Late Summer Sipping

Two whites for late-summer sipping

As we move into late summer, the evenings get cooler even on a hot day; sitting out in the garden can mean repositioning several times to follow the patch of sun as it sets more quickly than a few weeks earlier.

These two white are light enough for summer drinking, but have a bit more warmth and substance; Les Jamelles produce consistently good wines mixing, as befits their origins, Burgundian elegance with New World fruit and precision; this vintage won a silver medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2017.

Château Toutigeac is new to me, but the increasing quality of white Bordeaux is not; warmer than the Loire and with the ability to blend grape varieties, white Bordeaux shows variety around a theme of freshness and substance.

Les Jamelles Viognier 2016 (£6.99, Co-op) honeysuckle, sweet spices and ripe yellow stone fruit, with a freshness and minerality. Long, warming and adept.

Good.

Bordeaux Blanc Château Toutigeac (£7.99, Bordeaux-Undiscovered) a blend of Sauvignon and Semillon with a dash of Muscadelle, it is fresh, slightly floral and musky with citrus, white and yellow stone fruit, good structure and mineral underpinnings. A beautifully crafted wine.

Good and good value.

This wine also features in the Everyday Bordeaux offering.

Lancaster Bomber Ale

Marston's Lancaster Bomber Ale

A relative received a year's supply of beer for taking part in an event - not a bad result.

His first delivery was several cases of Marston's Lancaster Bomber ale; it proved a little devisive with other members of the family, so he asked me to sample it and give an opinion.

I was only too happy to oblige.

A multi-award winning, classic English ale, it is chestnut in colour with a lovely full-bodied flavour, enriched with a wonderful late hop character - so says the website and it's hard to disagree with any of that.

Darker, richer and weightier than a lager, it is still mid-weight at 4.4% alcohol and with just a balancing sweetness.

Lancaster Bomber Amber-chestnut, with complex biscuity floral aromas; rich, full-flavoured and hoppy with fruitcake flavours. Clean, balanced and refreshing.

Good.

Match with pubby dishes, like steak and ale pie or roast beef.

Tour de Belfort - Malbec Grand Vin 2011

An aged bottle of Tour de Belfort's Grand Vin

I've been a fan of Eugene Lismonde's Tour de Belfort wines since I first tried them - they are superbly well made, with a combination of elegance, complexity and southern warmth.

The Grands Vins have always struck me as way too young to drink and, although I had been drawing out a case, the time had come to try the last one.

At six years old, it is still youthful and the only signs of age are that it does not require extensive aeration even to start opening up.

Youthful, primary and really only just ready for drinking now, it still has years ahead of it. And 2011 was not even a particularly good year in France.

Tour de Belfort Malbec Grand Vin 2011 dark plum, elderberry and black cherry fruit with pencil shavings, spice and freshness; inky and supple with excellent underpinnings and absolutely no rough edges - this is wine-making of the highest order. Youthful, vibrant and energetic.

Very Good.

High Tea At The Maid's Head Norwich

Presidential high tea at The Maid's Head Hotel, Norwich

On a site dating back almost 1,000 years, the Maid's Head hotel has played host to Queen Elizabeth I, The Black Prince and Catherine of Aragon.

Lo-frills accommodation this is not.

I chose it as the venue for my Presidential high tea before our ICAEW East Anglia annual dinner for a number of reasons, least of which were the convenience and the fact that the owner is also a fellow Chartered Accountant.

The building has a real sense of history and character; it is full of great stories which David Chaplin told as we drank fizz from Tour de Belfort, made by his father-on-law and attacked the finger buffet of sandwiches and cakes before we moved on to the cathedral.

 

Norwich Cathedral, which overlooks the hotel, is an 800-year-old building with a behavioural, rather than commercial purpose, was the venue for my final address as President of Chartered Accountants East Anglia - details here.

For more about The Maid's Head Hotel, see: http://maidsheadhotel.co.uk/

Tesco Christmas in July

A tasting of Tesco Christmas wines - in July

Sometimes the snow comes down in June
- Save The Best For Last, Vanessa Williams

What could be more Christmassy than a steaming hot day in July?

Fortunately, to set the Christmas scene, Tesco had arranged a walk through a (slightly disorientating) magical winterland.

The general impression of most of these wines was pleasant enough, perhaps a little underwhelming - which is no mean feat for a large supermarket at this price range.

However, a range of under-the-table Italians plus a couple of dessert wines at the end proved worthy of searching out.

Fizz

A Blanquette de Limoux and, new to me, a Pignoletto; both fresh, elegant and pleasant.

Whites

With a Maconnais Burgundy, an Aussie chardie from Yarra and a d'Arenberg white blend (zippy Sauvignon and Riesling with waxy Marsanne and Rousanne), these were again all pleasant, with the New World wines being perhaps the more accomplished.

Reds

Again, a broad range of styles from a light, cherryish Burgundy from Mercurey, an harmonious cherry-and-spice Aussie Pinot from Yarra, a fuller Ripasso, a more-summery bbq d'Arenberg GSM blend.

The Italian Job

Of more interest was a trio of Italian wines, all at £9 before seasonal offers, that held together more convincingly:

Tesco Finest Greco Beneventano ripe orchard and melon fruit; fresh with some richness and length.

Tesco Finest Falanghina fresh and citrussy with orchard fruit and good length

Tesco Finest Aglianico smokey prunes, some gaminess, dark chocolate and mocha, spice; harmonious and balanced with some firmness

The stickies

However, the cherry on top was two ridiculously good value dessert wines that should not be saved for Christmas.

Tesco finest* Dessert Sémillon 37.5cl (£6) made by de Bortoli, this warm-climate sticky has roasted peaches,beeswax, roasted spices, savouriness and extensive botrytis. A really impressive, complex and classy full-on dessert wine at an amazing price.

Good.

Match with treacle tart, mince pies and blue cheese.

Tesco finest* 10 Year Old Tawny Port 75cl (£12) from the excellent Symington family, this has everything a tawny should; cherries, eucalyptus and freshness. Complex and substantial.

Good.

Christmas pudding in a glass, match with mince pies, Christmas pudding or hard yellow cheese.