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which begs the question of whose otitis externa - you cannot surely mean your own ? (how would you know?)
As a GP I can confirm that the odours of OE are very idiosyncratic…
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All of them 
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Glad you have found a replacement for Yellow Tail in your affections!
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Iberico pork chops and mash this evening, with this:
Saint-Amour, Dominique Piron 2020
The Saint of love is going to have to forgive us, but neither of us had the energy or up-beat mood for Valentine’s yesterday. So this is our gentle nod to all things love. And a pretty wine it is too – easy to quaff and with the sort of attributes both of us enjoy in a Beaujolais Cru.
It’s not one to keep for long, I don’t think – but it’s utterly delicious with a lovely structure and mouthfeel, and a lively juiciness. The hue is positively shimmering ruby (certainly ‘vibrant’ as per TWS note), and the nose is so pleasing we both just sniffed and sniffed the first glass and almost forgot to sip (well, almost). Violets first, then forest berries and cherries, mixed with delicate spice (clove, perhaps?) and Monty Don’s potting shed.
On the palate it is juicy – but with a nice grip of acidity and chalky tannins. The fruit is fresh and vivid (bramble, cherries, maybe even red plums), with a lick of baking spice and rosehip jelly tanginess. The finish is savoury (I thought bay leaf) and medium in length.
Not the most complex of Crus – but so honest and generous and enjoyable. Love could do worse… 
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Ah, that’s more like it…
Gilles Robin - Crozes Hermitage Albéric Bouvet - 2014
Meaty sweetness - main course and dessert in one glass 
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Tonight Wednesday, innocently I opened a Chateauneuf 2019 thinking it might be an ‘OK supermarket generic’ cos the lable was kinda tacky / truly awful. But a quick skim through my account brings up a £30 bottle. Oops. (
https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/chateauneuf-du-pape-clos-du-calvaire-2019
And yes - turns out to be a very good wine indeed! - would be better with a couple of hours in a decanter. A deep rich nose of horse leather and roses, again roses on the palate followed by loganberry and those lovely drying (smoky?) tannins one looks for in Ch9.
Still a supermarket wine, but a good one.
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This here tonight and for the £9 paid it’s an interesting and characterful wine…
…a Koyle ‘Don Cande’ Valle de Itata Cinsault 2021. The fruit comes from 50 year old dry-farmed bush vines which was then vinified in small tanks and aged in concrete eggs and 30% in old oak barriques.
An eye appealing translucent cerise colour in the glass. Smoky red berried fruits with a touch of spice on the nose. Juicy and sweetly ripe red berry / cherry fruit and a smoky mineral quality on the light to medium bodied palate. Fresh acidity and light but firm tannins provide cut and refreshing balance to the fruit and an easy to drink structure. Although not quite as compelling as some ‘new wave’ cinsault tried in recent years from South Africa it is less than half their price. So, all things considered, a thoroughly enjoyable midweek wine.
And another plus point too for being a good match to tonight’s dinner…
…a vaguely Greek / Turkish meal of lamb steaks ( cut from a butterflied leg ) and a feta and chickpea salad, etc. Er, which was a major fail, on my part, as far as the on-going diet here is concerned 
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Couple of bottles here - both very good, but one that was clearly too young, while the other was getting on a bit.
Domaine de la Bongran (Macon Villages aka Clesse) 2013. A real favourite- a rich / oily / satisfying wine. First glass very green and herbal - atypical and reminiscent of certain Rhône whites. Really opened up, and following glasses fully back on form. Need to get the odd bottles of this vintage used up.
Olivier Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2020. Just entering drinking window per back label of the bottle. Hopefully this has a lot more to offer in a couple of years time. Just seemed a bit restrained/ subdued, while clearing being a great bottle of wine under the surface.
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I guess you resisted the temptation to open your first bottle earlier than this year…… dividends paid off for waiting that extra time
This is good. Decidedly decent.
Very well balanced, everything nicely in check.
But maybe lacks a touch of excitement.
Smooooth to the point of slightly boring?
Loads of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Didn’t decant.
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E. Guigal Condrieu 2018
Not as floral as the 2017. Peach and some grapefruit aromas. The peach continues on the palate, but the real joy was in the textures. Creamy, rich, but balanced by the persistent minerality of those potassium-rich Condrieu soils. Long mineral finish.
Reliable Condrieu producer, and this is no exception. Did an excellent job both alone and to accompany chicken katsu curry.
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For watching the footie:
Bit of a scrappy match, but really like the beer. Bright, crisp, slightly bitter, and very refreshing.
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A bit of a guilty pleasure, this. Lauren loves it, and even I have to admit it’s not that bad 
£6.30 at Aldi?
40 % Touriga Franca
30 % Tinta Roriz
30 % Touriga Nacional
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Agree it’s a surprisingly good value wine! My brother in law recently gave me the Animus Grande Reserva (2020) as a gift. Did you ever try it?
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Funny, that’s more or less exactly how I felt about the 2017 I had a few years ago - nothing particularly wrong with it, just a bit blah, which wasn’t what I was expecting. Gotta try these things though!
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Steady on. That’s nearly a tenner!
If I “did” guilt, then mea culpa last night - as I opened a very decent Meursault for a casual midweek supper of smoked trout, oven-baked potato slices with tomatoes and shallots and a garden (cold frame) retrieved salad. No special occasion, just the meal shouted out “a slightly buttery but zingy chardy please” and I couldn’t be bothered to rummage around a back shelf for something older, and so committed infanticide with this lovely drop.
It ticked the above requirements with ease and added a nice reductive delicate pistol caps nose and some getting-there tropical flavours at the end of what proved a very long mouthful. Same price point as a single vineyard Kumeu river and arguably broader flavour profile and not so acidic. Really lovely, and wasted on a mid week throw-together meal but, it gave great pleasure and half left for tonight… This came in the TWS mixed 6 white 2019 Burgundies, must be the Fabien Coche entry-level label which is now OOS.
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I completely disagree* - midweek treats are an utter delight!
Sometimes I worry about the way I consume my best wines - eg. taking them to events where either there are small pours, or there are so many other great wines that nothing shines as it would consumed solo.
The sin of infanticide might carry a little weight, though?
*with any temptations to feel guilt
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The reason behind the purchase was for a nice mid week sipper when you don’t want to open anything too fancy or concentrate too hard or the food matching isn’t going to be amazing (we had Korean style chicken thighs which were very tasty but maybe not the most wine friendly)
So I feel it ticked all those boxes so I’m certainly not complaining. I just had a nagging feeling that I could get similar quality / complexity for c. £8 from a supermarket. Or a Guigal CdR / Delas Grignan / Chapoutier CdNimes may have done a similar job at a cheaper price?
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