The Wine & Whisky Thread

Nice one, Barry. At least you got some good stuff :)

I think the thing about Wrexham is that because it's the unofficial 'capital' of North Wales (there is quite simply nothing remotely resembling a very large town anywhere else in the whole of North Wales) we get the biggest and best varieties of the supermarkets, i.e. they're all 'Superstores', as opposed to just standard outlets, and people travel from many miles around to shop there.

The Tesco here, for example, is almost the size of a small village!!

Sainsburys isn't much smaller, nor is Asda. We don't have a Morrisons, unfortunately, but we do have a huge Marks & Spencers (and Debenhams).

Consequently, the Sainsburys, Tesco and Asda here are stocked full of all their top ranges of merchandise, and bargains galore are available when things are reduced! ;)

So, apart from the beautiful scenery, lovely fresh air, and lack of hustle and bustle compared to similarly large English towns, the quality of shopping here is superb, which makes it all-in-all a rather cool place to live :cool:

Marco.

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Originally Posted by Andre

Don't do meths i'm above that, i do however like to dabble in a couple of LSD & Magic Mushroom potions of varied strengths tho, rather yummy they put a who new perspective on things

:)

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LOL - I used to be partial to some mushy tea, and omelette ;)

In fifth year in secondary school we used to dog class and go round to the local park and pick mushies, putting them inside crisp bags to 'concoct' into something later... Often though, we'd just eat them raw - bloody hell, they tasted rank!! :bog:

Later, English or French used to take on an entirely different perspective! :eyebrows:

I haven't done any of that shit though for years.

Marco.

Hi Marco,

“So, apart from the beautiful scenery, lovely fresh air, and lack of hustle and bustle compared to similarly large English towns, the quality of shopping here is superb, which makes it all-in-all a rather cool place to live” ………Marco, you ought to be working for the North Wales tourist board!

I have some good friends in North Wales (Conway) whom I visit regularly. About eight years ago I was thinking that I might relocate there when I retired (the aim was to do that in three years time). At that time I could have easily bought a four bedroom detached property, and paid cash for it. Not so any longer; the property prices have shot up in the last five years, thanks no doubt to people who work in Manchester and are willing to make a reasonable commute. Well I am now retired (fortunate enough to do so at the age of 57), but property prices have increased to the point where I am obliged to stay here.

Anyway to return to the subject of supermarket offers - we have a very large ‘out of town’ Sainsbury’s as well as two Tesco's. The thing is I don’t believe that offers made by these places are necessarily available nationwide. There have been a couple of occasions where some wine offers has been mentioned by Alex (UK), not all of which have been available at my Tesco branch. And the same has just occurred, following your recommendations at Sainsbury’s.

Mustn’t grumble – tonight’s meal will be lamb's liver and bacon with boiled potatoes, green beans and a carrot and swede mash. It will be enjoyed with a 2005 Vacqueyras Rhône.

Cheers

(Look out for that 2005 Château Colombier-Monpelou Pauillac in your Sainsbury.)

Perhaps you can find some Pauillac 2005 (Colombier-Monpelou or Puy la Rose or others) under 18£ on the web... don't know well British e-shops. :)

I am currently enjoying a new imported US beer immensely - the Gonzo Imperial Porter, by the Flying Dog Brewery (of Denver, Colorado / Frederick, Maryland). It's a strong (8.7%) peppery, slow sipping, Porter with a definite American angle to the flavour. Tesco's have it at the moment, £2.50 for 355ml - cheaper than online sources.

http://www.flyingdogales.com/images/...nzo-bottle.gif

http://www.flyingdogales.com/Beer-Specialty-Gonzo.aspx

Guys,

I recently mentioned the following Bordeaux:

Château du Plantier, 2006, Appelation Bordeaux Contrôlée. Médaille de Bronze, Paris 2007. 12% ABV.

Vignoble: Gironde.
Terroir: Agrilo-calcaire.
Cépage: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc.
Dégustation: Arômes fruités, vin ample et bien structuré aux tannins souples.

Available from your local Sommerfield, £7 bottle.

Well I have just drunk this and have to say that I was disappointed. I found the tannins were not 'supple', nor were they 'subtle'. A wine that proved not really to be to my taste and one that I cannot wholehartedly recommend.

Apologies to anyone who may have bought a bottle based on my posting and found it wanting.

Oh well, you win some and you loose some.

Regards

"Chateau du Plantier" is what we call here a "Coopérative" at Sauveterre de Guyenne. In other words, it assembles wines from the whereabouts... There are plenty of small local "Coops", at least one in each village in France, which can produce good wine, but : not every year and not any type (sometimes it's the red that's it's ok, sometimes the rosé). It's hard, you have to try and decide for every type and year. ;) But the coops wine is cheap.

Nothing to do with :
- Château Plantier Rose (Cru Bourgeois, Layssac, Saint-Estèphe)
- Château Vieux Plantier (Côtes du Bourg) , or
- Château Grand Plantier (Bordeaux de culture biologique), or
- Château Roc Plantier ( Côtes du Bourg)

When you buy wine, you should try to find the phrase "Mis en bouteille au château" ou "Mis en bouteille à la propriété" : These phrases, legally, in France, mean that the wine is not made by a coopérative. ;)

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Originally Posted by Themis

"Chateau du Plantier" is what we call here a "Coopérative" at Sauveterre de Guyenne. In other words, it assembles wines from the whereabouts... There are plenty of small local "Coops", at least one in each village in France, which can produce good wine, but : not every year and not any type (sometimes it's the red that's it's ok, sometimes the rosé). It's hard, you have to try and decide for every type and year. ;) But the coops wine is cheap.

Nothing to do with :
- Château Plantier Rose (Cru Bourgeois, Layssac, Saint-Estèphe)
- Château Vieux Plantier (Côtes du Bourg) , or
- Château Grand Plantier (Bordeaux de culture biologique), or
- Château Roc Plantier ( Côtes du Bourg)

When you buy wine, you should try to find the phrase "Mis en bouteille au château" ou "Mis en bouteille à la propriété" : These phrases, legally, in France, mean that the wine is not made by a coopérative. ;)

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Thanks for that Demitri.

My bottle was marked: "Mis en bouteille a la propriete par SCV Sauvettere a U.S.V. 33420 - Gironde - France". What does that say about it's pedigree?

Regards

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Originally Posted by barry.d.hunt

Thanks for that Demitri.

My bottle was marked: "Mis en bouteille a la propriete par SCV Sauvettere a U.S.V. 33420 - Gironde - France". What does that say about it's pedigree?

Regards

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Well, it says that it is made by a SCV : Société Coopérative Vinicole...

The problem is that sometimes, the producers (of the roundabouts) owe the Coopérative : in such a case they can write "Mise en bouteille à la Propriété". It's still a wine made by any grapes around, of various qualities.

So when you have "Mise en bouteille à la proriété" you must not have "par..." (produced by...). If there's only one producer, there's no need for a company name. If there's a company name ("par ....") then it's most probably a Coopérative. ;)

Please note, that the wine made by Coops is not bad. It's simply not of constant quality.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Themis

Well, it says that it is made by a SCV : Société Coopérative Vinicole...

The problem is that sometimes, the producers (of the roundabouts) owe the Coopérative : in such a case they can write "Mise en bouteille à la Propriété". It's still a wine made by any grapes around, of various qualities.

So when you have "Mise en bouteille à la proriété" you must not have "par..." (produced by...). If there's only one producer, there's no need for a company name. If there's a company name ("par ....") then it's most probably a Coopérative. ;)

Please note, that the wine made by Coops is not bad. It's simply not of constant quality.

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OK, I think I understand - my bottle was bottled by a cooperative. Perhaps I bought a poor sample.

Don't want to belabour the point; I was just concerned that members might have followed me and been disappointed as well.

Thanks for the clarification.

Regards