Ugaba Stellenbosch 2006
Sounding like a Vic Reeves’ Shooting Stars comedic expletive is not normally a criterion by which I evaluate whether to buy a wine, but somehow this just grabbed my attention on a recent visit to Majestic, Leeds.
South Africa is a bit of a blind spot in my wine rack and I occasionally have to remind...
Hardy’s Varietal Range Chardonnay 2007
It is all too easy to be sniffy about the major wine brands when you’ve had your nose in the books of Parker and Robinson. But have you tried anything from Chilean producer Concha y Toro lately? Or the sub brands Cono Sur and Casillero del Diablo? Interesting stuff and generally high quality, but in the UK, I remember...
What a twit
Yes, you guessed it - sigh. You can now follow me on twitter @tiptoptaps.
Bollinger Grande Année 1999
I am not the sort of person to waste money on a premium product unless I see real value. Vintage Champagne is rarely, if ever, in my wine rack, but this is because I have never really thought it worth extra. In January, I spotted a bottle of 1999 Bolly at only £58 and that included...
Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon Bella Vista Reserve 1994
My good mate, Easto, came over for a barbecue at the weekend and brought a bottle he had stored for too many years (or so he thought).
Having recently bought into my two fundamental theories of life:
a) that wine should be drunk at the right temperature; and
b) that your best wine should be drunk and not...
Bellingham 2007 Bernard Chenin Blanc
I have a lot of respect for Stuart Pearce. I liked him as manager of Man City although clearly he was not experienced enough at the time. For the last couple of years he has been preparing England Under 21s for the European Cup. We were clearly the best side in the tournament with the...
Les Arbousiers 2008
Think of a long, lazy, boozy summer lunch in the south of France and you think of rosé. Well I do.
Les Arbousiers, Coteaux du Languedoc 2008 arrived from Virgin Wines in exchange for 699 of the 2,899 pennies kindly refunded to me after returning a dodgy bottle to Costco.
It is the colour of smoked salmon. ...
Italian Freemasons nobble me in Manchester
Italian wines are often accused of being over-tannic. I guess that is a matter of opinion but I woke up with a headache this morning.
Last night I had the pleasure of attending my first Wine Society event, an informal tasting within the impressive architecture of the Freemason’s Hall on Bridge Street. Such things clearly need...
Fung Shing, London Chinatown
I’ve heard many reports of London Chinatown’s demise. Shame when Manchester’s equivalent is thriving so well. I found myself in The Big Smoke on business with nothing better to do than check out the rumours, so I selected a random place on Lisle Street just behind Leicester Square.
I browsed through a surprisingly interesting wine list...
Tin Shed Wild Bunch Riesling 2004
Most successful software is never the real deal until version 3. This is the version that appeases the early, and even late majority, and therefore wins the market. I have just downloaded the 3.0 operating system for my iPhone and it was worth the wait.
OS 2.0 had holes the size of moon craters. If you own...
Wine Wipes
Once in a while comes along an idea that is so patently brain numbingly stupid, it is brilliant.
If there were a Darwin Awards for marketing, or a Gordon Brown award for bad timing, you would be hard pushed to find an entry that could stand proudly within 10 feet of Wine Wipes.
In the middle of the greatest...
Fitzroy Dolls, Hotel Russell, London
Hotel restaurants always give me a slight sinking feeling. Reminders of 1980s boil in the bag meals; they always smell of stale cooking, probably because breakfast buffets are when they get 90% of their traffic.
The Hotel Russell probably counts early risers 99% of its clientele. It’s easier to get a table at The Ivy than...
