Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Food & Drink => Topic started by: Polar Bear on 02 September, 2013, 05:45:00 pm
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One of those special occasion bottles that'stands out as being really decent without breaking the bank please.
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What type of wine do you like? There is a big difference between a classic Bordeaux and a spicy new world Shiraz for example, both of which you could spend up to £20 on and get a nice wine. If I want to buy a Bordeaux at that price point then I'll usually go for a St Emilion or Pomerol satellite vinyard.
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Cotes du Rhone?
Don't go for the big name s like Chateauneuf du Pale or Gigondas. Go for something lie Seguret or Plan de Dieu
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My favourite Seguret
is Domaine de Mouchon Grande Reserve
2009 is drinking nicely now.
The older vintages maybe over the hill their price has crashed.
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I'm rather partial to a good Barolo. My local off-license usually has some in the £15-20 range.
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Unsurprisingly, I would recommend a Spanish wine.
Not the stuff that most Brits associate with Spain, which is cheap, nasty and acidic, but something like this:
http://www.bbr.com/products-17850-2010-pesquera-crianza-bodegas-alejandro-fernandez
If you have a Majestic nearby, have a wander round and read the labels, try some then decide, if you don't want to buy a half case from them (minimum order) then take the details and see if Tesco/Sainsburys etc have it.
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My current favourite is Buzet. 4 euros procures a decent bottle. (My ceiling is 6 euros but that would get an excellent wine round here.)
Another recent discovery is Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux, 2011. Wiki says Côtes de Blaye AOC is exclusively white
; strange as I have 2 bottles of AOC red, so called.
/prix qui est aujourd'hui une exigence minimale, d'une meilleure compréhension des attentes d'un consommateur souvent perdu entre les dénominations, les appellations, les classements et les cépages
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Try a Chapoutier Crozes Hermitage
http://www.frazierswine.co.uk/crozes-hermitage-les-meysonniers-m-chapoutier-2009/?gclid=CPbwtIier7kCFWJp7AodWW0AAA
Or some alternatives..
http://www.yapp.co.uk/Wine-List/Rhone-Wines/Crozes-Hermitage-Wines/?gclid=CKyqvZadr7kCFU1k7Aod4UsAMQ
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Unsurprisingly, I would recommend a Spanish wine.
Not the stuff that most Brits associate with Spain, which is cheap, nasty and acidic, but something like this:
http://www.bbr.com/products-17850-2010-pesquera-crianza-bodegas-alejandro-fernandez
If you have a Majestic nearby, have a wander round and read the labels, try some then decide, if you don't want to buy a half case from them (minimum order) then take the details and see if Tesco/Sainsburys etc have it.
My favourite Spanish wines of the moment are from Ribera del Deuro.
I'm also partial to a good (not always easy to find) Italian Dolcetta D'Alba
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Unsurprisingly, I would recommend a Spanish wine.
Not the stuff that most Brits associate with Spain, which is cheap, nasty and acidic, but something like this:
http://www.bbr.com/products-17850-2010-pesquera-crianza-bodegas-alejandro-fernandez
If you have a Majestic nearby, have a wander round and read the labels, try some then decide, if you don't want to buy a half case from them (minimum order) then take the details and see if Tesco/Sainsburys etc have it.
My favourite Spanish wines of the moment are from Ribera del Deuro.
I'm also partial to a good (not always easy to find) Italian Dolcetta D'Alba
They do seem to be (finally) throwing off the shackles of Franco's regime (it's only taken nearly 40 years!).
Yes you can still find, easily, the nasty stuff you get served at the holiday "hotspots", but finding a good, cheap, quality red (or white for that matter) from Spain is getting easier and easier (I still have fond memories of the numerous bottles of red we consumed whilst in Catalonia in April, none of them very expensive).
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A few years ago in the Ebro delta I got mixed up in the aftermath of a local fishing competition. There was a party at which was served a chilled red wine that was amazingly good (or so it seemed at the time). I often wonder what it was and whether there is a Spanish red meant to be served in that way. It was not a tourist bash - we were among the few non-locals there.
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They do seem to be (finally) throwing off the shackles of Franco's regime (it's only taken nearly 40 years!).
Yes you can still find, easily, the nasty stuff you get served at the holiday "hotspots", but finding a good, cheap, quality red (or white for that matter) from Spain is getting easier and easier (I still have fond memories of the numerous bottles of red we consumed whilst in Catalonia in April, none of them very expensive).
Here
http://morenowinedirect.com/
is the place I first bought Cava from, and it was probably not that long after they opened. They've always been Spanish wine specialists.
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Spend a tenner at Lidl, you won't go wrong.
Go for their "selection" wines - no mention of Lidl on the bottle. IME, they easily compete against wines 50 - 100% more expensive.
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My wife usually buys the wine when we go out, but is tea total. Her technique is to find bottles in the price range and then look for the prettiest label!
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My favourite Spanish wines of the moment are from Ribera del Deuro.
Those are nice. Also good are the Portugese Douro wines, which I suspect are from the banks of the same river.
You can certainly get a bottle of Amarone for around that price too, which is what I'd get if I was shopping at the £20 price point.
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My wife usually buys the wine when we go out, but is tea total. Her technique is to find bottles in the price range and then look for the prettiest label!
That's how I once bought Woolly a bottle of whisky while on a work trip to Edinburgh. Waiting for flight, spot pretty bottle, note that it's whisky, remember he likes it, purchase. Cue Woolly's surprised face when he tries it, and likes it (a lot).
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The Co has a Syrah at £9 ish which is not only a lovely drop of wine at a good price but *cough* a bit strong too. 14.5 so take care to stay on the perch!
PH
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:o Call me old fashioned but you just gonna drink it or eat something with it ???
You won't impress anyone if you open a Pomerol to go with your Vindaloo :sick:
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Hmmm, some interesting suggestions. Thanks guys.
It is in preparation for a night out to celebrate Mlle PB's birthday in October. We're going to an impressive local bistro and they allow you to bring your own bottle for just a £2 corkage fee.
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St. Emilion is always good, although Chateauneuf du Pape looks more impressive. New World wines don't impress, and Italian/Spanish stuff tends to induce hangovers IME. I only buy French red wine if I can help it.
if there are body labels (A-E), go for "C" or "D" to avoid getting something watery and insipid like Beaujolais.
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Ask your local wine merchant. Many moons ago when having dinner in Lille local colleagues always produced something extraordinary but not at great expense.
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Stickleback Cabernet Shiraz Grenache is delicious, as is The Black Stump Durif Shiraz.
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That CNdP 2015 was a bit 'orrible - most unusual. Slurping a glass of Ventoux atm. (Want to, pardon my french etc) which is resonable.
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I was going to recommend the wine I had with Sunday dinner, "2009 Beau-Site St. Esteph", which I enjoyed.
I looked it up on https://www.wine-searcher.com (https://www.wine-searcher.com). So although I paid £160 for a case of 12 2009 beau-site en primeur it was last sold at £25 and is not available in the uk anymore.
In general I suspect nearly all the 2009 Cru Bourgois Medocs are very nice at the moment. If no longer affordable.