Easter Weekend Drinking Thread - 15th to 18th April

[Rafa]

I haven’t had a chance to post lately so have compiled some of the wines from the past week or two plus what will be opened this weekend.
Again only a few wines have some notes as life is very challenging with a toddler and a baby
Happy Easter !!

Cognac: Tea leaves, pear, orange, vanilla and oak. Very elegant and with a supple finish

Santorini: Honey blossom , lemon, lime, saline notes, superb acidity and sharp focus on citrus with some tropical notes on the finish. Young but enjoyable and very well made

GC: Not really impressed with this. Maybe the vintage or the bottle. Even over 3 days it did not wow me, a green or unripe finish. Not sure if it needs more time.

This is delicious if not very usual for entry level burgundy. Looks and feels like it’s from further south. Great wine !

Barolo: Colour shows signs of ageing. Nose of strawberries, roses, iron, white flowers.

Palate: not at the same level as the nose. Better after 2 days so it looks like it needs more time

English Sparkling: delightful and great value! Apples galore and nice acidity. Perfect for the current weather

For lunch today:

[Templeton]

Drinking this currently.

Fess Parker Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2019

This is terrific. Fresh, spicy, refined, tart, cherry fruit, a good degree of acidity, Coca Cola like, in a Pataille/Burgundy style. Lots going on with this and great balance. I am really enjoying it. Great value at £23. Well done, @Sarah.

[Herbster]

Something cold and wet for a sunny day in the garden:

Hmmm. I know it’s cheap & cheerful, but it definitely used to be better than this. The appley-lemony nose is fine, but the palate has gone haywire, with a lack of acidity on top of unnecessary residual sugar, both combining with the unfortunate flavour of bleagh that comes with many generic budget whites.

What a shame, this used to be a reliably fun summer slurper.

[Winestwit]

Had to open a Bin wine today! BBQ and a bottle to kick start the evening.

Ridiculously purple, very soft and rather plummy. Perhaps not my favourite Bin wine so far, not much beats the Xin, but it was definitely worth a purchase.

[szaki1974]

Started the Easter weekend, fully recovered, with an Olaszrizling (aka Welschriesling). This is the Trebbiano os Eastern Europe, a mass produced variety not held in the greatest esteem, but in good hands this grape can sing. Ours is from Posta Borhaz, from our tasting in Szekszard last summer. Drinking very well, a real delight. this one was aged in amphorae. The ethos of the winery is minimal intervention, but not to the degree to spoil the end product. There is a slight spritz that dissipates quickly, quite rich and complex flavours from extended skin contact.

PS: getting bitter almonds aplenty, a signature of the variety

[NickM]

Happy Easter weekend everyone!

[adbdorset]

Dropped by a newish winery between Shaftesbury and Blandford for a late lunch….beautiful day in North Dorset as you can see by the sky.

Great hosts, lovely setting behind Melbury Beacon, good menu but we found the classic cuvee average.

Happy Easter folks

[CCouzens]

https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/greywacke-marlborough-sauvignon-2021

This for us this evening. TWS notes find lemon zest and pithy apple on the palate, but those have passed me by. For me this wine manages to combine a real gooseberry pungency with pineapple, refreshing acidity, but I don’t think I’ll be supping any once we’ve finished dinner.

[lapin_rouge]

From a recent ‘Keys to our cellar’ mixed case. And a reminder to repeat purchase: not cheap but my goodness you get your moneys worth.

https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/hermitage-blanc-la-pierelle-chateau-de-saint-cosme-2017

Honeyed nose, yet whistle clean and perfectly dry. Hazelnuts definitely, apricot skins? a lovely wine. With an impromptu supper of cheese toasties: Brie + cranberry relish, and goat cheese + air dried ham. Fantastic combination.

[Olfactme]

Happy Easter !

[Embee]

Fish Friday here. With thanks to the wet fish counter at the local Waitrose as it’s the only place around here that actually sells some decent examples these days. King scallops and samphire to start followed by a Dover sole ( more a slip TBH ) with capers, lemon and brown butter, baby Jersey Royals and yet more samphire. With this, and soon to be was…

…a Chablis 1er Cru ‘Butteaux’ 2014 from Samuel Billaud.

Blossom, ripe apples, citrus, minerals and a distinct oyster shell aroma on the nose. Pretty much the same on tasting minus the shells. Tangy medium bodied fruit with a chalky mineral streak, a light oily texture beautifully cut be fresh acidity and a lip smacking lemon citrus finish to end. Pure and delicious and, for my tastes at least, now at its peak. The fact that it only cost £16.50 when bought in 2015 probably added to my enjoyment, mind.

My plating up skills aren’t the best but dinner ended up looking like this…

…but it was very tasty, albeit, I do feel like I’ve just O.D’d on butter though

Have a lovely long weekend everyone, the workers amongst you especially !

[Sally]

There was a wee but of extreme delivery before I settled down with an old fashioned followed by a sweet potato shepherd’s pie and the local Gobhar Reamhar

[crocos]

If ever there was the perfect evening meal for a fine spring day, then Dover soul, jerseys & samphire, with some decent Chablis, must be right up there - perfect in my book :~}

[Claret1961]

@crocos

then Dover soul,

My word! That’s a first.

[crocos]

Well fish do have soles you know :~}

[CCouzens]

What did you have for main course?

[Claret1961]

With pan-fried salmon fillets served on a bed of Puy lentils into which have been mixed crisped pancetta and a dollop of double cream came this - my last bottle

[PHarvey]

@Rafa

English Sparkling: delightful and great value!

Any clues as to the producer ?

[PHarvey]

@adbdorset

a newish winery between Shaftesbury and Blandford

Do they vinify and disgorge it themselves or send their fruit; or base wine, to a 3rd party winemaker (like many - a -small producer does) ? If the latter I wonder if that’s Furleigh ?

[Inbar]

We celebrated Passover today; not quite the huge table full of people of childhood, but with my two favourites, so just as jolly!

This was the ‘before’ but I’ll spare you the ‘after’…

We started with a half-bottle of Waitrose Champagne Brut NV (made for them by Duval-Leroy) which accompanied a starter of warm figs and goats cheese salad, with pears and walnuts:

The daughter didn’t want any fizz, hence opting for half a bottle – and boy, it disappeared all too quickly! Very lees-y on the nose, with notes of toasted hazelnuts, brioche and baked apple, and similar notes on the palate. Rounded, rather rich and very very enjoyable!

The main was salmon chermoula and a veggie version for the daughter, served with Maftoul (giant couscous) cooked with feta and mint. To accompany, a wine which is always a hit with us:

Johanneshof Reinisch, Gumpoldskirchen ‘Tradition’, Thermenregion, Austria 2019

A traditional blend of 60% Zierfandler and 40% Rotgipfler - I wish this wine was more available and appreciated. It’s such a delicious blend that combines sweet and sour notes to perfection and works so well with mildly spiced food.

On the nose it showed initial notes of grassiness and even a whiff of kerosene, but it slowly opened to reveal notes of apple blossom, exotic fruit, fresh apricots and honey.

On the palate it entered on a sour note of lemon (even something tamarind-like), then developed ripe exotic fruit notes (passion fruit, pineapple) underlined by a touch of fresh herbs. It had a rounded mouthfeel, with a honeyed note in the background, and a good finish which left a tangerine/orange zest freshness. Excellent stuff!

Dessert was Eton Mess. It’s hardly summer yet, but the challenge in Passover is to bake something without flour – so this year I decided that the berries, cream and meringue combo was just the ticket. Such a simple and delicious dessert, which worked so well with a glass (OK, two!) of Brachetto d’Acqui:

Alasia, Brachetto d’Acqui, Piedmont, Italy 2021

The berry sweetness of the wine was in complete harmony with the dessert - but without ever feeling cloying or over the top. A lovely end to the meal and to the evening

Happy Passover to anyone else celebrating and a very happy Easter too to all!