Michael Sarrazin, 2012 Givry 1 er Cru

Michael Sarrazin, 2012 Givry 1 er Cru . Appellation Givry 1er Cru Controlee. Vin de Bourgogne. Pinot Noir. Region: Givry, Cote Chalonnaise, Burgundy. Suggestion with duck, goose and game birds.

Cremant d'Alsace, Cuvee St Sebastien

Cremant d'Alsace, Cuvee St Sebastien, Brut, Appellation d'Origine Protegee. Chardonnay grapes. Region: Cremant d'Alsace. Suggest with shellfish, poultry, appetisers, snacks, aperitif.

Domaine Ogereau 2013, Anjou Villages

Domaine Ogereau 2013, Anjou Villages. Cabernet Sauvignon 14% ABV. Average price circa £15.00. Serve with beef and venison. Critics mark it as one of top 10 Anjou Villages wines.

Domaine de Montgilet, Anjou Gamay

Domaine de Montgilet, Anjou Gamay. Victor and Vincent Lebreton. Critics note that it is more affordable than many typical Anjou reds. It is a light and perfumed red. Serve with meat and oily fish.

Les Hauts Buis 2014, Anjou

Les Hauts Buis 2014, Appellation Anjou Controlee. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Serve at 15C. 12.5% ABV.

St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Domaine Eric Bureau

Domaine Eric Bureau, Appellation St Nicolas de Bourgueil Controlee. Sub region of Touraine, in Loire Valley. Enjoy this soft, fruity wine in Roscoff, whilst travelling. Cabernet Franc.

Suisse Normande - May 2015 (Samur)

Brut, Val de Loire, Samur from Louis Foulon. Methode Traditionnelle. Cremant de Loire. An excellent wine.
A good Cremant de Loire has tight, persistent effervescence (a defining advantage of methode traditionelle wines over those made by other techniques), and a complex, nutty, gently honeyed nose. Chenin Blanc in these wines is responsible for floral aromas than those found in Champagne, and are emphasized in those wines subject to extended lees contact (most Cremant spends at least 9 months in bottle during and following its secondary fermentation).

Suisse Normande - May 2015 (Champagne)

Brut Rose Champagne, celebrating our First Wedding Anniversary, whilst we were in France.

Suisse Normande, France - May 2015

Our group trip to France, celebrating 25 year of the local Wine Group.

Our accommodation in a beautiful rural location in Normandy.

A few hundred yards from the River Orne, in the Suisse Normande.

We were able to purchase locally and enjoy some exceptional cheeses and wines (these came from other regions!).

Purchased lots of wines to try and to take home, especially Loire wines;

Cologne - February 2015

Very difficult to photograph Cologne Cathedral (Dom) from close up! Such is the height of the tower, only completed after many hundreds of years of delay (finance).

A constant passage of barges up and down the River Rhine (below).

It was Carnival in Koln (Cologne). Huge (well behaved) crowds all along the routes.

The beer was served quickly but in small glasses, which is the local tradition. Service is incredibly good and the bar staff swing out new barrels and change them on the fly!

Palma - December 2014 (12 Volts wine)

12 Volts, by 4 kilos The winery is located in the city of Felanixt, (SE Mallorca).

It is made from native varieties of Mallorca Callet and Fogoneu (60%) and Syrah (20%), Cabernet (10%) and Merlot (10%).

Technical information:

The grapes come from vineyards that are grown following a rational and minimal interventionist method of winemaking.

The grapes are harvested manually. In the winery maceration and fermentation are carried out in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature early in the process of 20C, increasing to 28C at the end of the process. The maceration is 20 days. Subsequently malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks.

12 Volts is aged for 9 months in foudres of 3000 litres and 2nd year and 3rd year French oak barrels of 225 litres.

The label is designed by artist, Gary Baseman.

Palma - December 2014

A wonderful early December short visit to Palma, staying at the Hotel Jamie III. Palma was cold and clear, the local population dressed in hats and scarves, although it was circa 14-16C.

The streets were dressed for Christmas and winter celebrations.

We enjoyed some stunningly simple tapas dishes during our stay including; boquerones, octopus (with smoked paprika), tortilla and simple fried fish dishes, all cooked beautifully.

The main market in Palma was colourful and full of great produce, with good displays of fish, meats and vegetables/fruits. All were carefully lit and displayed, adding a vibrancy to the market. We stopped for a simple fried fish dish at stand up counter.