Is wine tasting an art, a science, or just a personal experience? One of the great things about keeping this online wine diary is the opportunity to look back at what I thought of different wines. The first time I tried Trinity Hill 2006 Sauvignon Blanc I tasted gooseberry as the prominent flavour with apricots and grapefruit in the background.
 
As I write this, I am listening to BBC6 Music. It’s a digital radio station that I am tuned in to through my TV. My TV is a Sony Bravia 26″ LCD. I’ve never seen worse software on a digital TV. It is so poor I am thinking of buying a Sky box just to get usable software (but I am not thinking of buying a new TV by the way, or subscribing to Sky for that matter).
Dr Thaksin sent me a text message (at his expense) with a personal invite to meet him in Albert Square after the Man City game against Valencia.
Man City invites a European team over at the start of every season for the “Thomas Cook” trophy. Some would say that this is the only chance we get to watch any European football and I have sympathy with that view. Valencia were the opponents on this occasion.
City lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, a welcome change to the dire 4-5-1 inspired home performances of last season that resulted in only 10 goals all season. However, even as pre-season friendlies go, this turned out to be amongst the most non-eventful.
OK so I’ve slagged off New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. Well actually, far from having slagged them off, I’ve merely suggested that French Sauvignons, and in particular, those from the Loire Valley should be given a 2nd chance. But I’ve always expressed my admiration for NZ Sauvignons, and Cloudy Bay is my favourite so far.
So when I was offered the chance to buy a mixed case of Kiwi SBs from 2006, including a bottle of Cloudy Bay for only £109, I jumped at the chance to make a few comparisons. An opportunity to retest my theory that the French are moving ahead again in quality and VFM.
The first bottle I tried was Dog Point 2006. But this was no dog!
Shepherd’s Market in Mayfair is one of the most charming places in the capital. It’s totally unique.
By contrast, Turkish resto Sofra, has a number of branches across London. My myopic view of restaurant chains is that they totally lack flair and employ cooks rather than chefs to dish out someone else’s imagination…poorly.
So when invited to Sofra (Mayfair)Â I attended with some trepidation, that turned out to be totally unwarranted.
I have been on a bit of a mission to persuade anyone who will listen to try French Sauvignon Blanc and in particular the Loire appellations of Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre.
In the 1990’s the Loire wines lost focus and, some say, attention to detail. The rise of the New Zealand SB with its bright zingy flavours stole the limelight. I am still a big fan of Cloudy Bay and many of its Kiwi imitators. However, the French have fought back admirably in my opinion and the price difference (at least for us Brits) is no longer an issue.
This 2005 Pouilly Fumé (pwee foo-may) from Domaine Cailbourdin at less than a tenner is a good example of why the French should be given a second chance.
On pouring is was pale straw coloured, like one’s urine should be (but mine never is). At 12.5% it is probably the average strength of my urine though. It smelt peachy like a bellini (the wine I mean) but tasted of gooseberries. For me it had the zinginess of Cloudy Bay but with less fruit and somehow more subtlety.
I’ll be drinking more of this one over the summer.
Me and my Chairman finished a meeting in the City and decided to go for a quick beer………which turned into erm, two bottles of wine.
The reason being that we stumbled upon Clause on Lovat Lane off Eastcheap EC3.
This bar must think it is Christmas every day. Between 5pm and 7pm they have a happy happy happy hour where all wines (except house) are half price! So we “invested” in an Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 2005 at £17.50 (or rather £8.75). It would have been rude not to have ordered some nibbles to go with it, so we didn’t.
Then after a second bottle we ordered the bill and, including service, it was less than 20 quid – what in London? In the City? At a posh bar? “Yaw ‘avin a larf” my chirpy cab driver said to me on the way back to Kings Cross.
Oh the wine? Er yes, it was full of rich fruits and –  oh who cares – it was very very very drinkable and at that price I suggest you get down to Clause the very next time that the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the, well er, 17 to be precise . . . . .
Clause. 1 Lovat Lane, off Eastcheap, London EC3R 8DT. +44 (0) 207 283 6191.  info@clause-bar.co.uk. www.clause-bar.co.uk.
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.
I started this blog on a South American theme and I am happy to keep that going for a short while because the current exchange rates are making S. American wines superb value for money for us UK winos.
I am a fairly new member of The Wine Society, (HQ at Stevenage in the UK). My first experience was of two bottles of Ch. Kirwan at a very reasonable price but sadly very badly corked.
I am happy to say that following a swift refund (no need to return the bottles) the service and wine quality since then has been excellent and I have continue to buy (er.. I mean invest….)
Recently, I have focussed particularly on S. American wines partly because of the value and partly because of a Wine Society promotion.
So this is how I encountered Cono Sur Signature, El Centinela, Sauvignon Blanc 2006 priced at £7.95 direct from the Wine Society. This wine from the Casablanca Valley in Chile is a classic example of why you should buy wines from South America right now.
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