This week I'ave been mostly drinking...

Clive Holroyd, Database Manager

Sometimes less is more; especially so when it comes to week-ends. My superior 50% had a very long and tough week and just needed to chill and I'm always up for a bit of chilling myself. Well, warmth actually because we lit a log fire, turned the tv off (ignoring the howls of protest from son number 3) opened a bottle of wine and just relaxed the afternoon away. The missus is partial to a Merlot and suspecting she might need to unwind I had tried to find something a bit special. Apparently the Cousino Macul Antiguas Reservas Merlot Chile 2011 just flies off the shelves in our shop and I can see why. Just opening the bottle unleashes a heady aroma of autumn berries and the wine is beautifully rounded with more of the berries supported by a lovely soft vanilla flavour. Just the usual complaint; 75cl is simply not enough. So I have my orders; bottles are to be acquired for Christmas and I am not to succumb to the temptation of opening them before then.

Russell Wallace, General Manager

This week I ‘ave been mostly drinking…. My long time love, Pinot Noir. I guess that the first classification on this subject is that the wine in question is not actually Pinot Noir (I shall explain)! Since I first delved into the world of red wine my personal favourite grape has always been Pinot Noir. I crave the soft fruity flavour that just keeps going on the palette, but sadly it is a love I had forgotten recently. I would partly blame an expanding palette and part on an employment that requires me to investigate and delve into every varietal the world has to offer but I think the biggest reason is that as a grape variety Pinot Noir has just not really caught the limelight like Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and all the varietals that roll off your tongue.

Pinot Noir is, however, my tip as the next big thing and something that everyone should get into especially at Christmas time. Those of you that read what I have to say with any sort of regularity will know I am a simple sort, and I like to cut out all of the extended complication that surrounds wine. So back to the issue of Pinot Noir, what I have been drinking is a lovely Burgundy from Maison Champy, their Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains. Rather than the usual Burgundian Pinot Noir this is a Gamay. What is Gamay? Gamay is the principle grape within Beaujolais, much the same as Pinot Noir, often just slightly lighter. Yes there are many different technical aspects to the grape and its precise characteristics as you can imagine but as far as the “average”, if such a thing exists, consumer would be concerned they are much the same thing. So onto the actual wine! Maison Champy owned by Pierre Meurgey are based in the beautiful village of Beaune, where Pierre started life as a negocient, a buyer and seller of grapes for the main names, to produce their wines from. One day Pierre came across an old building, part of the historic Champy estate. Pierre set about learning the history of this building and estate discovering it to be Maison Champy the first estates, some 300 years earlier, to trade as a negotient in Burgundy. Discovering this Pierre made it his goal in life to revitalise this estate and make it once again produce the world’s best pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Passe-tout-grains is a rare example of a Burgundy made from this grape outside of its common homeplace of Beaujolais. I hesitate to use the term light to describe Burgundian reds, yes they are soft but the flavours are rich, complex and evolving and the word light just does not do it justice. Instead it is a wine you perhaps need to take your time, close out the world and just spend a moment considering.