This tonight. Mrs Oldandintheway’s birthday which always demands bubbly (and usually Michelin Stars but needs must).
Wonderfully detailed back label
Probably kept a little too long as the mousse is fading but still fresh and crisp with a hint of red fruit. Still does the job!
Whose Michelin stars would you have chosen, out of interest?
Either Core by Claire Smith or Sat Bains
Well, I didn’t want to start this but I just opened a very delicious wine
I’d like to claim I can taste the three grapes involved, and maybe I can. It’s certainly very rich, almost buttery, almost toasty. I fully go along with refreshing, savoury, and flavoursome, and as I’ve got an almost empty stomach right now I’d say quite strong too. In fact 13.5% which is not so unusual.
Have forgotten to set the oven timer which is a niggling concern! The wine is lovely - does it matter if dinner is a bit charred?
Happy birthday to your wife, it’s also mine and my daughter’s today as well. While She was a memorable birthday surprise (2 weeks early), it does tend to leave the day rather out of my control. Rounders in the park, followed by meatballs in tomato sauce with pasta was demanded. And so it was delivered. A glass of this delicious Dolcetto accompanied supper very nicely. Dark, bitter cherry, more powerful than I was expecting, almost brooding, but the acidity keeps it all fresh.
Happy birthday, all. July is an excellent month in which to be born. I should know.
I’d love to try that dogliani one day if it comes back into stock.
I miss having smart meals out. Marcus was our last one, shortly before the lock down, and it was very good. We got our trip to the kitchen to meet the man and he was charming. At least, I believe he was as I was pretty merry by that point and left Mrs A to be the more articulate one of us. Locatelli is a particular favourite, too.
A very happy birthday to everyone concerned.
I’ve been sitting with a glass of Waitrose’s stock Bandol, Bastide Blanche (the 2015). It’s a slightly peculiar experience in that if you hold the wine on your tongue it’s full of juicy dark fruit, but that disappears quite quickly after you swallow, leavng a cloud of mourvedre dust. Still very nice, and pretty good value in the 25% offs (though I just looked up the price and it’s currently out of stock).
This really belongs in the Weekend thread, but I had a glass leftover from a bottle of Droin Chablis Vosgros which was just a thing of beauty and kept making me smile through the weekend. The Bandol is (not surprisingly) outclassed.
Happy Birthday James! At least she can’t ever forget your birthday!
great choices! I’ve been trying to get a reservation at Core for ages but the slots disappear so quickly. All pre-lockdown of course
Think i still have some 05 Bastide which i should probably at least have a look at. Bandol always needs at least 15 or 20 years in my book. Never really understood why Waitrose sell this wine!
Thread drift, but keep trying - can’t recommend Core enough (even though it’s pricy). Staff were wonderful, food incredible. They’ve just re-opened…
Ooo I’ve got one of those to try. Can’t remember what brought it to my attention, probably a TWS promotion, but looking forward to it!
Opened a half bottle of Beaujolais last night (half so it will be finished before the Chianti tasting on Thursday):
Happy belated birthday to those celebrating yesterday !
A new cooker arrives here later today. I’ve little doubt it will take some time to get used to so I thought it best to cook a decent meal yesterday…
… I made a Moroccan inspired casserole with some guinea fowl legs left over from the weekend. I normally drink viognier with any dish that contains apricots and preserved lemon but in the interest of reducing wine spend I wanted to see how a robust rose would cope.
The chosen candidate was another bottle of the Garnacha Rosado 2019, Senorio de Sarria that I enjoyed last week. To reiterate, an unpretentious wine that delivers plenty of uncomplicated but deliciously clean redcurrant and chilled red berry flavour. Not a bad pairing with the food. It briefly cleansed the palate before the rose harissa in the dish kicked back in again and neutralised its flavour.
That said, I still think it’s the kind of wine that has all kinds of food matching potential and, provided it remains in stock, one I’ll be ordering again.
It’s nice, you’ll enjoy it. Even better with food.
Lovely roussanne, on the slightly subtler side than many examples I have tried, good varietal character and lovely slightly oily texture. Notice the W/S tasting note thinks that Chignin is in the west of France - ooops!
First glass of the evening was a Tio Pepe En Rama:
Poetic outbursts are best avoided, so I’ll (prosaically) say that this is one hell of a drink! An ode to windfall apples and sourdough. ‘Fino on steroids’ is perhaps a little crude, but it definitely takes the style to a much more complex level. This will be the aperitif of the summer, methinks.
For dinner later (wild boar bangers and swede mash) we opened an absolutely delightful bottle of 2016 Fronton -‘Les Petits Cailloux du Roc’ from Domaine le Roc:
A blend of 70% Négrette and 30% Syrah, this is lovely from start to finish. Matured for 18 months in cement vats, there is real purity of fruit here with a kick of spice. On the nose, there’s a perfumed hit of violets, even peonies, mingled with baking spice, chilli pepper, blackberries, cherries and dusty gravel.
Medium bodied, the palate is alive with sour cherries, forest fruit, floral notes and a kick of black pepper. The chalky tannins are balanced nicely with a lively, mouthwatering acidity. There’s a pleasant rustic approachability to this wine - easy to drink, but not ‘simple’. Can’t wait to try this with the food.
The husband tasted it blind and thought it was either a Cab Franc or a Mencia. I can see why… this is light on its feet, but with ample character. Great find, at £8.50 from Vinatis 
https://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/ProductDetail.aspx?pd=FC37151
Opened this tonight. It could do with a bit of time I think. Rich and quite inky to taste but nice balance to it which I think is good news for the future. I’d buy it again.
01438 741177
