Italian Summer White

A Summer White:

After the grueling task of hiking around Excel in the Docklands for the London Wine Fair I have to say that I didn’t come away with an awful lot this time. Apart from a cracking lunch on somebody’s yacht that is! The one wine that did hit the spot was a perfect “Summer White”. It is also from Lugana which I have to confess without looking at the map quickly I wasn’t 100% sure which part of Italy it was. It is on the southern shores of Lake Garda and due West of Venice. My main criticism of many Italian Whites is that they can be too distinctive, too medicinal, too concocted, and occasionally just downright odd. In amongst they can and do make some cracking whites, just not enough for my liking.

Cento Filari 2010 Cesari

Lugana, Veronese, Italy

at £ 14.00 per Bottle (£ 13.50 by the case)

Such a subtle, gentle, and minerally wine that I cannot see this causing offence to anyone.

Just the epitome of an easy drinking summer white wine.

95% Turbiana & 5% Chardonnay

In stock.

Bordeaux 2010 – the saga continues…

I am sure most if not all of you that are genuinely interested in “En Primeur 2010” have already received my musings or let me know if their interest. My detailed notes were e-mailed out earlier today, if you feel you are missing out in life and wish to be added to this loop, let me know. Now out of the closet – Angludet; Beaumont; Gazin; Haut-Marbuzet; Lafon-Rochet; Sociando-Mallet.

Weekly indulgence:

Okay so this is one hell of an indulgence but if you have a chance to read the “silly season” below plus a look at the current Lafite-Rothschild prices then this is perhaps not so insane.

12 Bottles of:

Château Haut-Brion 1988

Pessac-Léognan 1er Grand Cru Classé at £ 3,500 ex vat the case

Silly-season:

Well, rather fortuitously Evangelist Harald Camping didn’t get it right on his prediction for the end of the world. Phew! We at least have until October the 21^st. In the meantime, back to the real world, or maybe not. I have always found many things pointless in life, like traffic wardens; golf; smooth peanut butter; wasps; and personalized car number plates. Now some of you I’m sure will try and defend Golf but I am sorry, if you dress-up like Billy Bunter in striped trousers, a Battenberg patterned sleeveless sweater and spats, I am not going to listen to you. And I know many of you do indulge, if that is the right word, in personalized car number plates, many friends, even my brother has. Let’s look at the evidence shall we?

£ 285,000 paid by Roman Abramovich for “VIP 1” in 2006

£ 440,625 paid by Afzal Khan for “F1” in 2008

£ 7,100,000 paid by Saeed Khouri for “1”

Now personally I would have painted the figure 1 in the finest of gold plate all over Saaed’s motor and left him with a good seven million in change. If you want your initials on your three wheeler, why don’t people just do what they did in the 18^th Century to their carriage and get a signwriter to paint the name, number, initials on? I could probably get Lucian Freud to do it for you and still save you a bob or two.