Over the years there's been an understandable lack of necessity to bring wine to our place. So many samples from suppliers, so many left overs from tastings. That's all changed in retirement so we thank Hilary and Glynn Genin for their regular contributions to our shared dining.
LIKYA 2011 Kalecik Karasi Malbec Dry Red Wine
This is a cracker they brought back from Turkey especially for us. It's a blend of a local variety with our old favourite malbec. It's definitive Mediterranean with a rich sun drenched intensity that with six years in the bottle was drinking at a superb peak. Yet another variety to add to my tasting list [over a 1000 to go] and a 5/5 rating from me for so many reasons.
TIMOTHY TAYLOR'S LANDLORD CLASSIC PALE ALE
There is nothing quite like a draught beer. Even VB is tolerable when poured from a tap. But never have I tasted a beer like this TTL that could just as easily been hand pulled from the cellar.
Fizz is delightfully restrained but flavour is full on. Malt just dominates the hops but only just. It's as close to perfect balance as we could hope for. No surprise then with a back label claim that "Landlord has won more major awards than any other beer, including 4 times as CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain." 4.1% a/v
5/5 rating from me
£23.40 for twelve 500ml bottles from Majestic
... but the desire to taste two new grape varieties over took commonsense. Mavrodaphne and Korinthiaki are indigenous to the Patras region of Greece. They've been blended to create a sweet 15% a/v red. Presumably it has had some fortification [not mentioned on the label] although it obviously doesn't have the intensity of a port Colour is murky at best, a far cry from the promised "deep mahogany, bright with crimson lights"
It's not a bad wine - in fact it could go quite well with less sweet desserts. My main complaint is that I still have idea what those two grapes taste like.
And I think the packaging is outstanding.
Nyx Mavropdaphne of Patras
3/5 rating from me
£5.89 from Asda
Retailers all around the world have wines labelled for them. They make up brand names or simply use their own name. Which means the same wine could conceivably be on the market under many different labels. In the UK they've gone one step further:No brand and no indication of who it was made for.
But there is absolutely no mistaking their country of origin.
The Pinotage is unmistakeably South African with that earthy feral character displayed by this hybrid variety. If you like your reds squeaky clean this is to be avoided. Otherwise I recommend a try. It has a bit of grunt at 14% a/v and at just £3.89 at Lidl scores 4/5 from me
The Pinot Grigio has a little more palate weight than usual and a dash of sweetness. It's not particularly exciting but I could see it being a real crowd pleaser. £4 at Tesco scores 3.5/5 from me
Tesco currently have a range of Sharps beers on promotion.
Normally £1.79 the offer is four 500ml bottles for a mere £6
All feature deep bronze/red colour and are an easy 5/5 rating from me.
Wolf Rock is a full on IPA that also features a fair chunk of malt. Not for the faint hearted. Sea Fury is a toned down version of that while Atlantic is a very user friendly Pale Ale. Doom Bar is one of my favourite draught ales. It's not quite as good in a bottle, but it's close.
5/5 rating from me
Betty Stogs Brazen Cornish Bitter
4% a/v
Skinner's Brewery Cornwall
£1.39 at Lidl [500ml]
Morande
"One to One"
2016 Old Vines Gewurtztraminer
£6.99
from Majestic
RRP: $
Our Price: $ by the doz
notes: IN STOCK OUT OF STOCK
Over the years there's been an understandable lack of necessity to bring wine to our place. So many samples from suppliers, so many left overs from tastings. That's all changed in retirement so we thank Hilary and Glynn Genin for their regular contributions to our shared dining.
LIKYA 2011 Kalecik Karasi Malbec Dry Red Wine
