Confessions of a Wino

So I hear that Sven is in the running for my beleaguered team Manchester City.  As if crisis following crisis following crisis is not enough, we are trying to tempt the heel enhanced weather girl lover to manage our sorry club.

It’s not that I dislike Eriksson for footballing reasons, it’s just that the reasons he would want to join would only be financial.  He is a clever man and despite all the moanings, he was one of the most successful England managers and that followed a highly successful club career.

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Deep in Jack the Ripper territory just behind Bishopsgate Police Station lies a dark secret.  Whitechapel is legendary for the murders committed by one of the first serial killers to gain notoriety.  Nowadays an altogether different cereal is found in the back alleys, and the only murder is evidenced by an occasional squealing lobster.

The back alley known as Widegate Street is where I found Sri Thong, a Thai restaurant with a name that brings back haunting memories of that famous and heinous picture of Peter Stringfellow on the beach.

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Just popped out to the local…..sort of.

Monday night is not the best night out ever in Manchester.  Even Cloud 23 is half shut and cordoned off.  Worse still, the bit cordoned off is the bit where you can do a jig and a reel on a glass “porthole” looking straight down 23 floors to Deansgate…if you dare (and I did, but only after a cocktail).

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I am in danger of teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs.  Not my real Grandmother, I mean you.  You are probably aware that generally, whilst in Bordeaux a Premier Cru is better than a Grand Cru, in Burgundy it’s the other way around.

Anyway, I was curious as to the difference between a Chablis, a Premiér Cru and a Grand Cru so I’ve started an experiment.  I decided to pick a brand and try all three.  So I waited eagerly for the Sunday Times Wine Club to deliver my mixed case of two of each from the Domaine Long Depaquit stable… I was badly let down.

The six bottle case actually had two bottles of Premiér Cru and four bottles of Grand Cru.  I decided not to complain, albeit that this is hampering my test.

So to the question of the title.  The short answer is that I don’t know yet – I have only tried the Grand Cru.  To give it its full title “Domaine Long-Depaquit, Les Clos 2002 Albert Bichot Chablis Grand Cru”!  It tasted of rich creamy butterscotch and oozed class from every sip.  An elegant wine with lots of complexities to savour but at £24.99 a bottle it should be bloody good!

The 2004 Premiér Cru was £13.99 and the 2005 bog standard £11.15.  When I have tasted the PC I’ll get back to you.  In the meantime I’ll just ponder why the Domaines of Bourgogne put so much information on their wine labels whilst the Bordelais so little.

Anyone who has tasted the “ordinaire” from 2005 please leave a comment…

I’ve got Bordeaux fatigue.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love most of the 2005’s I’ve tried so far.  I’ve got a load booked en primeur to come later this year.  I’ve bought 2004, 2003 and 2000, all of which have so far impressed me.

But after so many years of exceptional, extraordinary, legendary, once in a lifetime, holy grail, once in a several millennia, best ever vintages, to hear 2006 described by most people as “patchy” is an opportunity to take a breather and give my poor wallet a rest.

So everyone who is currently sending me invitations to “invest” en primeur in 2006, please save your paper.  For a “patchy” vintage the prices are too high and the risk of disappointment too great in my opinion.

I might well buy 2006 Bordeaux once it is released but I won’t be investing in bond.

I am always interested in fairness.  So I buy wine from a variety of sources.  OK I admit I am biased towards the Wine Society and the Sunday Times Wine Club but I also like Majestic and I have been formulating a growing respect for the various supermarkets.

You may remember (or you may have forgotten) my post on Torrontés where I lauded the second grape of Argentina (in my opinion, and second to Malbec), and you may remember my fondness (not) for the self styled Hand of God, Diego Maradona himself.

But this time I am afraid Argentina loses in the quarter final.  Asda’s wine buyers have impressed me greatly at times but the Argentinian Torrontés (Asda forgot the accent on the e) Famantina Valley 2005 was a nice drinkable wine but really not memorable and no distinct flavours at all.  I can tell you that Torrontés normally has the most distinct flavour of apricots -ahhh memories.

Memories?  Actually I prefer mammaries……but’s that’s a story that would not meet the strict decency requirements of a serious wine blog.

Following my recent post on which glasses to drink from I was asked about glass “maintenance”.

There is a supposed cardinal rule with fine wine glasses that you should never use soap.  I ignore this, but do so with care.

Here’s a few practical tips for keeping your wine glasses in tip top condition.

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I normally follow Jeff Nolan for his views on enterprise software but this post caught my eye in relation to restaurant reviews.

An advert is only going to make me aware of a restaurant.  The next step is to find out what common customers think.  I don’t trust the reviews on Top Table and similar “guide” sites because it is too easy for them to be rigged.

Why don’t more people (especially in the UK) blog about their dining experiences?

If you click on the “Food” link under Categories on my home page you can see all the reviews I have done so far and there are lots more to come.

So come on everyone – let’s get busy!  Anyone who knows of any good blogs in this regard, please let me know and I will publicise them on this site.

There is a lot of chat in the wine press about the importance of drinking wine from the right glass.  For example, if you have read anything by Robert Parker you will know of his undying affection for Riedel glasses.

Riedel has stolen a march on other stemware manufacturers everywhere by producing several ranges of glasses where within each range, different glasses are specifically designed for different varietals and even specific wines.  This panders perfectly to the ceremony afforded to wine by the pretentious.

Sadly that includes me and I think Riedel glasses are great too, but the problem is the range is so massive, it’s impossible to own them all so what is the essential selection?

So this post is my recommendation for a simple range of wine glasses that will last you through every occasion.

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I am not sure, to be truthful, whether Mr Kipling only “bakes exceedingly good cakes” in the UK, or whether he deigns to offer his wares through the supermarkets of the world. 

Regular readers will know I have been munching my way through a Wine Society case of 2005 claret.  In the interests of fairness I purchased a similar early release case from the Sunday Times Wine Club and tonight opened the first bottle.

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