Gruaud Larose 1996

We had a fantastic dinner at the Red Lion in East Chisenbury (www.redlionfreehouse.com )on Saturday evening. As always the food and service were brilliant and we are lucky that they occasionally let us bring a bottle or two for a very reasonable corkage fee. I had not tried a bottle of Ch Gruaud Larose 1996 for a year or two and it has blossomed into a really delicious wine. All of the angularity has disappeared leaving soft plummy, blackberry fruit alongside herb and liquorice notes. There is a real complexity on the palate and a lovely velvety mouthfeel. The wine really opened up in the glass and as is so often the case with the best bottles the last mouthful was the best and left you wanting more!
One thing worth noting is that this wine receives a relatively disappointing Parker Score (89) which means that its price has not escalated to the same extent as some other wines from the vintage. In my view this is one of the occasions where Parker has got it slightly wrong, so making the wine a relative bargain!

A new rosé for summer

Choosing our summer rosé is always a good day for me, it signals that we are finally edging out of winter and into Spring and Summer. This year was no different and on a sunny Wednesday in march we collected together 15 potential bottles and a few palates that we trust to chose which wine our clients would be quaffing during (what will hopefully) be the long hot summer ahead! Unusually for a blind tasting there was absolute agreement on the best and worst wines that we tried. We will spare the blushes of the loser but we are delighted to announce that the winner is Domaine Terrasse de Lalande 2010 Domane Lalande. A light and delicious rosé with a real strawberry character and a lovely fresh finish that is extremely moreish. The wine will be available for delivery from the middle of April and we will be offering at the very reasonable £7 per bottle.