The Wine & Whisky Thread

[Alex_UK]

Especially for Barry - a heads up on the Tesco Berberana Offer - 2004 Berberana Rioja Reserva Etiqueta Negra is back on Half-Price offer (£4.99 from £9.99) - runs until 7th September - so dive in and get some!

[Marco]

Chaps,

Del and I have just been out for lunch to celebrate my birthday at one of our favourite gastro-pubs, the Cock O Barton in Cheshire, see below:





The food is absolutely stunning, and Michelin rated, but the wine we ordered with our meal eclipsed even that high standard, and was arguably one of the finest red wines I've ever tasted; trust me, that’s saying something, as I've sampled some truly top-notch wines over the years!!

The wine in question is Rustenberg John X Merriman 2007 Stellenbosch from South Africa (2005 vintage shown below):




Info here: http://www.rustenberg.co.za/

UK availability here: http://www.waitrosewine.com/230404972/Product.aspx

At £8.54 a bottle it's not exactly cheap, but it's of utterly outstanding quality if you like big powerful reds that blow your socks off! This is 14.5% VOL, so massively full-bodied, and intensely jammy like a very jammy thing, but oh so velvety smooth and fruity with it.

Here's a more detailed description which I've plucked from the Net:

This wine is renegade winemaker Adi Badenhorst’s favorite in his portfolio, and for good reason. In line with the best Bordeaux blends, it leads with an earthy, mineral-driven nose, and on the palate, it’s both juicy and restrained. Expressive flavors of pepper, mocha and spice and elegant tannins give the wine a stately and sophisticated style. It will keep getting better in the bottle." (7/1/2007) According to the Wine Spectator: "Polished, with a solid mix of black cherry, plum, vanilla and grilled herb notes that show good length on the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Shiraz. Drink now through 2009. 1,700 cases imported." (04/08) 92 points from Stephen Tanzer's IWC: "a Bordeaux blend based on 54% merlot and 32% cabernet sauvignon) Deep ruby-red. Enticing aromas of black raspberry, tobacco, licorice and fresh herbs. Lush, broad and sweet but firmly built, with a slightly exotic candied fruit quality giving this seriously concentrated wine plenty of early sex appeal. Finishes sweet and plummy, with a fine dusting of tannins and excellent length. Aged for 20 months in 50% new French oak.

Yum, yum... Think St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé in style, but at a mere fraction of the price!! This is a stonkingly good red to enjoy on a special occasion - and one which will keep for years and improve with age.

Enjoy!

Marco.

[Techno Commander]

The wine in question is Rustenberg John X Merriman 2007 Stellenbosch from South Africa (2005 vintage shown below):

At £8.54 a bottle it's not exactly cheap,

Marco.

Stellenbosch wines are rather good. we sampled a few when we were out there a couple of years ago. Anura wines are also quite splendid.

I think £8.50 is pretty reasonable for a good bottle of wine.

[Marco]

Hi Andy,

I agree, and TBH given the quality on offer, it's a veritable bargain. Pity it wasn't £8.50 in the restaurant!

Marco.

[Techno Commander]

No. I dont suppose it was.

[Marco]

Try £30 - lol!

Nice mark-up on wines at restaurants.... However, considering the fantastic meal we had, the beautiful surroundings, and the overall standard of service, I wouldn't grudge them a penny!

Marco.

[Techno Commander]

I do like a good restaurant. This is my current favourite, The Chesil Rectory in Winchester. I have been eating there on and off for over 20 years. The building also has some interesting history behind it.

[Marco]

That looks really nice, Andy... If I'm ever in the Winchester area, I'll check it out

I particularly liked this bit in the description:

The Chesil Rectory is a relaxed and informal restaurant serving honest, exceptional, robust, British classics. Located in a unique, historic Grade II listed building dating back to 1450, the restaurant still has many original features including solid oak beams, ancient doorways and beautiful open fireplaces.

That sounds just right up our street. We like quaint and 'cosy' olde-worlde design and also "British classics" when eating at good pub-style restaurants. If we see bloody lasagne and curries on the menu, we run for the hills!!

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with curry or lasagne, done well, but if I want that I'll go to either an Indian or Italian restaurant which specialises in it! When I'm in a tradtional British pub, I want traditional British food! [Rant over]

Yes, Del and I enjoy dining out. Trouble is, she's such a good cook that finding food outside of the same standard (or better) is rather difficult!

Still, I guess it's not a bad problem to have

Marco.

[Techno Commander]

The front door is also an original 15th Century fixture and is only about 5 foot high.

[Barry]

Wine slurped over the last couple of weeks

In no particular order, the following Bordeaux’s have been quaffed recently:

2007 Château Chante Alouette Cormeil, Saint Emilion Grand Cru
Merlot 91%, Cabernet Franc 9%


2005 Château Labardie, Cru Bourgeois Médoc


2002 Château Fourcas-Dumont, Listrac-Médoc
Merlot 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Petit Verdot 10%


2006 Heritage du Mayne Lalande, Listrac-Médoc
Château bottled.


2004 Château Le Boscq, Sainte-Estephe, Cru Bourgois Supérieur.


2006 Château Bellevue Chollet, Grand Vin de Bordeaux


2005 Château Labourdette


2008 Vacqueyras, Grand Vin des Côtes du Rhône
Grenache black (at least 50%), Syrah, Mourvèdre (at least 20%) ; other Côtes du Rhône grape varieties , excluding Carignan, maximum 10%.




A few bottles of the redoubtable Berberana Rioja, Now drunk up, requiring me to buy another case.

Plus various Cabernet-Sauvignon and Pinot-Grigot whites, Tesco’s: Prestige et Calvert and Dino.

And finally, a very fine bottle of Masi Costasera Amarone – but that requires a separate post to do it justice.