New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs have had a good time recently but I think the old world is fighting back with aplomb.
To support my case I am going to ask you when the last time you tried a Sancerre – any Sancerre. Or a Pouilly Fumé? Find the right one and you get sublime Sauvignon Blanc with more subtlety than the impudent new world youths.
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…
Louis XVI (seize – geddit?) CostCo’s last chance. A number of variable experiences with wine from CostCo have led me to wonder whether to bring down the guillotine (gee-yo-teen) on their wine department.
So tasting this 2004 Louis Jadot Cotes de Beaune-Villages at £6.79 plus VAT was it going to be the best of times or the worst of times? Was I going to be the Sydney Carton of wine, or the Charles Darnay?
CostCo is known for high quality products at rock bottom prices and this works well for consumer electronics, Red Bull, or San Pellegrino for example. But wine buyers need a bit more nous than getting the lowest possible price.
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.
Oh dear, I am going to sound like AA Gill, (although nowhere near as pretentious obviously, or well educated for that matter).
If there is one thing that makes my blood boil in a restaurant it is when they try to get two tips out of me. We’ve all seen the drill, you get a long bill with a very discreet line at the bottom adding 10% or 12.5% service. Then you get presented with the Chip and PIN terminal where the waiter invites you to “add a service charge”.
This is what happened to me when I visited Livebait in Manchester.
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.
Wow – the Wine Society sent me an enticing offer. “A first taste of 2005!”. Twelve bottles for a mouthwatering 67 of my English punts.
Now really…. It’s in their interest to big up the supposed best year in Bordeaux for several millennia – well according to the venerable Robert Parker at least. (Personally I am amazed that an American has any understanding of how to get out of his own state, let alone gain a deep understanding of European culture). I mean how many of you Europeans has met an American who knows the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
In September 2005 I had the great pleasure (?) of driving from Leeds to the Beaujolais region.  Having stayed with family in Essex, passed through the Dover to Calais ferry and spent a night in Epernay (never mind Reims, this is the centre of the champagne universe for me) we arrived in Belleville about 40 hours after we set off.
The reason for the trip? A 40th birthday present was a “rental” of a number of rows of vines at a Morgon vineyard related to 3D Wines, owned by the absolutely charming Bernard Collonge and his even more charming wife, (who could speak about as much English, as I could French) Christine.
Stumble It!
