I am not sure, to be truthful, whether Mr Kipling only “bakes exceedingly good cakes” in the UK, or whether he deigns to offer his wares through the supermarkets of the world.Â
Regular readers will know I have been munching my way through a Wine Society case of 2005 claret. In the interests of fairness I purchased a similar early release case from the Sunday Times Wine Club and tonight opened the first bottle.
Just another quick review from my Wine Society 2005 Bordeaux and this time it’s Ch. Moulin du Barrail, Bordeaux Supérieur, Cuvée Prestige.
Quick learning point – “Elevé en Fût de Chêne” – if you see this on a bottle it simply means aged in oak, and this wine was. Although it tasted more like a piece of sandpaper on a cream cracker in the desert, it left such a dry taste in the mouth.
When you join a wine club, the first thing they do is try to get you to commit to a monthly/annual/quarterly case of wines “to help you explore the wine world you might not otherwise experience”, whereas you are stupid if you don’t realise that it’s just a plan to get a commitment to spend.
On this basis I was once stupid enough to subscribe to the Sunday Times Wine Club’s “Cellar Classics”, a six monthly case of 6 reds and 6 whites of about £10 a bottle. In the end I decided I could pick the wines better myself and cancelled.Â
I’ve been waiting for this to happen so I can blog about it. I opened a bottle of Clos de Marquis 2001 (after dutifully fridging it for half an hour) only to find it was corked.
Fortunately I had another bottle so opened that and joy of joys – it was perfect. So what was the difference?
Both bottles are shown in the picture below-Â which do you think was corked?
Have you ever tasted a really good bottle of claret? I don’t mean a Château Latour or Mouton Rothschild, there are much cheaper wines that are truly excellent.
When you find one, your mouth zings and you make a strange face like you’ve just reached orgasm and everyone looks at you like you’re a nutter.
Take a red bell pepper, half it then add a dash of fresh lime juice and cook over an oak smoked barbecue. Then serve it with some fresh berry fruits. This rather specific and hyper-pretentious description of Grand-Puy-Lacoste came to me as I finished off the bottle with my brain somewhat the worse for wear.
I bought two Bordeaux wines en primeur from the 2003 vintage. I have already posted about Château du Tetre from Margaux. The other was Grand-Puy-Lacoste from Pauillac.
The wines are said to be more robust in Pauillac. Personally I love the subtlety of Margaux. However, Pauillac is one of the (if not THE) most respected wine regions in the world so I must take it seriously.
A very promising wine. Maybe just needs some more time in the bottle. I think 2003 was a good year so I may seek out some cheaper wines from this vintage. Especially now that everyone is falling over themselves to spend every penny they possess on 2005…
Have you ever heard of the Fratellis? I bought their new album, Costello Music, recently and I was not impressed. I may be showing my age here, but I have heard it all before. One track sounded like Status Quo, the next was reminiscent of The Clash and the next could have been (maybe was???) written by Ray Davies. One hit wonders, if ever I made such a prediction.
So why did I buy it? Because I heard someone on BBC Radio 2 mention it as the latest thing. And this is broadly the same reason I bought 2003 Bordeaux en primeur.
Would you pay in advance for a crap meal?
No - I wouldn’t either. However, the wine bar on review here gets away with it because the meal is actually not crap but mainly because the wine list is fantastic.
I had been to the Cork & Bottle on Cranbourn St, near Leicester Square many many times and enjoyed every occasion…well maybe except for the first time I visited, where I couldn’t work out the MO for getting served!
So, since I had started my blog, and I happened to be in London, I thought I would revisit and see how the wine list compared to the last time I was there. It hadn’t changed at all – excellent! (although it’s due a change soon to be fair…. come on Don!)
I am reminded of the old joke where a farmer’s son asks his dad how much land he will get for his inheritance. The dad kicks his son in the nuts and says “well there’s a couple of achers to start with”.
To get a Friday night reservation at the Three Acres, required several month’s notice. Was it going to be worth the wait or would I be kicked in the nuts?
The Three Acres to which I refer, is a gastro-pub that nestles beneath Emley Moor transmitter in Shelley, 5 miles south of Huddersfield, West Yorks. Its reputation reaches much wider than the transmitter’s signals, however.
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