Superb wine week

Well we've certainly enjoyed some great wine, and beer, this week partly because our friends joined us for dinner on Friday to celebrate Hubby's birthday. Although we celebrated on his birthday in Falmouth we have delayed meeting friends and are having a few small dinners rather than having lots of people at home ... how life has changed!

However some things are back, I loved planning and cooking our dinner especially our wines. But beforehand I just want to mention this super dark beer from Williams Bros Brewing Co.

Not one for the faint hearted, or a session beer, as this creamy chocolaty stout is 4.9%. It is full of deep flavours with notes orange left behind every sip. It was superb on a cold winter evening whilst watching the rugby.

On to the wine, knowing Hubby enjoys Rioja our friends arrived with a bottle of Marques del Norte Gran Reserve which the chaps enjoyed with dinner. I'm not a fan of Rioja wine, I like the rich fruit and heady spice aroma often with notes of tabacco but I just don't like the flavour. I've tried a few and I'm undecided on whether it is the Tempranillo grape I dislike or just red wine from this region ... more research is needed I think!

The other red we opened was Willy Willy 2020 Shiraz from Laithwaites. This deeply coloured red from Australia has plenty of fruit and a super kick of pepper accompanied by a hint of vanilla. I love how the label reflects the swirl of the wine, I can imagine the plums, blackcurrants and spices mingling together.

I took a bit of a gamble with our white wines. I usually drink whites within 3 or 4 years of their date and with me not drinking much the last few years I have a few whites that were getting old. We had a superb holiday in France in September 2019 visiting Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé where we purchase quite a few wines. This Old World style of Sauvignon Blanc is my absolute favourite so for me it was the perfect place to visit. 

One of the bottles I still have was a 2018 Gilles Langlois Pouilly-Fumé. I was a little nervous opening it but it was absolutely delicious. A dry, light wine with slight acidity it had a balanced amount of fruit and was very elegant in its finish. It's on the purchase list for when we re-visit this super village east of the Upper Loire.

Our other white was a purchase from Love Wine, again a few years ago. Chenonceaux is my favourite Loire chateau, it's quite famous as it is built across the River Cher and was used as a hospital during WWI. This part of the Loire is under the Touraine appellation which covers a large area and as such gives a variety of terroir including limestone with chalk beds. 

There is quite a variety of red grapes grown in this appellation and although Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc white grapes are grown it is Sauvignon Blanc, around 80%, that is dominant. Our bottle of Touraine Chenonceaux was a darker colour than the lighter wine from the Upper Loire. It was full of tropical fruits with a floral hint of honeysuckle. A lovely wine, refreshing with a lengthy finish that certainly brought back memories of our Loire Valley holidays. 

During the week we also enjoyed another couple of the Gloucester Brewery beers. DIPA at 7.5% was a weighty drink, Double India Pale Ale is a little strong for me in flavour as well as alcohol. However the American Pale Ale at 6.4% was much more to my liking with its mango and tropical fruit notes.

Have you noticed anything about my post? It's certainly good to be able to taste wine again and to enjoy time with our friends .... as you can see because all the bottles, including this lovely Cabalie Blanc, are empty!