Beautiful pics!
Probably easier to get to Lanzarote from the UK than from the other islands. But then I have been to pretty much all of them, there not being many options for civilised weather in winter!
I’d had plenty of malvasia there, but never came across a Listan Negro while there
Oh, really? Did they say why? It’s sooo good… Really surprised!
And the same at Bellingham Wines. No reason given because it’s just a wine guide. Perhaps insufficient local sales.
A bottle of Saint-Joseph “Grande Réserve” Maison Guyot 2020
My first go at Chanson: Beaune Villages 2017. Cola nut, sort of dark cherries but not very specific, some dusty oak, very clear Pinot character. 13% but a bit more full and tannic than I was expecting with moderate acidity and an after taste that reminds me of coke bottle sweets. Picked up on clearance from Morrisons.
Yes it is …. But where? SA ?
I paid circa 30 quid for this bottle…dire…it tasted like…well I cannot really desrcribe how awful it was. Most of it went down the sink. Dreadful. Dull rubbery taste, acidity was virtually non existant. Canada should stick to ice hockey and mounted police…
We finished off the remnants of a bottle of Castello di Verduno Pelaverga (2019 since you ask, and yes lovely) before we opened this to accompany our sort-of-Greek-Mezze.
I think it’s about my 5th-favourite Naoussa (for the record, Markovitis, Dalamara, Thymiopoulos and Diamantakos) and 6th favourite Xinomavro (take a bow Alpha). I quite like it, and it’s certainly significantly better than the two horribly corked ones from the rest of the case, the tomato-paste telltale of Xinomavro is dialled up to 11 on this.
Perhaps a little too rustic for my proclivities - and I do like a touch of rustic - and a touch too farmyardy for me. I have a case of the 2017’s in reserves, and I’m hoping for just a touch more elegance (if not refinement).
Bizarrely I didn’t think it was the best tasting wine I’ve had as of late but then I seemed to drink it at a great pace. No idea what was going on there 
Doesn’t sound good. Haven’t had a lot of Canadian wine, but had a couple fairly recently that I thought were quite good.
One was also by Bachelder, the Wismer-Parke Pinot Noir 2019 (a bit more expensive than yours, in the £35-40 range), the other was Le Clos Jordanne Le Grand Clos Chardonnay 2019 (£30-35).
Felt they were both good quality, value is slightly more difficult to measure since Canadian wine seems generally a bit more expensive in the UK than that of other, more established countries producing the same wine styles. Perhaps reflective of limited production, but I’m not familiar enough with the market to state that with any authority.
Langebaan on the West Coast of S. Africa.
We toured SE Canada back in 2014 and had a few days visiting and tasting at around 10 wineries on the Beamsville Bench area, where Batchelder is (but didn’t visit there; not even sure they were up and running then).
I was very impressed; mainly with the Rieslings and Pinots - particularly at Tawse and 30 Bench. Some great history and ancient vines at Henry of Pelham too. The only slightly average / dull range of wines, I thought, were at Vineland.
Expensive ? yes that’s the main downer, particularly galling for wines from BC. This is due to hight taxes slapped on by Canadian Provinces’ gvts ISTR.
Thanks, your breadth of knowledge of the world of wine (not to mention your new sideline as the TWS medical helpline…) is very helpful for my education.
Tempted by some of the Canadian Pinot you recommended in another post recently, though am trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to rein back wine purchases after recent splurging. New World Pinot Noir is very popular in our house.
How was the Miss Lucy? Last had the 2019 vintage, which I found enjoyable but quite tropical. Can see the blend proportions have shifted quite a bit since then, a lot more Sauvignon Blanc in the 22, and correspondingly less Pinot Gris.
The Sauvignon Blanc was very obvious on the nose but less so on the palate. The wine was dry rather than off-dry but less dry than if 100% Sauvignon.
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