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A great selection, @NickFoster! 
the Aldinger is going in my wish list pronto!
Lucky guests 
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Found this lurking on a wine rack👌From a visit made almost a year ago. What a nice change to Sauvignon Blanc as an apertivo…
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Opened the first of a case of these last night:
Took a little while to open up, but very good once it did
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I love that Kadarka, such a light, yet tasty drink. Still have s few bottles as it will develop further the next year or so.
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Oooh that’s encouraging, I picked up a bottle (£16) of that back in July. I wonder if I should pick up some more.
I’d also be very interested to hear how the 2010 Cayron is doing now as had planned to keep mine for a bit
So I had a glass from one of my two bottles of that much discussed 2005 Pedrosa Ribera del Duero, last night. First I’ll say that I liked it, so I’m not complaining, just a little confused. I feel it is probably worth the £22 though not a screaming bargain at that price. However it was absolutely not what I was expecting.
My uneducated thoughts; almost musky, tarry nose. First taste was very fruit forward, almost sweet, but also quite harsh tannin not desperately so but certainly more than I expected for it’s age. Lots of depth and a long finish.
But now come a couple of confusing facts. First as @Richard said in the discussion thread:
the (undated) cork did not look anything like 13 years old, as in it looked maybe two or three years old. Second this is a 13 year-old tempranillo. now I’m not all that knowledgeable but shouldn’t I expect some sediment from a tempranillo of this age? I decanted it and there wasn’t a single grain of sediment in it.
I have to say that, although I liked it, I didn’t think this bottle looked or tasted anything like it’s given age…
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I bought a range of halves for the Summer which included the “Les Jalets.”
It is an excellent example of Northern Rhone Syrah from a very good vintage, (but is not going to morph into a Thalabert or Graillot Crozes,) supplied in a bottle size that suited me.
The Society’s Exhibition Crozes may be the better bet, as the suppliers are the Perrin’s.
This may well be a different cuvee than sold in the 2015 EP offer, as the drink from dates differ.
Vinous gives the Jalets 90/100. The Maison Alexandrin’s 92/100
To be honest, it is all a bit confusing. If I were you I would buy a bottle of each, get torn in and then decide which one you liked the better and purchase accordingly. But that’s just me.
Hope this helps but probably not!! lol 
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Not getting anywhere with this one. Time with cork out, and still no body. Thin…not unpleasant…but almost devoid of character.
I know tastes vary.
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Not a bad suggestion; having already got the Jalets it’s not going to break the bank to pick up the TWS Crozes and make a one after the other comparison! 
Any excuse eh?
We’ll be having a Jewish new year meal tonight (one night earlier than we should, but taking the girl’s presence into consideration… and no one will ever know!), so decided to have this Alsatian Pinot Noir:
It’s traditional in my family to have fish for new year’s, so we shall have some salmon and roast new spuds.
Hoping this Pinot will be everything I like about Alsatian reds. Namely light crunchy red fruit, with earthy tones. We shall see. 
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Very interested to know your thoughts @cerberus
Hallliday rates the vintage as an 8/10
I would suggest drinking HOG and Grange at 20-30 years from vintage. Though I’ve not much experience to be honest!
Jeremy Oliver rates it a 95 with drink dates of 2012-22 so fingers crossed for the cork 
I’ve been following any comments on this particular wine with interest, as I was also one of the lucky few to snaffle some bottles… albeit yet to sample it myself.
It’s implied in the original offer that they’ve been matured in bottle, but I wonder if it wasn’t actually bottled 13 years ago, and perhaps rather more recently than that.
I’m a big fan of the Cepa Gavilan, so was quietly expecting this to be a cracker, but the general reception seems to be a bit of a damp squib. Which is probably why they were trying to clear it out of their cellars (being cynical).
Only time will tell though. I’m not in any great rush…
Last night was a 2012 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah. By heck. Sensational. James Hubbard on Instagram: "Utterly superb syrah by @boekenhoutskloof last night. Imagine the purity of Barossa fruit and spice blended with (and tempered by) the length and structure of the Northern Rhône. Brilliant match for fillet steak. Still purring with how good this was. #wine #redwine #syrah #shiraz #boekenhoutskloof #franschhoek #winelover #winelovers #drinkbetterwine #winesofsouthafrica #wineofsouthafrica #southafricanwine #southafrica"
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I enjoyed a bottle of the 2014 last weekend, and still have a couple of bottles left. It really is a treat!
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Never knew they did a varietal Syrah, must try it thanks
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I have a couple of bottles of the 2012 left, as well as a 2010. Serious juice. I adore the Semillon that TWS stock too, great ageing potential too.
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No Gefilte Fish Inbar ! if there is one thing Imiss from my younger days in north Hackney near Stamford Hill it is the Jewish cuisine, apart from the usual wonderful Jewish bakeries and grocers with there barrels of herring outside and many other delicacies there was also the E&A bar at Stamford Hill (sadly now long gone) that did the best salt beef in London, and I tried most including all the Blooms outlets.
As young lads we often used to meet there and if there was time would have a plate of salt beef with potato latkes, or diced liver or chopped herring or sour gherkin with salad and a lemon tea.
The reason the E&A bar was so good was its enormous turnover of salt beef, they had a serving window in the front where the beef was carved and we would wait until it was replaced with another steaming piece and all pile in and order, they must have taken a fortune in those days but I believe an offer the couldn’t refuse was made and they sold out.
Shanah tovah to you.
I did a small piece on the food in the east end of London when I was growing up on a blog I no longer write for, about six years ago, if you scroll down you can see the late lamented E&A bar in the last photo it was then and now the only one I could find, you may like to look.
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Ah! Who can say no to a good gefilte… Well my husband and daughter can - so it’s out of the question.
But the real reason is that although a quarter of my heritage is Lithuanian - plenty of gefilte fish, salt beef and herring there - the other three quarters are Yemeni and Egyptian, so the Jewish cuisine I grew up on is very much Middle Eastern, rather than Ashkenazi.
I have to say, though, your description of the food in the E&A bar made my mouth water… (what did E&A stand for?).
Thank you for the greeting, too!
I have no idea what E&A stood for, no one asked and no one ever explained !
Just one small anecdote, I arranged to meet a very close friend in the E&A bar one Saturday lunch time, he was the best man at my wedding, when I arrived I could not find him and a voice called from the small restaurant area at the back, it was my firend he was having a salt beef lunch, when I asked why he was not having a sandwich he said, not when you can sit down and and get twice as much salt beef on a plate for the same price as a sandwhich, a lesson well learned 
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