01438 741177
I’ll kick off, since I’m a few hours ahead.
From the internationally renowned Knight Black Horse winery. This is their “Dry Red”, apparently it has French oak in it. Medium ruby with no sign of aging at this stage of its development. Smells of oak, so they’re not lying about that. Fruity, though I’m not sure what kind. In the mouth, a very prominent acidity that makes you squint, but you get used to it after a while, with a wine-like taste in there somewhere. The finish does hang around a while, unfortunately.
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Love the mention of ‘ingredient’… Thank god they didn’t include a ‘method’… 
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Looks like they have quite a range:
Also, it’s reassuring to see that I’m not the only one left who still uses Hotmail like it’s 1999.
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Mmmm… Mulberry & Roselle (Hibiscus to you and me, makes a good tea but very sharp). Sounds quite tasty ! I suppose there is no reason whatsoever why one shouldnt make wine from whatever is available. My dad used to make a lethal raspberry wine back in the '70s.
I too use hotmail.
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In west Norfolk they make Blueberry wine; Fairgreen Blueberries near Kings Lynn is a splendid half-day out to pick your own tubs and tubs of blueberries for immediate consumption and freezing at home and withdrawing during the year. So far so good. But there’s usually more grown than they can sell and they have started making wine out of it.
I bought a bottle.
I will not be buying another. It’s on the not that unpleasant side of naff…
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Half-pint fiend!! You’re clearly using the wrong glass. I’m sure Riedel have a specialist Mulberry-Roselle glass (and a stemless version) so I’m at a loss as to why you didn’t pack a couple in the suitcase.
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I think I’d be sticking to the Singha or Chang beer! Or at a push Mekhong ‘golden spirit’ (is it whiskey, is it brandy? Both? Neither?) - though that’s best with a mixer…
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Maybe it needs some Rondo for a bit of structure?
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Some people have all the luck. You’ll be Chancellor next , mark my words.
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Well we’re 10 entries into the thread and still no mention of anything half decent.
We’re enjoying a Brocard Chablis, Sainte Claire, 2020. The 2021 is available and you might be wise to order some.
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Apparently the one bottled with a pickled snake is rather fine.
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To misquote somebody “The Rasteau man come from Zion”, and who am I to disagree (to quote somebody else!). This a fairly powerful wine. Big aroma of blackberry, mulberry, and spice. Thick and mouth-coating, with similar flavour and a bit of oak and leather. Slightly sweet, but a dryer and very long-lasting finish. Can’t remember where this came from though I think I may have brought it back from a ski trip a few years ago. Or perhaps not?
Edit: this is well over half decent!
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One of these for us this eve with some sausages & slow-cooked onions & roasted toms - a 2016 Pietradolce Etna Rosso Rampante.
And very good it is too - quite a substantial wine, with the usual herbs & tar & smoke etc, a spot of soy & umami going on too, but also quite a noticeable velvety caramel taste of all things [after a while in the decanter]. Almost chocolatey even. Enough tannins and dryness to keep it all tight & clean though, but not the tannic slightly shrill-fruited monster the last one a couple of years back was, that’s for sure. Really really nice.
[Definitely better with food; back to slightly shrill again now I’m sipping on a glass as I type.]
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Riedel disappointed because they were out stock. I thought a tumbler would be a fashionable alternative but… you can’t polish a turd
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Pretty good
Been following this wine for a few vintages and it always over delivers on the QPR front. Think these 3 guys know a thing about making a good Rhone wine.
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A pre-Valentine’s of sorts - crab, prawns and oysters - with this. It describes itself (in the written, not spoken word, naturally 
) as the ‘evolution’ of the Seve d’automne cuvée (a wine, it has to be said, I’m not a massive fan of). 50/50 Gros and Petit Manseng.
It appears the attempt is to produce a sort of more mineralité-styled wine, akin to those further east, but whilst it’s pretty good, it falls between two stools. It starts fat in the mouth, has a quite clean mid-palate but ends watery. I remain very much on the fence about Henri Ramonteu’s dry whites. His natural, large, south-facing ampitheatre is ideal for quite rich, ageworthy sweet wines, but despite him being one of the first to understand that dry wines are the future of the region, I’m not convinced he has the raw materials to fully master them like others are doing.
(And it being Valentine’s, and after a gruelling week for both of us, a bottle of Veuve is also on the go 
). Happy weekend one and all!
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We enjoyed a lovely sunset in Brighton this evening:
For one reason or another (and nothing to do with the glorious sunset) - we decided to indulge a little, so first we opened this rather delicious (half bottle) Champagne:
Moët & Chandon Impérial Rosé Brut NV
It was reduced to clear in Tesco - so a no brainer. We’re not big Champagne drinkers (which is a bit of an understatement), but this hit the spot, especially with some duck pâté . Strawberry Fields Forever. With some cream, redcurrants and roses too. Finesse married to substance… delicious! 
A half bottle of fizz is such a good thing when you really just want an aperitif between two.
Dinner was lamb chops marinated in Baharat spice mix, olive oil, lemon zest/juice and garlic, then cooked on the plancha grill and served with couscous and salad.
This Syrah proved an excellent match:
E. Guigal Brune et Blonde Côte Rôtie 2015
The first of two bottles I bought a few years ago in one of the Waitrose sales - the other will be left alone for a couple of years more. I must say, to my palate this is in an almost perfect place now with its depth and tertiary development but with fruit still making a sound appearance. And what a beautiful ensemble this wine is…
We decanted for about 3 hours (plenty of sediment!) and there was so much to enjoy on the nose - blackcurrants, damsons and dark cherries, liquorice and baking spices, dried herbs and juniper berries, pot pourri and iron…
Similar joy on the palate, which was evolving pretty much throughout the evening. There was cassis and ripe blueberries and plums, there was an unmistakable ferrous note mixed with spice (liquorice, cinnamon), sage and black olives, with a whiff of dried petals… it was expansive on the palate, with a medium bodied yet rich feel to it and the medium acidity and (leathery) tannins in harmony. Finish was long, spicy and leathery. Superb! 
We finished the evening with a very affordable dessert wine that always delivers - De Bortoli ‘Family Reserve’ Botrytis Semilion (2018) - I think it was about £8 from ASDA (?)… it was perfect with some blue cheese and a long chat about future adventures.
Happy weekend all! 
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This wine really works:
The problem I have with some riserva chianti is that, in seeking to make it bigger and richer, the winemaker can diminish some of the qualities a fan looks for in chianti: freshness, acidity, fruit and flowers.
The problem I’ve had with Volpaia’s annata is that I found it just a bit too lean and ungenerous.
Volpaia’s cranked up riserva seems to be just right, with lovely balance and plenty of freshness; and of course it’s from 2016 which doesn’t hurt.
I have 10 more of the 2016 but will keeping an eye out for the 2019, if it comes. Lovely wine, especially with pizza night and the early stages of a game of correspondence chess with @Herbster. The perfect version of the game for any parent!
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Morellino di Scansano Riserva 2017 tonight. Fattoria le Pupille
I’ve a good friend who lives in Tuscany so an area I’ve been to quite a lot over the years. He often chooses wines from this region.
They can drink quite well young without being too spendy relative to some of their Tuscan neighbours.
Just all very enjoyable, juicy without being vacuous. Good finish. Sangiovese gets the added 10% CS, for that nod to super T.
More HN loot for £11 on the table
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