'Our Ancestor'

23-Feb-11 - This is a silly story, but it amuses me to think what might have been, probably in a fantasy world. While we were at the Grande Champagne Cognac tasting at the Hellenic centre James pointed out 'our ancestor' - a marble bust of Lord Byron who is, of course, a national hero in Greece.

The story is this: we Radfords are a large tribe, and my branch of the family comes from Nottingham/south Derbyshire (specifically around the Alfreton area) and, while I was working for a publisher in the East Midlands in the 1980s, over a period of time I wrote tourist guides for the five counties. Of particular interest for me was Nottinghamshire, of course, which was the home of Lord Byron. He inherited the title, as well as Newstead Abbey, quite unexpectedly, but only lived at the Abbey sporadically. While he was there, he had a housekeeper called Annie Radford and, although unmarried, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son  whom she named John Radford. She never revealed the name of the father, but Lord Byron's reputation for sexual profligacy led many people to believe that... Well, you get the picture.

Of course the father could have been the gardener or the butler or the under-footman, but I prefer to believe that, had things been different, I might be the current Lord Byron. I have published poetry, after all.

The real Lord Byron is a barrister in London. I have never met him but I wonder if there might be some form of family resemblance. Probably not.

A Grande (Champagne) Day Out

23-Feb-11 - It's quite a while since I delved into Cognac (see posts starting 23-Sep-08) so the opportunity to taste a range of Grande Champagne Cognacs in London, courtesy of  Les Compagnons du Cognac (LCC), was too good to miss. LCC is a specialist importer with a mission to promote and sell Cognacs from smaller, independent producers, and return some of the profits to social and community projects in the Charentes. My son James is a big Cognac fan and I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for him to taste a range and also to take some pics for this blog.

 Hard at work - James Redhead and me on the other side of the table. Hugo Dunn-Meynell this side.

The event was held at the Hellenic Centre on Paddington Street in London, hosted by James Redhead of LCC and my old Circle of Wine Writers colleague Nicholas Faith (author of  'Cognac' in 2005 and several other books). The room was large and airy, there were plenty of chairs (!) and I saw several other old wine-trade chums including the eternal Hugo Dunn-Meynell who, like me, was grateful for the opportunity of a seated tasting. But on to the Cognacs: there were 40 on show (including Hine Antique as 'a reference sample'), ranging in age from 10-48 years old and classified as VSOP (minimum four years); Napoléon/Réserve (minimum six years); XO (more than 6 years); and Hors d'Age (typically 10 years plus). These are the basic criteria, but, of course, producers of Cognac all have their own way of doing things in terms of ageing and epithets.

One thing I noticed on my last visit to the region was a hint of what I can only describe as 'emulsion paint' on the nose, particularly with younger Cognacs. I'm told that this is a product of the higher alcohols produced during distillation, but it puts me off. Very rarely a Cognac starts with that aroma but then 'kicks in' with its own characteristics, so I have forgiven them: a bit like 'gaminess' in wine. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

There isn't room to list all of them, but these are the ones which impressed me the most. Pictures, prices (and ages, where quoted) are taken from the LCC website:

VSOP

Paul Beau VSOP - £33.60 - a lighter style, with a soft, gentle, almost delicate nose but a rich, classic Cognac palate.
Blanleuil VSOP - £39.84 - lovely, light, floral nose, spiky-spicy mid-palate and a long dark mellow finish.
Couprie VSOP - £34.80 - very delicate mellow-wood nose with a lovely soft, warm, rich palate, very long.
Prisset VSOP - £36.00 - 15 years old - this is only a Fine Champagne rather than a Grande Champagne but had a lovely, fresh, clean nose and a rich, almost chocolatey palate.
Ragnaud-Sabourin Alliance No. 10 VSOP - £40.80 - lovely mature nose, smoky-oaky and delicious and, yes, classic Cognac style on the palate.

NAPOLÉON/RÉSERVE

Marcadier-Bardot Napoléon - £44.40 - surprisingly light and fresh on the nose with hints of fruit on the palate, giving way to heat and a mellow finish.

Gauthier Napoléon (Réserve Famille) - £76.18 - Yes! Big, aromatic soft-toffee-caramel nose, giving way to a surprisingly delicate, almost floral palate. Superb.

Mercier Napoléon - £? - a hint of that 'emulsion paint' aroma on the nose, but the palate falls in with a big, warm. Ripe finish. Excellent.

XO

Ragnaud-Sabourin Alliance No. 20 Réserve Spéciale - £61.20 - very delicate nose but big, hot mid-palate and great length.
Henri Geffard Vieille Réserve - £68.83 - 20 years old - behind the soft, delicate, aromatic nose lies huge power, warmth, and length.
Paul Beau Vieille Réserve - £52.01 - a delicate nose and then 'voom!' The palate expands with broad, toasty flavours. Delicious.
Marcadier-Bardot XO - £66.00 -  delicate caramel nose hides a powerful, big, rich palate with a warm caramel finish.
Banchereau XO - £62.40 - lovely mature 'caramel' nose, rich, 'chewy', powerful palate, long. Excellent.
Blanleuil XO - £66.78 - soft caramel on the nose and a beguiling 'sweet' fruit on the mid-palate with a bright 'hi-fruit' finish.
Jacques Denis XO - £57.60 - slight citrus on the nose but a good, big 'buttery' mid-palate and a long caramel finish.

Gauthier XO Très Vieux - £? - Yes! Softer nose but with heat warmth, and wonderful balance on the palate. I wrote 'Fab!' But this is dangerously drinkable

HORS D'AGE

Marcadier-Bardot Hors d'Age - £108.00 - Yes: hot but not 'chilli-hot' with a rich caramel length.
Ragnaud-Sabourin Alliance No. 35 Fontvieille - £108.00 - 35 years old - soft, generous, delicate, mature nose with 'hot fruit' on the palate and a gentle finish with a hint of... Pineapple?

Jacques Denis Extra - £? - 30 years old - soft, mellow, mature nose, big 'chilli' heat on the palate but mellow power and old wood on the finish.
Banchereau Hors d'Age - £122.40 - 25 years old - another big, hot, rich powerful style with mature wood on the finish. Fab!

Prisset Très Vieille 1962 - £? - 48 years old - I expected to find this too woody but it was perfectly balanced, with some fruit on the nose and a delicious richness on the palate. Fab!

Jacques Denis Vieille Réserve - £? - 40 years old - gentle, aromatic nose with understated power which comes in with the palate, hints of fruit and very long. Excellent.

Job done - and off to lunch!

This was a fascinating tasting. I had expected to like the oldest Cognacs the most, but this was not necessarily the case. Although there were  some excellent venerable examples there, I found that my personal taste was most beguiled by the 10-15-year old bracket. Sometimes very old Cognacs (indeed, very old spirits generally) can 'dry out' after too long in wood and, of course, it's down to the individual distiller to decide what's right for his or her particular spirit. I'm really glad to have tasted such a worthwhile range, and to become acquainted with the small, independent distillers who so often live in the shadow of the big names.

DECANTER Spanish Wine Encounter

19-Feb-11 - It's the first time that DECANTER magazine has done a specifically Spanish event at the Landmark Hotel in London and it was a great success. I was presenting one of three masterclasses ('Rising Stars' was the title), and everyone seemed to enjoy it, and the whole event. 

  Estrellas en Ascenso - the presentation begins. (Pic.: www.decanter.com)

 I also met quite a few old friends in the ballroom - there were 50 tables and (theoretically) 300 wines to taste (although some of the exhibitors seemed to have a few more), and I did a book-signing after the presentation.

Dear lady - please buy a book!! (pic.: Decanter.com)

 The event was a sell-out and Publishing Director Sarah Kemp told me that they're probably going to do it again next year. There's a short video about it here.

Chef Magazine - Issue 16 - January 2011

21-Jan-11 - The magazine finally arrived, after a slight delay due to the rebranding. There's a firm somewhere which seems to think it owns the two words 'Yes Chef' and they've been pursuing us through their lawyers for some time. Our lawyers have, apparently, said they don't stand a chance in court, but now that we're established and everybody in the business knows who we are it seemed simpler to change the name, so it's become Chef Magazine, and is going bi-monthly from this issue. There are other developments, too including the Chef Club, and you can find out more at the new website www.chefmagazine.co.uk, which is still undergoing its metamorphosis.

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A Time for Reflection? - Jean-Luc Naret

18-Jan-11 - For many of us it would be the best job in the world - Directeur-Général of the Michelin Guide, plush offices in Paris, and an expense account the envy of City traders... But Jean-Luc Naret left at the end of December, 2010. We met at the launch of the 2011 Great Britain and Ireland Guide.

We started by talking about the 2011 Guide - not many fireworks? "It's been a difficult year and I think that the industry has survived impressively. People are still eating out and restaurateurs have risen to the challenge to keep them coming." So this explains why there's a net gain of only three stars over the whole country this year? "Indeed, and a third of those stars are in London - it's been said that London has become the gastronomic capital of the world." But surely there are more stars in Tokyo and Paris than in London? "The UK has about 30,000 restaurants nationwide. Tokyo has 160,000 restaurants just in the one city. It's not the number of stars that counts, it's the diversity of styles - In London there are stars for Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and, of course French, but most are for what's often described as 'modern British', a style which was pioneered here." So the perceived bias towards French style when awarding stars is a calumny? "We get this every year. It's nonsense. All our inspectors in the UK are British and judge the restaurants by British standards."

On the subject of 'gastronomic capitals', it's been suggested that France generally is slipping a bit when it comes to restaurant quality - there was a time where even the smallest village would have somewhere good to eat but now it doesn't seem to be the same. "I disagree. There is a new generation of young French chefs who have done the 'tour' and worked all over the world. Eventually they come home and set up their own businesses: at the Guide we have news of  about 100 restaurants opening each year, many of them with new ideas, and we look at them all." Elsewhere in the world the new Guide to Chicago has just been launched. What are the future plans for expansion? "In the USA perhaps more city Guides. The country is too big for a single book. Similarly, we've been looking at the gastronomic scene in Australia, and there may be guides to such as Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne in due course." And the rest of the world - Brazil, China, India? "China is certainly a prospect, again looking at city Guides - perhaps 'the little red book of M. Michelin?' And we're already thinking about Brazil, but I don't think India is ready yet. There are wonderful restaurants in the major cities there but, again, the sheer size of the country precludes a 'national' Guide at the moment."

Other prospects include Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Dubai and Qatar, and Jean-Luc is staying on as a consultant for the time being. When you launch a guide in a new country, is there ever any animosity along the lines of 'this foreign guide coming here and telling us how to cook?' "Not animosity, but certainly sometimes suspicion. Tokyo was a case in point. Once again many people thought we'd be biased towards French-style cooking, but 95% of our inspectors are Japanese (it'll be 100% later this year) and when diners were satisfied that they knew what they were talking about, they took to it with enthusiasm."

 Jean-Luc Naret with last year's Michelin Guide to Tokyo, which was launched during his tenure.

And, in any case, Jean-Luc will not be taking a 'hands-on' role in these future developments, although he has been retained as a consultant. His background is in luxury hotels: "interestingly, I have never worked in restaurants, only in hotels, and I have never been an inspector - too well-known. The strength of the Guide is that all its inspectors are anonymous".

Certainly, his CV impresses with its scope: the Orient Express, Le Bristol in Paris, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, One&Only in Mauritius, and all before the age of 30. He famously ran the Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados, which is well-known as a place much admired by Michael Winner "he gave us his first good review in 20 years!"

Before joining Michelin in September, 2003, he was Vice-President of Operations for the Serena Group of hotels and resorts, which is owned by the Aga Khan, and he was also Managing Director of the Trianon Palace in Versailles, which is a pretty good grounding in luxury accommodation management.

During the past six years he has overseen the expansion of the Guide, now published in 23 countries (in all but the USA it's the number one guide)  and which sold 1.2 million copies in 2010 - a success story by any standard. So why did he want to leave? "I wanted some time for reflection, leisure, time with the family. In six months' time I'll see if I can hear the voice 'calling me back', or I might decide to set up my own company - 'do a Robuchon', perhaps!" Joël Robuchon famously retired in 1996 and then, three months later, was so bored that he went back into the business.

Jean-Luc turns 50 in March 2011 and thinks that it's time to take stock. But won't he miss the buzz?  "It's been an incredible adventure to have taken the Guide from where it was, and now my successor will be able to take it from where it is to even greater success. You have to move on but every time you leave a bit of your soul behind." And, of course, as consultant he'll be able to keep a finger on the pulse of the business, do some training, and act as an ambassador for the brand, which he describes rather flambuoyantly as "the sexiest guide in town."

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Michelin at Bibendum

18-Jan-11 - Big launch for the 2011 Michelin Guide to the UK and Ireland at Bibendum House on the Fulham road, and an opportunity to interview Jean-Luc Naret, outgoing Directeur-Générale of Michelin in Paris. There's a question-and-answer session with him coming up in the March-2011 issue of the magazine but for an in-depth look at his personal view of the immediate past and the immediate future, see the following post. Bibendum is a magnificent building and the lunch was good without being exciting - it used to have its own Michelin star when I first went there, but that was twenty-odd years ago.  But they're still trying. After lunch it was off to the Milestone Hotel in Knightsbridge for a forthcoming series on luxury hotels, but more of that in a later post.

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Evie's Second Christmas

27-Dec-10 - James, Claire and Evie arrived and after lunch we all set to to open our presents. Like all small children (now 15 months) Evie gleefully ripped them open and then played with the wrapping paper. Since her last visit in October she was now walking without assistance and she was into everything, fascinated by the stairs, trying to get into the utility room (which was freezing) and examining everything she could find. We may have to start locking breakables up.

I'm Alan Partridge! (well, for a fortnight anyway)

12-Dec-10 - The oddest things turn up in December. I'd been invited a month previously to do a fortnight's broadcasting in Newbury. It was a pilot series for a company called Immedia plc (founded by Bruno Brookes of Radio 1 fame) which does in-house radio for commercial companies, international groups and, in my case BUPA care homes, of which there are some 300. The pilot was going out to about a dozen of them and was to run from 12-Dec-10 to Christmas Day inclusive. The programme was from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm and, as Newbury is a two-hour drive from where I live, it wasn't going to be practical to commute, especially given that we'd had snow at the beginning of the month and might be in for some more (which, indeed, we were).  After a good deal of research it became clear that nobody was going to rent me a room for just two weeks (besides, I hate house-shares), so, as I may have mentioned before, I am something of a fan of budget Travelodge-type hotels (rather Like Alan Partridge at the Linton Travel-Tavern), and I found one at the right price at Membury services on the M4. Day's Inn, it's called, on the westbound carriageway, but as a resident you're allowed to use the 'secret bridge' which connects nearly all motorway service areas but is closed to the public.

It was a 16-mile drive to the studios, but it was all motorway or dual carriageway, so less than half an hour. The staff were excellent - they loaded and unloaded my car, carried my bags to the room every night when I got back, opened the security barrier for me and allowed me to park close to the main door. The room was large, clean and comfortable with a good-sized work desk, TV with 30-odd channels that actually worked, and free wifi, and when the snow did come - a good three inches of it - and it was freezing outside, I was as warm as toast. All this for £35 a night

The only thing missing was, of course a bar/restaurant because the hotel is right next door to the motorway services building. Trouble is, it only serves 'motorway food', so my daily routine involved going to a supermarket in Newbury and stocking up on sandwiches, sausage rolls, and cup-a-soups (and wine, of course) and picnicking in the hotel when I got back. It worked very well, especially when I realised that there was a pizza takeaway next door to the studios... I did think, however, that they could have made a bit extra by doing a deal with the services to offer a 'takeaway' service delivered to your hotel room. I stayed in a hotel in Stockholm once which had a deal with a takeaway next door to provide room service. No doubt the hotel got a cut, and the guests got something to eat if they were in late. Just a thought.

 On the whole it was quite an enjoyable and unusual way to spend a couple of weeks and get paid for it, and I was safely back home by 8:00 pm on Christmas night, looking forward to welcoming the family, who were coming down for a few days on the Monday between Christmas and New Year.

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Manchester Guild of Sommeliers

29-Nov-10 - Back to Manchester to speak to the Guild of Sommeliers about the wines of Castilla y León at the behest of the regional government export department. Rather threatened by the fact that the train was two hours late (somebody committed suicide by jumping in front of it, apparently) but the guests weren't fazed as it was an end-of-the day tasting anyway, and we started and finished an hour late. Some fab wines including double gold-medal-winning Peíque from Bierzo (£10 a bottle!) and Malleolus from Ribera del Duero (£26). The long-list they had sent me included Pesús from Bodegas Sastre but this was delisted when they discovered that it retails in the UK at £225 a bottle. Most unusual was probably the Bornos late harvest, a sweet Verdejo from Rueda (£10 for 50cl). The average price of the seven wines we tasted was £12.43. I may have said this before, but I still think that for diversity, interest and sheer value for money, Castilla y León is currently the most exciting region of Spain and (hurrah hurrah!) They're doing it, for the most part, with indigenous Spanish varieties and not the ubiquitous Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay etc. Stayed overnight at the Britannia Manchester, probably the worst  hotel I've stayed in for a long time. See if you can spot my review at www.tripadvisor.com.

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Catalan Whites Dinner at Ibérica

15-Nov-10 - To Ibérica in London for tasting dinner celebrating the white wines of Catalunya. We had a preliminary meeting there with Alison Mann from Emma Wellings PR, who handle the account in the UK, the chef Santiago Guerrero and 'flying sommelier' Bruno Murciano, to thrash out the wines we wanted show and the dishes Santiago would cook to go with them. On the actual night disaster almost struck: the electricity main on Great Portland Street went down in the afternoon and everything went, while most of the guests were already on their way or already there at the pre-dinner tasting. Quite how they did it I don't know, but somehow the electricity engineers were able to get the lights on, at least, if nothing else. Fortunately Santiago cooks with gas so we could go ahead, having been warned by the engineers that the lights would go off at 10:00 pm prompt. I am always doubtful about timekeeping with Spanish events, but Alison, and Núria Ruiz from the Asociació Vinícola Catalana assured me that we could. It was all a question of Santiago getting the food out on time and, of course, me getting the wines described and getting the reaction of the guests on time. In fact, we did it, and were all safely on the street by 9:45 pm. The meal was a great success, with two wines per course to see which went better with the food (my choices marked with a star):

Miguel Torres Fransola 2008 and Agusti Torello XII Torello Mata* 2009 with carpaccio of prawns with citrus and mint - carpacio de gambas con citricos y menta fresca

Alta Alella Lanius 2008 and Castillo de Perelada Garnatxa Blanca* 2009 with seared scallops with clam escabeche, fennel and granny smith apples on a bed of cauliflower purée - vieras a la plancha con escabeche de almejas, hinijo y manzana verde sobre un puré de coliflor

Albet i Noya Xarel·lo Fanio* 2009 and Parés Baltà Electio 2008 with xuquet of monkfish with potatoes - xuquet de rape con patatas

Avgvstvs Chardonnay 2009 and Loxarel Cora* 2009 with Garotxa Cheese with quince, apple purée and mixed nuts - queso Garotxa con membrillo, puré de manzana y frutos secos

For me the best match was the Xarel·lo with the monkfish. The wine was aged over concrete eggs - trendy or what? But it was further proof that this once-despised grape, in the hands of a skilled winemaker, can achieve great things.

 Residue of the pre-dinner tasting

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Harvest Festival

11-Nov-10 - Chris Foss of Plumpton College asked me to put on a tasting of wines as part of the SEVA end-of-harvest celebrations, which is something they do every year, and although I am an occasional lecturer at the College it's always interesting to see what's changed since my last visit. I noticed that a couple of ramshackle wooden buildings had been replaced by smart, new brick, and the winery itself is now fully equipped. For the tasting I decided on a little diversity - five wines from five different countries, all of which are personal favourites (all 18/20):

Albariño Martín Códax - classic Rías Baixas, lovely crisp, nectariney fruit but bone dry
Michel Torino Torrontés - I love what the Argentinians are doing with Torrontés - crisp, savoury fruit, complex, lipsmacking
Fleurie Flower Label - good old Georges Dubœuf, when he gets it right he gets it right: lovely perfumed Gamay fruit
Chianti Riserva Villa Dante - classic Chianti with proper Sangiovese fruit and that Italian 'twang' which is hard to describe but easy to recognise
Quinta do Crasto - been there, tasted that, sang in the chapel, troughed the Serra: lovely place, lovely wine with Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz.
Average price of the wines £8.19 - wonderful value.

Excellent Moussaka supper afterwards and the opportunity to chat to local winemakers - Sussex is becoming quite a force in English wine, mainly thanks to the chalk downland and an unbridled enthusiasm amongst its vineyard owners.

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Priorat and Montsant Tasting

01-Nov-10 - To the Blue Fin Building on Southwark Street for a DECANTER tasting of the wines of Priorat and Montsant. These tastings are usually spread over two days to avoid palate fatigue, and given the cost of trains and taxis (and early trains up so no discounts) I usually find a modest hotel nearby, often a Travelodge or similar, plug in my laptop and do some work. I use www.booking.com as a general rule and find them to be very good, often offering rooms more cheaply than the hotel's own website. I decided to try the Hotel Pasha on Camberwell Road which is a Turkish/Turkmen/Azerbaijani affair, rather exotic and quite beguiling, although not in a very salubrious area. The staff are simply fantastic, and I got a ground-floor room (no stairs, thanks!) which was small but had the requisite bed, bath and bog which is all I usually want in a hotel for a one-night stay. On this occasion I did, however try the restaurant which is half Turkish divan and half modern European, with a 'river' dividing the two halves. I was served by a charming Turkmenka and had a complimentary starter plus main course - total food bill £7, and the room was £50. A bargain. See if you can spot my review on www.tripadvisor.com. The tasting back at DECANTER was eye-opening with some fab wines (although quite a few at silly prices). The results were published in the March issue (out now - Feb-11).

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A Granddaughter Calls (not alone, of course)

24-Oct-10 - James and Claire came down for a few days during half term with Evie, now 13 months old, walking (with a little help from the odd table or chair to hold on to) and discovering all the exciting things she can find at coffee-table level. Anything breakable has now migrated to kitchen-table level!

Zaragoza Calling

19-Oct-10 - Off to Aragón researching a piece for DECANTER magazine, along with Anthony Rose of The Independent, Victoria Moore of the Daily Telegraph and Christine Austin of the Yorkshire Post. We were met, and led throughout by the gorgeous María-José Sevilla, who is the director of Wines and Foods From Spain in London. We flew into Madrid (Terminal 1 - alleluia, and not Terminal 4) and caught the AVE to Zaragoza from Atocha - one hour and 18 minutes to cover just over 200 miles, which is an average speed of 154 mph. We were staying at the NH Gran Hotel which is where I had stayed on my last visit: a very pleasant and well-equipped hotel right in the city centre, and well-placed for a bit of tapas-crawling. I didn't want to slow everyone down, so, after nine hours' travelling I opted for room service while my colleagues melted into the night. Over the next three days we had 10 tastings, some in the bodegas themselves and some at the various regulatory offices - some stunning wines, and many of them at silly prices, even with UK tax levels. I will say no more at this stage as the article will be appearing in the July issue of the magazine.

 The answer lies in the soil - or bedrock, seen here by the roadside, the same quartz/slate which underpins the fabulous (and fabulously expensive) wines of Priorat. More on this when the magazine comes out.

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Hastings Week - Town Criers

16-Oct-10 - Hastings for the annual National Town Criers Championship, at which Jill and I have been judges for about the last ten years. It was sunny but freezing, as usual, but the criers were in good throat and, as always in considerable finery. We had an excellent lunch (generously provided by the Borough Council) at Walkers on Robertson street, and in deference to my ever-creaking joints I'd hired a mobility scooter from Shopmobility in Priory Meadow car park. This proved to be a bargain, as it was only £7 for the day, and that included a £5 voucher to get out of the car park. On the day the winner was Kevin Griffiths of Skipton and the Yorkshire Dales. The day is a feature of Hastings week, this year commemorating the 944th anniversary of the battle and culminating in a grand bonfire on the beach.

From right to left: Jon Bartholemew, Hastings Town Crier and compère; Kevin Griffiths, the winner; Kevin's consort; Jon's consort.

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Back at Last!

October, 2010 - I really don't know what happened at the turn of the year. December and January are usually the quietest months of the year for me and yet somehow they were both manic. So, very briefly, here's a quick rundown of what's been happening.

14-Oct-10 - To Manchester to talk to the Manchester Wine Society, who had given me an amazing budget of £720 for a tasting of (3 bottles of each of) 12 wines, allowing me to choose many of my favourites:

Wine area, Bodega, Wine
D Cava, Cavas Bohigas, Mas Masià Reserva
DO Monterrei, Pazo das Tapia, Alma de Blanco Godello
DO Getariako Txakolina, Txomin Etxaniz, Txomin Etxaniz
DO Rías Baixas, S.C. Vitivinícola Arousana, Paco & Lola Albariño
DO Navarra, Taninia Bodegas y Viñedos, Señorio de Sarría Rosado
VdlT Tierra de León, Bodegas Gordonzello, Peregrino Crianza
DO Calatayud, Bodegas Borsao, Tres Picos
VdlT Mallorca, 4 Kilos Vinícola, 4 Kilos 12 Volts
DOQ Priorat, Celler del Pont, Lo Givot
DO Ribera del Duero, Pago de los Capellanes, Pago de los Capellanes
DO Toro, Bodegas Numanthai (Eguren), Numanthia
DOCa Rioja, Bodegas Roda, Roda I

Interestingly, it's the society's practice to nominate a member to comment on each wine as well as the speaker, and there were some very erudite and intelligent contributions. All the wines showed very well, but particularly the last six - all 17 or 18/20. The average price of all the wines was £19.86 a bottle. Fab tasting. Stayed at the Premier Inn, which was very adequate (I'm getting to like these budget hotels - see later post about my next visit to Manchester) and back home the following morning (bargain first class on Virgin to Euston with advance booking).

Remember that you can usually find wines at
www.wine-searcher.com
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