Thinking Pink & changing Vintages...

Pretty in Pink:

In this bitter cold I should surely be comforting myself with a beautifully aged Amarone yet I am about to trudge off to the West End to sample Champagne. Perhaps only a mere 50 or so today. We of course have the J.M.Gobillard Rosé and will be about to ship the R. & H. Lamotte Rosé but I need a good replacement for our now deceased Henriot 2002 Rosé . Hopefully in sufficient time for St-Valentine’s and I will duly Tweet any clear winners.(follow us on @Huntsworthwine)  Way early in this Russian blast of course but by chance I was sampling just yesterday the new vintage of the Château de l’Aumerade “Cuvée Marie Christine”, the Provence Rosé in the distinctive bottle and am keen to report that it is really good so we will definitely include that with the usual suspects as soon as the thermometer is set to climb.

Burgundy 2010:

We sent out our offer last Friday and a few wines have indeed disappeared (Jean-Marie Fourrier sold-out; Sylvain Cathiard still good…) but from the almost forty or so wines listed, there is still ample picks to choose from.

Changing Vintages:

Picpoul de Pinet 2010 Domaine Félines Jourdan (£ 9.50) – YES!

An unequivocal thumbs up. Tried last week and the 2010 is better than the 2009. I’ll probably feature this in isolation next week.

Langhe Nebbiolo 2010 Produttori di Barbaresco, Piedmont (£ 17.00) – YES!

After the terrific success and ease of the 2009 Vintage this was always going to be a tough act to follow. Not as overt on those herb, spicy, tobacco,

undergrowth characteristics that epitomize much of Piedmont but a more delicate and more refined version with the merest hint to Burgundy. A worthy change.

Badia A Passignano 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany (£ 33.00) – YES!

Likewise, after the very successful 2004 Vintage I was worried about a drop in quality. No fears here. Basically St-Julien comes to Chianti shire.

Layered, elegant, structured, Sangiovese yes but Bordeaux like in all other aspects.

Bourgogne “Les Sétilles” 2010 Olivier Leflaive – NO, for now!

Unfortunately for now, a thumbs down. It could “fatten” out in the bottle but for now too flighty when compared to the successful 2009. I’ll re-taste in 3 months.

Pulenta “Gran Corte” VII 2008 Mendoza, Argentina - TO TRY SHORTLY.

The 2007 predominantly Malbec was the perfect match for a juicy steak. Need to try and see if as good and thus worth continuing.

Réserve de Gassac Blanc “Sélection Guibert” 2011 Vin de pays de l’Hérault - TO TRY SHORTLY.

Usually terrific value from the renowned Mas de Daumas stable. Need to try this way young 2011 and will report.

L’Hortus de Bergerie “Cuvée Classique” 2010 Pic St-Loup, Languedoc - TO TRY SHORTLY.

A couple of vintages of this have shown sensational value but need to chart how good the 2010 is.

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“Silly Season”:

Well, they say you have to laugh at yourself. Perhaps a smidgen easier just after a 3-1 win. Apart from some F.A. Cup glory in the early ‘80’s Spurs have had to laugh at themselves for almost fifty years now. In that vein I received an e-mail yesterday about Spurs’ new away kit. A certain mug shot of Harry Rednapp and his bulldog. Happy to forward if you haven’t already seen it and would like a chuckle.

“Sherlock Holmes: A game of Shadows” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle it is not. Jude Law in Dr Watson, he is not. Pretty entertaining but quite insane. Take Sherlock Holmes and chuck in the Bourne Supremacy and you might get somewhere close. Still, t’other night I reverted to that old classic “Citizen Kane”. I do wonder how many times Rupert Murdoch has seen it and what he might think of it. I did also go and see “J.Edgar” and have to say little Caprio’s performance was quite big. Once you got past the distinctive voice in the first twenty or so minutes he does lob in a pretty impressive performance. And the padding around him, unlike in the Iron lady, is significantly better.

This Saturday:

The Calcutta Cup (Scotland versus England) Late kick-off is at 5.00 p.m. and should be on in the Shop.

Plus of course France versus Italy (aka South Kensington versus Chelsea) @ 2.30 p.m.