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7:30 and no thread? Is it January already?
Anyways, trying something I bought at a tasting last year. A very very big wine….
However they lose serious points for the weight of the bottle which, when full, came in at a hefty 1.6kg!
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A novelty tonight really, Sauvignon Saint Bris, the only savvy producing bit of Burgundy, up by Chablis.
Makes Sancerre taste like the new world! Aftertaste reminds me of inhaling wafts of my mum’s Elnett as she got ready as a kid. Don’t mind it all actually, I much prefer my SBs on the skinny side. But if this is the warm 2019 then the 2021 is going to be for hard nuts only.
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First of six from this year’s Rhone EP, nose is tropical fruits and the palate dry.
Much fresher and a serious step up from the 2018/9 Ogier Viogniers that I’ve been working through.
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Vacqueyras Cuvée des Templiers from Le Clos des Cazaux, 2014 vintage.
2nd of 4 bought from the domaine in Spring 2022 for about €14. Half and half Syrah and Grenache most years, I think.
Dug out of the wine fridge to accompany venison stew and Brazil v Cameroon, it was initially too cold. Some sediment in the bottle, quite light in the glass, with some brick red colours. A definite suggestion of barnyard on the nose but after an hour or two in the Decanter, this had blown off and the wine transformed.
Medium acidity and unintrusive tannins, well integrated and bright black fruits, smooth and delicious.
JL-L has an end date of 2026-2029 for this, so the remaining two bottles will stay in the cave for a year or two yet, I think it has the legs. Not sure Cameroon do…
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A bit of an indulgence for me this evening after two long intense tiring days assessing 1-2-1 presentations over Zoom - a 2012 Bürklin-Wolf Forster Pechstein Riesling Trocken. Enjoyed with some spicy noodles & haddock earlier, and now still enjoying with a quiet vape.
This is absolutely sensational really - very tight & lean & clean, intense, lots of acidity, strong stoney minerality, the beginnings of some keroseney / smoky stuff, and just a superb depth of taste and a lovely lose-yourself mouthfeel. Yellow plum is the most obvious fruit, but there’s just loads going on with each sip. A remarkable wine, almost assyrtiko-like in its intensity & depth. A wine to remember and dream about.
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Part 5 (?) of my continuing adventures, here at least, into not-a-paella this evening…
…the addition of some dried dulse seaweed will remain a given in future. The wine chosen to pair with the robust flavours in the dish was…
…a Valdeorras Mencia ‘Via Nova’ 2019 from Sainsbury’s Discovery range. Opened after 45 minutes in the fridge and a thoroughly drinkable example of its type.
A floral, cherry and bramble berry nose with a touch of wet leaf and damp soil complexity. Similar flavours with fresh acidity and powdery tannins to structure on the savoury, light to medium bodied, palate. All in all, a good match to the food and more than satisfying at the double discounted price (around £5.60 
).
As always, have a good weekend everyone.
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I cooked some pink bream this evening, served with white crab meat, and potatoes, spinach and tomatoes dressed with a brown crab meat mayonnaise. We drank a bottle of a wine that @lapin_rouge has posted about very positively a couple of times recently - Thistle & Weed ‘Brandnetel’ Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch 2018
https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/thistle-and-weed-brandnetel-chenin-blanc-stellenbosch-2018
I’ve previously tried the 2017, and it’s a really interesting, constantly changing wine. On first opening it was all about apples - nose and palate both full of green apple goodness. But then glimpses of honey, maybe acacia, and some toasty oak which I though might start to dominate (despite TWS notes saying “no oak influence”). But that then started to take a back seat to nuts and quince, without losing freshness on the finish. Not cheap, but you get a lot for the money.
Hope everyone has a good weekend. First weekend of December, so I’m going to be cooking mince pies at some point 
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Bottle remnant evening here, no fresh bottle but nice to get some variety (Guigal Condrieu & Crystallum Pinot noir). Always great to see the development. Sometimes quite the revelation as the wine can be transformed.
Crystallum Pinot Noir better this evening but really should be left for 3 years at least.
Condrieu intact, one of the first examples I’ve tried. Keen to explore
Have a good weekend!
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Looks like a delicious meal, and love the wine pairing! 
I bought the equivalent Godello from Sainsbury’s. I think they are both made by CVNE, which usually uses the ‘Maruxa Virgen del Galir’ brand for its Mencia and Godello, but they clearly use a different brand for Sainsbury’s. Would be interesting to pitch the Maruxa Godello/Mencia vs the Via Nova version and see if there are any discernable differences…
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Our first wine from Moldova. We weren’t bowled ova but it was pretty good. Bottle is also eligible for the ‘horrible labels’ and the ‘heavy bottle’ (845g) threads. From MWW.
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Thanks for the compliment Inbar !
The same thought crossed my mind too. Disappointingly, the Godello you mentioned wasn’t stocked in my local branch. Which is a shame as it was on my radar to try.
I wasn’t aware of the CVNE connection BTW so thanks for the info 
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Finished the remainder of Domaine Courbis Cotte Sud St Joseph 2015 started last weekend with Coravin (just less than half a bottle).
Let it stand upright for half a day then decanted for an hour or so. Still some sediment crept in…which reduced the volume a bit more.
It went fine with a rare rump steak, spinach, kale and mushrooms, but still quite hard work. Does it need more time? The fruit still fighting a bit with tannin, though mellowed a bit with time , but somewhat unyielding and not a wine to sip on its own…
…that job went to the Pataille Marsannay 2018 - I Coravined a glass straight from the cabinet. Lovely, and really nice served at about 13-14c warming very slightly as it was sipped. Such pure fruit, but a light touch, with the tannin and acidity just right.
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Bit of a dog’s breakfast in the blend, CS, feteasca, saperavi… what’s the 4th variety covered by the medal sticker ?
Merlot.
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Friends coming round tonight for a meal so decided on this pairing.
Got the cork out in one piece from the Musar with a butlers friend. Decided to decant the Gruner V after reading comments on Cellar Tracker.
Should be a good night!
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Opened a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Font de Michelle 2010 last night:
And it’s drinking very well indeed. Tannins are present but well integrated; smooth but still with a bit of grip. Still quite fresh with rich dark fruits. A touch of heat in the finish but not enough to spoil what is a very elegant glass of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
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Goodness. Don’t think I’ve visited since October. It hasn’t been the best couple of months. Very busy at work, family trauma (all more settled now) and a run in with Covid. But attended my first Stevenage dinner for the Thanksgiving dinner (delicious) and have a few tastings lined up so getting back on with the wine life.
This tonight with steak and pepper wraps.
Still very fresh but some bricking on the rim. Strawberries, cherries, tomato leaf, loads of tertiaries and an umami crunch. Luckily this is the first of 6 so shall try to space these out.
Happy weekend all.
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Mutton stew, mash and Cavalho Nero for dinner, and this bottle to accompany:
Secreto, Ribera del Duero 2018
Made by Viña Mayor - the winemaker is the first woman to gain MW in Spain - this is a lovely autumnal wine. Semi-opaque (is there such a thing?) ruby, the nose is a comforting mix of kirsch, damsons, exotic spices (I got star anise, the other half thought clove), a discreet whiff of vanilla and delicate violet note.
Similar sense of comfort on the palate - there is a nice tension between fresh and juicy fruit and deeper oak notes. The blueberry/damson and cherries fruit have a nice tanginess to them and are underlined by a lick of balsamic note and spice (baking spice and that star anise again). Whatever vanilla note is there is very gentle (I am not keen on overtly vanilla notes in oaked reds), and there’s a herbal edge to the finish. Medium acidity is mirrored by medium tannins, which I reckon would soften and be a little less ‘bite-y’ with a bit more time.
Nothing earth shattering here, but it’s a well-made wine, and delivers a lot of nose and palate pleasure.
¡Salud! 
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Pleased to hear things are improving for you @Andrew20 after your recent traumas.
A safe but still indulgent evening food and wine-wise here tonight, for which, I count myself lucky. Anyway, bottle five of six of…
…a Cote-Rotie ‘Reserve’ 2013 from Stephane Ogier which, for my tastes, is in a very good place right now.
A hint of brick at the rim but, otherwise, still a deep ruby colour. Violets, black cherry and berry fruit, frying bacon fat, black pepper and polished leather on the fragrant nose. All of that again on the elegant, medium bodied but deeply flavoured palate. Fresh acidity and light grippy tannins provide lovely balance and structure. Integrated oak provides polish and spice and there’s a mineral edge to the dark fruit flavours to provide further complexity. Oh, and nothing feral or funky to compromise its purity of flavour. A thoroughly delicious wine with the added bonus that it only weighs in at 12.5% ABV.
It was a wonderful match to my rare ribeye steak and polenta chips dinner too…
…no prizes for presentation, er, and which didn’t quite fit on a single plate 
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