Horse DNA in your wine?

Courtesy of Eric Reppert (owner of Vins Etonnants the number one source for wines a little out of the ordinary), a cartoon with some horse DNA.

"According to our tests there is horse DNA in your wine"
"Of course there is, because there's a horse in my vines"

Wandle Walk

The River Wandle

On Saturday we took advantage of the fine weather to walk along part of the the Wandle Trail, and a very fine walk it was too.

Sometimes it was hard to believe we were in London, and that if we followed the course of this tributary of the Thames we would, in a few miles, find ourselves in Wandsworth, practically in the centre of the metropolis.  But we were, and exploring the banks of a river which, in the recent past, had been described as an open sewer.

The Wandle is now returning slowly to its wild state and being repopulated by fish of all kinds, Kingfishers and many other water birds. The Pike is still missing, as the waters are not quite pristine enough, but in comparison with the dead place we might have found a few years back this river is now full of life. This is all thanks to the work of conservationists and local Councils alike, and is a fine example of what can be achieved as a result of long-term concerted action.

The Rubble Mountain

Of course you do still get the odd whiff of solvents as you go past an industrial estate; and the vast pile of scrap and rubble heaped up in one place seemed to be ready to tumble into the waters, in an avalanche of foul waste. At one time this mountain of detritus would have been all but invisible to everyone, lying as it is in the back end on a factory area, out of sight and out of mind. But walkers can now view it in all its horrific enormity.

In spite of this the route is invigorating and truly re-creational. After a couple of hours on the trail we felt great when we got back home, ready for a welcome pre lunch drink.



  

Dudley Craig tasting

Richard and Frédérique in discussion with a customer

I was invited to this tasting by Frédérique Vaquer of Domaine Vaquer, whom I met last year at an event  held at the Maison du Languedoc-Roussillon.

I knew the wines of Domaine Vaquer would be on show and looked forward to it for this reason. Not disappointed either. The Rivesaltes all showed exceptionally well, and a Muscat de Rivesaltes (probably 2000) was simply extraordinary.

The rest of the wines on show were mainly from France (Bolney Estate also featured with some English sparkling and a red), and struck one as having been very carefully selected for their individual qualities. Each stood out as a fully-fledged distinctive example of their region or style and also as the expression of a winemaker, getting the very best wine possible from their vine/soil/site combination.

Highlights for me included some interesting Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny wines from Domaine de Montcy; very well made and good value Chablis from Domaine Louis Moreau; a Fleurie 2011 from Château de Durette, a white Provence 2011 from Domaine du Deffends, a lovely Bandol Rouge 2000 from Château Vannières - this wine having shed its forbidding tannic acidity and taken on the dark fruit and leathery forest floor mantle of good aged Bandol. A Cahors 2009 from Château les Hauts d'Aglan also stood out as a wine drinkable now but with a long life ahead of it. A Macvin du Jura from Caves Jean Bourdy was delightful, with an aroma of rose petals.

An added bonus was a selection of Château Cheval Blanc - almost a vertical - 1982, 1989, 1995, 2000 ... For those of you who are looking to purchase some I can confirm that the 1982 is drinking wonderfully and will still be delicious in 10 years, the 1989 is now perfect, and again will be going strong in 20 years. Leave the 2000 for now, but look at it again in 5 years. It was a rare privilege to have been able to sample these wines.

All in all a very characterful tasting, and I am sure that many of these wines will find favour with the trade, being well made, great with food, and offering excellent value.

Dudley Craig Wines, 2a Ledbury Mews North, London W11 2AF
richard@dudleycraigwines.co.uk
Mobile 07880 694840






  

The Wrong Handbag

Someone very close to me applied for a job at an extremely well-known company recently.

Having managed to convince her interviewers that she had all the necessary technical competence, languages and experience to do the job perfectly, she was finally turned down because she had the wrong sort of handbag.

Admittedly she was interviewed by females mainly, and handbags are no doubt an important consideration to young women. But since when has not having a particular sort of bag disqualified one from doing a job?

Not that she was dressed like a tramp, or bag-lady (pun intended). She is, on the contrary, a very elegant individual. She did have a receptacle designed to be convenient for use on the London public transport network, which was more practical than stylish. A faux-pas in hindsight.

Image is now everything, it would seem, and women have a long way to go to free themselves from their enthralment to the (mostly male) diktats of fashion.