Champagne
I’ve really hated every Egly-Ouriet Champagne I’ve had. This was recommended to me by someone reliable who claimed it was nice and fruity; niceness and fruitiness are characters lacking …
Buying recommendations
A mixed bag of wines this month, some decent Burgundy and top-flight Cornas. You’ll note it is not only European wines that get a nod this month. Clos de …
General
Black pudding is really decadent. The cooked blood of animals prepared for our deep viceral satisfaction make it a real treat. Silfield Farm make an array of black puddings …
Recipes
Every one needs to know how to make: mashed potato. For this you need: 800g peeled King Edward potatoes 250g good-quality unsalted butter 150ml double cream Fresh ground pepper …
Loire
I’ve had Coulée de Serrant loads of times and I’ve always hated it. I like Savennières very much, but what is supposedly the ultimate has always struck me as …
Beer
Yesterday I went on a booze cruise to Calais. In one of the large supermarkets we picked up some beer; this is one of the things we got. Gueuze …
Rants
On our trip to Calais we visited a huge hypermarket, of its ninety-odd aisles about five were filled with wine. The selection appeared to suffer from what I have …
Buying recommendations
Yesterday I went on a day trip to France with a friend and my partner; the idea was to buy cheap Champagne. It was a successful trip. The Champagne …
Rants
Australian wine makers often say, “I make my wine with ripe fruit”. The insinuation is that European wine makers don’t use ripe grapes and so make weedy wines. I …
Burgundy
I got this on release from Berry’s, what a bargain it was. It doesn’t suffer from 1996 syndrome. Vosne-Romanée Les Brulees 1996, Rene Engel en magnum A lovely, soft …
