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This evening’s wine is an Alsatian PG. This is rich, slightly oily, but the richness of the fruit almost dominates the acidity. It is really lovely
It has the classic spiced pear flavour but this is a Michelin starred pear and not a Macdonalds fruit fritter pear…
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And a very fine opener from @Andrew1990, featuring a P.G. which would have been perfect with this evening’s sofa-supper chez Lapin.
Meanwhile at the shallow end of the wine pool ((see Lion King for the proper quote)) I’m drinking a Marsannay 2019 from Latour reduced to £14.67 at M&S. Surprisingly this is really excellent and would almost have been worth the original £22 ticket!
Pinot Noir from a warm vintage which would have benefitted from an earlier harvest with more acidity, but that’s nitpicking for a sub £15 bottle & I believe L.L. bought in grapes to meet contractual obligations . Absolutely perfect drinking right now; ripe and rich with (cinnamon?) spice yet balanced by welcome notes of plum skin bitterness. Not ‘fine wine’ but more than decent for a Friday night.
With ‘Itsu’ veg spring roll & a dangerous home-made dipping sauce involving a bare quarter teaspoon of mr.naga chilli sauce, followed by ribeye steak in burger buns (plenty of butter, garlic & thyme in the pan).
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Kechris Genesis Xinomavro/Merlot 2020. I’m doing well with the wines here, this one from the little shop round the corner. This has a quite umami nose to it, not brett, more lamb/bacon savoury-ness; lamb kebabs come to mind… I’m sure place influences … It’s much more Xin in character compared with the Kir Yianni last night. Lovely savouryness and acidity , plenty of tannin. Not especially long but it strikes me as a more honest and perhaps “rustic” wine. Yum.
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Dandelion Vineyards Enchanted Garden Riesling 2021. Goes to show how much Riesling can vary and this Australian take is nothing like the German ones. High acidity, medium body, lots of orange and lime peel, citrus fruit, something bitter like pith or bay leaf. Not particularly elegant or graceful but interesting.
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A double-barreled job for us ce soir - I slow-cooked a home-rolled & stuffed pork belly through the afternoon for tea tonight as a bit of a treat after a long old week for all three of us. Although it was my usual “by eye” approach, make up a stuffing quickly and slap it in, things were on my side and it came out, say it myself though I do, very nice indeed - juicy pork with lovely crispy salty crackling.
To go with this indulgent Friday evening, [some of] a 2017 JL Chave Sélections Circa Saint-Joseph Blanc, and [some of] a 2019 Château de Beauregard Fleurie Colonies de Rochegrès.
The Chave is an auction purchase from COVID times, the last of 3, and is finally drinking really nicely - peachy, creamy, apricoty, white flowers etc, and with that slight bitter twist at the end I personally want with such a beast. Really good with the juicy pork and the finely-chopped apricots which comprised part of the stuffing.
The Fleurie is also bang-on-the-money just now, with lovely rich sweet fruit but a nice earthy dryness too. Very impressive for the money paid [on both wines in fact].
I shall be enjoying a bit more of both once I’ve got that boy to bed and we’ve done some more David Walliams chapters for tonight [we’re currently on “Billionaire Boy” - a good morality story for our times]. Happy days :~}
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Hello all. Friday again 
Whenever I drink muscadet I wonder why I don’t do so more often.
Hard to describe without it sounding like a string of clichés: saline, elegant, total steal etc. Still on The List/website and well worth a punt imho.
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I do like the Chave Circa whites…working my way through the '19s right now, and yes, that note of bitterness on the end is good.
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Good to read your note & I agree fully FWIW - I was about to snag a case of these earlier this afternoon, but just as my finger fell on the buy button, the dreaded “temporarily out of stock” loomed up. Fortunately only temporarily though and more coming in soon. Bargain stuff IMO.
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COYAM
Quite a full on wine, it really benefits from a few years bottle age to calm it down a bit and this is at a nice place now. Deep and glossy cherry red, richly flavoured, oozing dark fruits with velvety tannins and plenty of complexity, a little spice and a long, if slightly hot finish. Just the job with Cumberland sausage and Dijon mash.
From the rear label:
Valle de Colchagua / CHILE / 2015
44%Syrah, 30% Carmenere, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4. Mourvedre, 4% Malbec, 2% Garnacha, 2% Tempranillo, 2% Petit Verdot
I’m sure I had this from TWS once upon a time, but I’ve had to source this elsewhere.
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Tonight we finished off a part bottle of https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/saint-mont-les-vignes-retrouvees-2020 with a rather cheffy concoction of grilled turbot and brill with a saffron butter white wine and yoghurt sauce, potato, celeriac and pancetta rosti, steamed french beans and leeks. No photo sadly.
I Coravined a generous glass of this too…
It went superbly well with the food and has moved from primary fruit to lots of secondary complexity, whilst still very vibrant.
EDIT: to add that the Saint Mont Vignes Retrouvees was again superb. I do think this is one of the best VFM whites on the list.
Good weekend all…we look set for a day of unrelenting rain tomorrow…rugby spectating tomorrow plus cricket club dinner at night…could be a long day!
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Somewhere between Pinot Noir and Xinomavro. (My other half actually checked with me that it wasn’t a Xin). Still young, but savoury (almost 2007 Ardanza in this respect, which I mean as a huge compliment) with a sourness, red to black fruits and (The most Xinomavro aspect) grainy, pumice-like tannins.
Will comfortably see out a good 15 or 20 year evolution, looking forwards to the journey 
(I have zero regrets about the ridiculous overbuying I did in the 2010 vintage in Rioja. Every one of the quality producers has come up with the goods - so much so that I’m tempted to say that it’s consistently the greatest vintage I’ve ever tasted in the appellation. Incredible really. )
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Gosh, there’s some good-sounding food and wine already this weekend 
For my part, I cooked some salt and pepper squid, and served with sesame courgette noodles, kimchi, and a ssamjang mayonnaise. I opened a bottle of Ernest Burn, Sylvaner Le Dauphin, 2019.
Off-dry which complemented the heat in the food, with ripe apples, fresh apricots and touch of bitter almond, especially on the finish. There’s a lovely, velvet texture to the mouthfeel, with some grip too.
Have a good weekend, all!
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Oh dear, another of those “forgotten but not gone” wines from a dark corner of the garage. Whilst I do think there’s a lot to be said for keeping your wines very organised, there’s also quite a lot of pleasure in finding wine you had forgotten you had.
I expected to be tipping this away, but was completely wrong. Dark red/black colour with maybe very slight fading at the rim. Black plum, mulberry, spice flavours, still full of sweet fruit with a balancing freshness and gentle acidity. Hint of raspberry in the aftertaste. It’s really very good. And I don’t feel the 14.5% at all.
While trying to find a bit more info about this wine I also discovered we have not only a Pinotage fan, but a Pinotage connoisseur amongst us. Respect!
On a slight tangent, I have to repeat my belief that a garage with a reasonably stable temperature (=normal seasonal variations), and a lack of light, is a pretty good place for keeping wine for a good while
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Felton Road Bannockburn Chardonnay 2014
Quite some age on this Felton Chardonnay. Closing in on 10 years.
Good nose on it, citrus, oak, some petrol notes.
Great precision on the palate, creaminess, oak. Perhaps a shade faded fruit wise but still quite primary (under screw cap). Really opening up as it gets warmer and with some air
Excellent wine and thanks for the tip @Lewis great VFM at £26
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Chateau Moulin Riche 1992 (St Julien / Bordeaux)
Far better than it has any right to be. Bought as a it of a gamble and the vintage wasn’t particularly well regarded.
On opening, its all redcurrants with a very short finish, seems quite simple, but soft and easy drinking. After a few hours air there’s now a hint of cedar underneath the redcurrant, plus something else I cant quite put my finger on. The finish has now lengthened out too. Perhaps fading, but very enjoyable.
Not bad for a bottle I was half expecting to be either vinegar or dust.
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Yes, it used to be a favourite. My last was the 2007 bought in 2011 for £12.50
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I bought a couple of Coyams from Butler’s in Brighton two years ago. They’re 2018s and I wasn’t sure when they’d be ready. I had a feeling they’d be big wines needing some time to slumber - thanks for confirming that. Will leave them for a couple more years 
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Third of six of these here tonight, with an Asian flavoured salmon concoction.
2021 Markovitis Naoussa Xinomavro Alkemi Rosé
Link is to the 2022
Orangey-pink in the glass.
A great match for the food, slight medicinal taste, quite sour, stone fruit, nectarines maybe. None of the normal red or black fruits I tend to associate with red wines.
Bought for just over £19 a bottle from The Sourcing Table a year ago. Great value for a wine of this quality, in my opinion.
Happy Weekend! 
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One of these last night - the 15% Semillon seemed to add more weight rather than flavour.
Nevertheless enjoyable with fishy Friday Cod and flagelots.
Just wondering if it should stay in the dark for the Semillon to show up, it’s vintage 2019.
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That label is so questionable 
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