Burn's Night, whisky, claret and all.

In true Sasanach style, we decided last week to take Burn's Night and Anglicize it.
It turned into a great opportunity to break bread with good friend's.

I used the occasion, to open a few bottles of wine that I had bought En Primer, in 2007. We started the evening with a couple of glasses of Sloe Gin and Fizz, that went down far to well.

The creamy fish, cullen skink soup starter, was served with a magnum of Talmard, a white Burgundy from the Macon-Village appellation. The straw colour went right to the rim and the legs were medium fast.
One diner correctly guessed it was 13% volume, beating me!

The Butterscotch and Cantaloupe Melon nose,with maybe just a hint of nettle, gave way to yet more Melons on the initial taste. This developed further into dessert pears,with a touch of oak. The party agreed that it was velvety smooth and very nice.

Chablis Premier Cru, the ultimate sacrifice.

If I am honest, it was a panic selection. My wife had cooked a nice meal and when I posed the question, "shall I get us some water?" the reply left me in no doubt.
Off I went, to the wine cellar, with little time on my side. I had to select a bottle befitting the nice meal. When I came across this Chablis, I looked at the vintage and thought it should be used sooner rather than later.

Back at the dinner table, with the cork out and glasses poured, I then had a chance to see that this really was a good bottle. Crafted even, with it's golden lemon colour that stretches all the way to the rim. The intoxicating perfume of pear and lemon zest melded with struck flint.

Planeta, Sicilian wine at it's best.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to have a private tasting with one of the Planeta cousins.
Francesca Planeta came to the College , looking very chic, with cases of bottles from the family estates.

He had also brought some of the finest olive oil from Sicily. I brought out some fresh bread from the kitchen for dipping, while bottles were uncorked and introductions were made.

Francesca explained that two of his cousins and himself, had a dream to make the family estate in Sambuca, produce great wine. The estate had been in the Planeta family for some four hundred years.
Their mission was to match the perfect soil, with the perfect grape variety, creating perfection along the way.

I brought out a Planeta Syrah, 2001 from the Cellar and was gratified to see Francesca practically genuflect in awe. He went on to say that up until now, this bottle was his family's greatest triumph.

The family have won award after award, they have gone on to buy more and more land around Sicily, adding more grape varieties. It sounded like they were making offers no-one could refuse.

wine from the supermarket, this week Sainsburys

 This week, whilst wandering down the Sainsbury's wine aisle, my eye was caught by a nice little offer. Two Cote du Rhône, for the price of £12.00. The wine is stupidly young to drink, but for those with a wine rack under the stairs (or bigger) it is a good idea to buy a few.

The wine comes from the South of the Rhône region and is made with a quartet of grapes. The percentages of differing grapes varies from year to year, but the quality and taste they endeavour to keep the same. 2011 was a good year for the Rhône region, so this is worth buying in to.

Muscadet and fish-pie.

After a busy week, we planned a nice family meal on Saturday evening. I was on kiddy duty,out walking the dog, when it started to snow.

Cutting the walk short,we headed home, I asked the kids what they fancied for lunch and dinner.
Home made pizza was the call for lunch and "fish for tea" came out-of-the-bag. I managed to mauver this to a fish pie. So while the kids did their homework, I cooked Pizza and Fish.

Dare I say it, but both went down very well.

The natural accompliant to the fish pie,was a Muscadet Servre et Maine, I bought a few years ago, from Haywood Bros, London.

wine from the supermarket, this week Co-op

Thursday night, on a whim, we elected to have a Chinese take-away. It had been a bitty day, with loads going on. I had a chilled bottle of Vouvray in the fridge, from the Co-op and that clinched it.

The bottle in the fridge, was from the Domaine des Perruches, which is located in Vernou, near Vouvray, in the Loire. It is made with the Chenin Grape, which some years is joined by a smidgen of  the Arbois grape.

The colour is a clear pale yellow,with a little youth showing around the rim. The nose is gentle, clean and slightly chalky. I got hints of Chamomile and soft lemon too.

Jesus comes with good news.

I employed a Spanish guy for a few years, called Jesus. The J is pronounced as a H, and before I lose my audience of wine buffs, there is a wine connection.
He was the best person I have ever employed, hard working, loyal and he laughed at my jokes too.
What more could you ask?  He now lives in Norway and recently got back in touch asking to meet up.
I was in Oxford, at one of the Colleges, on a particular Saturday before Christmas. We had arranged to meet there and when the taxi pulled up and decanted Jesus and his girlfriend, they

wine from the supermarket, this week Waitrose

Feeling the need to stock-up on quality groceries, we took a picturesque drive through part of the Cotswold's, to Waitrose. I have expressed my bias before, so I won't justify my preference. 

The wine I have chosen this week, is a Beaujolais. It comes from an area in France, south of Burgundy and north of Rhone, where the wines are made with Gamay grapes.