Château Durfort-Vivens Margaux 2003, a deuxième cru from Lucien Lurton who also owns another 2nd growth Margaux property, Château Brane-Cantenac, 82.3784% Cabernet Sauvignon with 9.632% Cabernet Franc and the remainder Merlot. 20 months in oak.
If you want to read stuff like this go somewhere serious like www.decanter.com. If facts bore you and you prefer the experience of wine, then why not join me having fun as I learn.
US Election night and I am backing Barack. But not with enough conviction to stay up all night and watch the results. In fact, not even enough conviction to watch the preamble, since I have just returned from Opera North’s somewhat strange production of Puccini’s Tosca at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester, famed for having the most uncomfortable seats of any modern (or ancient) theatre I know.
I am not much of an opera buff but I do generally love Opera North and I am a sucker for anything live performance – music, theatre, busking, comedy, ballet. Well maybe ballet is beyond me, in the same way that algebra is beyond a two year old, or an ASBO.
When my flat was constructed in 2006, at the peak of the city centre building boom in Manchester, decent workmen were hard to find, or so it seems. One employee of venerable but notorious subcontractors, Boddgit and Scarper, found a new use for 4 inch nails:  Namely to use them not only to station a roughly fitted cupboard shelf but also to make an elegant, if unnecessary, belly button piercing in the hot water pipe that feeds the kitchen tap.
It is a miracle that this did not result in a visible leak until late summer of 2008. The nail finally rusted away and now most of the hall floor, skirting and cupboard wall has been temporarily removed, whilst a dehumidifier is valiantly trying to soak up the excess “moisture” like a digital sponge.
I often find that Aussie Shirai (I assume that is the plural of Shiraz) are a bit drying in the mouth, so I don’t drink anywhere near the amount of down under wines that I should. I am not about to launch a flood of reviews but let’s try to redress the balance one drip at a time eh? A drop of Eden Valley “The Saviours” 2003 had been sitting in my rack for a while. I needed something to take my mind off things.
When I was a kid growing up in Cheadle Hulme, a post war suburb of Manchester, there were shops everywhere. Within just 10 minutes walk of a fair sized shopping centre in the village, was another conurbation of shops based around the Kenilworth pub. On one t-junction there was a chemist, a newsagent (RS McColl), a greengrocer, a post office, two bakers, two butchers (Breens’ and Pimlott’s), a toy shop (Playland), a Chinese takeaway, a Shell garage (gas station), a hardware shop, a small grocer and, rather bizarrely, a garden centre (Spreadboroughs – donkey’s years ahead of its time).
Thinking back, it’s amazing that we allowed Tesco and the other major supermarkets to put virtually all these businesses out of business.
I’ve been all over this big wide world and I’ve tried all kinds of Pinot Noir, but I never get bored of trying a new one. I am going to learn about a new grape soon, but I will always drink PNs whenever I see an interesting one.
I discovered very late in my virtual journey that Oregon is an excellent source of this varietal.  Lemelson Six Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir 2005 came from the Wine Society (£12.50).
I smelt plums and wet cardboard, but the taste turned out to be more cherry. A decent wine, but not spectacular value. I would save up a few more groats and go for the glorious Thea’s Selection (from the same Vineyard and equally available in the UK from the Wine Society at about £19.)
I have just arrived back in the UK after a short sojourn in the north of Italy. Driving home from the airport, a Tesco visit was necessary to restock mundane stuff like orange juice and milk, and meaningless luxuries like food. But I couldn’t resist checking out the wine shelves for few essentials.
In Italy I tried to sample a few local wines, Piemonte being the nearest wine region. I had a couple of bottles of Grignolino, for example, the common feature of which was a slightly unpleasant salty after taste. I know what you are thinking ladies – let’s go no further.
I hardly dare review a Spanish wine after my admonishment at the hands of Lorenza, but I had already purchased this on my way home from Spain in July. There is not much to do at Malaga airport other than mooch around the “duty free” shop, and €16.30 doesn’t sound like a lot for a Gran Reserva.
When dining out, one well known restaurant critic makes a point of asking how the tips are distributed, always leaving cash, and encourages readers to do the same. So I dutifully asked the MO of one waiter at the Cornerhouse Grill and was stunned by his response.
They say that Pinot Noir has barnyard aromas, but this one was more like green manure, just starting to rot away nicely before being ploughed back into the soil to nourish and re-energise.
In sleepy Grosvenor Square, just a Molotov cocktail throw from the American embassy, is yet another Gordon Ramsay place. It’s getting difficult to walk down a London street without seeing his name over some restaurant or other.
I was advised that Molotov was not on the aperitif list, but £12 for a tiny glass of Ayala champagne, even if poured at the table, set me off in an explosive mood. I think the sommelier noticed my look of disappointment, nay disdain, as he left me with barely enough liquid to create a damp patch if I spilled it on my trousers (I didn’t). I wanted to dislike this place – I don’t like being ripped off.
Stumble It!