The Wine Shop

Maker's Mark Tasting Tickets Available

2011-11-10T02:34:00.001-08:00

On Friday 9th December we welcome Jane Connor of Maker's Mark to Leek to host a tasting in the shop at 7pm.

There will be a festive Maker's Mark cocktail on arrival followed by a tutored tasting.

Tickets cost £12 each and only 20 places available.

Christmas Tasting Menu

2011-10-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to be able to release the details now of the tasting menu for our event on Friday 2nd December.

On arrival

Graham's Extra Dry White Port

Beetroot Cured Salmon

Altano Duoro Branco 2010

Free range belly pork with balsamic & pineapple chutney

Graham's Six Grapes

Slow cooked wing rib of beef, served with celeriac mash, red wine jus

Altano Reserva 2008

Home made vanilla & salted caramel ice cream, dark chocolate surprise

Graham's The Tawny

Stilton and cheddar with homemade oatcakes

Graham's Quinta da Malvedos 1999

(tapas sized portions)

Tickets £40 in advance only from The Wine Shop. Call 01538 382 408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com.

Christmas Food and Wine Matching Evening Tickets Available

2011-10-18T05:23:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that tickets are now available for our Christmas Food and Wine Matching Evening to be held at the Peak Weavers in Leek on Friday 2nd December.

Chris Mooney returns to take us through a selection of wines and ports from the Duoro Valley, all matched to five dishes (tapas sized portions) each chosen to compliment the wine/port.

On arrival we will taste the new dry white Port from Graham's in the bar, to be followed by a 5 course menu, put together with Emma (to be published in the next day or so) to be enjoyed in the Peak Weavers' relaxed and intimate AA Rosette Awarded restaurant.

A previous winner in the Taste of Staffordshire Awards and members of the Peak District Cuisine, the Peak Weavers is renowned for its impeccable locally sourced food and this promises to be a wonderful evening.

Tickets cost £40 each, in advance only, from The Wine Shop. Call 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com.

This will be our last wine tasting of 2011 and it would be a shame to miss it!

Leonie

Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bruichladdich Edition XXXVII

2011-09-27T04:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the bay window of lovely old house on Islay. The view over Loch Indaal towards the Big Strand and Port Ellen beyond is breathtaking. For the last couple of days I've been busy applying labels and duty stamps to our latest edition to the Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask range and it's been one of our most exciting finds to date, not least because of how we found it and what an extraordinarily beautiful dram it has turned out to be.
A couple of years ago, we were approached by a somebody who had been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to own one of the very first casks that were filled when Bruichladdich was taken over by it's current owners after having been silent, mothballed for many years. He wondered whether we'd like to buy the cask and offer it to our customers under the Rare Cask label. The whiskies that we bottle under our label always have to be the best possible example of each particular distilleries house style so, in order for us to approve it, excellent wood policy would have to be apparent. Back in September 2001, these first few casks at Bruichladdich were primarily first fill ex sherry hogsheads, very well made, clean, tight casks, the staves of which had all been seasoned with a fill of rich, dark olorosso sherry.

The original owner of the cask and I have kept a close eye on how the whisky has developed with the wood over the last couple of years. The first time I nosed and tasted it I new it had the potential to be one of the very best drams I have ever tasted under an independent label, and a Bruichladdich that hasn't been matured in wine casks which seems to be the distillery's cask of choice these days.

Bruichladdich whisky under the new ownership became 10 years old at the beginning of September, and so it seemed fitting that, provided the whisky had reached maturity, that we would bottle the cask shortly after. I'm convinced that this whisky is the first single cask single malt to be released from Bruichladdich since it's 10th anniversary of the new ownership....a proper wee laddie at 10.

So last Friday, my daughter and I made our way over to Islay. All being well, the cask would be bottled that day too. There would be a long wait over the weekend until I could pick up the bottles on Monday morning so that I could get them all labelled up on onto the van and ferry to ship back down south.

On the Saturday night I thought we'd head down to the Loch Indaal Hotel to see if we could persuade the landlord to let us watch the football, my favourite Stoke City at home to Manchester United in the premier league, a game I was sad to be missing given the probability of an unbelievable atmosphere at the Britannia Stadium. All the local lads in the pub were watching the rugby but they kindly switched over and joined me watching the heroic potters hold boring Man Utd to a 1-1 draw. I was having a pint with a lad called Craig and I noticed he was wearing a Bruichladdich sweatshirt. He asked me whether I was holidaying on Islay and I explained that I'd just had a cask bottled at Bruichladdich. He turned out to be the very man who had bottled the whisky for us the previous day. Islay is a very small island.

Sherry hogsheads like these are very difficult for distillers to come by these days especially given the fact that they will often need batches of 80 to 100 at a time. Bourbon barrels have often been preferred by scotch whisky distillers because they mature spirit very consistently and because of their shape and size. Bourbon barrels are smaller, and easier to handle. They are also uniform in size so make warehousing more efficient. Hogsheads however, do differ in shape and size so can be difficult for small distilleries to use their storage efficiently. Most hogsheads are made up from staves from ex bourbon barrels and it is rare to find a hoggy that has been made up from the staves of ex olorosso casks.

Our cask was a first fill, and given that peaty whisky can mature exceptionally well in a second fill, it is destined to be filled again for another lucky private individual. We'll look forward to sampling that over the years to come ;-)

The whisky has been bottled at the natural cask strength of a whopping 62.5%. Bruichladdich don't tend to water the spirit down to 63.5% as other distillers do, and the casks tend to be filled at around 70% which is why our whisky's strength is so high. We have not chill filtered the whisky, nor have we added any colouring.

So, the whisky is bottled, the labels designed, cut and applied, we are just waiting for our printed tubes to arrive and then we'll be starting to ship it out to our customers. There will be 100 bottles available at The Wine Shop in Leek and 100 at http://www.whisky-online.com/ for those customers further afield. Whisky Online specialise in shipping overseas. Both the Wine Shop and Whisky Online have started waiting lists so that customers may pre-order their bottles. To avoid disappointment, please contact us ASAP to add your name to the list and secure your bottles.

Number of bottles: 200
Filled to cask September 2001
Bottled September 2011
Strength: 62.5%abv
Cask: First fill ex sherry hogshead
Price: £80 per bottle

Tasting notes:

"This is Bruichladdich as nature intended, honest and uncluttered by overt wood technology. The colour is a rich mahogany in the glass. Then come the aromas, intense raisins and woodland fruits at first, then sticky toffee pudding, simmering spices and a deepening complexity. The palate follows the lead of the nose but develops further with flavours of liquorice and salt. A keen oily mouthfeel keeps the whole in balance and paves the way for a toothbrush defying finish. An uncompromising, memorable and beautiful whisky."
We're proud to have been given the opportunity to bottle and sell The Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bruichladdich Edition XXXVII....thanks Peter!

Cha'n 'eil e soirbh!

David

Award Winning Spanish Fine Wine Tasting

2011-09-20T07:08:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to announce the details of a very special evening that we will be hosting at the Peak Weavers in Leek on Tuesday 25th October.

Felipe Cabezon (pictured here with Tim Atkin MW) of Tinto Figuero in the Ribera del Duero will talk us through tasting 5 of their 6 award winning wines (being rated over 90 points by the Wine Advocate, and one of which having recently received the Ribera del Duero tropy above) highlighting the history and philosophy, vineyards and climate, and winemaking techniques.

As the range is only limited we will then serve a full glass of the Tinto Figuero '12' Crianza for you to enjoy by candlelight with a platter of olives, bread and cheeses selected by The Peak Weavers.

Vine growing couple Jose Maria Garcia and Milagros Figuero supplied fruit to the region's best wineries (including none other than Vega Sicilia!) from their family vineyards up until the late 1990s when they decided to produce their own wines and built their winery at La Horra.

In the heart of the Ribera del Duero the vineyards are cultivated only with Tempranillo and of the 53 hectares of vines belonging to Figuero 25 are over 60 years old.

Using minimal handling techniques, whole grape fermentations, gentle pressing and maturation in both French and American oak and in bottle, the first vintage was 2001 and they instantly shot to international success.

Felipe is completely charming (as you can see!), the wines incredibly seductive, and this will be a rare opportunity to taste wines that retail at up to £75 a bottle. Tickets cost £25 each in advance only and places extremely limited.

Most credit and debit cards accepted over the phone and we can post tickets out to you. Call 01538 382408 or let us know how many you'd like reserving at info@wineandwhisky.com.

http://www.tintofiguero.com/

What a lovely night this promises to be!

Léonie

Save over £25 on our new Wine Club Case Deal for £80

2011-09-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

Stock has arrived today for our new Wine Club Mixed Case Offer and this weekend we'll have every one of the 12 wines open to taste in the shop.

The Mixed Case Offer at £80 includes a bottle of each of:

Alamos Torrontes

New referred to as Argentina's signature white grape Torrontes is popular with fans of Gewürztraminer because of its spice and perfume. Catena's Alamos example is completely unbaked allowing the expressive aromatics to explode from the glass with aromas of citrus, peach, jasmine and herbs which all follow through onto the palate. The must have wine with the chinese take-away!

Claude Val Blanc

Our ever popular French blend from the Languedoc needs little introduction. This particular vintage is nice and ripe with plenty of Vermentino character coming through on both the nose and palate. You should always have a bottle of this in the fridge on stand by...

Lourensford Sauvignon Blanc

This is green, green, green and yet benefits from the Lenor effect of a bit of Semillon in the blend. The 'big bro' to our bestselling River Garden, this has a greenish tinge in the glass, has asparagus, gooseberries, green pepper and green figs on the nose, all of which follow through onto the palate. More of a food wine than RG it's great with salads, grilled chicken and cold meats.

Caliterra Reserva Chardonnay

One of our bestselling Chardonnays, the secret of its success lies in the clever use of just enough oak (50% of the wine for 6 months) to give lovely mouthfeel and complexity as opposed to any creamy or overtly woody notes. It remains fresh and lively with tropical aromas and flavours and in this vintage there's just a teeny tiny splash of Sauvignon Blanc.

Deakin Estate Moscato

In response to the growing demand for wines with a lower alcohol content we decided to give this lovely, fresh slightly spritzy Aussie white a go. Sadly the summer didn't really happen but this is still great for lunchtime or just a glass of fun in front of the telly. Quite sweet and surprisingly good with cheese!

Alamos Extra Brut Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV

Made by prestigious Catena, by the champagne method, this Argentinian fizz has elegant bubbles in the glass, attractive apple and tropical fruit and minerality on the nose, with a whiff of fresh toast, and nice appley acidity on the palate. High altitude vineyards are key and it's a great alternative to Prosecco!

Alamos Bonarda

Every vintage change for this wine is met with eager anticipation as it's one of our favourite reds despite significant variation in style each year. The 2010 is like a big boisterous puppy, with vibrant red cherries, violets and raspberries on the nose and an adorable juicy palate of plums, more red cherries and raspberry. A rustic twist of spicy black pepper on the finish just to keep you on your toes. Great stuff!

Claude Val Rouge

The Mas family who make Claude Val have been vineyard owners in the Languedoc since 1892 and fourth generation Jean Claude is now at the helm - 'one of the Languedoc's movers and shakers' (Tim Atkin MW). Unbeatably good value.

Lourensford Shiraz

The big brother to River Garden this single varietal South African red has had a staggering 18 months in French oak (and yet is under a tenner!) and will therefore i) age really well and ii) stand up to some pretty robust red meat dishes. Deep in colour, with youthful aromas of crunchy herbaceous fruit the palate has sweet fruits, dense texture and dark chocolate notes on the finish. Impressive!

Caliterra Reserva Merlot

This Chilean example also has a little Carmenere and Shiraz blended in which, in addition to 10 months in barrel, adds enormously to its complexity. Essentially though it's all about the fruit - soft, smooth cherries and plums and just a hint of vanilla and coconut.

Castillo di Clavijo Rioja Tempranillo

Probably the lightest of the reds here this is cherry red in colour, with fresh fruity aromas and lots of red fruit on the palate. From a relatively young cooperative working with small, local growers using state of the art facilities to produce modern wines for early drinking this has spent 6 months in mostly American oak.

Katnook Founder's Block Cabernet Sauvignon

An old favourite of ours which we've struggled to buy at the right price given the unfavourable exchange rate. Happily it's back and is as aromatic, generous and classy as ever, with this vintage showing plums, vanilla and a hint of mint on the nose and nice structure on the palate, with plums and mint following through. Seriously good Coonawarra.

Wines retail at £6.49 - £14.99 a bottle.

Contact us at info@wineandwhisky.com or call us on 01538 382408 and we can deliver locally free of charge (national next day delivery £10).

Tickets now available for Beaver Hall Event

2011-09-06T05:22:00.000-07:00

Chris and I will be up at Beaver Hall just outside Leek on Friday September 23rd alongside the Cheshire Cheese Company (based in Macclesfield) to host an evening of cheese and wine matching.

Tickets available from Beaver Hall in advance only. 01538 304433.

Come and taste at the Fine Food Market

2011-09-02T02:31:00.000-07:00

Calling all those who missed us at the Leek Show this summer...

We've put together some great offers and will be holding a mini version at what we do at the show at the next Fine Food Market in Leek in just two weeks' time...Saturday 17th September.

Come and taste a selection of wines and malt whiskies and have a go at our 'supermarket challenge'...

Wincle Beer Company 6 Bottle Gift Pack

2011-08-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

We've just ordered some of these great gift packs and they should be here by the end of the week...

They include...

Wibbly Wallaby

Old Hag

Sir Philip

Wincle Waller

Mr Mullins

Haymaker

Shop local and support a local brewery at the same time.

Watch this space for Totally Locally...coming to Leek soon!

Léonie

Gin Tasting Tickets Now Available

2011-08-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

Calling all gin lovers!

I am delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for our upcoming Gin Tasting to be held at the Peak Weavers in Leek on Thursday 29th September at 8pm.

We welcome back Spirits Expert Neil Monyard (whom some Wine Club members will remember from our Cognac and Armagnac event last year) to guide us through a selection that includes old favourites plus some new and exciting discoveries.

Thought you knew the secret of the perfect G&T? With his inimitable style and good humour Neil will perhaps dispel some myths and make you think again, whilst also talking through the production methods and the use of botanicals to give each gin its unique recipe and character.

Just thirty places available for this rare event. It promises to be both informative and yet great fun! Tickets £20 in advance only from the Wine Shop. 01538 382408 or info@wineandwhisky.com.

Chin chin

Léonie

Next Two Tasting Dates

2011-07-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

A further two dates to put in your diary...

Friday 19th August we welcome Chris Mooney back to the shop in Leek where we'll be looking at a selection of wines from New Zealand.

Pictured is Agnes of Seifried in Nelson holding a bottle of the Sweet Agnes Riesling which we will be tasting alongside their Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir. We will also be showing wines from one of the top Hawke's Bay producers, Te Mata, whose reds are truly magnificent and whose Elston Chardonnay is widely recognised as one of New Zealand's greatest and most longlived.

On Thursday 29th September we welcome Neil Monyard to the Peak Weavers in Leek to host a gin tasting! New territory for us and details not yet finalised but we suspect this will be a popular event so wanted to at least get the date announced.

Tickets for the New Zealand tasting cost just £10 each (but remember we'll simply be standing in the shop for this one) and are available now.

Email us at info@wineandwhisky.com to register your interest for the gin event.

Chin chin!

Léonie

...and a year later the Marmalade Vodka hits the shelves

2011-07-27T04:19:00.000-07:00

It was at Leek Show last year that we welcomed Lorna of Chase Distillery in Herefordshire to our marquee to offer tastings of their award-winning Potato Vodka, Williams Gin and various fruit liqueurs.

One year on, and although we sadly won't be at the Show this time I am pleased to say that we are now listing their Marmalade Vodka...and it really is delicious!

Sample stock is on its way as we speak so call into the shop this Saturday (30th) and come have a taste.

Also open will be a number of wines that for one day only are available at up to 25% off.

We're open 10am - 5pm. Call in on your way to the Show or on your way back!

Hope to see you.

Léonie

Late Night Opening Fridays

2011-07-20T03:20:00.001-07:00

With immediate effect we are now opening until 8pm every Friday and so that you can relax and browse with ease we'll put a taste of something in your hand, such as this new South African red, Suikerbossie, which arrived today.

Named after an Africaan folk song - Sugar Bush - about true love and 'how when you're in love trivial matters such as the ability to bake bread or make a decent cup of tea are easily brushed aside'...

...all I know is that from the most unlikely mix of Pinotage and Petit Verdot (little known Bordeaux varietal) comes a soft, ripe red, with lovely red fruits, just a hint of spice and such smoooooooth tannins...

UK stock has 'I WANT YOU' printed on the front label under Suikerbossie...come and taste it this Friday, take a bottle home with you...could be your lucky night!

Save 25% on our Wine Club Selection for £80

2011-07-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

Stocks have arrived today of the wines that feature in our new Wine Club Selection saving you 25% at £80 for 12 bottles (6 white and 6 red).

Chosen for summer drinking, there are some familiar names such as Saint Clair and Benchmark along with our great new everyday white from Italy - Le Coste Trebbiano - plus the new Reserva level Merlot from Echeverria.

Simply call us at Russell Street on 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com to arrange free local delivery.

Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The star of the selection - they don't come much more powerful or intense than this! Classic blackcurrant, passionfruit and gooseberry characters from one of the very first growers in Marlborough back in 1978. Still family-owned they've enjoyed incredible success in international competitions. Very impressive!

Niel Joubert Chenin Blanc

100% unoaked this South African's weighty palate owes much to its staggering alcohol and yet it's balanced and lively with guava and citrus aromas followed by a ripe tropical palate with pineapple flavours and some lemon.

Oveja Negra Sauvignon Blanc Carmenere

No, not a misprint...this Chilean white really is made with some red Carmenere grapes (15%). Picked early and pressed with no skin contact it gives subtle herbaceous leafy mineral tones. Unique and a success!

Michel Torino Coleccion Torrontes

This perfumed Argentinian grape variety is finally winning fans and this has captivating aromas of wild roses and jasmine followed by a full exotic palate with orange and spices making it perfect with Thai dishes.

Benchmark Chardonnay

Our favourite unoaked Aussie white that's made predominantly with Barossa Valley fruit with some ageing on the lees for nice mouthfeel whilst remaining crisp and fresh.

Le Coste Trebbiano

This floral and blossom scented Italian white has got so much more about it than the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio. Fresh and crisp with nice aromatics it's the perfect glass to unwind with at the end of the day. Uncomplicated but hits the spot.

Niel Joubert Cinsault Pinotage

A red wine from family-owned Paarl producer I'm guilty of dismissing initially...this is full-bodied and lively with softy spicy blackberries from the Cinsault to balance the deep smoky Pinotage flavours. An unusual partnership that works!

Oveja Negra Cabernet Franc Carmenere

Oveja Negra means 'black sheep' and as with the white (also in this selection) these wines are designed to showcase an ethos of innovation. Another unusual blend that works brilliantly with ripe, seductive aromas and a luscious velvety palate. Toasty oak and a spicy finish.

Carmen Pinot Noir

This Chilean red has had 10 months in French oak plus a further 2 in bottle to produce a delicate and yet savoury example of Pinot with spicy black cherry on the nose and a juicy palate that suits fish or chicken with creamy or spicy sauces.

Echeverria Reserva Merlot

This is a serious Chilean red that will age up to 6 years from vintage thanks to 12 months in a combination of French and American oak. Plums, bitter chocolate and leather aromas are followed by a smooth rounded palate with plenty of berry fruits and a silky finish.

Michel Torino Coleccion Malbec

Listed since we bought the shop nearly 8 years ago this is a soft and yet well structured example with lovely fragrant plums cherry and cassis on the nose which follow through onto the palate. Remarkably easy to drink!

Benchmark Shiraz

A wine that frequently features in our selections for its rich spicy aromas and incredibly smooth juicy palate. Infinitely drinkable and delicious Aussie red.

Wines retail at £6.49 - £12.99.

While stocks last.

Chile Tasting Tickets Now Available

2011-06-24T03:16:00.001-07:00

I am pleased to announce that tickets for our next tasting of the wines of Chile featuring Errazuriz and Caliterra on Thursday 28th July are now available.

David and I have worked with both of these fantastic producers for many years and we are delighted to welcome Jonathan Stevens to the Peak Weavers in Leek to take us through 10 wines to include everything from Sauvignon Blanc, to Gewurztraminer, to Pinot Noir, Carmenere, Malbec and the newly released 2007 vintage of the flagship icon Don Maximiano.

It was in 1870 that Don Maximiano Errazuriz planted the first vine in the Aconcagua Valley with the finest clones from France and it is now a world class vineyard. Now in the hands of fifth generation Eduardo the philosophy remains 'From the best land, the best wine'.

Now owning vineyards in Aconcagua Costa (which they pioneered), Casablanca, Curico and Maipo the family are totally committed to the concept of 'terroir' and the focus is on wines that have elegance and complexity.

Caliterra was established in just 1996 in the Colchagua Valley as a joint venture between Errazuriz and Californian giant Robert Mondavi. Now entirely in Errazuriz' hands (since 2004) the aim is to make modern fruit-driven wines and the past few years have seen a pioneering move towards sustainable wine production through community commitment, sustainable viticulture, environmental preservation, and eco-friendly packaging. The Reserva wines represent fantastic value and often feature in our Wine Club mixed case deals but for this tasting we will focus on the more complex Tributo wines which spend longer time in oak and are more food-friendly as well as an example of the Edicion range which are made from very small parcels of fruit.

As ever, these events are a great opportunity, not only to taste wines that you might never have dreamt you would (with a few surprises along the way) but also to make significant savings on our retail prices. Offers available on the night of this tasting represent a saving of up to 25% off!

Tickets cost £20 each to include 10 wines plus cheese, available in advance only from The Wine Shop.

Contact us on 01538 382408 or at info@wineandwhisky.com to reserve yours. We accept most credit or debit cards over the phone, cheques should be made payable to The Wine Shop Leek, and we can post your tickets to you at no extra charge.

Hope to see you there.

Leonie

Tickets Now On Sale for d'Arenberg Tasting

2011-05-14T03:58:00.001-07:00

We have finally put tickets on sale for our tasting in June of the wines of d'Arenberg, McLaren Vale (South Australia) hosted by 'girl on the ground' for the UK and Europe Claire Scott. This is on the revised date of Thursday 9th June at the Peak Weavers in King Street Leek.

D'Arenberg make big wines, with a big reputation, and are immediately recognisable by their distinctive red stripe across the labels. With quirky names such as The Money Spider, The Laughing Magpie, The Sticks and Stones, and The Galvo Garage, they are certainly memorable before you've even tasted them.

With such an enormous portfolio some of their wines are relatively widely distributed, but as with other large producers with whom we work at The Wine Shop (such as Torres of Spain) there are wines for every occasion and budget, and the more interesting and premium wines are those generally made in volumes too small for the supermarkets and listed by independent wine merchants like us.

For some years we've been lucky enough to receive an allocation of the iconic flagship Dead Arm Shiraz (c£30 a bottle), and the single varietal Roussanne (Money Spider) and Mourvedre (Twenty Eight Road) are personal favourites of those to be found on our shelves.

We're delighted to welcome Claire to Leek to take us through these (yes, even Dead Arm) plus a number of their other wines, to include just a couple of rich, aromatic whites, several gutsy reds and even some succulent sweeties (which after all is where the Australian market began).

Tickets for this event cost £20 each (to include 10 wines plus cheese) in advance only and the event will start at 7.30pm.

Give us a call on 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com or simply call into the shop in Russell Street to book your places for what promises to be a popular event.

The Blending Room

Fourth generation Chester D'Arenberg Osborn worked in the vineyards and cellar from a very early age and after graduating from Roseworth College and touring other Australian and European wine regions took over the reins of Chief Winemaker in 1984.

He works with individual parcels of fruit that are each picked and vinified separately so that their different characters can contribute complexity to the final blend.

Chester's father D'Arry was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in June 2004 in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his contribution to the wine industry and the McLaren Vale region...to the tune of 65 consecutive vintages!

Spring Wines for Easter Case Deal

2011-04-20T06:36:00.001-07:00

Please click on the image to open our latest case deal offering.

I get the impression that many of us are either staying at home or visiting or welcoming family this Easter break. Plus of course it’s followed very quickly by the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday weekend so lots of reasons to stock up on a selection of quality wines to enjoy with the folks.

Now the sun’s begun to shine too I’ve decided to put two bottles of Prosecco into our Wine Club Easter
selection (to toast each weekend with or go round a crowd of 12 or so at a sitting), along with no fewer than three Sauvignon Blancs (whose popularity continues apace), a couple of roses, some lighter, easydrinking reds and of course a big showy red for the Easter dinner table (or perhaps to reward yourself with when everyone’s gone!).

As you will see on the tasting notes enclosed there are many Wine Shop favourites in there and you save over £25 to boot.

If you haven’t called in to see us for a while we’ve recently introduced a new range of Real Ales, the Easter Beer from Gouden Carolus and Dark Island Reserve, an extraordinary ale from Orkney aged in whisky casks. So lots of ideas for Easter presents too (all of which I personally would rather receive than chocolate but then I am biased...).

Remember we will deliver our Spring Wines for Easter Selection free of charge locally at your convenience.

We hope to see you soon.

Leonie

Italy Tasting Wednesday 11th May

2011-03-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that we are now taking bookings for our Tasting of the Wines of Cantine Calatrasi (Sicily and Puglia) to be held on Wednesday 11th May.

We welcome Massimo Rotoloni to the Peak Weavers in King Street, Leek where he will be guiding us through a range of nine wines to be accompanied by a selection of cheeses.

Owned by the Micciche family who started farming vineyards in Sicily in 1750, Calatrasi is currently run by 10th generation Maurizio who in 1980 founded the modern business of today which now owns over a thousand hectares in Sicily, Puglia and Tunisia.

Up until thirty years ago Sicily was known only for Marsala, sweet Moscato and a supply of almost undrinkable wine exported northwards for blending. Thanks to a European regional development programme and huge goverment grants the wine industry has now become the biggest in Italy and one of the most modern. Dominated by huge automated cooperatives, vast quantities of mostly whites are made using New World techniques and deliver safe and reliable if uninteresting wines.

Producers such as Calatrasi however demonstrate the true potential of the island, as recognised by the International Wine and Spirit Challenge in 2009 which awarded them Italian Producer of the Year. We will taste examples of both their more traditional wines made from local varieties Grillo, Catarratto and Nero d'Avola, as well as international varieties Viognier and Syrah. The star of the night promises to be their incredible, silky multi-layered barrel fermented "Super Nero d'Avola" made in Ripasso style, whose 2006 vintage won a Gold medal in IWSC and acheived 90 points in Wine Spectator.

Although only very recently active in Puglia, the Casalbaio Estate purchased by Calatrasi in 2000 focuses on the two varietals for which the region is best known - Primitivo and Negroamaro - using sustainable farming, handpicking, and maturation in French oak barriques to produce excellent examples which we shall also taste that evening.

Tickets for this event are £16 each in advance only, available from The Wine Shop Leek. We accept most credit and debit cards over the phone (call 01538 382408) or simply call into the shop to reserve yours.

Should be a great night!

Léonie

Tasting of One Family's Wines...across the globe

2011-03-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

We are delighted to announce that on Thursday 14th April w welcome Chris Mooney of John E Fells once more to Leek to host a tasting of just one family's wines but from vineyards in Spain, Chile and California.
At 7.30pm at the Peak Weavers in King Street we will taste through 8 wines and also Torres 10 Brandy made by one of the most famous winemaking families in the world.
The Torres family started making wine in the Catalan town of Vilafranca del Penedes in the 19th century and remains independent and family-owned to this day, now run by fourth and fifth generation family members.
Admittedly one of the largest wineries in Spain (responsible for household names such as Vina Sol and Sangre de Toro) it is also one of the most consistently quality-orientated and David and I have both sold wines such as their flagship Mas La Plana for many years. Described as 'one of Spains' most innovative and influential winemakers', Miguel A Torres pioneered a number of technological advances (such as the use of stainless steel tanks and temperature controlled fermentation) as well as the planting of non-Spanish grape varieties in Penedes and the re-discovery of ancient Catalan varietals.
Recent exciting developments in vineyard acquisitions include Rioja, Jumilla and Toro and it was back in 1979 that Miguel was one of the first foreign investors to buy land in Chile. Originally only 100 hectares, their landholding has gradually increased to currently around 445 hectares in the Central Valley and 330 in Curico. The latter were bought by Miguel A Torres Riera, whose sister, Marimar, after travelling the wine world with her father decided to buy 25 hectares of land in Sonoma County, California in 1983. With a further 180 acres iin the Sonoma Coast acquired some years later, Marimar Estate is situated in one of the coolest (and therefore best) growing regions, due at least in part to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and is responsible for some of the most exciting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir I've ever tasted outside of Burgundy.
So it was a real challenge to select just 8 wines from such a diverse and impressive portfolio, but with examples of Ribeira del Duero, Rioja and of course Penedes from Spain, exciting new quirky blends from Chile and some of the most elegant and well-balanced Burgundian style wines from California, Chris and I are confident that our line up is a real treat.
Tickets are £20 (to include a selection of cheese) in advance only available from the shop in Russell Street. Call 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com to reserve your places now.
Léonie

Save 25% off our New Year Mixed Case

2011-01-26T05:52:00.001-08:00

Surely people are as fed up as I am that every time you turn on the radio, television or even the computer you're bombarded with health tips, diet regimes and exercise suggestions...

Tempting as it is for me to think though that everyone in the world but me is being 'good' at this time year, I can't help but imagine that most of us are merely trying to perhaps be a bit more 'sensible'...

Tempting too is to think that in the furore of the January sales everyone is looking for a bargain, but to have put out a cheaper case deal this time would inevitably mean sacrificing quality and in these cheerless times that would be just mean and make us feel even more miserable (I have to drink this stuff too remember)...

So, please find below a delicious set of 6 pairs of wine, 3 white and 3 red, whose quality I can absolutely vouch for. Almost all new wines to the Wine Shop Leek but from producers with whom I have worked in the past over the years and am incredibly happy to do so again.

Lapostolle Casa Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Casa Lapostolle are the blue bloods of the Chilean wine world, their ownership boasting impressive French connections, directly through the Marnier family (of Grand Marnier fame) and indirectly through Champagne Roederer. The wines, unsuprisingly, marry the natural generous style for which Chile is so famous, with an elegance and subtlety thanks to Bordeaux wine-making guru Michel Rolland. The addition of Carmenere, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc to the bed-rock of Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) and six months in French oak make this wonderfully complex and food friendly.

Niel Joubert Cinsault Pinotage 2010

A seasonal listing for us in our Christmas gift packs, we've received such good feedback for this humble yet full bodied and lively South African wine that we thought we'd make it a more regular feature of our offering. With flavours of blackberry and cassis and hints of spice it's deep dark red in colour with rich smoky fruit flavours and just a little oak.

Finca la Colonia Malbec 2010

Made by Bodega Norton, which was founded in 1895 in Mendoza in the foothills of the Andes by an English engineer, Edmund J P Norton, who had been working on the Buenos Aires to Mendoza railway line. Recognising the potential of the area he planted vineyards at altitudes ranging between 850 and 1100m above sea level with vines imported from France. 100% unoaked, this is a fresh aromatic expression of the grape, made using only natural yeast and bottled early. Sweet, spicy aromas lead to a ripe red fruit-dominated palate.

Foxwood Viognier 2009

Viognier has finally started to get the recognition it deserves and is the perfect grape for a softer, rounder white without the oak influence so often associated with Chardonnay. This French example is made by an Aussie winemaker in the Languedoc region using a combination of both traditional and innovative techniques and delivers just the right balance of rich ripe aromatics and refreshing acidity.

Villa Antinori Bianco 2009

The label on this well-known white has changed little since the 1930s, not long for a family that has made wine for 26 generations! It's an accomplished dry Italian white that's floral and aromatic yet soft and fresh in the mouth, made by the Antinori family who have been making wine for over six centuries! A blend of 70% Trebbiano and Malvasia and 30% Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio the grapes come from central Tuscany, including the Monteloro estate which is particularly suited to aromatic varieties.

Niel Joubert Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Surrounded by hundreds of indigenous species of fauna and flora, 60km from Cape Town, the family-owned winery of Klein Simonsvlei is situated on the slopes of a spectacular ridge known as Ribbokskop, overlooking the Paarl Valley in the heart of the Cape winelands. The nose has a combination of grass and gooseberry aromas, and it's fruity on the palate with a clean, crisp finish.

Wines retail from £5.99- £11.49.

That's 6 pairs of wines for just £80.

To order yours simply drop us a note at info@wineandwhisky.com or call us at the shop on 01538 382408. We deliver free of charge locally.

Leonie

First Wine Club Tasting of the Year

2011-01-26T02:45:00.001-08:00

We are absolutely delighted to announce that our first Wine Club tutored tasting of the year is to be held at the Peak Weavers on Monday 28th February at 7.30pm.

We welcome Fred Monnery of Louis Jadot in Burgundy to host an evening during which we will taste no less than ten fine examples from this prestigious negociant.

Praise doesn't come much higher for these wonderful wines and both David and I have worked with them for over 15 years.

'This is a shining example of a grower-cum-negociant' (Hugh Johnson), 'Its wines are often among the very best examples of their appellations' (Andrew Jefford) and over 150 years they have steadily acquired the best vineyards so that they can produce wines from over 150 sites the length and breadth of Burgundy...'It is not often in Burgundy that one can buy with confidence across a range; with Jadot, you can'. (Andrew Jefford)

Charismatic winemaker Jacques Lardiere, one of the most widely respected in France, passionately believes in a natural approach with minimal intervention to ensure that each vineyard and terroir expresses itself rather than a house style.

And so, at this event, Fred will take us through wines from Marsannay in the north (on the southern outskirts of Dijon) down through the Cote de Nuits, the Cote de Beaune, the Cote Chalonnaise, the Maconnais and right down to Beaujolais to include delights such as a Pouilly Vinzelles with some gorgeous bottle age, premier cru Beaune, Pernand Vergelesses, Gevrey Chambertin and Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru.

Tickets for this event cost just £20 (to include a selection of cheeses). Only 30 places available.

Please contact us by email at info@wineandwhisky.com or call us at the shop on 01538 382408 to reserve yours. We accept most credit and debit cards and will post the tickets to you.

Léonie

Festive Fortified Wine Tasting...few places remaining

2010-11-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

On Thursday 25th November at 7.30pm we are to hold a tutored tasting up at the Cricket Club (off Macclesfield Road) in Leek featuring a number of fortified wines just perfect for Christmas. Chris Mooney of John E Fells is hosting the evening and each wine will be accompanied by a simple morsel of something yummy supplied by local deli Pronto. Tickets cost £20 each and there are just a few remaining.

Solear Manzanilla with Almond Stuffed Olives
Barbadillo Oloroso Seco with Salted Almonds
Barbadillo Amontillado with Oxford Blue
Smith Woodhouse 10 Year Old Tawny with Brie de Meaux
Grahams Six Grapes with Chocolate Brownie
Warre's Bottle Matured Late Bottle Vintage with Quickes Cheddar
Blandys 5 Year Old Sercial with Madeira Cake
Blandys Harvest Malmsey with a Mince Pie

Please contact us at the shop on 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com. We accept most credit and debit cards over the phone and will post your tickets to you.

An Introduction to Cognac and Armagnac 28th October

2010-09-27T05:21:00.000-07:00

We are now taking bookings for our Introduction to Cognac and Armagnac tasting to be held on Thursday 28th October at the shop in Leek.

Neil Monyard of Compass Spirits will be guiding us through three offerings each from Maison Prunier and Comte de Lafitte.

Maison Prunier remain one of the few truly family owned and run companies of any size in Cognac. Their Cognacs are from across the region, use only the most minimal amount of caramel, and have an elegance that reflects their house philosophy of decent ageing and skilful wood use. We will taste their VSOP, Reserve of the Family and XO.

Situated in the heart of the region the cellars of Comte de Lafitte are in the capital of the area, and using selected growers and distillers across the region's three areas they use the traditional continuous still to make aged Armagnac of real depth and complexity. We will taste up through their 7, 12 and 20 Year Old.

As you can appreciate these are some very special rarities that you will only find in independent wine merchants and good restaurants. Tickets cost £20 in advance from the shop.

This is the very first time we have ventured into the world outside of wine and whisky in our tasting schedule this year and there are just twenty places available.

Léonie

Samples Tasting this Thursday

2010-09-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

In view of us having to cancel our Food and Sherry Matching Evening this week, Chris Mooney of John E Fells and I have agreed that we will go ahead and meet on Thursday as planned and have invited all those people with places booked for that event to come to the shop to receive a compensatory copy of 'The Perfect Marriage: The Art of Matching Food and Sherry Wines from Jerez' introduced by Heston Blumenthal. It is a beautiful book featuring recipes and sherry pairings from fifteen of Britain's top chefs and restaurateurs, along with a guide to sherry styles and we are most grateful to the Sherry Institute of Spain for providing us with copies.

At the same time we will be sampling several potential new listings for The Wine Shop and all Wine Club members are welcome to come along and taste them too. Included will be a Pinot Noir and Malbec from Argentina, a Californian Zinfandel and a Ribera del Duero...possible more!

We will be at the shop between 7pm and 8pm on Thursday 23rd September. Perhaps see you there!

Léonie

Wednesday 15th September - Event Cancellation

2010-09-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

I am very sorry indeed that due to unforeseen circumstances we must cancel next week's Food and Sherry Matching Event (to have been held on Thursday 23rd) at the Peak Weavers in Leek.

Anybody seeking a refund for the value of their tickets should call the shop on 01538 382408.

We apologise for this most regrettable situation and thank you for your understanding.

Léonie

Save 25% off our September Case Offer

2010-09-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

For just £80, this month's selection of 6 reds and 6 whites includes:

Alamos Chardonnay

Now the nights are drawing in, there's a shift in style of white that fills the family fridge, and the Marlborough Sauvignon that David is so fond of is usurped by something with rather more weight, richness and depth...this! Made by Catena in Argentina, this is ripe, complex, with clever oak integration and yummy mouthfeel. So much better a partner for the shift to more autumnal cooking.

Echeverria Sauvignon Blanc

Wines come and go if we're not happy with new vintages, but Echeverria Sauvignon has been consistently good and remains a favourite. Designed to go with food, it's got bags more style and class than the volumes of uninteresting Chilean Sauvignons on the market right now. Vibrant, fragrant grapefruit and pineapple on the nose and a lovely, fresh herbaceous yet elegant palate.

Chateau Cazal Viel Grande Reserve Viognier

This estate in the St Chinian appellation is one of the largest independent producers of the Languedoc and has been in the family since 1789. Deliciously perfumed, opulent wine with characteristic white flowers and peach on the nose. Very elegant example of the grape with delicate apricot and orange blossom, and some citrus notes.

Fonte de Nico

Santa Isidro was founded in 1958 and now equates to over 900 hectares owned by 140 growers in Terras do Sado, coastal region of the Setubal peninsula. One of the most modern and forward thinking cooperatives it has produced this light, aromatic white with floral notes and flavours of crisp apple and green grapes to accompany fish, shellfish and salads. A touch of sweetness, good acidity and only 10% alcohol, it's a great lunch time option.

Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

This wine needs little introduction, having been listed for some years by us and with an international reputation based on striking competition success (140 gold medals and 50 trophies in just 7 years). This has intense passionfruit and blackcurrant flavours, racy acidity, surprising minerality and a long lingering finish.

Claude Val Blanc

A wine we keep coming back to in our Wine Club selections as it's so utterly reliable and versatile (and amazingly good value for a French wine) and helps keep the overall cost of the case down. A blend of local varieties with a good dollop of Sauvignon it has fans aplenty but we're always happy to attract more!

Alamos Bonarda

Despite much vintage variation with this Italian style red from Argentina, we've actually been very happy with all of them. This one is definitely in the more 'interesting' camp emphasising the savoury, meaty yet almost herbaceous characteristics (which we miss in riper vintages). Still full of intense hedgerow fruit flavours, still nicely balanced and still surprisingly versatile in terms of food matching. As ever, one of my favourite Autumn reds.

Madfish Pinot Noir

This Western Australian example of the grape undoubtedly owes some of its success to its name (in Russell Street Leek at least) but it's the subtle French oak influence and partial whole bunch pressing that give it the earthy forest floor complexity with attractive black cherry strawberry and raspberry flavours and just a touch of spice.

Tedeschi Valpolicella Classico Superiore Valverde

Renzo Tedeschi and his family are masters of all the styles that Valpolicella can produce, and this Classico is a good example of a well structured wine, yet with delicate flavours and enormous elegance. A typical blend of predominantly Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella it's got lovely fresh cherry aromas and goes great (predictably) with pasta but (more surprisingly) both white and red meat.

Oveja Negra Cabernet Franc

A difficult grape that's typically found in Bordeaux style blends, Cabernet Franc is a bit lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon and can be stalky. Not so here: lovely blackberry and chocolate and coffee bean aromas, rich blackberry jam and toasty coffee and some spice, it's great with a steak.

Castillo Clavijo Criadores Rioja Tempranillo

This is Rioja in its simplest, 'naked' form...as in it's completely unoaked, hasn't been aged and is designed to be drunk when young to wash down a bit plate of heartwarming nosh...

Carmen Pinot Noir Reserva

It was back in January that I tasted the range from Carmen (the oldest wine brand in Chile) for the first time in years and the Sauvignon immediately struck me as crowdpleasing (watch out for it closer to Christmas) but always a sucker for a Pinot this ripe concentrated example with strawberry jam, pomegranate and violet notes with some toasty oak couldn't fail to make an appearance sooner or later. Another perfect red for the season.

Wines retail between £5.99 and £11.99

To order, simply give us a call at the shop on 01538 382 408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com.

An Introduction to Bourbon Tasting featuring Maker's Mark

2010-09-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

Tickets are now on sale for a tasting to be held at the shop in Russell Street, Leek, on Thursday 30th September (8pm).

An Introduction to Bourbon will be hosted by Jane Conner, Maker's Mark Distillery Diplomat of Loretto, Kentucky and tickets cost £10 each.

Bourbon Whiskey dates back to the early pioneer days of America but the modern era has only been thriving for the past two decades.

Come and join Jane who will take us through the tumultuous history of bourbon, exploring the ins and outs of the industry, outlining how America's native spirit is made, and of course tasting through some different ages of Maker's Mark itself...a rare opportunity indeed!

Just twenty places available for this event, and tickets in advance only. Contact us at the shop on 01538 382408 or drop us a note at info@wineandwhisky.com to reserve tickets.

Organic Fortnight 2010

2010-09-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

In honour of the national Organic Fortnight 2010 starting tomorrow (for more information see http://www.soilassociation.org/) we thought we'd highlight our recently extended range of Organic wines, offering a double discount of 10% off any 6 bottles until 17th September.

Here at the Wine Shop we are proud to support the new venture ‘Wild Thing’, a project which not only puts a great bottle of organic wine on the table, but also helps to raise funds for the Born Free Foundation with every purchase made. The product was launched late July with a celebrity tasting in London and is now being rolled out across the UK.

“These are two delicious organic wines, how inspired to name them ‘Wild Thing’. The name so perfectly reflects the wines organic origins and the company’s concern for the environment and wildlife. We are thrilled that ‘Wild Thing’ is to be sold in aid of Born Free to directly benefit Conservation and Animal Welfare. I believe it fully deserves to be one of the most sought after and popular new organic wines of the year.” Virginia McKenna O.B.E, Actress and Founder The Born Free Foundation.

The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual animal suffering and to protect threatened species in the wild. More information can be obtained from http://www.bornfree.org.uk/.

The ‘Wild Thing’ wines are available as a Sauvignon Blanc and a Merlot (both equally smooth and easy drinking), from the La Mancha region of Spain and cost £7.99. Both in stock at Russell Street now!

Also in our Organic range:

Albet i Noya Xarello £9.99

New this week! Absolutely gorgeous example of indigenous grape Xarello, completely unoaked, crisp, fresh, white with lush melon and great versatility

Albet i Noya Tempranillo £9.99

New this week! This is all about the fruit, made in a similar way to Beaujolais, with no oak whatsoever, making a vivid, fresh, aromatic red, that's even better after a swift spell in the fridge

Albet i Noya Lignum £11.99

New this week! A rather more serious offering from this dynamic Penedes producer, using Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Grenache, with 6 months in American oak to make a full but beautifully balanced red, full of spice, vanilla and autumnal fruit

Battle of Bosworth Chardonnay Viognier £10.99

Battle of Bosworth Shiraz £14.99

Battle of Bosworth White Boar £29.99

Chameleon Chardonnay Torrontes £8.49

Domaine Jean Bousquet Malbec £9.99

Domaine Jean Bousquet Reserva Pinot Noir £12.99

Domaine Jean Bousquet Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon £12.99

Domaine Jean Bousquet Grande Reserve Malbec £23.99

Domaine Jean Bousquet Rosé £9.99

Domaine Jean Bousquet Dulce Malbec 50cl £11.99

Meinklang Gruner Veltliner £10.99

New this week! So blown away was I with tasting this stunning example of the zesty, peppery Austrian grape variety that I forgot that the label left rather more to be desired...adored by sommeliers for its food matching credentials, Gruner Veltliner certainly deserves the attentions of you Marlborough Sauvignon fans out there...but be warned, the label's a horror!

Please note that our tasting of Organic Wines, originally scheduled to take place on Thursday 28th October has been postponed until next year.

To receive your 10% discount off any 6 bottles of Organic Wine, please give us a call at the shop on 01538 382408 or drop by, and be sure to mention reading this post.

Fill in the missing blank!

2010-08-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

'There's nothing else like it. Indeed of all the world's great wines, it is the most neglected and overlooked - and the least inexpensive. There are, in other words, lots of reasons to take [BLANK] seriously.'

...so writes Andrew Jefford, my favourite wine writer.

What immediately springs to mind when you see the 'S' word? Sweetness, trifle, Granny's favourite Christmas tipple?

On Thursday 23rd September (in a change to our previously published tasting schedule), we're looking to challenge all of those preconceptions, showing eight different styles of Sherry at the Peak Weavers in King Street Leek, six of which are dry, matching each one with a different taster dish in order to show just how versatile a drink it is.

Increasingly, restaurants are now listing sherries by the glass, encouraged by the success of Spanish restaurants and popularity of tapas styles dishes, whereby well chilled Fino is now becoming widely accepted not only as a great aperitif but also as an extremely versatile alternative to white wine with a wide range of foods from every cuisine.

Indeed, so desperate are we in the trade to promote this misunderstood category that we talk simply of 'Fino' and 'Manzanilla' when we're referring to the dry stuff, 'PX' and 'Oloroso' when we think of the sweet...anything but the dreaded 'S' word!

Thanks to this enormous tragedy of justice however, there is more than generous funding available to a limited number of independent wine merchants to host events such as this to dispel some of the myths and prove to people how exciting a product it is.

We are extremely delighted to have been chosen this year (one of only five nationally) and with the help of THE SHERRY INSTITUTE OF SPAIN we are able to offer 30 places at this event for just £18 each (with £10 refundable on any purchases made on the night).

Come with an open mind, learn how the different styles of sherry are made, and enjoy matching the food to the wines.

As always, contact the shop direct for tickets (in advance only). We accept most credit and debit cards and will put your tickets in the post.

New Wine Club Case Deal....

2010-08-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

We've launched our new case deal a cracking mix of reds, whites and roses perfect for the summer months. Please click on the image above to expand and give us a call if you'd like to place an order...

David

Rose Tasting 29th July

2010-07-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

We've moved our next Wine Club tasting event from the shop to Leek Cricket Club at Highfield due to popularity. The tasting will be hosted by Chris Mooney and will focus on rose wines from around the world. The event will commence at 8pm. Tickets for this event are just £10. Please let us know ASAP if you would like to reserve tickets for what promises to be a delightful event.

Please click on the image above to expand and print off for inforrmation about our events for the remainder of 2010.

Leonie and David

Léonie heads North...to host a wine tasting on Islay!

2010-06-24T04:44:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Islay Studios Gallery, Mark Unsworth has invited Léonie to host a tutored tasting as part of the weekend's various activities and special events.

On Saturday 3rd July, at 7pm, Leonie will be talking through six of the Wine Shop's favourite wines, all chosen to illustrate the six main Wine Styles, as explored at The Wine Shop Leek's monthly tastings.

That evening, in the gallery, come and taste:

Fresh, Crisp White
River Garden Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Aromatic White
Esk Valley Verdelho 2008, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Rich, Round White
Vina Real Rioja Blanco 2006, Rioja, Spain

Light, Fruity Red
Louis Jadot Macon Rouge 2008, Burgundy, France

Smooth, Medium Bodied Red
gb43 Merlot 2007, South Australia

Robust, Full Bodied Red
Errazuriz Organics Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Aconcagua Valley, Chile

Léonie will be explaining a little about each wine's background, highlighting how to identify the grape varieties, whilst offering advice on each wine style's food matches, serving and storing tips, with a view to helping you make more informed and confident choices wherever you buy wine, and indeed, enjoying it thereafter!

Tickets cost £5 in advance only and places are limited so booking is essential. Please call Mark or Helga at Islay Studios (01496 810 010) to reserve your tickets.

New Argentina Producer to visit Leek

2010-05-04T07:55:00.001-07:00

With a complete change to our regular Wine Club monthly 'Wine by Style' tastings, I am happy to say that we are now taking bookings for a tutored tasting to be held by one of our newest producers, Domaine Jean Bousquet of Argentina.

This will be held at the shop, in Russell Street, on Friday 21st May and we kick off at 8pm.

Frenchman Jean Bousquet (third generation of a wine-growing family) travelled thousands of miles to find his 'optimum' vineyard location, having bought his own first vineyard at the age of only twenty three in Caracassonne.

In Mendoza, Argentina, in the late nineties, he found a site with, in his words, 'idyllic wine-growing precipitation and temperatures, mild during the day and cool at night...situated at a good altitude (1200m above sea level) with fresh air, few funguses, and very permeable sandy and rocky soils...these great attributes give the grapes the possibility to attain an optimum maturation without the risk of rotting and without having to use fungicides.'

Indeed, the entire range of wines are produced organically, and all speak volumes about their cool climate vineyard sites and gentle handling, with enormous elegance and finesse.

Bousquet vineyard in Winter

In France, Jean had bought 140 hectares of abandoned vineyards and twenty years later was producing high quality wines under the Domaine de Lalande name, based on single varietals such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In Mendoza, he began totally from scratch, planting 110 hectares of virgin vineyards at Tupungato, in the Uco Valley, in 1997 and building a brand new winery.

Lisa Reynauld, who will be visiting Leek to guide us through the Bousquet wines, took the photo below, entitled simply on their website, as 'The Andes and the office'.

Like any Argentinian producer, there is a focus on Malbec (and the Gran Reserva Malbec, with claims to being a 'liquid Aston Martin' promises to be good) but we will also taste a couple of whites, a rosé, a great Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon and the quite delicious Dulce Malbec (made in the same way as, and not dissimilar in style, to Port).

Lisa, Jean's daughter in law, will guide us through a range of eight of the Domaine Jean Bousquet wines.

Tickets cost £10 each, and we advise booking early to avoid disappointment. Give us a call at the shop on 01538 382408 or drop us an email at info@wineandwhisky.com. We accept most credit and debit cards over the phone and will send your tickets through the post.

Visit the Domaine Jean Bousquet website at http://www.jeanbousquet.com/

Another of Lisa's photos taken at sunrise

Flavour Map Malt Whisky Tastings

2010-03-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

David is now available to host Flavour Map whisky tastings for your club, business, local pub, hotel or organisation. Please see the video below for an idea of what happens at the tasting and how the event works.

The tasting itself can be a sit down, tutored tasting, with a structured feel & greater depth of education, or informal roaming whereby your guests approach a free standing area and engage with David.

There is absolutely no cost for the Flavour Map rastings, all we ask is that you can get together around 40 people for us to entertain.

The whiskies that we taste are:

Talisker 10 years old

Singleton of Dufftown 12 years old

Dalwhinnie 15 years old

Glenkinchie 12 years old

If you are interested in holding a whisky tasting event, please call David on 07875 405 980 or email him at david@rarecask.com

Dow's 20 Year Old Tawny...perfect for Easter

2010-03-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

I received a telephone call this morning with one of those...do you want the good news or the bad news scenarios...

Ever the optimistic, I opted for the latter...

'Dow's 20 Year Old Tawny Port has been discontinued in the UK market'...

...silence...gulp...

'The good news?'

THE PRICE!!!!!!!!

Dow's history can be traced all the way back to 1798 and has been family owned for over two centuries. Bruno da Silva made the opposite journey to most founders of the big Port names today, in that he decided to relocate his merchant business in Oporto to London, and import the wines of his native country. He married an English woman, and everything was going great until the Napoleonic War when the business came under threat. Bruno's answer? Equip his ships with guns. He secured Royal Assent to do so to secure the safe passage of his Port to London.

The story thereafter becomes less interesting and more complicated, but ultimately Bruno's original business merged with smaller (Portuguese) company Dow & Co in the nineteenth century and the name Dow's was chosen as the brand name.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the company had invested more in the Duoro (with the purchase of three very fine vineyards) than any other traditional port house.

Here at the Wine Shop, we like the Dow's house style but always encourage people to try the lesser known Tawny ports.

In contrast to the 'vintage character', darker, fruitier ports more widely available, the Tawny ports are aged in seasoned oak casks and become more mellow, complex and delicate with age.

Dark, vibrant purple in youth, they eventually gain a classic, amber tawny hue that gives them their name.

When we showed the 20 Year Old Tawny from Dow's (at £34.99 a bottle) at our annual Port tasting in December last year, I noted that on top of the mature, raisiny fruit aromas, there were hints of honey and caramel, and the palate showed classic nutty characters, but with a clean, crisp mouthfeel, and a soft, rich finish.

The beauty of these ports too, is that, unlike the Quinta and Vintage Ports, they are ready for immediate drinking...no worrying about whether it's ready to drink, too young, or too old, and no decanting required!

And that price I mentioned...save over £10 a bottle when you preorder by email, and receive a massive 40% off when you order six bottles.

Too good to be true? As far we can see there really is no catch here...recently bottled, in good nick, and current stock (that I ordered at Christmas) is sitting on the shelf in Russell Street at its genuine price of £34.99.

The sun's shining, Easter's looming...I can't think of anything much better than to enjoy some aged Tawny with friends or family...with some fruitcake, some ice cream, some creme brulée...oh yes, and chocolate!

'Delish' as Jamie would say

Léonie

Give me a call at the shop on 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com if you would like to join our Wine Club (free of charge) and pre-order Dow's 20 Year Old Tawny Port at just £24.49 a bottle or 6 bottles for £120...only limited stocks available so when it's gone, it's gone!

Joining The Wine Shop Leek Wine Club

2010-03-15T05:18:00.000-07:00

Joining the Wine Shop Leek Wine Club couldn't be simpler...just let us know your full postal address and email contact details and you will receive:

Monthly case deals by post
Typically saving at least 20% off our shelf prices and an opportunity for you to taste something new

Email alerts with details of tasting events which include...

Informal tastings, held in the shop at Russell Street, tasting wines in a fun and yet informative way
Seated tutored tastings hosted by experts such as the winemakers themselves at local venues such as The Peak Weavers, The White Hart, and the Cricket Club
Wine and Food Matching Dinners, including a full glass of wine with each course, carefully chosen to compliment the dish and introduced by an industry expert (held at The Peak Weavers, Leek)
Wine Fairs, where you are free to roam and taste anything up to 100 wines with experts on hand to answer any questions (held at The Rudyard Lake Sailing Club, transport by bus included in the ticket price)

Exclusive, competition beating offers on small parcels of limited wines

Highlights from the last 12 months include:

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc in magnums (equivalent to two regular 75cl bottles) for just £9.99

Leading Costieres de Nimes producer Chateau de Campuget sending the utterly charming Francois to host a stunning five course dinner at the Peak Weavers

30% off a selection of Burgundies from prestigious negociants Louis Jadot and Bouchard Ainé

Summer Wine Fair at Rudyard Lake Sailing Club where over a hundred Wine Club members had the opportunity to taste over 80 wines for just £10

Taittinger Vintage 2004 champagne for the price of Taittinger NV (saving £12 a bottle)

Chris Mooney of John E Fells with his inimitable pazzazz, tasting through (sizeable measures of) six different Port styles one cold December evening in the shop

Simply give us a call at the shop on 01538 382408 or email us at info@wineandwhisky.com.

We are already fully booked for our next tasting (of Rich, Round Whites...Chris' reputation going ahead of him once more I suspect) but we are taking bookings now for our Smooth, Medium Bodied Reds tasting (focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) on Thursday 29th April, when we welcome Julia Langshaw, of McKinley Vintners to the Wine Shop Leek.

With wines from our favourite producer of Hawkes Bay reds, Alpha Domus, some right bank Bordeaux, some examples from South America and more, it will be a treat!

Léonie

Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Tasting Dates for Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2010

2010-03-14T09:04:00.001-07:00

At last, we've set the dates for the Queen of the Moorlands Whisky tastings to be held at this year's Islay Festival of Malt and Music. We'd like to invite you to join us at one of our friendly, informal tastings, where you will have the chance to talk to us about, and more importantly, to taste, the fantastic new whiskies that we are about to bottle in time for the festival.

Each tasting event will consist of a tasting of 4 whiskies, at least 3 of which will be from Islay and at least 3 of which will be very rare, Single Cask, Single Malt Whiskies of the very highest quality. One of the whiskies will be The Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Islay Festival Bottling 2010 which is a fantastic 1997 peated Bunnahabhain from a sherry hogshead.

We only bottle a few casks each year and because the Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Company is not our main business, we do not have to have a full range at all times like many of the other independent bottlers do. We only bottle what we consider to be a fantastic example of each distilleries house style.

Every year, our tastings are becoming more and more popular because of the quality and style of whiskies that we show. If at all possible, and of course, weather permitting, we hold our whisky tasting outdoors which promotes a friendly and informal atmosphere where enthusiasts can have a chat with myself or with other members of our "Whisky Committee" who help choose which whiskies end up under The Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask label...it's a tough job but someone's got to do it.

If you are interested in attending one of our tastings, please email me as soon as possible (david@rarecask.com), and I will reserve a place for you. This year we will be busier than ever so please contact me ASAP to avoid disappointment.

The venue will be in Bowmore and we will confirm this as soon as we have more info. Tickets will can be booked through myself and paid for on the day at The Islay Whisky Shop. Tickets are priced at £12, if you buy one or more bottles of the Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask whiskies that you taste at the tasting from The Islay Whisky Shop, you will get a refund of £5 against your total purchase.

Queen of the Moorlands Islay Festival Whisky Tastings 2010

Monday 24th May 2010 4.30pm to 6.30pm
Wednesday 26th May 2010 4.30pm to 6.30pm
Thursday 27th May 2010 4.30pm to 6.30pm

We hope that we will see you at one of our tastings.

Please click here for more information about the new bottlings.

For more information about the Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Co, please click here.

Slainte

David

A couple of whisky Gems from the past...these pics show our famous "OurBeg" bottling and our fantastic Port Ellen 1982, both sadly sold out now.

Perfect Mother's Day Gift

2010-03-11T04:09:00.000-08:00

Champagne Taittinger has long been one of our favourite houses at the Wine Shop in Leek, and I never fail to be impressed when I taste through the range of styles available in the UK market.

We clearly can't list every one of the champagnes (though in an ideal world I most certainly would!) so it's the popular non vintage, rosé and vintage that typically get the shelf space.

Earlier this week, in Manchester, however, I could resist the lure of the Prelude no longer...

Champagne Taittinger's origins date back to the original house founded in 1734 but ownership by the Taittinger family began in 1931. Remaining in the family ever since, it is now owned and managed by Pieere Emanuel Taittinger, son Clovis and daughter Vitalie. Owning 288 hectares of the best sites in Champagne, the most famous are those surrounding the Chateau de la Marquetterie.

Situated in Reims, the magnificent 4th century Roman cellars once belonged to the Benedictine monks of the abbey of St Nicaise.

Taittinger welcome visitors daily to the cellars, where you may be lucky enough to spot a remueur at work...

Traditionally the remueur would carry out all the 'remuage' by hand...that is the daily ritual of slowing turning the bottles in the racks (or pupitres) so that the sediment slides down the bottle of the neck and rests on the cork.

These days, machines called giropallettes do the job, but at Taittinger the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs and Rosé are still done by hand, like this.

So, my recommendation for Mother's Day...

Taittinger Prelude Grand Crus is a champagne I've tasted many times, always loved but never had the confidence to list, simply for the fact that it's not easily pigeonholed. However, it simply tasted so fantastic this week, had such gorgeous mouthfeel, and just looked so great in its gift box, that I bit the bullet and ordered some stock for the weekend.

Grand Crus are the words to note here...

Grand Crus come exclusively from grapes grown in the 100% rated vineyards of champange. There are 17 of them and they cover only 14% of the vineyard's total area. 50% of this blend is Chardonnay from the Cote de Blancs (Avize and Le Mesnil sur Oger vineyards) and 50% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims area (Bouzy and Ambonnay vineyards).

Further to that, this is made from the first pressing (so the very best and finest juice), 25% of reserve wines are added (from the best vintages) and it spends a minimum of four years on it lees in those fabulous cellars you can see above.

Unlike the rest of the Taittinger range, this has a greater proportion of Pinot Noir which gives it much more structure, richness and that lovely, creamy, weighty mouthfeel I mentioned earlier.

'The nose is subtle and fresh. The initial mineral aromas quickly develop into green, floral scents with hints of elderflower and spicy cinnamon overtones.

Flavours are dominated by intense fresh citrus fruit which then give way to a much fuller, well-bodied and mellow taste with flavours reminiscent of white peaches in syrup.

The finish is long, rich and extremely expressive.'

So read the winemaker's comments, rather more eloquently than anything I could say, but I wouldn't quote them here if I didn't agree!

This really is a secret gem from Taittinger. You're highly unlikely to find it anywhere other than decent indie wine shops...

Treat that champagne-loving Mum this Sunday

Léonie

(champagne-loving Mum)

PS...the price!

£41.99 on the shelf but if you are a member of our Wine Club £39.99.

Two Stunning New South African Wines

2010-03-11T02:38:00.000-08:00

Our most reasonably priced current Wine Club Case Deal features two new South African wines from the immaculate and awe inspiring Lourensford Estate. The Sauvignon Blanc, to me, is perfectly positioned between the complexity and delicate balance of Loire examples and the full on, intense Marlborough wines. This makes it rather too easy to open and drink, and I fully expect this to become one of our best selling whites this year. Unlike many other South African Shiraz, Lourenford's is all about succulent, juicy fruit and although it has spent a staggering 18 months in oak (a big investment for a wine at this level) it is deftly integrated and simply adds to its longevity. I very much look forward to seeing how this wine develops (particularly that lovely smoky hint of oak) over the coming months.

The Lourensford Estate was established in the year 1700 and was once part of the historic Vergelegen. Purchased by entrepreneur and businessman Dr Christo Weise in 1998, the aim was to establish ultimately 500 hectares of outstanding vineyards producing some of the finest wines in the world.

The mission - 'quality without compromise' - and to that end each 50ha vineyard subdivision has its own manager, with much care having already been taken over planting each cultivar on the right soil, aspect and slope. Meticulous selection of grapes by hand, minimum handling and the use of gravity during fermentation all form the basis of a singular philosophy of quality.

We are proud, at the Wine Shop, to be stockists, and having tasted further through the range available at a trade tasting in Manchester earlier this week, stand by for further recommendations...tomorrow we receive stocks of the best white of the entire tasting, Lourensford's Winemaker Selection Chardonnay. It simply blew me away!

Lourensford Sauvignon Blanc
Classic South African aromas of asparagus, green figs, green peppers and gooseberries are followed by a cool, crisp versatile palate that owes much to the cool early morning harvesting, proximity of the vineyards to the Atlantic Ocean and light pressings.

Lourensford Shiraz
Dense, deep purple-red in colour, this Shiraz has all the black pepper and spicy oak you'd expect on the nose but the palate is surprisingly succulent and juicy. Aged for a not insignificant 18 months in oak, the structure that this gives means the wine sill age and develop over the next five years.

Wines retail at £7.99 a bottle

Save over £20 when you order a mixed case for £75

Further news of the highlights of Tuesday's tasting to follow...

Léonie

John Mac Lellan Joins Kilchoman Distillery Team

2010-03-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

Great news...we've just been told that John MacLellan, Distillery Manager at Bunnahabhain for the last 12 years, is leaving to step into the new General Manager position at Islay's newest distillery, Kilchoman.

John takes up the exciting position on the 3rd of May and Leonie and I wish him all the best for the future.

Well done John! Keep an eye on our cask of Kilchoman!

Click here for the Kilchoman Distillery website.

Slainte

David and Leonie

New Queen of the Moorlands Bottlings Chosen for Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2010

2010-03-03T05:25:00.001-08:00

Last Friday night I met up with Gordon Richards, Jane Jervis and Adrian Shufflebotham to nose, taste and to ultimately select the next whiskies to be part of our Queen of the Moorlands range of Rare Cask whiskies....and what a treat it turned out to be.

We were to taste 4 whisky samples and select whiskies to be bottled in time for the forthcoming Islay Festival of Malt and Music and for the tastings that we do there. One of the whiskies would also go on to be our Queen of the Moorlands bottling especially for the Festival. As far as we know, we are the only independent bottler to bottle a whisky especially for the Feis Ile.

We decided that we would be bottling 3 out of the 4 whiskies that we tasted. All will be bottled at natural cask strength, without any colouring or chill filtering. They will be bottled straight from the cask as always. These whiskies are bottled from one single cask and are therefore extremely limited in number. There will be around 200 to 300 bottles of each whisky, and when it has gone, the flavour unique to each individual cask will never be repeated. Each bottle will be hand labelled and individually numbered.

One of the three whiskies was chosen as our Islay Festival Bottling 2010, and this was to be the Bunnahabhain 1997 heavily peated from a sherry hogshead...wonderful stuff!

Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask New Bottlings 2010 Tasting Notes

1. Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bowmore 1999 10 years old

Nose: Sweet, light and heathery at first with slowly building peat

Palate: Again sweet but incredibly smokey with a very oily mouthfeel

Finish: Smooth, medicinal, peaty and very long

Max 200 bottles available. £49.99 per bottle

2. Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Laphroaig 1996 13 years old

Nose: Light peat smoke followed by red fruit and spice

Palate: Very sweet, phenolic, bonfires, oily mouthfeel

Finish: Huge peat smoke aftertaste that lasts forever

Max 200 bottles available. £59.99 per bottle

3. Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Bunnahabhain 1997 12 years old

Islay Festival Bottling 2010

Nose: Classy and rich with raisins, smoke and the seashore

Palate: Smooth with vanilla, olorosso sherry notes, fruit and nut chocolate, raisins and hints of the sea, oh and lots and lots of peat smoke

Finish: Rich and clean, the sweetness and peat smoke lingers for an age

Max 300 bottles available. £59.99 per bottle

All of these whiskies are still in cask at the moment, awaiting to be bottled shortly, but if you would like to reserve stock, please don't hesitate to contact us to secure a bottle or two of these fine drams. The Bunnahabhain in particular will sell very quickly.

We don't ship overseas but if you live on Islay or if you are visiting the island during the festival, we can take payment and arrange to deliver to you between the 22nd May and June 5th.

Don't forget we'll be holding our whisky tastings during the festival week where Adrian, Jane and I will be happy to talk you through the new whiskies.

Slainte

David

Stunning Single Vineyard Offerings from our favourite Barossan producer

2010-03-03T02:14:00.000-08:00

This month we have decided to showcase a selection of Single Vineyard wines from independent, family-owned Grant Burge. Though we have worked a lot in the past with their everyday drinking gb range (whose fruit is sourced from many South Australian vineyards, mostly Barossan), we thought this selection of wines demonstrated perfectly what the Barossa itself does best...rich, full concentrated wines but with Grant's unmistakeable polish.

Each wine shows textbook varietal aromas and flavours, and we have secured stocks of these wines to enable us to offer 20% off the six bottle selection.

Although only established back in 1988 by Grant, his heritage traces back in fact some 150 years to his great, great grandfather who emigrated from England to the Barossa Valley to make wine.

Now one of Australia's top ten privately owned wine companies, Grant Burge welcomes visitors daily to its cellar door. Visit www.grantburgewines.com.au for info or contact me at the shop to arrange a more indepth tour and tasting in advance.

Summers Chardonnay
Eden Valley/Adelaide Hills
Grant selects his fruit from prime cooler vineyards for this Chardonnay with the majority of it from his Summers Vineyard (see below) in Eden Valley and the rest coming from the Adelaide Hills. Whole bunches are pressed and fermentation takes place in in new and one year old French oak casks. A further ten months ageing on the lees, with regular batonage, has produced a wine with amazing complexity and depth of flavour. Elegant, restrained nose with subtle honey, creamy hazelnut and ripe melon fruit. Rich, creamy mouthfeel on the palate, with the honey and melon flavours following through. Well-integrated oak, mineral and lime acidity, and able to stand up to full-flavoured dishes such as roasted pork loin with fennel or creamy seafood gumbo.

And this is the actual vineyard itself...

Kraft Sauvignon Blanc
Barossa Valley/Adelaide Hills

This vineyard is named after its owners Dennis and Val Kraft, at Tanunda, and it is over 20 years old. Fermented in stainless steel at low temperatures to retain freshness and crispness, this is pale straw in colour with intense aromas of pineapple and passionfruit and some delicate floral notes. A round style of Sauvignon but with crisp grapefruit and tropical fruit flavours, subtle green herbaceous notes and refreshing citrus acidity. Enjoy with Asian seafood and shellfish.

Zerk Semillon Viognier
Barossa Valley
The surprise of the selection for us being an unusual blend of grapes that works astonishingly well in this case. Another vineyard named after its owner, fourth generation Barossan Robert Zerk. The vines are over 70 years old and so produce fruit with amazing depth of flavour and complexity. Semillon fruit was crushed, destemmed and fermented in stainless steel, whilst the Viognier whole bunch pressed for elegance and then fermented in 2 and 3 year old French oak. Complex aromas of apricots, green melons, freshly cut hay and citrus and subtle floral tones. Round, mouthfilling palate with sweet ripe stone fruits and refined lemon citrus notes which finishes clean and crisp. Delicious with full-flavoured fish, lighter meats and mild spicy Asian dishes.

The Cameron Vale Vineyard, responsible for Grant's Cabernet Sauvignon (below)

Cameron Vale Cabernet Sauvignon
Barossa Valley
The Cameron Vale vineyard (above) was planted back in the 1970s in a fertile area between Lyndoch and Williamstown, with a portion of fruit sourced from the cool Eden Valley. The wine's enormous structure is owed in part to the fact that a quarter of the blend was left on skins for 30 days following fermentation. Partially fermented in both new French and American oak, the entire blend was then matured in 50% new and 50% 2 year old oak for 20 months. Dark red purplish in colour, this is an intense wine with aromas of blackberry, mint and chocolate. Rich and elegant on the palate, there's generous dark berry fruits, spicy savoury leathery undertones and fine tannins. Delicious with aged beef with sautéed mushrooms and garlic.

Hillcot Merlot
Barossa Valley
A pioneer of Merlot in Barossa, Grant planted the first vineyard of this variety at Hillcot Vineyard in 1982. Fermented in American oak puncheons and left to age for a further 18 months, this is a deep crimson wine, which exudes aromas of ripe stewed plums, black cherries and warm spicy oak. Vibrant fruit on the palate with intense ripeness and subtle leather, earthy characters. Really fantastic with garlic and rosemary roast lamb or duck breast.

Miamba Shiraz
Barossa Valley
The Miamba Vineyard (below) lies at the southern end of the Barossa, near Lyndoch, and has a long viticultural history. Barrel fermented using 50% new American oak, with the remainder matured for 18 months in one and two year old American and French hogsheads, this is an opulent wine, deep dark red in colour with purple hues. Dense rich fruit with red berry, plum and cherry aromas. A velvety palate with flavours of black cherry, raspberries and dark chocolate. Lots of lovely toasty oak and grainy tannins. Drinking well now it will age for a further ten years with careful storage, and stands up well to most full-flavoured dishes.

The Miamba Vineyard

Hopefully these notes and images will inspire you to want to taste the wines at least, and as I mentioned above, you would receive a very warm welcome should you ever have the good fortune to visit the vineyards for yourself.

Don't hesitate to contact me at the shop should you wish to take us up on our Wine Club Offer, whereby you save 20% off the Single Vineyard Selection (containing one bottle of each wine).

Leonie

New Queen of the Moorlands Bottlings with the Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2010 on the Horizon

2010-02-22T05:21:00.000-08:00

Dates for the diary:

Tuesday 13th April - Single Malt Whisky Tasting
The Wine Shop, Leek. A chance to taste through the range of The Queen of the Moorlands Single Malt Whiskies. Please contact us ASAP to reserve your place. 01538 382 408. Please see post below for more info....

Saturday 22nd May to 29th May - Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2010
Once again we will be holding whisky tastings to showcase our Queen of the Moorlands Single Malt Whiskies, including our very own Islay Festival Bottling 2010. Please contact us ASAP to reserve places on these events or to pre-order bottles. More info below.....

Saturday 22nd May 2010 is an important date in the diary at The Wine Shop in Leek, because that is the first day of Feis Ile, the Islay Festival of Malt and Music. It is hard to believe that in 11 or so weeks time, we'll be on Islay in much warmer weather, and if the last three years are anything to go by, glorious sunsets at 11.30pm. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful Islay is at that time of year, and I for one, cannot wait to be there.

We shall be holding a series of whisky tastings during the festival. Venue, dates and ticket prices are to be confirmed but usually they take place in Bowmore. We'll post details nearer the time but if you would like to express interest in attending, please contact me ASAP to reserve a place.

Usually, we taste through 4 or 5 whiskies in each session and typically, there will be around 50 guests in attendance at each event. Each whisky will be from our very own, award winning Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask range of Single Cask Single Malt Whiskies and it is a chance for the consumer or collector to taste and secure a bottle or two of these incredibly rare delights. Guests also get a chance to meet up with the people who select our whiskies from cask samples, our panel of lucky customers who form our whisky committee.

With all this in mind we've only got a few weeks to finalise our latest Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Single Malt whiskies, and samples have started to arrive. All of our Rare Cask whiskies are selected and approved by our whisky committee, a dedicated band of hardcore whisky enthusiasts.

This Friday, 26th February, some of the committee members are meeting up and we are going to taste some whiskies, some of them will hopefully become our new bottlings. I'll be posting the results and tasting notes here. If you see a dram you fancy, please don't hesitate to contact me as, although the whiskies are still in cask, the popularity of our bottlings means that they will pre-sell quite quickly. As always, anybody on Islay wishing to reserve a bottle or two should contact me ASAP and I will save the stock for you and deliver to you between Friday 21st May and Saturday 5th June.

The Whiskies that we will be sampling this week are as follows:

Bowmore (Islay) 1999 if bottled will retail at £49.99

Laphroaig (Islay) 1996 if bottled will retail at £59.99

Bunnahabhain (Islay) 1997 if bottled will retail at £59.99

All of our Rare Cask whiskies are bottled at natural cask strength with no chill-filtration and no colouring. Each bottle is hand labelled and individually numbered and presented in it's own gift tube. There are usually a maximum of around 200 bottles per edition making them highly collectable

We are hoping that we will be able to bottle at least a couple from the list above but we are also looking for one very special dram to become our bottling specifically for the Islay Festival of Malt and Music. This will be our third Festival bottling, the previous being our Rare Cask Port Ellen 1982 (2008 Festival) and Rare Cask Laphroaig 1996 (2009 Festival). As far as we are aware, we remain the only Independent Bottler to bottle a whisky especially for the Feis.

For enthusiasts closer to The Wine Shop in Leek, we'll be holding a whisky tasting on Tuesday 13th April, and this will be the first time that the new whiskies will be on show. Tickets for this event will be on sale at just £10 per head, please contact us ASAP if you would like to reserve tickets. There are only 20 places at this event as we will be holding at in shop.

If you would like any information about our whisky tasting events, new bottlings or how to join our whisky committee please don't hesitate to get in touch.

We hope to see you at Feis Ile 2010!

Slainte

David

01538 382 408

email: david@rarecask.com

Wine Club Burgundy Offer

2010-02-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

Not only have we managed to secure stocks of some entry level generic Bouchard Ainé wines, at competition beating prices, but more interestingly, some small parcels of appellation Louis Jadot wines with some nice signs of maturity developing.

Save over 30% on a selection of 6
Red and White Burgundies
from historic negociants Louis Jadot and Bouchard Ainé et Fils

Bouchard Ainé et Fils
One of the oldest and most prestigious negociants in Burgundy, Bouchard have an enviable portfolio of vineyards from which to source their grapes. Head winemaker Laurent Mairet crafts modern, clean, fresh and attractive wines, designed to be approachable on release.

Bouchard Ainé Chardonnay 2007
An elegant introduction to generic White Burgundy, with lovely stonefruit and flint characters, decent complexity and some weight.

Bouchard Ainé Chablis 2007
A light, fresh, flinty example of Chablis, with white flowers, dried fruit and hazelnut aromas. Classic minerality and floral characters on the palate, with a clean, zingy finish.

Bouchard Ainé Pinot Noir 2007
A fresh, lively introduction to generic Red Burgundy, with fresh cherries and blackberries on the nose and palate, supported by a touch of subtle oak spice.

Louis Jadot

Founded in 1859, Louis Jadot now produces wines from over 150 appellations and is our favourite negociant. Theirs is a first-class list of classic Burgundies, united for over thirty years by the passionate care of inspired winemaker Jacques Lardiere. Jadot's philosophy is the perfect expression of terroir, as opposed to the house style approach of other negociants, and therefore of minimal intervention in both the vineyard and the winery.

Louis Jadot Pouilly Vinzelles, Chateau de Loché 2005
Pouilly Vinzelles is a tiny satellite of Pouilly Fuissé in the Maconnais (southern part of Burgundy) and represents far better value in my opinion. Louis Jadot manage the Chateau de Loché and it is the star property of the appellation. In its youth, this wine was racy and spicy, but it improves remarkably with age. With almost five years' bottle age, this will go a further 2 or 3 years, but is now developing superb complex aromas, with lovely fleshy ripe fruit and honeyed, creamy nutty oak characters on the palate. Serve with fish and white meats in creamy sauces.

Louis Jadot Fleurie Domaine de Poncereau 2007
The wines of Fleurie are renowned for their singular freshness of flavour and complex, fruity floral aromas, which makes them the most memorable, popular (and expensive!) Beaujolais Cru. Made with 100% Gamay, Domaine de Poncereau have vineyards on south and west facing slopes, with the best granitic soil for Gamay. With 10 months in oak and some time in bottle, this now has a silky texture, lovely finesse and the fresh, red fruit characters are becoming softer and riper. A surprisingly good match now for red meats and even goat's cheese.

Louis Jadot Beaune 1e Cru 2002
Jadot blends together the powerful, tannic and deeply coloured wines of the central and southern part of Beaune, with the softer, fruitier wines of the northern part, to make a wine made entirely from their smaller Premier Cru vineyards, and from a very good vintage. Following as long and natural a fermentation as possible, the wine is aged for 18 months in barrel, to give it the structure to age up to 15 years from vintage. Just starting to drink now, although elegant, this has good body for a Beaune, with textbook red fruit aromas and spicy vanilla, and will accompany fine and delicate meat dishes, and is fabulous with cheese.

Stock arrives at the beginning of March, but is extremely limited.

Only £68 for 6 bottles (one of each) or £116 for 12 (6 pairs) saving a further £20
Wines retail between £11.99 and £21.99

Contact us now to reserve yours...c'est convenu!

Léonie

Come Taste through the Styles through the Seasons

2010-02-02T05:22:00.000-08:00

For the first time this year we have decided to hold a series of tastings aimed at taking you through the various wine styles available, with a view to helping you make more informed and confident choices when you buy wine, whether that be here, in a restaurant or on holiday.

More than ever before, wine is an extraordinarily abundant, diverse and arguably confusing world. Rather than taking a more traditional look at wine producing regions individually, we've decided to look at straight forward, easy-to-understand groupings of wines that are designed to reflect your own tastes (and maybe develop new ones).

Click on the image above to expand and you'll see that we kick off with Full Bodied Reds in February and move through to Crisp, Fresh Whites in the summer months.

We were tempted to look at a different grape variety each month, and indeed in such a bewildering market it can be all too easy to discover you like a particular Shiraz, for example, get stuck in a rut and keep buying the same or other brands of the same grape. Of course it depends entirely on where a grape is grown, how it's grown, how it's vinified and how it's aged as to what style of wine it ultimately makes.

Each of the most popular grapes will however be featured over the course of the year, because Shiraz does, for example, typically produce full bodied reds, and Sauvignon Blanc, crisp, fresh whites.

Thursday 25th February
Full Bodied Reds
Looking indepth at wines made with grapes such as Shiraz, Malbec and Nebbiolo, this will be a line up of intense, concentrated and rich, red wines.

Thursday 25th March
Rich, Rounded Whites
A look at the more full bodied whites, typically made from Chardonnay and some of the Rhone varietals such as Viognier.

Thursday 29th April
Smooth, Medium Bodied Reds
Focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, we'll compare traditional Bordeaux with some New World examples.

Friday 21st May
Domaine Jean Bousquet Tasting
This month, we welcome our new Organic Argentinian producer to the White Hart, Leek where we taste through the diversity of styles, from sparkling, to white, red and even a dessert wine made from Malbec.

Thursday 24th June
Aromatic Whites
The least mainstream and most eclectic wine style, we'll taste examples of lesser known varietals such as Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Torrontes.

Thursday 29th July
Rosé
We will show the tremendous diversity of this style, from light, delicate French examples to big, full-flavoured New World wines.

Thursday 26th August
Crisp, Fresh Whites
Dry, zesty wines with bags of refreshing acidity, we will naturally cover Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio and seek out some interesting alternatives.

Wednesday 29th September
Light, Fruity Reds
A range of wines through light, fresh Gamay and simple Burgundy, Chianti and finally more serious, weightier examples of oaked Pinot Noir.

Thursday 28th October
Organic Wines
This month we will taste through a range of sparkling, white and red wines with an indepth look at what sets these wines apart from the rest.

Thursday 25th November
Fortified Wines
We welcome back Chris Mooney of John E Fells, but this year we will also taste Sherry and Madeira, as well as a range of styles of Port.

We do ask that you book in advance for these events, and a charge of £10 per head will be made to cover the cost of the wines tasted. However, these are fun, informal, yet informative tastings, held at the shop itself, where you will get to taste everything from fantastic value everyday wines up to aged rarities at £30 per bottle.

At each session we will give advice on food matching that style, storing and serving it, and even clues on what to look for on the labels wherever you may be when buying wine!

You may want to attend simply the category/ies that are currently your favourite/s but if you'd like to build up your experience of wines and understand a little more about why you enjoy certain styles more than others, I would urge you to let us know as soon as possible as spaces are limited and some tastings may become oversubscribed.

Personally, I'm really excited about looking at wines in this way, and having just finalised the Rich, Rounded Whites selection, I am literally salivating at the thought of tasting Guigal Condrieu, mature Tyrrell's Vat 1 Hunter Valley Semillon and Vouvray from leading producer Marc Brédif...

(wistful sigh)

Léonie

Chase Distillery Quality English Vodka and Gin

2010-01-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Wine Shop Leek is now a stockist of the new Williams Chase Gin, produced just down the road in Herefordshire. We originally heard of the distillery when it began to produce the first English Potato Vodka back in 2008, after having already made a success with Tyrrells Potato Chips.

Chase was inspired for this change in direction when he discovered a small distillery producing vodka from potatoes in the USA in 2004 but it was not until April Fool's Day 2008 that the first batch was finally distilled.

With a handcrafted copper batch pot still, a bespoke copper 70 foot tall rectifying column and traditional potato varieties of Lady Claire and Lady Rosetta, absolutely minuscule amounts are made. Although it takes only three weeks to get from potato to vodka, it takes a staggering 16 tonnes of potatoes to produce just 1000 litres (that's about 250 spuds a bottle).

Oz Clarke and James May visited the distillery to taste the vodka, in their 'Drink to Britain' TV Show last year and indeed it has received much favourable press for its soft, creamy, velvety style.

Now, their Williams Elegant Crisp Gin has been released and what a gin it is. On tasting it the minute it arrived on Thursday morning, we immediately ordered stock, and booked them to come and hold a tasting in our marquee at Leek Show later this year.

What makes it unique is that, along with the usual botanicals of Juniper, Coriander, Angelica, Liquorice, Orris, Orange and Lemon Peel, Hops and Elderflower...is fresh Bramley apples!

All I know is it has the most sensuous aromas, gorgeous mouthfeel and the taste stays with you forever...

Check out the lovely website at www.chasedistillery.co.uk then pop into the shop to taste it for yourself.

Williams Elegant Crisp Gin 70cl £32.99
Chase Vodka 70cl £32.99

Chin chin

Léonie

Christmas Wine Case Deals

2009-11-19T03:36:00.001-08:00

We're delighted to offer a selection of mixed case and half case offers, from which you should find something to suit your needs, whatever your plans this Christmas.

Please click on the image to expand to see what each case contains, tasting notes and food matching suggestions.

Wine Club Seasonal Collection

Includes a range of richer, fuller styles form some of our favourite producers, and this time represents a saving of over £35, with wines that retail up to £17.99 per bottle.

Case of 12 wines for £80

Wine Club Christmas Dinner Selection

Our Christmas Dinner option includes some bubbles, two whites, two reds and a sticky for pudding or cheese, with your choice of Champagne or sparkling, four individual wines or two pairs for the meal itself, and finally port or the new stunning fortified Malbec from Argentina.

6 wines for £65

Wine Shop Classic Selection

Despite enormous change in the wine trade over the years, we continue to see people return to the Old World at Christmas, so our Classic Selection includes a fizz, two whites and three reds from classic names such as Louis Jadot, Domain Laroche, Frescobaldi and Vina Real.

6 wines for £55

Wine Shop Party Case

Please click image above for info. The Party Case contains a crowd pleasing mix of fruit-driven, easy drinking wines in popular styles such as cool, crisp Italian (our new Fiano) and smooth soft reds.

12 wines for £60

We offer free local delivery on all orders over £50, a small charge applies for orders from further afield. Stocks are limited so please get in touch as soon as possible if you would like to order a case. We also offer a gift wrapping service if your case is intended as a gift.

Please click here for The Wine Shop Blog Home

Kind Regards

Leonie and David

Christmas Gift Ideas

2009-10-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

We've got new gift ideas arriving all the time here at The Wine Shop in Leek. There will be fewer and fewer as we get closer to Christmas day, so if you see something you like, please contact us on 01538 382 408 ASAP.

Don't forget, you've always got the option of buying gift vouchers (£20, £10 or £5) from us, and we also offer a personalised whisky label service on some of our Queen of the Moorlands Single Malt Whiskies.

Personalised Whisky Label Service

We always have a selection of our own award winning whiskies available to purchase with the option of personalising the label. This makes a perfect gift for the whisky enthusiast. The quality of the whisky is of the highest standard. If you are unsure of the style of whisky that the recipient likes, we recommend that you choose a whisky such as the one shown here which is from Allt - a - Bhainne Distillery. Smooth and sweet in character and dangerously easy to drink. Please click on the pic to expand.

If you know that the recipient likes peaty or smokey whiskies, we also have two bottlings from the Isle of Islay. A 1995 Caol Ila (£52.99) and a 1996 Laphroaig (£56.99), both extremely peaty.

Please click on the pic to expand. We've added some text as an example of what most customers choose to do, but we can do what ever you like as all design takes place in house. There is even an option to add your company logo, making this ideal for corporate gifts.

£49.99 to £56.99 per bottle

Graham's Classic Port Selection

This pack of 4 different miniatures is the perfect stocking filler for those who like a glass or two of port. It's also a great opportunity to taste different styles side by side. It's also makes a particularly well thought out gift for Grandad if his name happens to be Graham and he likes Port!

£8.00 per pack

Dow's Midnight Port Gift Set

Another perfectly sized stocking filler, this time from Dow's and contains two 5cl miniatures of Midnight Port. The miniatures come beautifully packaged in a gift tin. Easy.

£3.99 per tin

The Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Soap

No, we're not about to launch our own fragrances yet. This is the one that everyone laughs at and then buys. It is specially made for us by a Ailsa at Spirited Soaps on Islay and contains a wee splash of our own Whisky. It is lovely to use and traditional in style.

£3.99 per bar

Queen of the Moorlands Glencairn Whishy Glass

This is the perfect glass for drinking or tasting whisky or brandy from. It's tapered design enhances the whole tasting experience. Forget about expensive cut glass tumblers, they're so last week and honestly do no good for the tasting experience...If you're passionate about quality whisky, you need at least a couple of these in your cabinet. These are also branded with the Queen of the Moorlands Logo.

£4.99 per boxed glass

Sticky Pudding Shots

Each of these metal tubes contains a shots glass and a small bottle of Chocolate Brownie Shot (20%abv). It says "serve ice cold" on the bottle...I wonder why!?

Another perfect stocking filler.

£3.00 per tin

The Balvenie Miniature Pack

The perfect stocking filler for the Malt Whisky fan, this pack contains a 5cl bottle of one of each of the following:

DoubleWood 12 year old Single Malt Whisky

Balvenie Signature 12 year old Single Malt Whisky

Single Barrel 15 year old Single Malt Whisky

£11.99 per pack

Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2010

Every Malt Whisky enthusiast must be armed with a copy of this great book. It is the ultimate buying guide for whisky from Scotland, Ireland and the rest of the world.

Includes reviews of previous Queen of the Moorlands bottlings including the famous Blacksmith's Bottling Bowmore, as chosen by Russell Street's resident Blacksmith, Gordon Richards.

£10.99 per book

Glenfiddich Miniature Pack

From one of only two remaining family owned distilleries in Speyside, this gift pack contains three different classic expressions:

Glenfiddich 12 year old Single Malt Whisky

Glenfiddich 15 year old Single Malt Whisky

Glenfiddich 18 year old Single Malt Whisky

£10.99 per pack

Traditional Whisky Miniature Set (Gordon & MacPhail)

This pack contains three miniatures of Scotch Single Malts bottled by the oldest independent bottler of whisky in Scotland. The pack contains whisky from Orkney and Islay.

£12.99 per pack

Queen of the Moorlands Orange Whisky Liqueur

From our famous Queen of the Moorlands range, this liqueur is a popular choice as a gift. It is dangerously easy drinking, very rich and smooth. Try on ice-cream, pancakes or mixed with a little peaty whisky to add an extra dimension!

£19.99 per 50cl bottle

Monkey Shoulder Scotch Malt Whisky

This is an all year round favourite at The Wine Shop. The Queen of the Moorlands Speyside Malt Whisky aside, this is one of our most popular whiskies. It is incredibly easy drinking making it a great purchase as a gift or to imbibe in front of the fire. Distilled at the three distilleries on William Grant's production site in Dufftown, Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie. The three monkeys represent the three distilleries.

£22.99 per 70cl bottle

Shot Fridge

For those with a sweet tooth, this great little fridge contains 2 miniatures of Baileys Irish Cream liqueur plus chocolates. Great if the recipient likes Baileys, rubbish if they need a fridge!

£10 per fridge

Mulled Wine Spice Packs

Contains 5 spice bags. (enough to mull the equivalent of 10 bottles of wine). Spices include Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves, Ginger and Orange Zest. Perfect for your Christmas party and very, very festive.

£3.49 per tin containing 5 bags

Schnapps Shots Spirit of the Radio

This radio tin full of schnapps is the prefect gift for the those who like listening to the wireless whilst enjoying a few schnapps slammers. The Archers will never be the same again!

Contains 4 x 4cl flavoured schnapps plus glasses.

£12.00 per broken radio

St Peter's Brewery Gift Packs

A range of 3 real ale gift packs from the famous St Peter's Brewery in Bungay, Suffolk. The perfect gift for the beer enthusiast.

Red pack (shown) contains a glass and one a bottle each of Ruby Red Ale (4.3%) and Winter Ale (6.5%).

Green pack contains a glass and one bottle each of Organic Ale (4.5%) and Organic Best Bitter (4.1%).

Yellow pack contains a glass and one bottle each of Suffolk Gold (4.9%) and Golden Ale (4.7%).

£8.99 per pack

Wincle Brewery Limited Edition Christmas Ale

Last year, the Wincle Brewery used one of our whisky casks to mature a strong Christmas Ale. The whole brew was sold out in 48 hours as enthusiasts and gift buyers scrambled to get hold of some. This year, head brewer Giles has decided to brew a traditional spicy Christmas Ale. Each bottle will be presented in it's own tube and will contain the 7%abv brew. This will make the perfect gift and be suitable for further maturing for many years to come in the bottle.

Price per bottle has not been agreed as yet but will likely to be around £7 for a 500ml bottle. Please contact us ASAP to reserve your bottles.

Wincle Brewery Gift Packs

This beer pack contains 3 bottles from the very well respected Wincle Brewery. The traditional bottle conditioned ales from this brewery are among the very best of English beers. These ales are our biggest selling beers by miles. Please also see the Christmas Ale above.

Each pack contains 3 different beers. The one shown contains one each of Sir Philip, Undertaker and Wincle Waller.

£8.00 per pack

To order or reserve any of the above products, please telephone 01538 382 408.

Please click here for The Wine Shop Blog Home

Queen of the Moorlands Single Malt Whisky

2009-10-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

It'll soon be Christmas. We're getting all our seasonal stock in at the shop, in preparation for the mad rush. There's everything from mulled wine spice packs to radios with the insides taken out and replaced with vodka shots, gardening sets accompanied by bottled beer, and, as you can imagine, millions of different whiskies from all over Scotland. It's a whisky anorak's paradise.

Our first Christmas at The Wine Shop was in 2003. We were overwhelmed by just how many of our customers wanted a good recommend for an easy drinking, not too peaty, very suitable as a gift and well under £30, bottle of whisky. This gave us the idea of finding our own dram to bottle and to put our name to...a house whisky if you like and in May 2004, we launched it, The Queen of the Moorlands 12 year old Speyside Single Malt.

The whisky is distilled at one of only two, family owned distilleries in Speyside, Scotland. Leek is known by locals as "The Queen of the Moorlands" and we thought that it would be fitting to use the name on the label. We thought, that if we were lucky and wealthy enough to own a distillery somewhere up in the hills above Leek, then this is kind of how we would like it to taste. It has a deep red colour, and a hint of toffee, marmalade and sherry on the nose. On the palate there is more of the sherry and the smallest hint of peat on the long sweet finish. Ever since May 2004, the Queen of the Moorlands Speyside Single Malt has been our biggest selling dram by miles.

After a while, and as the shop started to attract more and more serious whisky enthusiasts, we began to be asked to provide Single Cask Single Malts under our own label. I managed to get a few samples in, and these were passed among customers for their approval. I thought it would be a good idea to involve them in the buying decision, after all, they would be the people buying and drinking it. From then on, where ever possible, a few of us would meet up in The Earl Grey Inn in Leek, to vote upon what whiskies would become our future Single Cask bottlings. These Single Cask Whiskies were always very limited. Often each edition would consist of only a hundred or so bottles. We therefore decided to individually number each one. These whiskies became know as The Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask bottlings. Always bottled at natural cask strength, never with any artificial colouring. The first whisky in this range was a stunning Strathisla 1969 that was nearly black in colour, and really incredibly heavily sherried...an absolute stunner and we were amazed how quickly it sold, particularly as it carried quite a weighty price tag.

As we had began to visit Islay a lot more, we became a little biased towards it's whiskies. We started to receive more and more samples from the island and whenever we got hold of a really peaty offering, we passed it onto our local blacksmith, Gordon Richards who is a fan of whisky, really smoky ones too.

Gordon was given the task of selecting, from a range of samples, some sherry matured Bowmore 1991. Once he had made his selection and we had bottled the whisky, and named it "The Blacksmith's Bottling", we sent some samples off for review firstly by Whisky Magazine, and then by Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2008.

Whisky Magazine promptly gave us a Bronze award in the Independent Bottlers Challenge. Jim Murray gave us a massive score of 96, to this day, no other bottler including Bowmore themselves, have not scored higher...so pretty good then...well done Gordy!

From then on, we have been lucky enough to get our hands on some fabulous whiskies, look carefully in this pic and you'll see that we even managed to bottle some Port Ellen, don't get excited though, we sold it all in a week. We've also bottled Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain (twice), Caol Ila (5 times), Clynelish, Longmorn (95 in the Whisky Bible), Teaninich, Springbank, Mortlach (twice), Tullibardine (twice), Glenglassaugh, Glenlivet, Glentauchers, Glen Grant, Glenrothes, and not forgetting a very special dram that we managed to get our hands on that was selected by some friends of ours from a distillery that we cannot name....but to give you a clue, it's one of the Islay kildalton distilleries.

"OurBeg" then was chosen by Bob and Bonnie, of Arlington, Virginia, friends that we'd met in a hotel in Campbeltown whilst visiting Springbank. Bob, it turned out, is a big fan of the produce of the distillery we cannot name, and so, when he and Bonnie who visited us in Leek, we arranged a night out (and a night I'm sure they will never, ever forget) in the Earl Grey Inn in Leek. We presented them with three cask samples from the distillery we cannot name, and we let them decide what would end up in the bottle...and what a cracking dram they chose. All 200 or so bottles of OurBeg sold within a week.

So, if you are looking for a bottle of whisky that is of extremely high quality, that has huge complexity whilst having been bottled without any tampering whatsoever, and that has been selected by the end user...look no further than the Queen of the Moorlands Whiskies...and further more...if you don't believe me, call into the shop and we'll give you a few drams and you can decided for yourself.

Our current bottlings are...

The Queen of the Moorlands 12 year old Speyside Single Malt 40%abv

Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Allt a Bhainne (Speyside) 1996 53.7% (201 bottles only)

Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Caol Ila The Blacksmith's Bottling (Islay) 1995 51.6%

Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Laphroaig Feis Ile Bottling (Islay) 1996 51.1%

Oh...

We also have our own Queen of the Moorlands Orange Whisky Liqueur...yum yum.

Slainte

David

Ardbeg...Peat, Smoke and Unfeasibly Large Cakes

2009-08-28T03:22:00.000-07:00

Every distillery on the Isle of Islay is situated amid breathtaking scenery. All except one, sit more or less on the sea shore. A reminder of times when barley came in with the Clyde Puffers, and the casks full of spirit or whisky would leave for the mainland in these wee boats.

If the Scotch whisky industry launched a competition for the best view from a distillery window, an Islay distillery would win it, whether it be the view of the Paps of Jura from either Bunnahabhain or Caol Ila, Loch Indaal from Bowmore or Bruichladdich, or over the rock pierced stretch of sea from Ardbeg. I believe that casks of whisky that lie maturing in the many dunnage warehouses on Islay, benefit greatly from the sea spray filled air around them, the spirit taking on some of this character, and once in the glass, telling the imbiber a little about it's past.

Ardbeg has become famous as a heavily peated dram, years ago, barley was malted in these buildings, now the visitor centre and Cafe, home of fine food and lots of cakes.

The water source for both cooling and mashing is from Loch Uigeadail away up in the hills.

In 2005, a few of us decided to walk up there, and we set off with a map, some butties and a few miniatures of various expressions from Ardbeg.

There was no clearly defined path, and after a short while, we began to loose our way, all arguing over which might be the best way to head.

Eventually we arrived at the Loch and we were surprised at how big and very dark it was. A few miniatures of Ardbeg 17 year old were consumed, and one was poured into the Loch, a custom among walkers who make the journey. We made our way back through the deserted plague village of Solum, where a whole community was lost to the disease, arriving just in time to be taken on a tour at the distillery.

Ardbeg has one of the smallest mash tuns on Islay. Typically the mash is 4.5 tonnes which happens ten times per week. The washbacks are traditional Oregon pine. Fermentations are relatively slow because the high peat content inhibits the yeast.

The wash still is not the smallest on the island but it is very dumpy and of lamp glass design, with a gently ascending lyne arm and an external condenser. Copper interaction or reflux, is being promoted here with plenty of contact between the fibrous metal and liquid.

The spirit still is also of lamp glass design. Here, the character of Ardbeg's spirit is shaped through reflux promoted by a additional feature, not present at any of the other Islay distilleries. The spirit still has been fitted with a purifier that hangs on the underside of the lyne arm with a pipe leading back down to the belly of the still. For the first hour and a half of the spirit run, it is the lighter alcohols that make the journey up the inside of the still and lyne arm to be collected in the spirit safe. Later on, the heavier alcohols become more apparent, these travel up the inside of the still and start to travel on the floor of the lyne arm but reach the purifier and are sent back down to be re distilled, so only the lighter alcohols remain in the spirit. This process results in a new make spirit that retains the smoky phenols whilst being incredibly light, fruity and floral.

Ardbeg produces around 950,000 ltrs of spirit per year. This compares to Bruichladdich at around 320,000 ltrs and Caol Ila at around 3 million ltrs so by no means the smallest producer, and not the biggest. There is storage on site for 24,000 casks in 5, mainly traditional dunnage warehouses. (Dunnage warehouses being the old style with earthen floors, maturation benefiting from the damp atmosphere that is promoted there).

50% of the casks filled at Ardbeg are first fill bourbon barrels and the rest are mainly second fill bourbon and a few ex sherry and wine casks. There are still a few amazing sherry butts in the warehouses but much of the Oloroso has gone and it is the fino and manzanilla casks that are now coming through.

Ardbeg 10 year old is among the best of the entry point malts. It is very pale in colour. There is much smoky peat and citrus fruit on the nose, following through on the palate with a very long citrusy finish.

Ardbeg 17 year old can still be found, although it costs at least £150 per bottle. Sherry notes are much more noticeable.

Recent bottlings of Ardbeg have commanded very high prices with drams from the early 1970's ranging from £300 to £1000 per bottle. Moet Hennessy, the distillery's owners, have launched edition after edition including a gun case containing two vintages from the 1970"s which retails at £10,000. Beware peat fans, some more recent bottlings like "Blasda" are not peaty. The whisky for these unpeated bottlings comes from casks marked "Ardbeg Kildalton". These casks are usually ear marked for the blended market. If you find an old bottle of Ardbeg in your cupboard, check it out with a whisky retailer first, it could be worth a fortune...if you do drink it however, you will never be disappointed, old Ardbeg's always seem to be the biz.

A visit to Islay is not complete without a tour of Ardbeg, a bowl of soup, a big cake, a natter with Jackie and a large dram of Ardbeg 10. Sign up to the Committee and you will be updated with events and new bottlings.

If you're interested in finding out more about Ardbeg, the other Islay distilleries and Islay itself, I would recommend you get a copy of "Peat Smoke and Spirit" by Andrew Jefford, and arm yourself with a bottle from each of the 8 distilleries.....available at all good whisky shops in Russell Street, Leek.

Slainte

David

"Westering Home" to Bunnahabhain

2009-08-13T03:53:00.000-07:00

Those who read my previous whisky related post will be fully aware of my high regard for the Isle of Islay in the Hebrides and the fantastic whiskies that are made there. I visited for the first time in February 2005 with a group of customers and I've visited on average, once every eight weeks since then. I love Islay...and I have a windscreen sticker to prove it. (Its ok, I haven't stuck it on my windscreen....yet)

If it wasn't for Islay whiskies, I probably wouldn't drink whisky now, come to think of it, I probably wouldn't own a whisky shop. I first started to take interest in whiskies after a tasting hosted by Morrison Bowmore Distillers, who also kindly accommodated me on my first visit to the island. If it wasn't for Islay whiskies, I wouldn't be a fly fisherman, David Morris, mashman at Bunnahabhain Distillery, taught me how to cast and accompanied me on my first visits to Loch Ballygrant, Loch Gorm, Loch Finlaggan and Loch Inver on the Isle of Jura.

Mention Islay malts and people assume you are talking about peaty and medicinal whiskies, quite often comparing their flavours to TCP, and yes, there are some great whiskies that do have these characteristics that are produced on Islay. The truth is that most distilleries on Islay do produce that kind of spirit, some as a larger percentage of their output than others. Ardbeg 10 year old, Laphroaig 10 year old, Bowmore 12 year old, Caol Ila 12 year old, Lagavulin 16 year old are all peaty, smoky whiskies.

There are three other distilleries on Islay, Kilchoman, which produces a peated spirit but is a new distillery so it's product hasn't quite reached the market yet, Bruichladdich, which produces both peated and non peated spirit, the latter tending to be the house style, and Bunnahabhain, which produces more non-peated spirit than any other distillery on the Island.

If you look carefully, at the back of this pic, you can see the snow covered mountains on the Isle of Mull.

Bunnahabhain Distillery was built in 1881, the same year as Bruichladdich, the two events completely unrelated. Its location is simply stunning, situated in the very North East of the Island over looking the Sound of Islay and on to the Isle of Jura, Colonsay and the Isle of Mull. The waters hereabouts are very dangerous and many ships have sank in the locality over the years. The Wyre Majestic, a fishing boat from Fleetwood in Lancashire is still visible on the rocks today.

When visiting the distillery, you arrive having driven up the 4 mile track from the little village of Keills, passing Persabus, Torrobus and Loch Ardnahoe on the way. You also get a glimpse of Rhuvaal Lighthouse to the North and Loch Inver on Jura to the West. On a clear day, the view over the Sound to the Paps of Jura is stunning. It's hard to believe that, these days, every grain of barley travels up this road in huge wagons and every drop of whisky travels back down the road in the massive Carntyne wagons. The road is new. Right up until the early eighties, the Glasgow puffer boats arrived on the beach with the barley and went away with casks of spirit. It was a hard, labour intensive job.

This picture shows the beach in front of the distillery where the boats arrived. The jetty is used by local fishing boats. The workers cottages at the far end of the beach are now holiday lets and it is where we stay if we are taking customers to Islay. The warehouses on the right are the bonded filling store and warehouse number 7.

The sea was the reason that everything at Bunnahabhain Distillery was built on a massive scale. In long periods of rough weather (which happens a fair bit in the Hebrides), the boats couldn't get in with the barley. The capacity of storage and for production therefore had to be larger than usually required at a distillery so that production could continue.

The malt bins have the capacity to store 900 tonnes of barley, where usually 100 tonnes would suffice. The grist hopper holds 32 tonnes of grist. The mash is a 13 tonne mash, the biggest on Islay. Usually, during the mashing in process, the mashman sprays 3 batches of water at an increasing temperature on to the grist (milled malted barley) in the mash tun to extract sugars on which the yeast will later feed and produce alcohol as a by product. At Bunnahabhain, 4 waters are used because of the size of the mash. In fact, so much water is required that the distillery has 2 water sources, water for cooling and cleaning comes from Loch Stoisha up in the hills towards Finlaggan and the production water, that ends up in the spirit, comes from the Margadale Springs and is piped to the springs straight out of the granite rock.

Bunnahabhain has six huge traditional Oregon pine washbacks. The two pairs of stills have the largest capacity on the island. This pic shows a wash (or low wines) still in the foreground and a spirit still at the back.

These large and very tall stills ran very slowly promote a good amount of interaction between copper and spirit. This is a process called reflux and has a massive influence on the final spirit and ultimately, the house style of the whisky. If a stillman fills the spirit still to capacity and runs it very quickly. He will end up with a very heavy spirit...the less he fills the still and the slower he runs it, the lighter spirit he will achieve.

Bunnahabhain's new make spirit is the best I've ever nosed and has a really good starting point, even before it has been filled in to casks to mature. The majority of the 21,000 casks on site are ex Bourbon Hogsheads, traditionally though, a good amount of ex sherry butts and puncheons (like the one in the pic) have been used, and it is these casks that tend to produce the very best of whiskies from Bunnahabhain, as anyone who has tasted the 18 year old expression will agree.

There are eight warehouses at Bunnahabhain, number eight is the first one you see when you arrive at the distillery, it's the large racked one on top of the hill. All the others are down on the seashore. These are dunnage warehouses, i.e. they have earthen floors. When a storm gets up, the atmosphere in these warehouses is full of the sea. The casks are designed to breath, maturation is a slow, controlled oxidation of the spirit within. This sea air plays its part in determining the final character of the whisky.

Recently, Bunnahabhain 12 year old (see pic at top of post) has been marketed as "The Gentle taste of Islay" and it is. We sell cases of it in our shop because it is easy to drink but full of character, and is a perfect gift because it is so light in style. Bunnahabhain does produce a heavier peaty whisky too though...since 1997, for four weeks every year a peated spirit has been produced and of late it has started to appear on the market.

We have managed to purchase a cask of heavily peated Bunnahabhain we have now bottled it under our own Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask label. This bottling is limited to only 82 bottles. The whisky is completely natural and has been bottled straight from the cask without commercial colouring or any chill filtration.. I recommend that you put a fire in, sit in your favourite chair, open a bottle and stand well back...it is a monster, both in peat and alcohol (60.2%). This whisky will sell very quickly...get in touch if you would like to reserve a bottle..or two. It is £59.99 per bottle.

Bunnahabhain has always been a fisherman's dram, as you will gather from the traditional Hebridean rhyme that, until recently, was printed on the label of the bottle.

Westering home and a song in the air
Light in the eye and it's goodbye to care
Laughter o' love and a welcoming there
Isle of my heart my own one.

Tell me o' lands of the Orient gay
Speak o' the riches and joys of Cathay
Ay but it's grand to be wakin' at day
To find yourself nearer to Islay.

Where are the folk like the folk o' the west
Canty and couthie and kindly the best
There I would hie me and there I would rest
At hame wi' my ain folk on Islay.

Leek Show / August Case Deal Tasting Notes and Food Matching suggestions

2009-07-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

Please click the image above to see the August (Leek Show) case deal. If you haven't already ordered a case, you can do so by calling 01538 382 408 or email us at david@rarecask.com. We can deliver your case free of charge in the Leek area. Delivery to mainland UK addresses usually costs £10.

We thought we'd post some tasting notes and a few food matching suggestions for the new case deal......

River Garden Sauvignon Blanc
Full of fresh crisp limey flavours, this Stellenbosch Sauvignon is great on its own or with salads, grilled chicken or cold meat.

River Garden Merlot Shiraz Rose
Making its debut at the Leek Show this year, this outsold everything else on account of its lovely pale salmon colour, clean racy palate balanced with a touch of strawberry, guava and watermelon sweetness.

River Garden Shiraz Cabernet
This structured Stellenbosch blend has spent time in French oak, with big blackcurrant flavours and hints of violets and stands up well to robust dishes such as hearty roasts or stews.

Cune Monopole Unoaked Rioja Blanco
100% Viura 100% stainless steel fermented, this white Rioja is designed to show the grape's typical primary aromas of fresh green apple fruit and white flowers. Ideal with seafood, fish and rice.

Cune Rosado
Tempranillo grapes were carefully selected at optimum ripeness then after 24 to 48 hours on the skins fermented in stainless steel. Full of ripe summer fruit and red berry aromas the palate has good mouthfeel and length to stand up to food with a bit of spice and structure.

Cune Rioja Crianza
Aged in American oak for 12 months, this has lovely red berry aromas as well as the creamy vanilla balsamic notes. Elegant yet lively, there are some spicy back notes and it works well with most red meats and classically roast lamb.

Vidal Sauvignon Blanc
Fruit from the Awatere Valley in Marlborough adds some minerality to the wine while the balance of Wairau Valley fruit gives ripeness and passionfruit flavours to the final blend.

Caliterra Reserva Chardonnay
A lovely example of a Chardonnay made with just a touch of oak with guava, banana and honey on the nose followed by a palate that's dry and fresh and extremely versatile.

Caliterra Shiraz Rose
Lively, vibrant and deep coloured rose thanks a splash of Malbec in the final blend, raspberries and cherries leap out of the glass and the palate is round and soft with good balance. Great for the barbecue.

Caliterra Carmenere
After 10 months in oak (some of it new) this Chilean Carmenere is deep, dark and full of bitter chocolate, violets and a tiny hint of basil.

Gb23 Chardonnay Viognier
Less than 10% Viognier is all that is needed to give this Chardonnay lovely aromatics and a touch of varietal peachy notes. Rich and round it's easy drinking but good with creamy fish or chicken dishes.

Gb43 Merlot
Grant Burge have produced this Merlot to appeal to those who prefer their reds not too dry. Very fruit driven it was a crowd pleaser at the Show this weekend.

There is also an offer on some of our Louis Jadot wines, selected for summer drinking...

Jadot Offer Any 3 for £25

Louis Jadot Macon Villages
Fermented in stainless steel tanks to maximise floral and fruity aromas and freshness this Chardonnay is dry and citrussy and works perfectly with grilled fish, seafood Goat's cheese and simple chicken dishes.

Louis Jadot Beaujolais Rose
Made from the Gamay grape responsible for red Beaujolais this fresh delicate rose is a new addition to the range. Redcurrants and raspberry fruit characters make this a good match to salads and cold pasta dishes. Perfect picnic wine as it comes with a screwcap.

Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages
Fruit for Jadot's offering comes from the best villages of Lancie, Latigne and Regnie. Serve chilled to enhance the delicious and delicate fresh red fruit aromas and flavours. Another wine that's perfect with salads and light meats.

We hope you enjoy your wines, any feedback would be very much appreciated...please click comments below...

Leonie and David

The Best Whisky in the World Comes From Islay....Probably

2009-07-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

I own a whisky shop....it's great, I earn a living by indulging in one of my favourite pastimes...I know, I'm a very lucky man.

People often ask me "what's your favourite whisky", and they're surprised when reply "I haven't got one". I haven't got one because I've got dozens of favourite whiskies, the best dram for returning home from a cold and wet fishing session, the best dram to accompany a fine dark ale, the best dram to watch the match with, the best dram to go with Chicken Passanda, the best dram as an aperitif, the list goes on......

I also get asked "What's the best whisky in the world", and the answer to that is simple, there isn't one. Every few months, a customer will drop in to the shop to say that they've seen a write up in one of the Sunday papers saying that GlenMcSuchandsuch Single Malt has been declared the best in the world...and it really gets my back up.

How can one whisky, one expression from one distillery be deemed to be better than all the rest and on what criteria? Usually, the reason that GlenMcSuchandsuch has been declared "Best Whisky in the World" this year is because it's owners have committed to a great deal of advertising in the special supplement...what a coincidence....how come, in the following year's best whisky supplement is GlenMcSuchandsuch no longer the best, giving way to GlenMcTartan? Neither whisky has changed, just the advertising arrangements.

The best whisky in the world is the one that you decide to drink this evening, and that's because you have chosen it for a reason, to match the occasion, the dram that feels right tonight, and don't let anybody tell you any different.

Whisky, like wine, is very much down to personal taste and this is the reason that we have so many bottlings, or expressions to choose from. I'm surprised when people buy the same big brand bottle of whisky time after time again, often unaware of just how many hundreds of other choices there are. Enjoying whisky is often an emotional connection to a particular time and event. If when you taste a whisky, it takes you back to a certain place or event, or if it reminds you of someone, that is saying much about the character, complexity and individuality of the dram. When I taste Bowmore 17 year old (now axed...as is the fate of all ace whiskies), I am immediately transported to the harbour walls in Bowmore as that was the first place I tasted it, in fantastic company, the first time I visited Islay.

The only way to buy whisky is to taste it. Buying whisky by name can lead to disappointment. Often, a distillery will produce different types of spirit to suit it's commercial customers.For example, since 1997, Bunnahabhain Distillery on the Isle of Islay, famous for its easy going, non peated Single Malt, has produced heavily peated spirit for four weeks every year. This peated malt is now appearing quite regularly in Independent bottlings and also, Burn Stewart, Bunnahabhain's parent company have released two peated whiskies as Islay Festival Bottlings. Tasting just one whisky produced at a particular distillery and saying you didn't enjoy it is a bit like saying that you've been abroad and didn't like it...or that you don't like French wine.

Scotch whisky tends to be split into six categories....Highlands, Islands, Islay, Campbeltown, Speyside and Lowlands. In the past, Whisky writers and marketeers, in particular have talked about each of these regions producing whiskies that have characteristics specific to that region...which is why you will hear people saying things like "I don't like Islay whiskies, they are too peaty". You will also hear people talk about Speyside whiskies being easier going, richer, sweeter.....try a 10 year old Benriach, there's nothing rich and sweet about that, it's peat hits as hard as the biggest of the phenolic Islay Malts. The truth is that each of these whisky producing regions produces a vast array of amazing spirits, each distilled in stills of differing shapes and sizes, each matured in many different locations and terroir, in types of wood from ex bourbon casks to big oloroso Sherry butts. It is impossible to generalise about regions and to pigeonhole whiskies, so great are the differences across the whole of Scotland.

Islay is a very good example of what I'm talking about....and what you can say about Islay is that the whiskies made there tick all the boxes. The beauty about Islay is that if you like whisky, there will be one there that suits you. Islay isn't just about big peaty malts, it is also the home to the lightest of drams. If you are new to whisky and want to explore the taste spectrum, Islay is the place to start because it covers all the extremes. It goes without saying that if you are into the big peaty drams, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, and Lagavulin, the Kildalton Malts are the most famous in the industry, but don't forget, it doesn't necessarily follow that if you buy a bottle that says Ardbeg on it for instance, that it will be a peaty whisky, as those who have been lucky enough to buy an Ardbeg Kildalton or Ardbeg Blasda will know.....As with any whisky, beware the marketing nonsense, folks sat in settees in tranquil glens besides the babbling burn, peat imparting its rich flavours to the water that is going to flavour the whisky....absolute rubbish...peat comes from the barley malting process...end of, it's no more romantic than that i'm afraid.

In the past decade, choice of Single Malt Whiskies has grown massively. This has been driven by one or two factors. Firstly, in the past, the product has seemed to be the reserve of the wealthy, and now the way it is marketed and who it is marketed to has changed. More and more younger people are becoming interested in the product and experimenting with it...it has become more trendy...dark spirits are 'in' again. Previous to the last decade, you would venture down to your local specialised drinks shop and you would maybe have around twenty proprietary bottlings to choose from. In those days, you could talk about a distillery's house style because all you saw was a maximum of one bottling from each distillery...nowadays a distillery may produce dozens of house styles...take Bruichladdich for instance, they release a new bottling every five minutes and the style is different every time...you will taste Bruichladdich's that you will enjoy, and you will taste Bruichladdich's that you don't.

As well as all the new proprietary bottlings, there are now many independent bottlers, bottling some amazing whiskies, often from single casks, nearly always individually numbered, bottled at natural cask strength and from many of the lesser known distilleries....our own Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Company of course being one of these new bottlers.

When you are buying whisky, don't do it on the net, definitely don't buy it from the supermarket (these are highly commercial, chill filtered (more of this later), comparatively dull whiskies that you will never go back to), buy it either from the distillery, when you have tasted it, or buy it from a retailer that cares about the subject, and most of all from a retailer where you can taste it.

So, there you have it...There isn't a "Best Whisky in The World" but if there was, it would probably come from Islay....don't take it from me...get tasting.

Slainte

David

Britannia Leek and District Show 2009

2009-07-28T02:31:00.000-07:00

The weather man promised a fine day on Saturday and he was right. We had a couple of serious downpours on Friday and the ground was getting a little boggy but it was warm and dry enough for us to be able to get on and off the showground.

We had six stands within our marquee this year, three of which were our wine stands where among others, we were showing the wines contained in our current case deal (see previous posts). David (pictured nosing) and monica (pictured arranging the wines) kindly offered to help us with the wines for the day. Thanks to Anna from Hatch Mansfield for supplying our wines this year and for all her help during the day.

The other three stands consisted of the Wincle Brewery showing their fantastic real ales, First Drinks Brands and our own Queen of the Moorlands Whisky Company, where we were showing Queen of the Moorlands Orange Liqueur and our three Rare Cask Single Cask Scotch Whisky bottlings.

Ian Murray was in charge of the First Drinks stand and was impressing visitors with his Sailor Gerry Rum with Ginger Beer, and also showing Monkey Shoulder Scotch Whisky and Hendriks Gin.

We had around 800 visitors through our marquee this year and the gate was another record with over 10,000 people in attendance.

Leonie and I would also like to thank Adrian, Jane and Alex for all their help throughout the day.

If you would like to order one of our Leek Show case deals, please contact us at the shop. Tasting notes for all the wines in the Leek Show / August case deal are to follow. Please feel free to leave any comments about the wines in the case, especially if you enjoyed them!

Thanks once again for all your support, any comments about the Leek Show or the blog would be greatly appreciated.

David and Leonie

The New Wine Shop Blog.......

2009-07-15T02:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

Welcome to our new blog...we thought we'd start the posting off with news of the next case deal and our whisky club deals which we are launching at the Britannia Leek and District Show on Saturday 25th July 2009. We would love to see you at the show, come along to our marquee and you will be able to taste all the wines that are in the case plus beers from the Wincle Brewery and whiskies from our Queen of the Moorlands range.

Whisky Club Deal plus Wine Club Leek Show Case Deal...

Please feel free to leave any comments.

Regards

Leonie and David