Not a tart in sight !

A small gathering this month, just six of us, our hosts Mark & Linda, Geoff & I together with Jacqui & Nic. Although not many of us still loud at some points or was that Nic loud at some points !

We particularly enjoyed the entertainment, Mark dressing up in his walking gear and showing us all the paraphernalia he had bought for his April Camino...he's like an excited puppy... Nic just looked on in disbelief.. asking himself, why, why, why would you do that for a holiday..

Funny enough the wine selected was French (Marks favourite) turned out to be an excellent choice we had four (Jacqui brought two) really excellent wines one costing £16, it was worth every penny.

Now my notes on tasting are sketchy, Mark let me down, no paper, pens or tasting sheets, he came up with some excuse that he was cooking all day, I mean how long does it take to bung a stew in the oven !   Only joking Mark before you shout at the computer... it was, as expected an absolutely delicious Beef Bourguignon followed by tasty cheese and yummy desserts.

We started with a white, which I am pleased to say was very 'nice' I say this because it turned out I still have one in the wine rack from a previous wine tasting event hosted by the knowledgeable Lawrence Page.. it was: (taken from my previous notes, still think it was exquisite..)

Macon Lugny ‘Les Genievres’ 2009 A family owned & run highly respected wine producer in Burgundy..this exquisite, subtle wine, so smooth and rounded, gentle buttery lemons & smooth fruit made this my favourite wine of the night. I think if you went back to the sauvignon after this it would be a complete assault on the senses…

This was followed by the £16 (!) Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume "Jeunes Vignes" aromas and taste matched, lychee's & tropical fruits again we all decided it was very 'nice', we really do need to bring a Thesaurus along.

Purchased from a wine merchant in Canterbury who also kindly made the following notes.  Henri is based in Sancerre and is famous for the quality of his vines, this wine is from a new vineyard in Pouilly and he highlights this in his typical Henri Bourgeois style. It is organically grown 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

These two prove there is more to life than a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc !

We then moved onto the red, Le Coin 2010 Bordeaux £8.99 from laithwaites. At first a bit of a shock after the two whites, but with the meal it was rich & flavoursome. A mix of Merlot, giving that wellie boot smell although we decided this was expensive wellie boot smell probably Barbour or Hunters.. Merlot mixed with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The colour was an amazing deep purple, aromas of ripe plums, tobacco & spice. Tasted of damson and a hint of spice, making it a very 'nice' claret.  At 14.5% hangover material.

Then we tucked into the fourth wine, again a red, with a very unusual label (awaiting photo) Chateau Cosme St James "Little James" again from the Canterbury wine merchant. We thought this wine was very intense, thats the only note we have !  Here is a little input from the wine merchant:  Chateau Cosme is based in the Northern Rhone producing excellent Cote Rhone & Hermitage.  This is their 'quaffing' wine (his word not mine) made from Syrah & Grenache, a multi vintage blend made in a Solera system from 1974.  Jacqui explained that its made a bit like sherry, they keep topping up with different wine each year.. tasted fine though, went well with the cheese.

The whites and red were smooth and drinkable..not a tart in sight ! (See I do eventually link the title in)

We noticed once again how things had changed from the early wine club days when we would drink the last drop from every bottle and anything else the hosts had in their house.. but on Saturday on the table were some part drunk bottles as we moved on to coffee and herbal teas !!

Looking forward to the Christmas wine club with all its extras..our next hosts are hoping for a full house and an evening of fun.  Had better dust off the party dress.

Time to put a cork in it.

Bye S x