Are you a wine magpie? I can’t resist a tempting offer and, bearing in mind the stellar reputation of 2005 Bordeaux, a Wine Society mixed case from the Côtes was a no-brainer. My theory that a rising tide lifts all boats (i.e. in a good year even crap winemakers are going to have to work hard to produce awful wine) leads me to try almost any CHEAP 2005.
British MPs are being forced to cut back in anticipation of being voted out at the next election. In the meantime, they are biding time on expense accounts barely adequate for a FTSE executive board member, never mind a potential world leader. Even fresh pilchards for the white Persian cat have been disallowed. Whence does one plot world domination, when one can’t even afford a clean moat?
I think the solution for most bright Members is to reduce the wine Average Bottle Value (ABV).
Château Ricaud Premières Côtes de Blaye 2005 was only £7.50 from the Wine Society and, therefore, well suited to the brave new budget.
La Réserve de Quasimodo is self subtitled: Le plus vieux bistrot en l’ile de la cité. Seven centuries of history. Did Asterix the Gaul possibly eat here?
Quand j’ai écrit du Prince des vins (Marquis de Ségur) et ce vin ci, en Octobre 2007, je n’ai pas su qu’il y avait encore une bouteille dans mon moissonneuse-batteuse. Je viens de le déguster.
I’ve said in the past that if a rising tide floats all boats, then in good years like 2005, it must be worth rowing across to Analogy Island in one of the lesser bateaux of the Bordelais flotilla.
So I popped a few quid in the post to the Wine Society for a case of Côtes de Bordeaux 2005 and they sent me, amongst other bottles, some Château Martinat Côtes de Bourg.
It justified my argument. There is some real shite sent down La Gironde in the name of fine claret but I think the enormous majority of wines are born of genuine fathers (and mothers….) who really care.
This is certainly the case with Martinat. Whilst I do not know the winemaker (Stéphane Donze, since you ask), you only have to sip the wine to taste the parental devotion.
This kid is spicy, fruity, intelligent and rich – almost destined to grow up to be Stephen Fry’s replacement on QI. The taste is peppery, plummy and with firmish tannins I found it a nice match for spicy pizza.
Mine was £9.95 from the Wine Society but unsurprisingly now sold out. Shame because it is one of the best ten quid bottles I’ve tasted in a long while.
Remembrance Sunday (and Tuesday) saw me observing a total of five minutes of silence – that’s a miracle I hear you cry! The first two at the anointed hour of 11a.m. Sunday, somewhat bizarrely, in a queue at our local Tesco store, the third at the Man City vs Spurs game, and the fourth and fifth driving across the Pennines on Tuesday morning listening to the Ken Bruce Show.
It’s amazing how time flies. I remember about 1976 when I first commemorated the war dead. I never imagined I would still be here 32 years later.
Château Soutard has a recommended drink by date of 2040. I am certainly not going to wait and see if I live another 32 years to try the first bottle of the case I bought en-primeur from somewhere at about £21 per bottle. St Emilion wines being mostly Merlot (in this case 70%) compared to the rougher, and tougher when young, Cabernet Sauvignon, are generally more approachable in youth so I was determined not to die before I sampled the Soutard.
Château Durfort-Vivens Margaux 2003, a deuxième cru from Lucien Lurton who also owns another 2nd growth Margaux property, Château Brane-Cantenac, 82.3784% Cabernet Sauvignon with 9.632% Cabernet Franc and the remainder Merlot. 20 months in oak.
If you want to read stuff like this go somewhere serious like www.decanter.com. If facts bore you and you prefer the experience of wine, then why not join me having fun as I learn.
Multi-talented Morgan Meunier arrived at our table after the meal, presumably looking for a round of applause for his culinary artistry. “Was everything OK?” he wondered. Super. “Was there anything specific we particularly liked?”. The seabass with crayfish and tarragon ravioli and lobster velouté was my favourite, but why were all his dishes so bloody complicated?
In sleepy Grosvenor Square, just a Molotov cocktail throw from the American embassy, is yet another Gordon Ramsay place. It’s getting difficult to walk down a London street without seeing his name over some restaurant or other.
I was advised that Molotov was not on the aperitif list, but £12 for a tiny glass of Ayala champagne, even if poured at the table, set me off in an explosive mood. I think the sommelier noticed my look of disappointment, nay disdain, as he left me with barely enough liquid to create a damp patch if I spilled it on my trousers (I didn’t). I wanted to dislike this place – I don’t like being ripped off.
We regularly use the plural when we mean the singular. Nowhere is this more true than in Latin derived words used in a business context. For example “can you tell me the single criteria for success?”. Erm no I can’t, but I might be able to enlighten you with the criterion.
A gruff Yorkshireman with mixed ancestry by the name of Marco Pierre White clearly spotted that the single criterion for a good restaurant was to serve good food. This is certainly a baseline, but in my view there are other criteria. For one, there is history. Criterion pre-dates Piccadilly Circus itself by 4 years putting a big red tick in that particular box.
Stumble It!