Afternoon Tea With the MW Students

Afternoon tea with friends

To celebrate friends passing stage one of their MW, we got together for afternoon tea; I picked a selection of wines that I hoped would pass muster and headed off.

After sangria and bellinis to start - as one of our party noted, the sangria contains six of your five a day - we moved on to wines that do not benefit from being mixed with fruit.

Chablis Gilbert Picq et Fils 2013 citrus and mineral with concentrated, honeyed-floral old-vine richness - not a sipper, needs some food

2004 Glaetzer Godolphin, Barossa big, jammy, fruit forward Barossa Shiraz fruit bomb; a pumped-up, blue-collar, muscle car hero. Reminds me why I don't go for Barossa Shiraz

Cellier des Princes, Les Hauts du Coteaux, 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape from the "heights of the slopes", this is a fresher CdP than most; plummy-cherry fruit, savouriness and a supple elegance - the substance of the Rhone with the freshness of the Loire, lovely.

Finca Biniagual Veran, Binissalem, Mallorca 2011 a blend of indigenous Manto Negro with Syrah and Cab; red fruits, spice and eucalyptus, soft and rounded texture - the acidity belies the 15.5% alcohol and keeps it all in balance.

Taylor's 10yo Tawny Port figs, raisin and roasted nuts with ripe berries and eucalyptus - a timeless classic.

Castaño Monastrell Tinto, 2009 Yecla, Spain high-altitude red dessert wine from Spains; ripe blackcurranty nose, almost Ribena-esque, yet beautifully balanced and fresh with chocolate-cherry flavours - unusual and unexpected, yet also moreish.

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