Christmas Wine II
- Thread starter Dogberry
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mandryka
pfm Member
And I had some of this at a neighbour's house last night, and it slipped down nicely. Good one for parties I'd say
Bouvet-Ladubay Saumur Brut, Loire Valley - Majestic Wine
Bouvet-Ladubay Saumur Brut, Loire Valley - Majestic Wine
Marchbanks
Hat and Beard member
To go with the Fourme au Sauternes tonight, Ernest Burn 2007 Muscat Vendages Tardives. The colour is almost the same as Gaston’s copper tray. Gloriously rich, but with a good kick reminding you there is an acid grape at the bottom of it all. As with a Huet sweet Chenin. Fabulous!
PsB
Citizen of Nowhere™
I had a Gewurztraminer vendanges tardives yesterday (2015), made by a grower in Eguisheim called Dreyer (the vineyard has been sold on since then). Lovely with an old Comté cheese and various blue cheeses. And very enjoyable on its own. Still got 4 or 5 bottles out of the original dozen.
Marchbanks
Hat and Beard member
It was a toss-up between the Muscat and a Burn Gewürz 2011 VT tonight. I had stupidly assumed an Alsatian winemaker would get up one fine autumn morning, thought ‘hey, the sun’s still shining, let’s allow the grapes to dry out a but, harvest them late and stick VT on the label’. When I visited the vineyard four or so years ago Simone Burn put me right. ‘First you tell the authorities you intend to declare a VT, then do the paperwork, then they visit and test the juice… if it meets the requirements you do more paperwork, then they come back three months later and test again, then more paperwork, then they come back…’ I’m surprised they bother, to be honest. Glad they do, though!
Marchbanks
Hat and Beard member
Marchbanks
Hat and Beard member
Fading around the edges, showing definite signs of deterioration and would be best finished off quickly - however, I still have enough marbles left to realise this 1998 Vieux Télégraphe is fantastic. Oddly, some people on CT have felt otherwise, finding it beyond the grave. To me it has years of life left - although that’s beside the point, as it’s my last bottle. I often wonder what the provenance is regarding some of these ‘disappointing’ bottles on CT. Mine has been with me since release, and although my cellaring isn’t perfect I know it’s between 11-15C 90% of the time. Probably more than you can say for the shelves of a posh department store. But I digress, as usual. This is wonderful, pretty much perfect Télégraphe for me - fresher and more lively than the 2009 I tried around my birthday last year.
eguth
pfm Member
Churchill 2000 Vintage Port again (2nd bottle)
Following on from the first bottle (Post #3690 upthread), I decanted another bottle. Was the first bottle just a dream? [I decanted it, using the Hersh Method, for a total of 10 decanter hours].
Before I was able to begin, I had to repair my Grado (Prestige Series) SR325 headphones. The right ear phone broke off its cradle, dangling loosely. One plastic retaining peg had broken off. These phones were made using the frequent American practice of built- in obsolesence. This practice forces purchasers to upgrade or be landed with repairs. Luckily, I also bought the wonderful RAY SAMUELS (American) headphone amp: HORNET. This amp is the size of a cigarette packet. It's built to military standards. It is constructed to last....as far as poss away from built- in obsolesence. An oustanding product that works with just about any headphone.
The Grado repair took me away from the Churchill VP for about 2 hours. It is now repaired to last. I now know how to modify and improve The Grado with a repair. I expect more Grado plastic bits to fail.
Bottle #2 of the Churchill VP was an unexpected surprise. The cork was crumbling from the get go. Worse... nothing in my armoury of corkscrews etc. rescued the situation. The lowest part of the cork fell inside the bottle, joining all the other junk already deposited. I was able to filter out most of the junk with my newly purchased Chinese organic cotton filter cloth. This is a magnitude better than the cheesecloth I had been using. I followed with my old version of the Screwpull funnel- with its micromesh insert. It used to be unuseable on vp because of the long amount of time filtering took. However, after the Chinese organic cotton filter was used, the wine went through quite rapidly. Took about 15 minutes to filter the whole bottle through the micromesh .
Tomorrow... Venison Casserole... with my version of Banbury Cake, using organic Greek currants (superb) from Community- a world of flavour difference compared to non- organic currants. I hope the Churchill 2000 performs. It's my birthday.
Following on from the first bottle (Post #3690 upthread), I decanted another bottle. Was the first bottle just a dream? [I decanted it, using the Hersh Method, for a total of 10 decanter hours].
Before I was able to begin, I had to repair my Grado (Prestige Series) SR325 headphones. The right ear phone broke off its cradle, dangling loosely. One plastic retaining peg had broken off. These phones were made using the frequent American practice of built- in obsolesence. This practice forces purchasers to upgrade or be landed with repairs. Luckily, I also bought the wonderful RAY SAMUELS (American) headphone amp: HORNET. This amp is the size of a cigarette packet. It's built to military standards. It is constructed to last....as far as poss away from built- in obsolesence. An oustanding product that works with just about any headphone.
The Grado repair took me away from the Churchill VP for about 2 hours. It is now repaired to last. I now know how to modify and improve The Grado with a repair. I expect more Grado plastic bits to fail.
Bottle #2 of the Churchill VP was an unexpected surprise. The cork was crumbling from the get go. Worse... nothing in my armoury of corkscrews etc. rescued the situation. The lowest part of the cork fell inside the bottle, joining all the other junk already deposited. I was able to filter out most of the junk with my newly purchased Chinese organic cotton filter cloth. This is a magnitude better than the cheesecloth I had been using. I followed with my old version of the Screwpull funnel- with its micromesh insert. It used to be unuseable on vp because of the long amount of time filtering took. However, after the Chinese organic cotton filter was used, the wine went through quite rapidly. Took about 15 minutes to filter the whole bottle through the micromesh .
Tomorrow... Venison Casserole... with my version of Banbury Cake, using organic Greek currants (superb) from Community- a world of flavour difference compared to non- organic currants. I hope the Churchill 2000 performs. It's my birthday.
Dogberry
pfm Member
Happy Birthday
Have a good day.
Copperjacket
pfm Member
I have the Hornet’s big brother - the original SR71 and agree they are fabulous.
May I ask where did you source the Hornet?
Marchbanks
Hat and Beard member
Joguet Clos de la Dioterie 1995.
Another ancient bottle fished from the cobwebs in the ancestral cellars. Another that tastes wonderful, as if it has lots of life yet to come. Another that is, sadly, the last one I have. Even better than the 1989 Sourdais from a week or so back, this really does feel as if it still might be on the up - not bad at 28.
mandryka
pfm Member
Any thoughts about whether any of these are interesting? (Not the Ouzo or retsina and preferably not the Alpha Estate 'One' Merlot-Tannat, 2016, given the price. ) They look like they are all available by single bottle for pick up. Even the stuff at Gerrys (where admittely I don't have a lot to lose by just trying) may be interesting for the daube, if a glass for me while cooking is drinkable. Next time I'm near Soho I'll pop in.
SEARCH. Gerry's Wines & Spirits - Buy wines and spirits online at gerrys.uk.com
Search results for: 'alpha' (maltbyandgreek.com)
eguth
pfm Member
Glad to hear about Jerry's. I used to be an irregular regular there in the 70s and 80s. Jerry used to have mug shots of his favourite and least favourite customers on display. I don't know into which category I fell, but I seemed to be permanently on display.
Jerry was very helpful at all times: even when the booze was well past it. I once bought a bottle of old, famous Vintage Port from him. Never again. He was good on certain booze. How did he remain sober? I got drunk just gazing at the bottles on display from the street outside his shop window.
mandryka
pfm Member
What was the name of the pub opposite Gerrys and next to Camisa? The Soho Tavern maybe. It's been a gay bar since the mid 1980s, but unless I'm misremembering it used to be a very authentic working class bar, with a little stage and (straight) acts.
I guess you knew The French House in those days -- was he called Antoine, the guy who ran it as a wine only bohemian drinking hole? And the guy who would play accordion in Maison Bertoux?
I walked earlier this week from Bond Street to Leicester Square, through Berwick Street and Old Compton Street. I must say, it's changed enormously but it is really attractive still, and it's managed to retain quite a bit of character. No more prostitutes on Meard Street as far as I could see -- probably a good thing.
Today I've been drinking Bouscassé , to cheer me up in the shitty weather. I left the house early to go from Wimbledon to South Ken, only to find at Earls Court that the fking District Line was closed on that branch -- the only way was the Piccadilly Line, which was so crowded, I abandoned the journey, went home, bought a cake on the way, and got pissed on Bouscassé . Feel better now.
eguth
pfm Member
Sorry, can't help re: gay bar.
I never drank in Soho.
Camisa was a favourite Italian grocer. Lovely people, goods and atmosphere. Now threatened with closure. 2 year temporary reprieve. Did you sign the petition?
I have been a customer of Algerian Coffee Stores for at least 1/2 a century. Great atmosphere, good service and marvelous importer of specialty loose teas.
A 'must visit' for any chocolate/tea/coffee enthusiast .
mandryka
pfm Member
Very good figs wrapped in chocolate from the Algerian Coffee Stores. Camisa is a shadow of its former self, and has been for many years. No hare sauce in Winter for ages, the own label unfiltered olive oil is not so great any more and the last time I bought some Finocchiona it was industrial. Decent piccante Gorgonzola though.
Lena Stores, round the corner, may be better these days.
Lena Stores, round the corner, may be better these days.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
way over rated these days IME
very poor when I had some last week - sorry but very run of the mill....
mandryka
pfm Member
Here's a place you should try -- always a queue.
Cramiques (auxmerveilleux.com)
I guess you know the chouquettes here, which they serve with very well made Monmouth Street coffee. The shop's always empty, it needs support.
Maitre Choux is the world’s first choux pastry specialist
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