👏BACK 2 BASICS👏

What’s up winos,

Megan here, writing to you from the past. Again! How organised am I! Assuming I haven’t missed my 6am flight () then I’m in France right now, on a secret mission. All will be revealed! At some point!

Anyhoo, last week was a big fat emphasis on elite wines, which is great. We love elite wines. But we also love wines that everyone can a) access and b) afford, so I’m going back to basics this week with some wines that pack a serious punch for their price. Maybe it’s coz I love u, maybe it’s coz I checked my own dismal bank balance. Who cares!

Had a re-stock of Delinquente’s banging Pet-Nats, which are the perfect wines for the sun which I hope will shortly be appearing for longer than five minutes at a time. The white is a lovely, slightly funky bomb of refreshment, the rose is a fruity, frothy delight. Bangers for any occasion.

In the bargain Burgundy area (which is not a phrase you get to say very often) these new arrivals from La Chaume des Lies are cracking wines coming out of a new domaine (‘21 being their first vintage), so these are wines to snap up before they blow up, along with their prices. Interestingly - perhaps using that word rather loosely - I bought one of these in Paris last January before I knew anything about anything, back when I used to buy wine based on the label (I still buy wine based on the label) and it was a delight, so I was very happy to see them arrive on our shores and on our shelves. Get some on your shelves.

New arrivals also from the Loire in the form of Francois Chidaine, whose wines are absolutely beautiful but not terribly cheap. Lucky for us, he’s dropped a nice entry level range which is extremely wallet friendly, and better than most bottles you can find at this price. Got a lovely zippy Chenin and a peppery, mineral red blend of Cot (who?), Pineau d’Aunis and Cab Franc. 

For all u Lambrusco lovahs, got a new one in from Denny Bini. No messing about, nothing complicated, just straightforward, solidly made Lambrusco that’s fun to drink. What’s not to like?

If you’re in the mood for something skinsy, you could do a lot worse than these excellently priced bottles from Domaine Gross, which were brought over to this island by none other than us. There’s something for everyone here, from his entry level blend (selling VERY fast, we blew through almost the whole lot in three weeks pouring it by the glass at Dan’s) to his beautifully pink Pinot Gris to his fabulously floral Muscat. He also makes two cracking fizzers, if that’s more your bag.

And finally, if you want to talk value for money, you should probably add one (or all) of these Wine 4 Dummies sessions to your cart. Fionn and Robyn will be setting you up with skills for LIFE - what grapes make what kind of wine, how to navigate a wine list, how to work out what you actually enjoy in wine so you can stop blindly pointing at the second cheapest white on the menu - etc. A small investment into your wine future. You're welcome.

Enough from me, I’m sure I’m doing very important French things right now and must concentrate. Il faut concentrer, or something.

Love u!

xoxo

Megan