Weekend Wines

Fish on Friday, and chicken on Saturday with home made baked beans. Not usual fish or chicken
but supermarket substitutions. With them

Friday 17th April

2019 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Private Bin (New Zealand, Marlborough)
Their basic savvie, and deliciously grassy and gooseberry. Just what a Marlborough savvie should be

Saturday 18th April

2013 Beeslaar Pinotage (South Africa, Stellenbosch)

This is the second vintage of Kanonkop winemaker Abrie Beeslaar’s own venture, and my last. It’s made from the top two rows of the vineyard used up to now for Kanonkop’s TWS Exhibition Pinotage. I paid £35 for it in 2017, later that year TWS had it for half the price in a pack of Platter 5 star wines. Current vintage now costs £45 upwards.

Sunday 19th April

Aperitif
2013 Camel Valley Classic Cuvee Brut (England,  Cornwall)

Bought several at the winery, lovely fizz from the classic varieties.

Main Course, Roast Lamb shoulder, roast parsnip, and potatoes, steamed cauliflower, broccoli, carrots. Mint from garden for mint sauce.

1997 Bell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, Texas Hill Country)

Bought at the winery tasting room in Fredericksburg one weekend when I was working in Austin, TX. Probably too old, I’m opening the wines I’ve kept for too long. Last weeks 20 year old was fine, the previous weeks 17 year old was past it and poured away.




As feared, Bell Mountain was past it. Still drinkable but fruit faded past the point where it was enjoyable for us, although we know those who’d like these really old wines.

As standby I had to hand

2014 Esk Valley Winemakers Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon /Malbec (New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay, Gimblett Gravels)

which offered fruit in abundance, and blissfully was closed with a beautiful screwcap. Bell Mountain took ages because the cork first broke, then crumbled resisting extraction with Butlers’ Friend and corkscrew, then the lower bit fell into the bottle with a large amount of cork bits. After filtering this out and then deciding not to drink it, I was glad not to have another cork.

Joan loved the lamb as very tender and sweet; I’d spent ages cutting off fat and sinews so had a different opinion.

Cowslips at Jersey Farm

Another walk under blue skies at Jersey Farm Woodland Park.

There were swathes of cowslips in flower.

Easter Weekend Wines

We decided to order fish’n’chips to be delivered on Friday from Jersey Farm, Fish, Chips & Kebabs  via Deliveroo (which somehow scrambled my house number to a neighbours, so I had to dash out and intercept the deliverer’s moped.)

Anyway, I couldn’t fault my large haddock, nor Joan her cod and each came with a huge amount of chips.

With it we enjoyed

2019 Ara Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand, Marlborough)

 Saturday
2015 Kanonkop Pinotage The Society’s Exhibition (South Africa, Stellenbosch)

Sunday
Aperitif
N.V. Codorníu Cava Selección Raventós Brut (Spain, Cava)
Roast Chicken, roast parsnip & potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli spears, carrots
2000 Cleavage Creek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Secret Reserve (California, Napa Valley)
The great news is that at 20 years it wasn’t too old. Lively red, browning a little, lively fruit, showing maturation but a lovely drink.

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A bit about Cleavage Creek. It was owned by Jeff and Barbara Connor. Jeff told me “Barb’s grandmother is a breast cancer survivor” who developed breast cancer in 1999 and survived thanks to early detection and modern technology.

The Connors were amateur winemakers and they set up the label to support breast cancer charities. The woman on the Cabernet label was a friend of the Connors, and like the women on other labels in the range, a breast cancer survivor.

Cleavage Creek was small production and never sold in the UK but when I contacted Jeff for a label he offered to bring me wines. His full time job was as a United Airlines Captain and next time he flew to London I arranged him to give a tasting to the Central London Wine Society.

The women in the room perked up when Jeff with his first officer and engineer in their smart airline uniforms, with California tans and perfect white teeth came in the room. This bottle was the last one of those he gave me.

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Four Pub Walk

A shortish walk today - the Four Pub walk, via King William Iv, Ancient Briton, Cricketers and Jolly Sailor and an imaginary drink in each.

Interesting that the only one that isn't named after royalty should no longer be a pub...

The cherry trees along Sandridge Road were in flower.

Took a diversion, down beside the railway though this 

and down to Beech Bottom Dyke which was covered in bluebells. Shame the camera doesn't capture their iridescence.

Batchwood Walk

Longish walk in glorious sun and warmth along the footpath over Batchwood Golf Course. Lockdown means no golfers so it's safe to walk, and the bluebells are out in dappled shade of the woods.

Jersey Farm Walk

Twelfth day of lockdown was sunny so we had a walk down to and around Jersey Farm Woodland Park.