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.