Wine of the Week: Blanquette de Limoux

My wine of the week this week was discovered during the recent Tesco Finest Pop Up wine bar in Soho.  It was a fabulous marketing idea and I wish it could have been there for longer than a fortnight but, as I’m sure the staff would attest to, I gave the wine list a good going over whilst it was there.  Who can complain at a sleek bar with bouncers ensuring it doesn’t get too busy and wines on show at between £3-7 a glass? Especially when I tell you that the £7 one was vintage champagne....

I worked out that I tried 15 of the wines on offer and whilst there were a couple of less than great ones (the enigma of a low cost but excellent Chateauneuf-du-Pape remains elusive) I was bowled over by several of them. I have got into the rather short-sighted habit of thinking that it’s not worth drinking anything under £10 a bottle. We’ve all heard the tales about the value of actual wine in the bottle once you’ve accounted for tax, duty, import costs etc. Well, I was wrong. Yes, I will repeat that as it’s a rare day when I admit to it but – I. Was. Wrong.

Wine of the Week: Bobos Finca Casa La Borracha 2013 #WineWednesday

I am of the opinion that Bobal is a seriously underrated grape as are the resulting wines. Google it and you're hard pushed to find more than a handful of examples for sale in the UK despite its reasonable price point and approachable character. Anyway, more on the grape Bobal more generally in an upcoming Wine Grape Challenge post, for today I'm focused on one very particular Bobal that has made it to the top of the pile to be my wine of the week.

Bobos is made by Finca Casa La Borracha, a boutique winery run by three friends of mixed Spanish and Swiss nationality and located in the Utiel Requena area of the Valencia Region on the eastern coast of Spain. La Borracha make a series of wines from their 61 hectares of land all within 500 metres of the winery itself. 

All grapes are handpicked and fermented in 400 litre temperature controlled barrels. This is a high tech bodega with a focus on the highest quality- something that has not traditionally been the norm in the region. 

Chateau de Beaucastel - The Estate

If you had the choice of visiting any of the iconic Southern Rhone vineyards, Beaucastel would surely be close to- if not at the top of- your list. It certainly was mine and if I didn't feel lucky enough already waking to a bright and sunny morning in May then hearing that they only accept a few private visitors each year only served to emphasis my bonhomie. As we bumped down the lengthy drive past field after field of perfectly regimented vines (2m by 2m apart in case you are interested), our path was temporarily blocked by what looked like a tractor on steroids- wheels high above the ground. 

#WineGrapeChallenge 4: Hondarabbi Xuri

For those of the procreating variety half term dawns again and Facebook begins to be filled with humblebragging status updates about the queues at Gatwick or "treating myself to a glass of rose by the pool #blessed". For those of us not off sunning ourselves in foreign climes, knocking back cheap local plonk and thinking it’s the bee’s knees, spring can drag in the city.  Seemingly interminable rain showers make us wonder if summer might never arrive, or worse still has been and gone. Thankfully there has been the odd evening in the last couple of weeks like tonight when we can spend long evenings sat outside bars and restaurants behaving like we’re in the middle of San Sebastian rather than somewhere off Carnaby Street in the middle of Soho with a faint whiff of drains in the air. No matter- a hubbub of chatter and a plentiful supply of tapas can lead me to only one grape this week – Hondarrabi Zuri!

Zelman Meats

A cold, rainy night in central London. Wandering through Soho, we wanted good quality, comforting food without the need to queue in the street or be turned away from venue after venue. Or in other words; meat. In all honesty we were using St Ann's Court as a cut through to get from Dean Street to Whitcomb when we remembered Zelman Meats. Its hard to ignore as you walk past actually, mainly due to the neon sign glowing like a homing beacon to steak lovers.

#WineGrapeChallenge 2: Pedro Ximenez

It would be wrong of me not to dedicated my grape post for this week to Pedro Ximenez considering I've been exploring the wilds of its home, Andalucia. PX is most commonly known as by far the darkest and most syrupy of dessert wines; often cited as a rare match for chocolate dishes or good mainly for pouring on ice cream (although the latter might be a British thing). This is doubtless delicious but feels like what can be a bit of a waste of a better PX. It is true that many of the cheaper versions of PX served up in the UK are of the throat-itchingly cloying variety- lacking in acidity and essentially like attempting to drink liquidised raisins but a good PX can be a thing of beauty- balanced and mellow. If you are interested in how the sweet versions are made Bodegas Robles have a very good pictorial overview here

#WineGrapeChallenge 1: Nosiola

Entry number 1 of what I hope will be 1386.. The beginning of the Jancis 'Wine Grapes' Challenge. If you missed how it began the take a look here.

I promised that I wouldn't start this challenge with something run of the mill and pedestrian. I therefore hope you agree that a dry Nosiola from Trentino fits the bill nicely. Never heard of Nosiola? Nor me......

Starting the #WineGrapeChallenge

1386 different grape varieties. In a possibly ill-advised moment of insouciance I agreed to a challenge as something of a now very belated New year's resolution. To find and drink wines made from each and every one of the grapes featured in Jancis Robinson's bible of oenology; "Wine Grapes". A fit of bravado committed me to the project when the lady herself confirmed via Twitter that she didn't think anyone else had done it before. 

New Year's Resolutions. Hint; they involve a lot of wine.......

Like most people I always sit and think about some well meaning resolutions at the beginning of each new year. Sure, do more exercise, use my juicer more and eat five a day inevitably feature in there somewhere but they aren't very interesting or original are they?

Sat back at work on the first Monday of the year overlooking a grey and dreary West London flyover I've realised that what is needed is more fun so this year I'm adding a few wine based resolutions to the fray. None of them are vital to life, health or general well-being but the first three might just get me through the last one still vaguely sane. Here goes......

1) Blasting Through Bordeaux

I'm  setting myself a challenge to try a first wine from one of each of every of the Cru Classé chateaux of Bordeaux. Couple of caveats attached to this one. Its quite possible that this might take longer than a year just to ensure I'm not declared bankrupt before the end of 2015. Also, I may have to cheat and do some of them retrospectively- I can't imagine many Mouton Rothschild opportunities popping up any time soon.

2) Ringing in the Changes

It doesn't matter whether its a lesser known grape or a wine from an unusual country but there has to be something completely new each month so expect Juhfark from Azerbaijan or some such curiosity. I'm quite conscious that this could result in drinking some truly horrible concoctions but this will surely be tempered by the Bordeaux deliciousness above? I am distinctly tempted to try and find one wine made from every one of the 1368 grapes covered in Jancis Robinson's gargantuan tome "Wine Grapes" so consider that one as a quasi resolution for now - I don't want to bite off more than I can chew/ swallow.

The Mighty Juhfark grape.  Image:  Budai Zoltan Wikipedia Commons

3) Visiting More Wine Regions

Despite being essentially food and wine obsessed, the majority of my "big" holidays seem to result in me being bereft of decent wine for extended periods of time; the Arctic, Namibia and Sri Lanka being cases in point. 2015 is hereby decreed to be the year of the wine based minibreak. Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Priorat and many others in between; I'm coming to get you!

Hospices de Beaune, Burgundy. Photo: Stefan Bauer, http://www.ferras.at (wikimedia Commons)

4) Getting the Diploma Done

After getting WSET 3 out of the way in 2014 I had mulled it over and decided to take a break from studying in 2015 rather than plunging straight into the diploma. Cue a long break over Christmas and the realisation that I'm never going to get less busy so maybe I should bite the bullet. To cut to the chase I'm signing up to start the distance learning version of the course. Two years of study, swilling, spitting (occasionally swallowing!) scribbling and sweating ahead of me but I think it will be worth it.

If I'm going to be doing this via distance learning then I'm going to need as much support and advice as possible from all you clever clogs' out there who have already completed it or who are undertaking it too as well as lots of tasting opportunities. Consider this a plea for any help and advice!

There. Its all down in writing now so I can't escape. If anyone fancies joining in on any of the above escapades let me know.......

London House - NOW CLOSED

After a couple of years of sticking to casual dining and gastropub openings and following a battering in the headlines about mass produced microwave style meals, Gordon Ramsay is back with a proper restaurant and I liked it very much. I wonder whether it is no coincidence that he has opened it practically on his own doorstep in Battersea. After all its a market he must know very well. The site on the corner of Battersea Square has been something of a curse for the last decade. Many moons ago it was All Bar One then it languished void for ages before Bentley's moved in and redesigned the interior. That didn't last long either leading to another long period of emptiness. Its a shame as its a great site overlooking the square and only a hop and a skip from the river but the problem is that it is huge inside.

Here's hoping for Mr Ramsay that this one has some staying power - lord knows he could do with a success after a few years of bad news. Then again, it should succeed, it follows a very obvious template in the form of nearby Chez Bruce, a restaurant that the staff confirmed Ramsay frequents and somewhere that he took his core team in advance of London House opening. If it aint broke don't fix it I guess. There is plenty of money in the area for a good quality classic restaurant and as its been full practically every night since opening without a big PR fanfare then it must be working. 

Bread and butter are a simple but effective yardstick of a good restaurant for me; attention to detail and all that. At London House warm soft brown bread comes served in a nifty little hessian mock flour sack with a hidden compartment of warm wheat to keep the bread warm. Butter is both salted and softened; full marks so far...

One of many parallels that you can draw between the Chez Bruce/La Trompette/Glasshouse etc stable of restaurants and London House establishes itself. They all follow the three course fixed price model (£35 in the evening and £28 at lunch) and offers a similar style of modern British cooking focused on local ingredients. Such a style is arguably more Phil/Bruce than it is Gordon. The strategy to emulate their template becomes clear when you see the resumes of Irish chef Anna Haugh Kelly (who worked at The Square) and restaurant manager Paul Halliwell who was formerly of both La Trompette and the Glasshouse in Kew. 

I ordered the crab tortellini with seafood broth to see if it measured up to the Medlar classic

Completely different, they can't really be compared, as the broth is deeply savoury and flavoured and consommé clear; very well executed. The tortellini was filled with crab and scallop and soft as a pillow but a little over dominated by a pronounced lemon thyme flavour. 

Saintsbury Chardonnay was an excellent foil for the inordinately good chicken wings- a creamy malolactic richness fought back against the grease and spice of the wing coating.

Pork head croquettes matched with Gruner Veltliner from Schloss Gobelsurg were a less winning combination. A nose of distinct pear drops and rather too much acidity on the palate left the wine feeling distinctly unbalanced even despite the fatty croquettes and rich quail egg yolks.

Beef with braised shin potato gnocchi was perfection - well flavoured and seasoned meat, a deeply savoury sauce reduction and soft, springy gnocchi pan fried to a crisp. 

Venison with braised puy lentils was equally well executed. A perfectly rectangular, buttery soft fondant potato nestled in the corner of the dish. The problem with such well fashioned dishes is that they leave you wanting more. 

Perhaps the answer is that I'm just greedy (that wouldn't come as any great surprise to many) but the main course portions - and in particular the venison- were a little on the small side. I didn't leave hungry but I wasn't exactly stuffed. 


I have been increasingly keen on Lebanese red blends over the last few months so jumped on one I had never had before on the wine list. Lebanese Chateau Marsyas is more full bodied and powerful than other Bekaa Valley red blends like Musar and Ka with a heightened spiciness that worked well with all our dishes.  

Rum baba was soaked in Havana 7 year old dark rum and served with boozy steeped raisins. I have never knowingly said no to a rum baba. It might not be the most complex of dishes but by god are they good when made well and this one was. 

Chocolate tart served with jerusalem artichoke ice cream was as smooth and cloying as you might hope it to be but it was the Jerusalem artichoke ice cream that shone as the star of the dish and would definitely be copied in my kitchen if it wasn't for the fact that I bet it is a real fiddle to make. It's bad enough preparing an artichoke let alone then getting the intensity of flavour into an ice cream. I'm impressed. 

Nougatine was well made with a nice sharp coulis but not my cup of tea when either rum or chocolate are on offer. 

It was only on the way out that I noticed the bar. Its more of a lounge than a bar with a big open fire and fat welcoming sofas. The cocktail list is comprehensive and its definitely worth a visit regardless of whether you're dining.

I hope very much that London House will become a neighbourhood favourite on what has been a tricky site for over a decade. 

8/10

London House
7-9 Battersea Square, London. SW11
0207 5928545

Sager & Wilde

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have what could be described as a 'slightly' irrational fear of East London. It all stems back to two incidents almost a decade ago, one where I was stupid enough to wear heels on New Year's Eve in Hoxton, sprained my ankle on the way there and spent the evening sat with my foot in a bucket of ice whilst people talked over my head and the second being a rather nasty "you're not cool enough to be here" type slur in a bar that shall remain nameless. The upshot was that I was left thinking, sod you East London, you're a devil to get to from South West London anyway and London's a big old place with plenty to do and see. 

It is therefore a rare gem that can attract me across the threshold of the Borough of Tower Hamlets and Sager & Wilde is that gem. Following a former acclaimed pop-up site,  Charlotte and Michael Sager- Wilde opened their eponymous wine bar in late August 2013 to a steady flow of positive press. Wine tasting buddies S, Z & A have been waxing lyrical about it for so long that I finally took a deep breath and headed East. 

Food is not the primary focus here but that didn't stop all the morsels that crossed our table from being excellent. It is more about the wine though. I would challenge anyone to find a more well rounded list of wines by the glass in London. Yes, there are places that do lots by the glass but you are usually fighting your way through a tide of mediocrity to dig out a winner. Here they are all good.  It is evident that each one has been selected with such care and attention that you're unlikely to ever pick a dud. The four of us decided early on that a definite strategy was required in working our way through the list without falling over.

I kicked off with a fizzy number. A sparkling Surrey Brut Sugrue Pierre 2010 was an experience. It definitely lived up to its "Brut" label being mouth numbingly dry before bursting into ripe citrus juiciness. All in all not dissimilar to sherbet and a palate enlivening start to proceedings. Considering that Swig are currently retailing it for a rather hefty £49 a bottle, £8.50 a glass seemed very reasonable indeed and you can take all wines away from S&W for a tenner less than the bar price so in this case I could have taken it home for £37. Decanter gave it 97/100 if that's your preferred yardstick. 

The best adjective I could find to describe the Viognier from Francois Villard (Contours de Deponcins 2011) was 'pretty'. That doesn't seem like anywhere near an adequate enough description so I will try and elaborate. So fragrant with a nose and palate of white peaches and a little citrus zing followed by a  fairly lengthy aftertaste reminiscent of jasmine tea. There, is that better? It was a true glugger and on a summer's afternoon a bottle could easily disappear without pause for thought. 

Willi Schaefer's 2009 Riseling Kabinett from Graacher Himmelreich was a model of a beautifully made German Riesling. The classic, tell tale - petrol/vinyl/new carpet aroma was all there (it is a good thing honestly, just go with me on this one!) and the off dry sweetness partnered with a refreshing acidity just left you wanting more, and more, and more ad infinitum. 

The 2008 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru from Domaine de Montille was sumptuous in its creaminess but boasted a chilled, refined, purity of fruit. A sure fire indicator of how much I like a wine in a restaurant is whether I try and buy it for myself and a quick scan of Wine Searcher left me disappointed as I couldn't find anywhere in the world stocking this in and only somewhere in France with the 2007 so if I want any I'm going to have to hot foot it back to S&W. 

Picture borrowed from S&W website as my pic was awful so copyright is theirs. Its usually lots more full. I'm at the table bottom right. Can't see me? I'm there!

Wines that I didn't have a glass of but stole a gulp of included a very good indeed a 2004 Swartland GSM from Sequillo by Eben Sadie, a 2012 Macon from Uchizy Talmard and a 2005 Volnay from Domaine des Comtes Lafon. All were highly praised. 

The peak of my aforementioned 'strategy' was going to be a glass of 1998 Chateau d'Yquem, a snip at £14.50. Unfortunately the bottle was a bit of a dud (I felt just as bad for them as I did for me, how annoying to waste what should be such a lovely bottle) so I swapped my Yquem for a glass of Rioja Gran Reserva '890' by La Rioja Alta (1998).  Tasting very developed, it had moved distinctly through to secondary characters of leather and a lot of meat influences but there was certainly some life in the old dog yet and the classic characteristics of some dark cherries with a little spice thrown in were all still present. Smooth drinking but with elegant tannins, the Rioja turned out to be an excellent foil for a cheese board of Reblochon, Shropshire Blue and Comte all served with some surprising sweet but yummy cauliflower flatbreads and quince jelly.

By the way, I'm absolutely NOT allowed to mention that the grilled cheese sandwiches are really both very gooey and delicious and very reasonably priced, apparently it would be best kept a secret so shhhhhhhhh! (sorry S).  Also on offer are various sliced charcuterie bits and bobs and olives/nuts etc. 

My only criticism of the whole place would be that the red list was quite Pinot Noir heavy on the day that I went but then again I'm totally aware that I'm a minority in not appreciating its subtle charms.   Oh, that and the hipster chap sat in the corner wearing a woollen, yellow hat that looked like a giant prophylactic which was a little disarming but that's East London for you....

Look, I was even sober enough to take an in-focus photo on the way out (even if there is a weird blue bit in the shot.....)

Will I go back? Wild horses couldn't stop me and I'm maybe even not scared of East London any more. I'm a little bit devastated that I didn't try the n'duja on toast though but all the more reason for an imminent return. 

Sager & Wilde

193 Hackney Road, London. E2 8JL

 

Zeal Two Step Waiter's Friend Corkscrew

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to take the time to resolve the small, seemingly insignificant obstacles in life that annoy me to an unnecessary degree but ought not to. You know the sort of things I mean, those loops they put in clothes to 'help' hang them up but which stick out when you're wearing them- snip them out. Never having a friend's address to hand when you need it because you haven't saved it into your phone and its on a bit of paper at home - spend an hour programming them all in. Small changes that make every day life a little easier.

It's not often that I post on here about gadgets and home ware but one little wine gadget has made such a New Year's change to my wine drinking that I thought I'd share.

People have always (rather unreasonably in my opinion) scoffed at my complete inability to use a waiter's friend to open wine. I could never quite get the leverage or the strength to pull the cork all the way out without using a big double armed creation and I always ended up feeling like a lemon having to ask a 'big strong man' to do it for me. No more, my friends, no more…..

 

Some little genius has come up with the Two Stepped Waiter's Friend Corkscrew  so that the levery bit (that's a technical term by the way) which you lean on the glass bottle rim is stepped. You use the longer one whilst the cork is further in and then switch to the shorter one once its half way out. For around seven pounds its a game changer. 

 I realise there's a significant chance that I may be coming to the party rather late on this one and preaching to the converted as since I bought mine I have seen others on offer (from Le Creuset and Vacuvin although at well over double the price) but it was a complete revelation to me. Add to the fact that mine is pink and I'm very happy indeed (you don't have to have a pink one by the way!)

The people ("The Hardware Place") that I bought it from via Amazon were also utterly lovely, I ordered it on Boxing Day and received a personal email confirming my colour choice and that it would be posted the following day, now that is service! 

So, who's for wine?

Chinese Wine: 2009 Changyu Golden Valley Ice Wine, Gold Diamond Label, Liaoning

So Chinese wine. Those two words in combination are not something that would usually get the pulse of your average oenophile racing. Admittedly when I think of China I don't automatically bring to mind a great drink producing nation.  My last experience of local Chinese alcohol was on a trip to Beijing involving near lethal shots of jaw-shudderingly awful "baiju" sorghum spirit ultimately leading to an incident involving a pole dancing pole in a bar in Sanlitun and a skull-splitting hangover the following day. Call me small minded but memories like these don't engender warmth and excitement about other Chinese drinks.

That said, China does have some pedigree when it comes to wine production.  Archaeologists believe that grape wine has been drunk and also made in China for over 4000 years.  What was made was generally for domestic consumption with over 90% of locally produced wine remaining in China. There is no geological reason why China can't produce great wine. Partly due to the sheer size of the country, so many climates are covered within its borders. The diversity of it's landscape and soils provide further opportunities for variation. 

Berry Bros have received a lot of publicity over the last couple of months or so due to their decision to introduce four Chinese wines to their regular stock list. What drew more attention still was the fact that, of the four wines, three are ice wines, perhaps surprising considering around 80% of wine produced in China is red.  Plenty of cynics have suggested that this move is to curry favour with an increasing number of their Chinese clientele thereby indirectly questioning whether these wines are really that good or if there is an ulterior motive for stocking them. Either that or they are on to the next big thing and kudos to them for being brave enough to take the step. 

Due to my ongoing love affair with sweet wine, I'm always going to be intrigued by a new dessert wine so set out in quest of a bottle. Oddly enough despite the publicity back in March, Berry's didn't actually have any of the 4 wines in stock. All are being sold "en primeur" despite the fact they are bottled and ready to go. but despite originally quoting June arrival Berry's still don't have stock apparently. They are also only selling in half cases of 6 bottles which is interesting. Personally I would be minded to try all of them if they were on sale by the bottle, if only for the novelty, but I'm not prepared to risk a punt on 6 bottles each of unknown stuff not due for another few months. Sort it out BBR!

Luckily there are others in the UK that do have stock albeit not at a retail level. Berkmann Cellars have some in stock now and have supplied to Medlar in Chelsea which is where I have tasted a glass and subsequently a whole bottle of the 2009 Changyu Golden Valley Ice Wine, Gold Diamond Label, from Liaoning.

Liaoning is a province right up in the north of China bordering onto North Korea. Nestled between the Nulu'erhu mountains towards the Mongolian border in the West and Changbai Shan and Qianshan mountain ranges to the East, the winelands are in a flat valley irrigated by the Liao river which flows through the province. The region is considered to have a monsoon climate with significant rains during the summer and dry weather for much of the rest of the year but, critically for ice wine, temperatures of down to -7c in the winter. 

The "gold diamond label" (they're not one for underselling their wines, are they?!) is made from the third press of the grapes and is therefore the lightest and consequently least costly option. Served in a tall, narrow, hand blown bottle it looks different right from the off.

Made of from Vidal (a blend of Ugni blanc and Rayon d'Or), the style is not incomparable with a light Canadian Ice Wine however, both the novelty of the wine and the more attractive price point make this a goer in my eyes. 

Colour-wise it is almost the colour of apricot skins, mainly a light orange with slight pinky shades. Deliciously fragrant on the nose (expect tropical fruits), it follows through and delivers on the palate too. Balanced by a good acidity to temper the sweet, slightly viscous texture. Whilst bearing the expected honeyed citrus there is also an unusual but pleasant underlying light smoky tone which I hadn't expected.

An excellent match for fruit desserts but equally delightful sipped on its own and would be lots of fun to subject  people to in a blind tasting were you so cruelly minded!

Listed at Berry's now for £79.38 for 6 half bottles in bond en primeur.

Klein Constantia: Vin de Constance

When people use the term "new world", it can deceptively make you think of a recent comer to the table, somewhere with comparatively youthful experience of viticulture.  Certainly that was the misconception in my mind before visiting South Africa. Bear in mind that Klein Constantia was first planted in the late 1600s. Vin de Constance was revered throughout the 18th and 19th centuries by many of Europe's top leaders and politicians being reputedly the favourite wine, ironically, of both Napolean and Nelson, the former allegedly requesting it on his deathbed. Even Jane Austen gave it a name check in Sense and Sensibility and Dickens in one of his unfinished novels. Not many vineyards can make that sort of claim to fame. 

In the late 1800s an attack of phylloxera left the vineyard in ruins and little production took place until 1980 when the vineyard was purchased by Dougie Jooste and by 1986 the new Vin de Constance was being bottled.

Although its popularity quickly peaked again, its literary associations are perhaps now slightly less salubrious, recently namechecked in the infamous "Fifty Shades of Grey" (so I'm told...... )

I first visited the vineyard in 2010 not having really heard of Vin de Constance other than on the occasional restaurant wine list. My knowledge of South African wine in general was pretty shoddy and limited to the dreaded Kumala or similar in the supermarket. Located in the wealthy neighbourhood of Constantia a half hour drive outside of Cape Town, the vineyard is home to 82 hectares of vines as well as a tasting room for visitors and close by to Groot Constantia and Constantia Uitsig (both also worth a visit whilst you're in the area). Its a beautiful and peaceful place to visit will rolling vineyards as far as the eye can see and when we arrived a gentle mist was being burnt off the valley by the morning sun.

The range of wines available includes a premium range of white and red (predominantly sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon) as well as the standard estate wines and even a sparkling MCC totalling 10 offerings in all. 

Those that I tasted were all pleasant, although my slightly hazy recollection is perhaps due to the fact they were living in the shadow of the great Vin de Constance. In fact two other KC wines in addition to VdeC were awarded a maximum 5 star rating by SA Wine guru John Platter the year I visited; the Perdeblokke Sauvignon Blanc and the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon so are most likely excellent as in my experience Platter knows his grapes.

The sheer number of vineyards visited over three weeks in South Africa meant that many of the wines and tasting rooms tried and visited blurred into one. Whilst the majority of wines were of good quality, only a handful of wines stood out as things I needed in my life. Meerlust Rubicon being one, Toren Fusion V another and then Vin de Constance. As I stood in the tasting room with a series of glasses balanced on an upturned oak barrel hearing about the muscat de Frontignan grapes that go into it, how the wine is made leaving the already shrivelled grapes to macerate a few more days after picking from the vine and the make up of the terroir, I took my first sip of what remains one of my favourite sweet wines. Rich, intensely golden amber colour, honey and apricot on the nose, marmalade with a little caramel on the palate, slight oiliness slicking your teeth but enough acidity to keep it balanced. Its just crying out for a slice of apple pie!

So that was then. Over the following two years I had bought the occasional bottle as a treat or for a special occasion but hadn't laid any down. Towards the end of November 2012 Robert Parker's team retasted the 2007 and upped its score to 97 points - the highest score ever awarded to a South African wine. Love him or hate him, just the name Parker tends to send demand for wines rocketing and this time was no exception. 

Although until the middle of last year most vintages were retailing at the circa £25 mark, the revised Parker score focused attention on the vineyard and the 2007 and it is now not only hard to come by but when you can get it its closer to the £35 a bottle mark. With excellent prospects for cellaring- I've been told by more than one person that 40 years + would be perfectly reasonable- I've added a case to my cellar.

I have heard that the vineyard is planning the imminent release of a new drink "the Spirit of Constance" which may be venturing into the territory of a grappa style spirit. Whilst the new ownership and the more recent merger with Anwilka in Stellenbosch clearly spell exciting times ahead for the vineyard, I hope that it doesn't lose its focus on the beautiful wine that is Vin de Constance.

From my perspective Baudelaire was closest to the mark with his analogy of Vin de Constance when, in "Les Fleurs du Mal" he said .“Je préfère au Constance, à l'opium, au nuits,L'élixir de ta bouche où l'amour se pavane; Quand vers toi mes désirs partent en caravane,Tes yeux sont la citerne où boivent mes ennuis.”

Hawksmoor Wine Club: Yquem & Apple Pie

I can't remember how old I was when I first heard of Chateau Yquem. Along with a Chanel handbag it was one of those things I somehow inherently knew I wanted. I do have vivid memories of hunting for it in supermarkets on French beach holidays as a teenager and only once finding it  (in hindsight 680 francs was probably a bargain for a full sized bottle but seemed a crazy fortune at the time!)

Yquem is one of the few white wine chateaux to have reached a level of name recognition and mythical status to rival its Bordeaux neighbours such as Lafite, Pétrus or Margaux.   Clichéd phrases involving "nectar" and "liquid gold" are regularly bandied about in the tumultitude of articles on the subject.  

I'm not going to bore you with the basics of Yquem (botrytis, semillon, sauvignon etc etc) and leave it to someone much more qualified. For more of the story behind both Yquem the wine and the chateau and also some fabulous photography I can't recommend Richard Olsen's book Yquem enough, he knows much more about it than I can ever hope to.  So back to actually drinking the stuff and the evening I popped my Yquem cherry.... 

Hawksmoor have founded a wine club with the intention of offering amazing and often otherwise inaccessible-to-mere-mortals wines by the glass accompanied by a suitable dish.

So last week I was pretty excited to head on over to Seven Dials for an apple pie and a glass of Yquem for £22. Now there may be some of you out there who think that £22 still sounds like a totally nuts price to pay for what is essentially a cake and a glass of wine. Contrary to popular opinion amongst those nearest and dearest to me, I'm not living in cloud cuckoo land. It is a lot to pay unless you're really into wine. Bear in mind that only a few days later I was in another London restaurant who were offering the same Yquem, same year, same everything for £48 a glass. Without the pie. Imagine that.

The wine in question was a 1998 Yquem served in half bottles of which they had bought in a few (reputedly from Roberson but not 100% sure). Anyway so onto the wine itself. Golden in the glass leaving a pattern of rivulets swirling around the glass from the sweetness. I could sit and smell it for ages were I not such an impatient creature. Pure sweet honeyed olfactory blast. 

Enough acidity to prevent the wine cloying in the mouth and to stand up to the relative sharpness of the apples in the tarte. The comparative youth has meant that the more detailed fruity notes still remain. The botrytis in this bottle has permitted a super sweet concentration but  without erring too much towards the slightly bitter, petrol note that can creep in. In short, a nicely balanced wine.  

The lovely, lovely Hawksmoor chaps even gave me a second taste from a different bottle (just checking consistency within the vintage, totally necessary y'know how it is.....)  If this event was anything to go by, I can't wait to see what other Hawksmoor wine events are coming up.

So was it everything that I hoped and dreamed of, this elusive Elysian liquid? Yes.  I'm left with an expensive problem however; I want more.

Roberson are currently selling the 1998 for less than £100 for a half bottle, it'll keep for decades. Go on, you know you want to

Oh yes and the pie was very nice too.....

Hawksmoor Seven Dials

11 Langley St, London, Greater London WC2H 9JG