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Christmas Wine II

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The first time I turned up chez Bruno Sorg - God knows when, must be 25+ years ago - it was without appointment, and Bruno was holding court at a table in the tasting room. I’ll get my daughter, he said as soon as I opened my mouth, she speaks English. She arrived, he went back to laughing with his chums. The tasting started (in French) but the conversation suddenly switched to English when she asked me if I’d ever been to Glastonbury. Er, no. She had, the year before. She began to tell me what fun it had been. I kept glancing at Bruno, chatting happily six feet away, but blissfully unaware of what I was being told...

On my next visit, Bruno conducted the tasting himself. You speak French well, he said. If only you had discovered that last time, I thought, I might not know some things that you don’t...

The next time, Bruno had passed away. I asked the daughter who looked after me to forgive me as I had forgotten, but was it she who had chatted to me about the Glastonbury Festival some years ago? That will be my sister, she said, rolling her eyes heavenwards.

This is the sort of ramble I bore friends with when they ask me why I like to travel over France buying wine. You don’t get memories like this buying online.

This all came back to me tonight while drinking the bottle below and having a Bob-fest. I think Bruno’s daughter would approve. Also it’s a way of padding out a post that would otherwise just say man, this wine is great.

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Three bottles of 1998 Télégraphe were left yesterday, now there are only two. I saw that I had drunk the previous one last December, and CT was mithering me about drinking them before the end of next year.

I wrote about the last bottle here at the time, and I’m pleased to say that it is still spectacularly good. I’ve altered the drinking end date to 2022 - a rate of one a year for the last pair would be good. I then stand a chance of bridging the gap until the 2016s come on stream with 2015 Piedlong.

While I was typing that sentence I realised I ordered some 2019 Télégraphe last month. I shuddered a little as my brain asked me ‘exactly how long do you expect to live?’

Photo recycled from another thread in order to reinforce my green credentials.

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^ well yes. I don't look at end-dates: getting past the start-dates will do me.
Your wines last well: proof The Towers cellar is doing a great job. Have you bothered checking the temperature down there ?
 
wacko said:
Your wines last well: proof The Towers cellar is doing a great job. Have you bothered checking the temperature down there ?
Click to expand...

Yes, continually. This is now...

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The heater keeps it between 10C and 11C in the winter. In the summer it has been as high as 17C during a prolonged heatwave, but it is a very gradual change. 14-15C is more usual.
 
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^ High tech... well to me at least ! Very impressive and explains why your cellar works so well.
I manage to keep most of my bottles at 12-14 but some are 16 and some are 7/8/9 because I bought a service cooler instead of a storage cooler. Duh.
 
After 3 days of no red meat it is lamb chop night :) Interesting to see how that goes with a Planeta Nerello Mascalese Sicilia Eruzione 1614... not surprised they had to use small font to fit it on the label.
I very much hope I can persuade myself that the mentions of liquorice on CT are in fact cherry.
 
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Chevauchée pt3 (A and B). Julien Sunier’s Fleurie and Régnié ordered. The first from a merchant offering it at around 20€ with free delivery over 150€ (sigh... where do I sign...) They also stock Wild Soul, and I was going to order some of that too until I found a second merchant thanks to Wine Searcher. Run by an expat American living in the area, they stock the Régnié at a jaw-dropping price (about 13€ including rather pricey delivery) so the Wild Soul was forgotten. When I said I’d have a dozen, I was asked if I’d like to take 10, plus a Fleurie and a Morgon for the same price so I could compare them. Would I? Is Boris Johnson a dissembling incompetent?
 
^ a friend who lives in France told me yesterday that he got Meyney 2016 at €25 compared to the £31 I paid. I guessed it would be but there is nothing like confirmation when you are trying to piss yourself off. I'm stomping off to open that volcano wine.
 
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Chevauchée part 4 of 3. Thirty minutes after paying for the Sunier I finally had a response to an email I sent to JP Brun a week ago and had given up on, wailing that I couldn’t find a stockist for Le Ronsay. Of course we’ll ship a dozen to you! Is 9€ per bottle OK? With no delivery charge?

Of course it is. The only problem is, how can I afford all this? Maybe that seasonal work I turned down as World’s Snarliest Santa wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.
 
^ interest rates are zero so better put your money in your wine cellar. I assume Arduino, your Italian in-cellar sommelier, handles security and not just temperature ?
And calculating how much you have saved compared to UK prices will be satisfying.
 
Marchbanks said:
Thanks, ordered two of the PN as I suddenly realised my blind spot for Burgundy was caused simply by my lack of varietal-specific Riedels.
Click to expand...

Mine have just arrived, or rather they've sent me two Riesling / Zinfandel glasses. Not sure I can be bothered to try and return / exchange them.
 
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