The Lustau Legacy at Lola Rojo, Clapham
07-Mar-09 - Some background about this: my first ever visit to Spain was in 1974, and it was to visit the bodegas of Emilio Lustau in Jerez. I was travelling on behalf of my employer, Vintage Wines Ltd. of Nottingham, carrying samples of the types of wines which we wanted to add to our Don Quixote range of Sherries - which was then one of the finest in the kingdom. Having telephoned the airlines (what did we do before the internet?) I discovered that a return flight to Seville was £130, and at that time I earned £35 a week. Add in hotels, travel to Jerez, etc., and the week's trip would have peaked at somewhere around £500 - about three months' pay. My boss - the late Reg Haward - weighed in with £50 in expenses but even so the cost was prohibitive. I subsequently went to one of the tour operators, who did me a deal for £56, including flights and six nights' full board in the Hotel Palma Sol in Benalmádena, which was then a tacky seaside resort is now an even tackier seaside city. I was accompanied by an old school pal, Mike Smith, and we hired a clapped-out SEAT 127 and drove over the Sierra de Ronda to Jerez, where we were treated royally, but that really is a whole 'nother story.
The reason I mention this is because I have kept in touch with the Lustau company ever since, and am on their mailing list. The company was taken over a few years ago by the Luís Caballero Group, but they left it as a stand-alone business and its wines are now, as ever, amongst the best that Jerez has to offer.
One recent result of this connection occurred last Christmas (2008), when I had an e-mail from Lustau. I can't even remember what it was about but it required a reply, which I sent. Then I started to receive copies of replies from other people, and it became clear that owing to some glitch in the software, everybody's replies were being sent to everyone else on the mailing list - hundreds of them. Some miserable bastards kept posting messages grumbling about the invasion of their privacy, some said they hadn't had so much fun for years, and I got a message from John Scholes, whom I hadn't seen for 25 years but who was also on the Lustau mailing list, and he'd picked up my e-mail address from the various rogue messages.
A bit more background: from 1975 to 1988 I hosted adult-education wine appreciation classes in Nottingham (Clarendon College) and Derbyshire (Friesland School), and John and his colleague Alan Brocklehurst came along to the classes. They are both mathematicians and were living in Derbyshire and working for Rolls-Royce in the technical departments. They had a great chat-up line with girls - Al was introduced as an 'atom scientist' and John as a 'rocket scientist', both of which descriptions were absolutely correct. I don't pretend to understand the science, but they used to make mathematical models of various nuclear and chemical reactions which, er, drove nuclear reactors and, um, rockets. For once it really was 'rocket science'. Al has been to The Eversley on numerous occasions, but not since the autumn of 2007.
Anyway, to cut a long story short all three of us agreed to meet for a reunion lunch last Saturday (07-Mar-09), and as I'd had rather a good lunch at Lola Rojo in Clapham (see post of 16-Jun-08) with Tom Moggach of The London Paper, I suggested that we should go there. The problem was that they don't take bookings, so I suggested that we meet at the Windsor Castle on St John's Road and decide what to do from there on (the idea was that we could all get to CLJ without changing trains). I turned left out of the station and the only pub I could find was the Falcon, which was heaving (and offered 12 guest beers, as well), but this was not the place. A friendly soul pointed out that I should have turned right out of the station, so I schlepped back up the hill and, indeed, found the Windsor Castle - strangely almost deserted in great contrast to the Falcon. Al arrived and said he wasn't surprised: the Bombardier was off and the London pride was less than exciting. John arrived and we decided that, booking or no, we'd try for Lola Rojo. It's a half-mile walk from the station, and I offered to get a cab and catch them up, but in the event we all piled into a cab and off we went... All the way down St John's road (all the right-turns are 'no entry') until Evelyn road, then left-turn only on to Clapham Common, so all the way round the common and on to Wakehurst road, and then... Road closed due to roadworks. Several more zigzags before we arrived, and a £10 fare for the 'half mile' journey.
But it was worth it. We got a table by the door with a view to the terrace where, on a Saturday, they sell 'street food' tapas over the wall to passers-by. We got stuck into a bottle of Palacio de Bornos Rueda Verdejo and started decimating the menu. The meal was a triumph: we chose nine tapas, from pan con tomate to roast suckling pig, with cod croquettes, squid with chorizo, fabada, serrano ham, tortilla, patatas bravas and garlic prawns. We graduated from the Verdejo to Colección Costeira Treixadura from Ribeiro, and then Pittacum Bierzo Mencía with a selection of Spanish cheeses. The only mild criticism was from Al, who said that he thought the patatas could have been a little more brava - the sauce was delicious but rather mild, and we all like our chillies. We finished off with large glasses of Brandy de Jerez (very gamey, rich, aldehydey, fab) and coffee, and John picked up the tab before we staggered back to the taxi.
The service was excellent (and the waitresses must be the prettiest in London) and we all enjoyed it so much that we've agreed to meet again in the summer and repeat the event. Trouble is, I think it might be my turn to pay...
Journey home from CLJ? A 12-carriage train evolved into an 8-carriage train, and when it arrived ('delayed') it turned out to be a 4-carriage train, but with 12 carriages'-worth of passengers. I don't know how they get away with it. I managed to squeeze in, but got off at East Croydon. It meant a half hour delay, but at least the following train really did have 12 carriages. After figuring out which four of them were actually going to Worthing (furthest from the front, of course) I did manage to get a seat, and was home in time for apéritifs. It had been a busy day.
To sponsor a weblink or picture for any post, please contact john@johnradford.com
The reason I mention this is because I have kept in touch with the Lustau company ever since, and am on their mailing list. The company was taken over a few years ago by the Luís Caballero Group, but they left it as a stand-alone business and its wines are now, as ever, amongst the best that Jerez has to offer.
One recent result of this connection occurred last Christmas (2008), when I had an e-mail from Lustau. I can't even remember what it was about but it required a reply, which I sent. Then I started to receive copies of replies from other people, and it became clear that owing to some glitch in the software, everybody's replies were being sent to everyone else on the mailing list - hundreds of them. Some miserable bastards kept posting messages grumbling about the invasion of their privacy, some said they hadn't had so much fun for years, and I got a message from John Scholes, whom I hadn't seen for 25 years but who was also on the Lustau mailing list, and he'd picked up my e-mail address from the various rogue messages.
A bit more background: from 1975 to 1988 I hosted adult-education wine appreciation classes in Nottingham (Clarendon College) and Derbyshire (Friesland School), and John and his colleague Alan Brocklehurst came along to the classes. They are both mathematicians and were living in Derbyshire and working for Rolls-Royce in the technical departments. They had a great chat-up line with girls - Al was introduced as an 'atom scientist' and John as a 'rocket scientist', both of which descriptions were absolutely correct. I don't pretend to understand the science, but they used to make mathematical models of various nuclear and chemical reactions which, er, drove nuclear reactors and, um, rockets. For once it really was 'rocket science'. Al has been to The Eversley on numerous occasions, but not since the autumn of 2007.
Anyway, to cut a long story short all three of us agreed to meet for a reunion lunch last Saturday (07-Mar-09), and as I'd had rather a good lunch at Lola Rojo in Clapham (see post of 16-Jun-08) with Tom Moggach of The London Paper, I suggested that we should go there. The problem was that they don't take bookings, so I suggested that we meet at the Windsor Castle on St John's Road and decide what to do from there on (the idea was that we could all get to CLJ without changing trains). I turned left out of the station and the only pub I could find was the Falcon, which was heaving (and offered 12 guest beers, as well), but this was not the place. A friendly soul pointed out that I should have turned right out of the station, so I schlepped back up the hill and, indeed, found the Windsor Castle - strangely almost deserted in great contrast to the Falcon. Al arrived and said he wasn't surprised: the Bombardier was off and the London pride was less than exciting. John arrived and we decided that, booking or no, we'd try for Lola Rojo. It's a half-mile walk from the station, and I offered to get a cab and catch them up, but in the event we all piled into a cab and off we went... All the way down St John's road (all the right-turns are 'no entry') until Evelyn road, then left-turn only on to Clapham Common, so all the way round the common and on to Wakehurst road, and then... Road closed due to roadworks. Several more zigzags before we arrived, and a £10 fare for the 'half mile' journey.
But it was worth it. We got a table by the door with a view to the terrace where, on a Saturday, they sell 'street food' tapas over the wall to passers-by. We got stuck into a bottle of Palacio de Bornos Rueda Verdejo and started decimating the menu. The meal was a triumph: we chose nine tapas, from pan con tomate to roast suckling pig, with cod croquettes, squid with chorizo, fabada, serrano ham, tortilla, patatas bravas and garlic prawns. We graduated from the Verdejo to Colección Costeira Treixadura from Ribeiro, and then Pittacum Bierzo Mencía with a selection of Spanish cheeses. The only mild criticism was from Al, who said that he thought the patatas could have been a little more brava - the sauce was delicious but rather mild, and we all like our chillies. We finished off with large glasses of Brandy de Jerez (very gamey, rich, aldehydey, fab) and coffee, and John picked up the tab before we staggered back to the taxi.
The service was excellent (and the waitresses must be the prettiest in London) and we all enjoyed it so much that we've agreed to meet again in the summer and repeat the event. Trouble is, I think it might be my turn to pay...
Journey home from CLJ? A 12-carriage train evolved into an 8-carriage train, and when it arrived ('delayed') it turned out to be a 4-carriage train, but with 12 carriages'-worth of passengers. I don't know how they get away with it. I managed to squeeze in, but got off at East Croydon. It meant a half hour delay, but at least the following train really did have 12 carriages. After figuring out which four of them were actually going to Worthing (furthest from the front, of course) I did manage to get a seat, and was home in time for apéritifs. It had been a busy day.
To sponsor a weblink or picture for any post, please contact john@johnradford.com
posted by John Radford at
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