IT WAS A HOT TWO BEER DAY IN NUREMBERG

There is an eerie feeling standing where the Nazis paraded their might in the 1930s rallies. It's also an incredibly beautiful, stylish place when you reach the walled inner city. 
We arrived on the first day of the autumn markets and amongst hundreds of stalls met the very hospitable Veronica who just insisted I sample all her beers.

 

But with the temperature well over 30C it was time to continue my infatuation with German wheat beers. As with most German towns the only difficulty is making the selection from so many bars.



We settled on the relaxed Zum Spiess Gesellen [Rathausplatz 4] just off the main square. The 500ml Tucher Hefeweizen Hell was verging on orgasmic. Complex sweet and sour zing! I should have ordered another but in the quest to try as many beers as possible I was drawn to the Spiessgesellentrunk. Maybe it was the name but this was better suited to colder weather with a dark nutty intensity.

And why, oh why, are any beers served in anything other than glass? Please let me enjoy the looking at the stuff as I work my way to the bottom.

Both 500 ml, both 3.9 Euro

NUREMBERG GERMANY 15 September 2016

A TALE OF TWO COTES DU RHONE

While there are plenty of grape varieties used to create the Cotes Du Rhone blend Shiraz and Grenache are the dominant two. It can be an unmistakable taste when funky, briary grenache is leaping out of the glass at you. It's one of The Bride's new favourites during our Europe travels and I reckon we have a few thousand to try. and after we finish those there should be a new vintage to start on.

These were both purchased from Aldi in Mortain, south west Normandy. 

Les 3 Couronnes 2015 Cotes du Rhone 3.49 Euro

Charles Adelin Veilles Vignes Selection 2015 Cotes du Rhone 2.89 Euro

Same vintage, same grape varieties [shiraz and grenache] and same alcohol [13.5%] but a world of difference in quality and value. So much so I wouldn't have bothered stocking the cheaper wine in my retail days. 0.6 euro difference is quite ridiculous.

The Les 3 is beautifully balanced delivering a complex depth of flavour that is a pleasant surprise in such an inexpensive wine. 5/5 rating from me. And it's the wine on the left. The other is perfectly pleasant and scores a 3.5

I'VE NEVER BEEN BREWED BEFORE!

I'd be surprised if one of the world's great beer brands couldn't put on an outstanding show in their home town but I was amazed by how much I enjoyed it.

The Heineken Experience is a tribute to the family history, an explanation of the brewing process and a 
celebration of the marketing genius that's created a beer that appeals to the mass world market.

 
 
 

That you score three small beers for your 15 euro is of minor significance compared to the highlight of "being brewed"  You go into a small theatre and stand on a tiered hydraulic platform which jiggles and shakes along with a few other surprises during a 5 minute video. Worth it just for that.

ANYONE KNOW A DECENT GINGER BEER?

Unfortunately this isn't it.
Yes, there's plenty of ginger but it's overwhelmingly sweet and there's none of the promised back label zing. Some may like it.

2/5 rating

HATHERWOOD The Ginger Grizzly Alcoholic Ginger Beer 4% a/v 
Lidl Own Label 
£1.25 at Lidl [500ml] 

NOW HERE'S A BEAUTY FOR WINTER

Now THIS back label won't get any dispute from me
"dark, silky and deeply delicious. This full bodied and muscular blend has a coffee roast bitterness at its core. Speciality sugar adds a distinctive toffee flavour to this sleek and smoky mature porter"
YUM!
5/5 rating from me 

HATHERWOOD The Purple Panther Porter 5% a/v 
Lidl Own Label 
£1.25 at Lidl [500ml] 

HATHERWOOD The Green Gecko IPA 500ml

The back label promises "a tropical thunder storm of big flavour new world hops" that just doesn't wow me as much as I hope from an IPA. A gentle drizzle maybe?

3.5/5 rating from me 
HATHERWOOD The Green Gecko IPA 5% a/v 
Lidl Own Label 
£1.25 at Lidl [500ml] 

RIBOLLA GIALLA - is it contagious?

There are more than 2000 grape varieties used to make wine throughout the world. Some have many names and there's plenty of genetic confusion but I've never encountered RIBOLLA GIOLLA before. Plus I reckon this is my first ever taste of a Slovenian wine. The jury is still out on both.

This is an interesting blend with Sauvignon Blanc and it's about as far removed from the New Zealand version as Coca Cola. It's a little bit chunky but still well worth considering. There's more palate weight than the back label suggests and I don't quite see the "soft elegant finish". 

If you want to experiment I thoroughly recommend it.

3.5 rating from me

Krasno 2015 Sauvignon Blanc/Ribolla Gialla 

£6.99 from Majestic

REDISCOVERING A FORGOTTEN FAVOURITE

FREIXENET CORDON NEGRO £5.06 [at Sainsbury's with the current 25% discount]

This Spanish success story has been around for a long,long time and has claims to being the biggest selling in the world.

At this price it deserves to be offering quality that is far above what you'd expect. It's clean, crisp and dry with enough complexity to satisfy more demanding tastes - without scaring off anyone looking for a simple quaff

MY VERY FIRST TASTE OF 2016 - from the Casablanca Valley

Every year there's a special moment when you taste the very first wine from that year's vintage. For the first time EVER it's from Chile. And what a spectacular start it is.

For starters the wine is an absolute cracker. Hugely aromatic with masses of florals leading to a dry mid weight palate and enough acid to keep it in balance. But it gets better. This actually aged beautifully over three days and that gave me plenty of time to read the back label.

Apparently only 1% of Chilean wines are planted to Gewurztraminer [there should be more] and apparently one vine produces enough grapes for a bottle. Puts an interesting perspective on the price.

4.5 rating [because not everyone like gewurz]

Morande 

"One to One" 

2016 Old Vines Gewurtztraminer 

£6.99 

from Majestic

THE GREAT ROSE CHALLENGE BEGINS

So on yet another visit to see what wines Majestic have on tasting, The Bride is inspired to ask "What rose would you recommend?" And that's the great thing about Majestic - everyone knows what they're talking about and £140 later we leave.

Unfortunately in a lifetime of wine retailing I was seldom asked that question but my answer was always "Are you sure that's what you want? Why don't you just put a bit of a chill on a decent red" . I struggle with the point of rose. So much of the character of red grapes is in the skin so why discard that for a pretty pink colour. They're inevitably in a clear bottle to show off this pretty pink and while they aren't made to age the clear bottle just means they teeter into aged oblivion very quickly.

To Mr Majestic's credit all these wines met the brief almost perfectly. They were crisp. lean, plenty of acid and DRY but where was the fruit. All beautifully made roses, all a little over the odds in price and all very recommendable if that's what you're looking for.

3.5/5 rating from me [probably less from TB]

Minuty 2015 Cotes de Provence £9.99

Commanderie de Peyrassol 2015 Cotes de Provence £9.99

Chateau Pigoudet 2015 La Chapelle Cotes de Provence £8.99