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Off we go into the weekend!
Starting with a glass of this nice Madeira.
Iām so glad I finish work at 1pm on fridays during the summer months 
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Pizza tonight with a Montepulciano dAbruzzo. Pretending we are in a pizza parlour! Then tomorrow we are having an Insalata Trcolore with a Dom Cordier Macon Aux Bois Allier which I am sure got rave reviews by some in the Community
Two very different reviews on the website so will be interesting. We will finish it off (the larger part) on Sunday with a fish dinner.
Then with a 3 bean chilli a South African wine made with a Portuguese grape a Tinta Barrocca by Allesverloren. Havenāt had it for a few years but used to really like it. Juicy, smooth and deep is my recollection.
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An early start to the weekend and why not? I have never had a Zweigelt before but found this on the Aldi shelves, last night, for Ā£7.49 and thought that I would give it a try.
Described on the bottle as having āDeep red fruit flavours, with aromas of redcurrant, bramble and plum, touches of vanilla, mocha and floral violets and a long dry finishā, I am not sure that my description would stretch that far but itās certainly a very gluggable wine. Quite forward on the redcurrant fruit but not overly sweet and there are enough tannins to provide some spice. Good value, I thought and a good start to the weekend.
Update: I actually opened this bottle, last night, and have been sipping the remainder, while watching the Instagram live stream about the new Fine Wine list. This is a seriously good wine, with super balance and is a real bargain at the price. Definitely worth checking out.
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Weāve headed off for a sneaky week in North Devon, near the sea. After a sunny day spent exploring with dog and wife, including a bit of dog-goes-crazy-on-beach, what better way to unwind than with a glass of barbaresco?
This has been open since yesterday evening, when we arrived, and is now very enjoyable. A pretty ruby colour with a touch of brick towards the edges. Elegant nose with a little bit of leather. Soft tannins and good to drink now as itās from 2014.
This is my second and last bottle of this and Iād suggest Bruno Roccaās Rabaja is well worth looking out for if thereās some in the 2016 offering and you are feeling a little bit spendy.
The weekend looks like being good and sunny but donāt worry, Iāve come armed with a 2010 Riesling by Dirler-Cade (and maybe one or two other treatsā¦).
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This is super smooth tonight. Very pleased to have purchased this EP. Even though it seems a few halves are back in stock.
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My husband just casually started the weekend with this cracker. Just as youād expect, full of biscuit and dairy, full flavoured. Lovely bubbles too. He started a new job this week and I think heās celebratingā¦
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Having a ātreat myselfā weekend of wine, opening some of the nicer wines that Iāve wanted to drink for a while. Starting off with this tonight before a few 2010s turn up next week. Stunning. Vanilla, little bit of oak and cherry. Itās delicious
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Wow, just wow. Another two grapes, completely new to me but what an introduction! Big, powerful but beautiful poise rather than brashness. This is simply gorgeous, without doubt, the best value wine that I have ever tasted. If I had paid five times the price, I would consider this to be good value. At Ā£11.50, this is insanely great value. I note that there is another negroamaro wine listed at Ā£35, which I am about to order. I canāt even begin to imagine how incredible this will be.
My preferred wines are pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon and all I can say is that this wine is like a blend of the best qualities of both. I donāt know what else to say but I have been totally blown away by this wine and will be booking a trip to Puglia, at the first opportunity, to sample more of this region.
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Sandhi Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay
When this bottle was given to me I was told it was the nearest thing to a burgundy. Iām so pleased to say that that was the understatement of the year! Being a burgundy lover, I would never have been able to tell in a blind tasting, this was produced outside of the region. I would go on to say I would have assumed it was from one of the very best producers with a seriously hefty price tag. What a breath of fresh air to know this is California at itās best in terms of quality and price. This wine has everything; finesse, minerality, structure, balance and complexity. The perfect blend of aromas; brioche, lemon, oak, honey, struck match - could go on and on. World class, absolutely superb. Must use the right glass and worth decanting too.
Credits to Tomme de Savole, Old Amsterdam, 36 month aged comte and Black Bomber 
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Thanks for the review. Iāve been looking at this for a little while. Time to jump in the basket.
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@Brocklehurst, itās a wine that takes me back to the 1980s, when I was first introduced to serious wines. This is an honest, full-bodied, āpeasantā (sorry, not sure if I am allowed to say this anymore, but intended in a positive manner) wine, which is how I recall many of the very good, big name wines that I was able to drink back then. Donāt get me wrong, I really enjoy the refined, intellectual styles of many of todayās wines but there is something wonderfully nostalgic about this wine that recalls a time when wines of this style and quality were more the norm. I loved it, as you can tell; hopefully, you will too.
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Simply cannot believe how much this has evolved in the 18 months since I last opened one.
Drinking beautifully this evening. A tad restrained on the nose but this is all about the velvety mouthfeel. May be not the longest finish but hugely pleasurable.
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Sublime. Wet cricket ball leather and mushrooms on the nose, then generous and luscious dense black fruit on the palate and the smoothest finish. Bravo 'Straya.
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Which vintage is this? I have a bottle of the 2016 which I was thinking of drinking soon.
Following the very recent release of German wines by TWS, I opened and decanted this dry Riesling - my first.
My wife isnāt keen on Rieslings and Iām personally still not 100% sold on them. Itās taught, mineral with lemon and pineapple. The waft of kerosine disappeared after a few hours in the decanter. Itās very easy to drink and Iām thinking I should love this wine, but I canāt. Iām not sure why not. Hope Iāve not upset Baachus 
Iāve got another bottle which Iāll keep for a few more years. In the mean time, it looks like Iām returning to white burgundy.
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This evening I cooked pan fried wild bass with a courgette and tomato charlotte, and a red pepper sabayon. We drank Domaine Loew Pinot, 2016
The wine is really interesting. We didnāt actually taste it when we visited the domaine last year, but we bought enough that we were given a bottle to try 
20% pinot blanc, 40% pinot gris and 40% pinot auxerrois, partly field blend, barrel fermented with natural yeast for a year, and bottled with a bit of carbon dioxide. Amazingly complex for what youād pay (ā¬12.50 cellar door) - the oak is there but not overpowering, thereās brioche, almonds maybe even raspberries, but also apricots and lime, and a bitterness to the finish. Full and textured in the mouth, but a good acidic balance too. A comparatively young and really interesting domaine, and well worth seeking out their wines.
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