S H Jones

South African Variety Show

Tim Carlisle — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:10:05 +0000

The first winemaker to attend our South African Variety Show has been announced. The tasting which aims to show the diversity, quality and value of wines from South Africa will feature between 50 and 80 wines from a variety of producers with 10 representatives from wineries attending.

First to be announced is Paul Cluver Jr.

Paul Cluver wines are the foremost winery in the cool climate region Elgin, specialising in Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. As well as having incredibly high environmental ethics, the winery is also at the forefront of ethical trading having been responsible in part for setting up the Thandi initiative. It is family owned and run, with Paul Cluver Jr taking over the everyday running of the business from his father, whilst his sister Lisl is marketing director, Inge is financial director and Karin is involved in the fruit growing side of the business. The winemaker is Andries Burger who is married to Inge.

Wines produced include :-

Seven Flags Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Sauvignon Blanc
Riesling
Chardonnay
Gewurztraminer
Noble Late Harvest Riesling

As their website says

his family-owned, family-run wine business is located in the cool-climate Elgin Valley, approximately 70km south-east of Cape Town. The property has been in ownership of the Cluver Family since 1896. Recognised as pioneers of wine in the area, the focus is on producing elegant wines that are expressive of the terroir.

The wine business forms part of larger holistic farming business called ‘De Rust Estate’. In addition to the vineyards and cellar, there are apple and pear orchards, a Hereford stud and eco-tourism activities, including amphitheatre concerts, on the farm. This 2000+ hectare estate forms part of the UNESCO world heritage site, the Kogelberg Biosphere. Half of the estate has been set aside for conservation into perpetuity.

Rated 7th on the Grape Top 20 Wineries Poll of 2010
Founder member of the Green Mountain Eco-route – the World’s first wine & biodiversity route.
Initiator & mentor of Thandi Wines – SA’s first black economic empowerment wine brand and World’s first Fairtrade wine brand.
BWI Champion status since 2009
Drinks Business Green Awards 2010 – Lifetime Achievement Award went to Dr. Paul Cluver
Drinks Business Green Awards 2010 – Ethical Company Award – Joint runner-up.

Burns Night Malt Offers

Tim Carlisle — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:04:56 +0000

We’ve got some great offers until the end of January – stocks are limited and are available on a first come, first served basis. Please phone your local store before making a special journey to avoid disappointment.

Highland Park 18 Year Old £54.99 SAVE £15.00

Longrow 14 Year Old £39.99 SAVE £13.00

Laphroaig Quarter Cask £27.99 SAVE £5.00

Oban Distillers Edition £49.99 SAVE £10.00

Isle of Jura 16 Year Old £39.99 SAVE £8.00

Glenfiddich Distillers Edition £36.99 SAVE £8.00

Edradour 10 Year Old £32.99 SAVE £5.00

Balvenie Single Barrel 15 Year Old £42.99 SAVE £7.00

Macallan 12 Year Old £30.99 SAVE £9.00

Glenfarclas 30 Year Old £120.00 SAVE £25.00

Ardbeg Uigeadail £46.99 SAVE £10.00

Highland Park 25 Year Old £125.00 SAVE £30.00

Ardbeg Corryvreckan £55.99 SAVE £14.00

An Cnoc 12 Year Old £24.99 SAVE £7.00

Laphroaig 18 Year Old £69.99 SAVE £10.00

Old Pulteney 17 Year Old £43.99 SAVE £10.00

Laphroaig 25 Year Old £220.00 SAVE £45.00

Matthew Jukes 100 Best Lineup

Tim Carlisle — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:43:24 +0000

We have just confirmed the format and lineup of wines for the tasting with @matthewsjukes on the 2nd February in the Cellar Shop Banbury.

Matthew Jukes 100 Best Wines

Matthew will lead us through a selection of 15 wines from his 100 Best list, in addition a number of wineries have shown themselves to be worthy of recognition for producing wines that consistently appear in his list. These are the ‘Hall of Fame’ wines, and a selection of wines from these producers will also be on hand to taste during the evening

2010 Vasse Felix Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
2010 Tower Estate Semillon
2010 Pewsey Vale Riesling
2010 Ocean Eight Verve Chardonnay
2011 Turkey Flat Rosé
2009 Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir
2008 Paringa Estate Pinot Noir
2008 Hollick Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot
2008 Wakefield Promised Land Shiraz Cabernet
2009 Bremerton Tamblyn
2006 Jim Barry PB Shiraz Cabernet
2009 Turkey Flat Butchers Block Red
2007 Paringa Estate Peninsula Shiraz
2009 Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora
NV Campbells Classic Topaque – Muscadelle

Hall of Fame Tasting Table

2005 McWilliam’s Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon
2003 Tyrrell’s Winemaker’s Selection Vat 1 Semillon
2010 Yalumba Y Series Viognier
2010 Fox Gordon Princess Fiano
2008 Leeuwin Prelude Chardonnay
2010 De Bortoli Pinot Noir
2009 Moss Wood Amy’s Blend

Looks like a fish, moves like a fish, tastes like a cow *

Tim Carlisle — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:04:00 +0000

Hopefully everyone reading this blog will be aware that S H Jones not only host tutored tastings at our branches, we also provide outside venue tastings for wine clubs, charity events, and groups of interested individuals. On Monday evening I presented just such an event at the Red Cow Inn at Chesterton, courtesy of its landlord, Steve. Almost forty eager punters crammed into the Red Cow’s low-ceilinged, stone-flagged bar to enjoy a selection of wines carefully chosen to offer them something they’d never tried before. The eclectic collection tasted as follows…

Miopasso Fiano Sicily 2010 (£8.99/currently £7.49 as part of the Italian promotion)
Proof (if proof were needed) that there’s more to Italian white than Pinot Grigio. Citric and crisp up-front, rounding out to quite a full fruit, with a slightly honeyed, aromatic edge. This is light enough to work as a really characterful starter wine, but would also stand up to fresh fish dishes or soft cheese.

Terraprima Blanco Penedes 2010 (£10.99)
From cool vineyards high up in the Massis del Garraf, this is a thoroughly eccentric mix of Xarel-lo (a grape more commonly found in Cava, of which this part of Spain produces the lion’s share) and Riesling. Dry and elegant, with a light touch but a positive, lingering grapefruit and pear flavour with hints of fresh herbs and wood-smoke. Ideal with smoked salmon, creamy sauces, or delicately spiced dishes.

Yalumba Viognier Eden Valley 2009 (£13.99)
A bit of self-indulgence, as this is a real favourite of mine, and the perfect foil to those who think Aussie white is all syrupy, heavily oaked Chardonnay. This wine, from the cool, misty climate of the Eden Valley, is rounded and mouth-filling, but still beautifully balanced and fresh, showing delicate apricot and mandarin fruit and a lovely, mineral acidity. Very versatile white meat/fish wine, but also try it with dry, crumbly cheese or with bacon, gammon or duck.

Riveyrac Rouge Cotes du Roussillon 2010 (£6.99)
From the growers’ co-operative at Rivesaltes, this is a typical French-Mediterranean mix of grapes (Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Grenache) but unusually it undergoes maceration carbonique fermentation, like a Beaujolais. The result is a light-medium weight red with no perceivable tannin, but a deep purple colour and vibrant fresh-picked forest fruit flavours. Light enough to serve chilled in hot weather, but with winter coming, try this with grilled meats or seriously hot curry!

At this point there was a break for our tasters to enjoy the Red Cow’s cheese selection, complete with Steve’s homemade chutney and chilli relish. If you haven’t eaten at the Red Cow, it’s well worth a go. Suitably fortified, we went on to the second half…

Herdade Sao Miguel Ciconia Alentejo 2010 (£7.99)
A fantastic example of modern Portuguese winemaking, Ciconia is a mix of the native Touriga Nacional and Aragonez varieties, with some Syrah sandwiched in the middle. The flavour is as bold as the bright orange label, with soft, ripe tannins, bags of dark fruit, spicy aromatics, and a nice rustic, slightly rough around the edges quality that matches perfectly with casseroles and hearty meat dishes. In fact I can personally recommend it both with and in sausage stew!

Spice Route Chakalaka Swartland 2009 (£10.99)
The wonderfully named Chakalaka (a Zulu word for a traditional blend of spices) is a mix of six varieties, predominantly Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignan. If you happen to be at a South African Braai (barbecue – typically a bifurcated oil-drum full of coals with half an antelope on it) this is absolutely perfect! Hugely juicy and ripe, with solid but soft tannins and plenty of peppery, spicy tones. If you fancy something other than flame-grilled springbok, try Chakalala with dark chocolate.

Massaya Classic Red Bekaa Valley 2008 (£11.99)
Lebanon is one of the oldest winemaking areas on the planet, and this estate, set up by brothers Sami and Ramzi Ghosn in partnership with Dominique Hebrard of Chateau Trianon and the Bruniers of Vieux Telegraphe, is a leading light of the Bekaa Valley. This Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah mix is intense, very dry, and packed with bramble fruit flavours. Perfect with Middle-Eastern or North African cuisine such as kofta or tagine, but also great with game or simple roast lamb.

Vina von Siebenthal Carmenere Aconcagua Valley 2009 (£15.99)
Set up by expatriate Swiss lawyer and wine enthusiast Mauro von Siebenthal in 1998, this vineyard at Panquehue in Chile’s Aconcagua valley is already producing superb wines. This example, from Bordeaux’s now largely lost Carmenere grape, has both intensity and elegance, with masses of cassis fruit, hints of cedar-wood and tobacco, but held in a restrained package of fine-grained tannins. Need something to go with Christmas dinner? Keep this one in mind.

That concluded a great evening at the Red Cow, and one which we hope to repeat in the not too distant future. If you’re interested in organising a wine tasting event with S H Jones, please contact your local branch to discuss details.

* With apologies to the late great Douglas Adams for the misquote

Old Pulteney 21 year old

Tim Carlisle — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:57:46 +0000

Something special has happened to Old Pulteney, it’s the most northerly distillery on the mainland and as such the whisky undergoes a very special kind of maturation that is affected by it’s northern exposure up in Wick. But perhaps more excitingly for them is a ‘massive’ score of 97.5 points in just released Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible and winning ‘World Whisky of the Year’ has increased demand for this always popular dram.

Compared to the £130 George T Stagg Bourbon it beat into second place at (just) £84.99 this is something of a bargain! We currently have a little bit of stock available – whilst many specialist whisky merchants are completely out.

If you would like to order a bottle then please use the contact form or give your local branch a call and we’ll try and help you out.

Bordeaux Grand Cru 2009 Tasting

Kieron Galliard — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:07:18 +0000

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2009 Vintage Tasting, Paul Hamblyn Hall, Royal Opera House 18th October 2011
This annual event is the first major tasting at which many of the top Bordeaux wines are shown to the UK trade after bottling. Not all the classed growths are members of this particular club, and only Mouton and Yquem from the firsts are members (although they don’t show their wines at this tasting.) On a clear and sunny autumn day like today the glass roof and airy feel of the Paul Hamblyn Hall creates an excellent environment for tasting young wines, but the hoardes of thirsty tasters can make it difficult to get to the wines and spittoons.
I had tasted some 2009s on a study trip to Bordeaux in March this year before they were bottled, and was struck by the delicious and ripe fruit they offered. (Apparently some were served with lunches at the en primeur tastings last year – an idea presumably inconceivable in most vintages). I was anticipating a very consistent tasting, but found that a suitable structure to underpin the fruit was absent in some of the wines, especially from Pauillac, St Emilion and Pomerol. This is a dangerous generalisation, however, as the tasting was far from comprehensive.
Wines I particularly enjoyed included:
Graves: Ch. de Chantegrive Rouge – seemed to have a good balance of minerality, wood and fruit.
Pessac-Léognan: Dom. de Chevalier Blanc – Very crisp and pure – upright fruit with pretty tropical notes.
St Emilion: Ch Canon la Gaffelière – always a favourite, but showing really well – pristine ripe fruit and airy perfume. Lush, sweet-fruited palate.
Pomerol: Ch Beauregard – Supple and ripe fruit but with a suitable structure. A wine with class.
Moulis-en-Médoc: Ch Chasse-Spleen – Sweet and ripe fruit supported by sound tannins and acidity. Lots of youthful appeal but should also age gracefully.
Haut-Médoc: Ch. De Camensac – very upright structure – very serious and more elegant than many wines of the vintage.
Margaux: Ch. Rauzan-Ségla – ridiculous new label designed by Karl Lagerfeld, but the wine itself has delicious succulent sweet fruit, plenty of weight but well-balanced.
St Julien: Ch. Léoville-Poyferré – Fine sweet nose, silky texture to solidly structured palate. Lots of good wines from St Julien on this tasting.
Pauillac: Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste – the very retrained fine tannins and alluring fruit belie the innate power of this wine which only really becomes evident on the long finish.
St Estephe: Lafon-Rochet – Further evidence of the leaps in quality Basile Tesseron is achieving at this previously underperforming estate. Ripe earthy fruit, solid and rich. Needs a little time but the intense character already gives pleasure.

Leamington Wine and Cheese Evening

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:06:45 +0000

The latest tasting at our Leamington store was a great success with an evening of wine and cheese matching. It was a wonderfully informal evening with about 15 in attendance. The aim of the evening was to show that red wines are not always the best match for a number of cheeses. May I thank our good friends Nicola and Susan form Deli-cious delicatessen for supplying the majority of the excellent cheeses. A big thank you also to Diana Coleman form the ‘Interprofession de Gruyere’ for supplying her own bodyweight in Gruyere cheese.

We started the night off with the classic pairing of Sancerre and a young soft goat’s cheese. We used the 2009 Sancerre from Andre Dezat. It’s lemony flavours and zingy acidity made a perfect compliment to the citrus dominated cheese. A great start! (Dezat Sancerre, £14.99)

We then paired The Dona Paula Pinot Noir with a creamy Brie de Meaux. Tannins and cheese can be fairly clashy so this soft rich number worked perfectly. The wine had a lifted red fruit nose with an enticing violet quality. The wine is so soft on the palate and this velvety character enhanced the cheese’s beautiful texture. (Dona Paula Pinot Noir £10.99, limited stocks)

Perhaps one of the most popular combinations was the Escarpment Pinot Gris from New Zealand matched with a Langres cheese from the champagne region. It is similar in style to an Epoisses, though perhaps a bit milder. Incredibly rich and stinky, this cheese needs an equally rich bedfellow. The Escarpment Pinot Gris is full of ripe pears, peaches and perhaps a bit of honey. This full bodied Pinot Gris is a far cry from a delicate Itlain Pinot Grigio and I would urge you to try this wonderful grape. (Escarpment Pinot Gris, £12.99)

Other great matches were the Ridgeway IPA beer with the simply terrific Black Bomber Cheddar from Snowdonia. A harmony of richness, tanginess and maturity. The last cheese of the night was a cave aged Gruyere with a 5 year old Malmsey Madeira from Blandys. This was all about matching the nutty qualities of the cheese and I am delighted that we have introduced some customers to the fortified wines of Madeira.

Thanks to all who attended and we hope to see you at future tastings

Tom

Whisky Gems: Get Them “Doon Yer Thrapple”

Janet Whitehouse — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:50:55 +0000

Our Whisky Gems evening last Friday in the Banbury high street shop was a chance to get together with some customers and sample a few things that have stirred our interest in recent months.

We kicked off the evening with the malty but also quite fruity Royal Lochnagar 12-Year-Old (£32.99). Mixed opinions on this: one or two people felt it could have been a bit smoother, others enjoyed the malty element. Lochnagar is reputed to have been Queen Victoria’s favourite distillery (and tipple?), probably as it’s a close neighbour to Balmoral. As a point of interest, it’s also one of Scotland’s smallest distilleries and uses only two small copper pot stills.

Next came an alternative for Islay aficionados. The Jura Superstition (£33.99) is a blend of older and younger, more peated, malt. A touch of honey sweetness, a touch of spice and a touch of smoke made it decidedly easy to sup and there was a general thumbs up from the samplers.

Mackinlay’s Highland Malt (£100.00) followed. A tribute by White & Mackay to Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, whose whisky was buried under his abandoned hut and lay undiscovered for over a century. The rich flavours replicate faithfully the whisky style of yester-year (pretty much everyone agreed it was “rather good”, elegant and surprisingly complex) and even the original strength of 47.3% has been maintained. They’ve packaged it beautifully too in a replica box and wooden case.

Then the Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix (£69.99). Bottled in 2010, this whisky commemorates the dramatic moment at the distillery when four warehouse roofs collapsed under the weight of snowfall in January 2009. The finest casks were selected from the snow damaged warehouses and the whisky is a blend of some very old Glenfiddich married together with younger casks, some ex-Oloroso and some ex-bourbon. It was smooth, creamy, with a bit of sweetness and hints of apple, toffee and vanilla.

Glenmorangie Signet (£130.00) was next. Made using heavily toasted chocolate malt, this was rich and sweet with lots of delicious dried fruit flavours. It is a blend of Glenmorangie’s old malt (some over 30 years) with their younger, as well as a mix of casks, including ex-oloroso and new oak.

Finally, Ardbeg Alligator (£69.99) for the peat heads amongst us. My colleague Simon has posted an excellent description of this under the title of “In the Lair of the Alligator”. Suffice to say that the Banbury tasters couldn’t get enough of it either and it has now sold out!

Argentina Offers

Tim Carlisle — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:59:41 +0000

This month we’ve got a great range of Argentinian wines on offer :-

£11.49 Save £2
Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec
Trivento Golden Reserve Syrah

£6.99 Save £1.50
Trivento Reserva Malbec
Trivento Reserva Cabernet / Malbec
Trivento Reserva Chardonnay
Trivento Reserva Syrah
Trivento Reserva Viognier

£5.99 Save £3
O Fournier Urban Sauvignon Blanc

£7.99 Save £1
O Fournier Urban Tempranillo
O Fournier Urban Torrontes

£13.69 Save £2.30
O Fournier BCrux Blend

£5.99 Save £1.50
Bodegas Riojanas Torrontes

Chile Series – Aconcagua

Tim Carlisle — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:19:14 +0000

A region that is dominated by a river of the same name – itself named after the tallest mountain in the Americas. Aconcagua is known for it’s rich ripe red wines which account for 80% of plantings. More recently Sauvignon Blanc has been making a name for itself, whilst Cabernet Sauvignon is by far the most planted red variety. Here a mix of large estate such as Errazuriz mix with boutique wineries such as Von Sibenthal who are pushing the envelope of quality so that the potential of the region is at last starting to be realised.

Von Siebenthal Carmenere £15.99 shows lush, ripe forest fruit flavours with some blackcurrent leaf notes giving a wine which is both ripe full and round but that somehow manages to show restraint and finesse all at the same time.