My London treat

We have discovered Premier Inn London City Aldgate, a clean, comfy hotel not far from two underground stations and the number 15 bus, perfect for our two day short break. Our first treat day was at the Waldorf Hotel, details and photos are in my previous post

The second day of my 'treat' visit began with a great breakfast......at Wetherspoons. Goodman's Field is a short walk from our hotel, just round the corner from the Tower of London. There is a certainty we love about Wetherspoons breakfast, wherever you are they serve good food, good coffee at a great price.

Our second day was a day of wandering and began with a visit to the Bank of England Museum. There is no charge to enter although you do have to go through airport style security.

Bank of England

It was a great building to look around with drawings and history of how the Bank began, grew and changed over years. Started in 1694 it was intetesting to see how money has changed including various techniques to prevent forgery.

A page from the first bank ledger
(behind secure glass)

'Old money' - I can only just remember this in use

Think big bank, think gold bullion! There were many displays of gold including a gold bar in a secure box that you could put your hand in and try to lift. No mean feat as each bar weighs 13kg and on the day of our visit one gold bar was worth nearly £500,000.

It's heavier than you think

It was such a great museum, having worked in finance I found it very interesting to see how our money system and coinage has changed.

After a stroll down Pall Mall our next stop was Berry Bros. and Rudd, a must visit when in London for any wine lover. We called into their new London store which is just round the corner from their Georgian shop in St James's Street.

Inside the store was a vast collection of wine and spirits including The King's Ginger, a ginger and brandy based liqueur that was specially commissioned for King Edward VII.

I loved this so of course a bottle has been added
to our home bar.

Berry Bros. and Rudd have three enomatic wine machines in their store serving wine samples. It's a superb way to try wines before buying with each 25ml serving costing from £1 to £25. We had a super time discovering a great Sancerre, Moscato d'Asti and Bordeaux.

Our enomatic card ready for our next visit

Our stroll to Leicester Square took us past many of London's high end stores including Fortnum and Mason. London is always a bustling place but we managed to find a table in All Bar One for dinner, accompanied by a complimentary, if elaborate, Birdcage Cocktail for my upcoming birthday.

Birdcage Cocktail 

And so to the highlight of the day and our main reason for our London stay ..... Les Mis Concert.

Queen's Theatre has now closed for a refurb and will reopen as the Sondheim Theatre. Les Miserables has therefore also closed, in fact the stage version from 1985 will be no more as when it reopens in the new theatre it will be as a revised production!

In the meantime Les Mis is in Concert at the adjoining Geilgud Theatre with stars Alfie Boe, Michael Ball, Matt Lucas, Katy Secombe and Carrie Hope Fletcher....

..... need I say any more ..... for me a must see!

Absolutely Amazing!

Front row in the Grand Circle I was lost in the world of Jean Val Jean. From the opening note in the jail to the final reprise of 'Do you hear the people sing' I was an emotional wreck, the music, the voices, the story, the characters, it completely overwhelms me.

Thank you Delfont Mackintosh Theatres for a superb concert. Thank you to all the performers who were outstanding. Thank you to the superb orchestra, especially the harpist.

Our city break to London was certainly a special trip and has certainly helped put the last two years behind me.

Huge thanks as always to my lovely Hubby ..... my treat was perfect, his thank you treat is still to come!

Afternoon Tea at the Waldorf

A real treat - the last two years have been difficult to say the least, and having said thank you to my family and friends for all their help and support they said I should treat myself .... and so we're having a few days in London and my first treat was ....

Afternoon Tea at The Waldorf Hotel 

Amazing, just amazing - the decor of this iconic hotel is so beautiful. Art Deco at it's best, in my mind's eye I could see everyone enjoying Tea Dances in the great ballroom, something you can still do!

The dining room was stunning, beautiful pillars with gold ribbon designs on the ceiling, mirrored doorways and a gold harp. It's been a dream of mine since being very young to play the harp, maybe one day.

Our Champagne Afternoon Tea was certainly a treat, starting with a glass of Monopole Heidsieck Silver Top which was refilled continuously throughout our Tea.

Everything was delicious, a superb variety of sandwiches of which we were offered a second serving. The scones, plain and fruit, were slightly warm, perfect with our jams, apricot and strawberry, with clotted cream.

A lovely selection of cakes, profiteroles, mini victoria sponge which just melted in our mouths, chocolate granache, lemon mousse and a mini macaron decorated with a perfect chocolate W.

It certainly was a treat, a very special afternoon. The Champagne Afternoon Tea is priced at £55 per person which is great value for the hotel, the service, the champagne, the sandwiches, scones and cakes.

However our visit was with Groupon, £69 for two; there was with no difference in service, champagne refills or food.

This was by far the best Afternoon Tea we have had and will be high on our re-visit list when in London ..... maybe one day we'll stay at the hotel too :-)

Thank you to The Waldorf Hotel for a very special afternoon.

Majestic .... times two !

Our town is geographically in the centre of four Majestic wine stores, each being just under 20 miles away.

We have limited trains from our town but as there is a good service to Leicester for many years it's been our go to Majestic.

We've had many many tastings with the fab Leicester wine team; showcases, focused wine, fine wine, beer and private group tastings - all superb and at which I have discovered many new things.

We (myself, Hubby and two friends) recently went to their latest Showcase - not the best night for travelling anywhere..... the photo isn't blurred it's rain!

Such dedication hee hee

Ignoring the wet cold weather, once inside our tasting began with a Lambrusco..... a red Lambrusco made from Grasparossa grapes. 

Nivola Lambrusco had a super purple froth, plenty of bubbles with a fruity nose. It was surprisingly a dry wine, plenty of blackcurrants with an edge of leafiness.  The dryness lessened when paired with the delicious Maderia cake the team served. 

Nivola Lambrusco - Italy - £9.99

Moving further in store to the next tasting station we discovered three very different white wines, and an extremely pale rose. The first white was Pecorino Terre Di Chieti, a 13% wine from Italy. Quite a light wine with floral notes and a hint of lemon peel. Certainly a summer wine, for me it needed a longer finish. 

Bellingham Series Viognier was our second white, I've tried quite a few wines from this South African Estate. A darker colour in the glass this was a creamier texture with a flavour of peach and hint of oak. A great depth in this with a longer finish which had a slight mineral after taste. 

Our third white had me searching, I love Sancerre wine but had I been given this blind I would not have said it was from this appellation. Feeling the need to cleanse/change my palate I nibbled on the selection of cheeses offered ..... and yes it worked. Still a light Sancerre the flavours of gooseberries and citrus appeared. A good amount of acidity with now more length on its finish. 

Pecorino Terre Di Chieti - Italy - £7.99
Bellingham Viognier - South Africa - £8.99
Jean Max Roger Sancerre - France - £17.99

The rose wine was so clear it was almost a white, the clear stylish bottle matches it perfectly. It was a light wine, fruity with a zesty high note. It had a lovely finish and this wine would be my choice for a summer's picnic.

Logerill Gris De Garilla Rose
£8.24

There were more nibbles of cheese, spicy sausage and bread sticks at the red tasting station. The Leicester team always provide a good selection of food that compliment all the wines. 

The spicy sausage was particularly good with the Avior Malbec and the Ena Dva Tri Cabernet Sauvignon. Avior Malbec from Argentina was full of blackberries with a kick of spice. It was slightly tannic which I think would soften if left to breathe a while.

Eva Dva Tri Cabernet Sauvignon was my favourite wine of the evening, however as usual with this grape it needed food ... cheese and biscuits to the rescue. At 15% this Slovenian wine was full of bold dark fruits with pepperiness. A great depth and long finish, all I needed was a comfy armchair. 

Vale Do Corgo Douro from Portugal had smoother tannins, still a hit of pepper but with sour cherries. It was a very easy drinking wine that would be great for summer BBQs.

The final red was Cimagoccia Giverno Toscana which is not a wine I have tried before. It had plenty of sour fruit but not a wine for me as I wasn't keen on the burnt amber, herby flavours. 

Avior Malbec - Argentina - £5.99

Vale Do Corgo Douto - Portugal- £7.99
Ena Dva Tri Cabernet Sauvignon - Slovenia - £9.99
Cimagoccia Governo Toscana - Italy - £10.99

Thank you Majestic Leicester, shame about the weather but another great tasting night.

However .....

..... there has been a development on the train situation and we can now travel direct to Leamington Spa, so to test out the journey (why else, wink wink) we also went to Majestic Leamington Spa's Showcase Tasting.

If it was a competition Leamington would win weather wise as it was a dry sunny day, if a little windy.

Ready for our Leamington tasting

Everyone was very welcoming, staff and fellow tasters. We were greeted with a glass of Aperol Spritz made with equal parts Aperol and Prosecco topped up with soda water and finished with orange slices. It's a very refreshing drink that reminded me of our recent European holiday.

La Gioiosa Prosecco  - used in the
Aperol Spritz - £9.99

We tasted two rose and two white wines at their first tasting station. I recognised the first rose, we discovered this at a private tasting at Majestic Weston-Super-Mare in April 2018 as part of our Cuvée Reserve Wine Weekend. You can read about Zingo Malbec Rose in my previous blog post.

Zingo Malbec Rose - France - £7.49

Poste Resante Organic Tempranillo Rose was certainly eye catching, it's blue top and label contrasting with its bright rose colour. Plenty of strawberries, good acidity and a subtle fizz, although its finish could have been a little longer.

Poste Resante Organic Tempranillo
Spain - £7.49

I don't have a photograph of the first white wine we tasted, Domaine St Ferreol Grand Reserve Viognier. This southern French wine was quite pale in colour with a slightly oily texture. Its flavour was full of apricots and honeysuckle, medium bodied with a good finish. Mixed six price £15.99

Being a Sauvignon Blanc fan I was keen to try Last Batch from New Zealand. It had a nose of lemon sherbet which followed into the mouth with gooseberries and passion fruit. This was my favourite wine of the evening.

Last Batch Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand - £6.99

The Leamington team had also supplied a variety of nibbles; salami, pate, crisps and cheese, again matching well with the wines and appreciated by all judging by the empty plates.

The red wines in the tasting included the Avior Malbec and Cimagoccia Governo Toscano which I have mentioned above.

My favourite red of the evening was Down the Lane Shiraz Tempranillo. I'm not a great fan of Tempranillo but this wine was delicious. A big hit of Shiraz with cherries and spice followed by the Tempranillo's fruitiness. It was quite light in tannins making it more suitable to my tastes, with a smooth finish.

Down the Lane Shiraz Tempranillo - £8.99

Thank you Majestic Leamington Spa for a lovely evening. The train journey was easy so we will be visiting again.

Which venue did I prefer ..... neither ..... both evenings were superb! Hubby and I are the winners as we now have two Majestic Wine stores just a train ride away!

Avina - champagne and wine stopper

Early August I received an email from Janet Harrison, the founder of People's Choice Wine Awards, asking if I'd be interested in reviewing the Avina Champagne and Wine stopper.

'Avina Wine Products sponsored the Best Sparkling Wine Rest of World category last year and will do so again in 2020. They are really keen to test their products with wine lovers, like yourselves. If you'd like to receive a fizz stopper ...... (I will) ...... organise for one to be sent in the post for you to 'road 

Being a Round 1 and Round 2 judge at the People's Choice Wine Awards 2019 was great fun. If you missed my reviews of the event here's the links to my posts .... from judging to presentations. 

People's Choice Wine Awards - I was a judge

The Shortlist - People's Choice Wine Awards

People's Choice Wine Awards - the winners

This year's competition to become a Round 1 judge closes on 31st August so if you would like to be part of the 2020 awards send in your application 

The wines to be judged can be entered by anyone - producers, growers, retailers, distributors, independents... wine submitions must be in by 30th September.

Whilst I enjoy wine tasting events it's not always easy to get there; this said I am more than happy to review wine and wine products at home so had no hesitation in replying 'yes please' to Janet. 

I really enjoy sharing my discoveries on my blog and on social media as @Aimetu 

My Avina stopper arrived soon after; it's been great fun testing this gadget. My photo gallery is a timeline of discovery ..... you'll be amazed!

My Avina stopper arrived with a beautiful postcard
and letter (click the photo to read)

Rivamonte Prosecco (Majestic Wine)
a very nice glass of bubbles

The Avina stopper is so elegant, clean lines in its
design giving it a very high end sophisticated look.

So easy to use, pop into the bottle and
pull the silver disc down to seal.

My bottle of fizz sealed until tomorrow.

Bubbles sealed in the bottle - day one

Avina is easy opening too, simply lift
the silver disc to vertical. There was
a good pressure on opening day two.

I was very impressed with how easy the Avina stopper is to use. There is no need to try to fit around the neck rim of a bottle, or struggle to get two levers down at the same time. The cork fits straight into the bottle and the silver disc is easy to push down to become horizontal. 

Being impressed with the bubbles on day two I decided to give this little gadget a real work out ... my bottle sealed again I left it in the fridge for ...... a week!

Still some bubbles - ok a week was maybe
a little long but it was an impressive result.

Thank you Janet and Avina for the opportunity to review this great Champagne and Wine stopper.  It will be used for every bottle of fizz in our home as even between pours I like to keep the bubbles in. I'm keen to try it with wine now too so keep reading for a review update !

Amazing gadget - thank you Avina

July's wine selection

Hubby and I enjoyed some old favourites and discovered some new wines in July .... no wine tastings, no big events .... wine enjoyed at home! These were my highlights of the month.

Majestic Wine - £5.32 mixed case price 

We have always enjoyed Vinho Verde and having enjoyed a holiday in Portugal last year it reminds us of good times. This Majestic Wine has high floral notes on the nose, is crystal clear in the glass and has flavours of white peach and tropical fruits. It's an elegant wine with a good depth to its finish  with an underlying delicate fizz that gives it a little bit extra. I really enjoyed this wine chilled in the garden but it was also very good slightly warmer after dinner.  

Domaine Mas - purchased in France

We holidayed in the Languedoc late summer 2017 and visited many domaines and caveau. I especially enjoyed our visit to Domaine Mas where we discovered far more wines made by Jean-Claude Mas than we have access to here in the UK. You can read about our visit, as well as our visit to Abbaye des Monges, in my blog post Two Special Vineyards.

Claude Val is a blended wine made from grapes from a range of the Mas vineyards. I was attracted to this bottle by the artwork (we also purchased a white which had an equally artistic label). A blend of Grenache, Carignan, Merlot and Syrah, all the greats of southern France giving it a great flavour of dark fruits, touch of spice and a liquorice finish.

I loved this, such a shame we didn't bring back more - I wonder if it's available here in the UK?

Cour-Cheverny - purchased in France 

Loire Valley white wine is my favourite, namely Sancerre but I also enjoy Tourraine and Cheverney. When in France I always look for a bottle of Cour-Cheverney as this Loire Wine is made from just Romorantin grapes, it has only been an appellation since the late 1990s.

It's superb golden colour with great highlights looked very inviting in my Jaume Domaine glass. It's full of ripe apples, crispness and minerality from the limestone soil it grows on. A dry wine that for me has a little bit more to offer than Suvignon Blanc and served chilled is superb. Hopefully I can find some more on our next holiday as this was my last bottle!

Slurp - £7.95

Unfortunately we don't live near a Slurp store and although you can buy online I love a good browse in a wine shop. Luckily we were passing by Banbury on a recent holiday so called in for the said browse. I was delighted to rediscover Pasquiers, a red and white wine I have enjoyed before but never found in other stores.

A Pays d'Oc wine from Southern France (you can tell it's my favourite wine country) this is a Grenache Noir wine. The colour is great, the nose is full of fruit which carries through into the mouth. This is a 'settle back in the chair' wine that has great depth and a lasting finish.

Majestic Wine

This is a new wine to me, made from old vine Chenin Blanc, younger Grenache Blanc and a small amount of Palomino. A small percentage of this South African wine has been aged in oak barrels with the remainder matured 'sur lie' making it a rich elegant wine that is perfect on a summer day. 

In the glass the colour had a very slight edge of pale green; its nose was full of ripe pears and its flavour had plenty of white fruit,  floral hint and a mineral finish. I cannot remember the price and unfortunately it isn't currently available online but if you spot it in store it's one to grab and enjoy.

B&M Home Bargains - £6.99

I shouldn't really include this wine as I haven't opened it yet ... so why am I? Well it's my turn to choose the tasting for this month on Cuvée Reserve wine forum. Every month one of our members chooses a wine for everyone to buy and review at home ... reviews are posted after the 20th of each month to give everyone a chance to try without prejudgment from other's views.

This month I have chosen 19 Crimes Chard which is available in most supermarkets but cheapest in B&M Home Bargains. I have had this wine before at the Christmas Ideas wine tasting I hosted for  the Leaders of our Scout Group, I hope Cuvée Reserve members enjoy it as much as the Leaders did.

Cuvée Reserve wine forum is free to join and has many wine reviews in easy to find sections. Follow this link and by all means join in our August tasting of 19 Crimes Chard.