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Thursday 8 September 2011

Wine Wednesday 7th September 2011

In attendance: Alex R, Martin, Stephen, James and Amy

It has been a while. Too long in fact, so much so that Wine Wednesday was actually on its namesake day - we just couldn’t wait any longer.  This came as a surprise to most however; Carlos was unable to join us because he had just assumed it would be on a Thursday.    

James was a new addition this week and despite a few faux pas (moving the bread basket out of my reach, asking if I want more wine, telling a slightly dull goat story) he passed the test and can come again. If nothing else he added some much-needed gravitas to Stephen and the sane side of the table. 

To take the heat off James and to get down to serious business we opened the first in this week’s trio of wines, a three year old bottling of Fino Sherry from the Navazos Project, labeled under the ‘La Bota de….’ range. Full bodied, weighty and developed for what tends to be a lighter style on the whole. It offered hints of toasted pine nut with that delightful salty tang on both the nose and palate. Having enjoyed several bottles of Hidalgo’s wonderful La Gitana over recent weeks, La Bota really did show the depth and concentration achievable from one of the world’s most unfashionable wine producing regions!

There was of course, nothing unfashionable about our lunch at The Malting Café. The boys had what they referred to as serious ‘meeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaat’ in the shape of lamb chops with some sort of beans. For some reason, there was no pasta but I had frittata and an amazing avocado and grapefruit salad. More wine was called for and next up was the elegant Finca El Puig 2005, from the Priorat wine region in South West Catalonia. A blend of Grenache, Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon with a subtle touch of Syrah and Merlot added in for good measure. Smooth and rich on the palate, it worked exceptionally well with the lamb chops. This was followed by bags of spice and delicious raspberry flavours on the finish – a definite must for any keen Spanish wine fan.  

Our waitress was lovely. She dealt well with Alex’s request for lamb chop cake for pudding and she also sympathized with me (the only girl in this week’s ‘famous five’): ‘Make sure they don’t take advantage of you’ she conspired. I can handle it, I thought.      

In an attempt to ‘handle’ things I tried to take centre stage, after all I had been on a very interesting holiday and they had all been in the office, or at home or somewhere less interesting than the beautiful Spanish mountains.  I showed my photos.  I looked very cool and not like a goat at all (thank you Alex). 

Having feigned a passing interest in my trip, the boys (rather too) quickly moved the conversation on to how to swat a fruit fly in the style of Karate Kid. I blinked and missed the fly in question and wondered why I was dining with a bunch of lunatics who were widely gesturing with their hands into the air and speaking in funny voices. Once the important insect related business was concluded, we discussed art and film. Alex’s friend is making an art installation with wine crates and he also watched a nice wine film - you can read his blog about it (if you must).

Finally we enjoyed a 2007 Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is barrel fermented using natural yeasts, resulting in an alternative style from mainstream Marlborough. A good food wine, it offered an interesting smoky oak character on the nose with hints of white flowers and herbs - apparently reminiscent of my outfit! The palate had a full, creamy texture with lemon, mandarin and grapefruit character, finishing with clean, balanced acidity. Lip smacking my dear Watson! 
Having promised to bring some wine this week (my boss feels I need to contribute something more than a blog – why!?) and then not, the general consensus was that more Sherry was needed.  José called and off we set. No flowery haired waitress this time, but a nice end to a lovely lunch.  I have missed my Wine Wednesday friends, I am glad we are back. 


Written by Amy Ramage

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