Judd left Cloudy Bay in 2009 to set up on his own and have never been disappointed; judging from sales it would seem you\u2019re also fans but if you want to double check, swing on by\u2026<\/p>\n The red will be another newbie, Casa Silva Pinot Noir 2015 – \u00a317.99 \u2013 <\/strong>from the Colchagua Valley in Chile this is a proper cool climate PN with a nose filled with red fruit notes, strawberries, raspberries and a subtle background note of cinnamon and spice from the French oak it spent 12 months reposing in.\u00a0 Excellent length of finish and a real pleasure.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s it from us.\u00a0 Without wanting to get political, wear a poppy, don\u2019t wear a poppy, we don\u2019t mind but do perhaps just take a minute tomorrow to reflect.<\/p>\n Best wishes,<\/p>\n Wayne & Alex<\/p>\n P.S. should you need to hear more ranting, between us we can happily orate on a broad sphere of topics: cycling without lights on, using mobiles whilst driving, not indicating at roundabouts or indeed any junctions, fly-tipping, large lorries in central London, dog waste to name just a few\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow Wine Lovers, Enough, already \u2013 enough of the ego, or is it id, either way I\u2019m sick of it? Look at all the sordid activities going on in Hollywood.\u00a0 The torrent of allegations against Kevin Spacey and his rampant inability to keep his hands to himself has sullied his whole oeuvre.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got the […]<\/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-931","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\/931","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=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parkvintners.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}