Monday, May 18th: Dinner: shrimp in cream sauce with rice. And a bottle of Riverlore Sauvignon Blanc 2025.
Tuesday, May 19th: Dinner: chicken wings with a bottle of Stratus White 2010. Continue reading
Sunday, May 10th: London. Deborah and I are staying at the house of our friend Livia Prior in Hampstead. We took her to dinner at a local Lebanese restaurant, coincidentally named Oliviya. We started with Chateau Ksara Blanc de Blancs 2022 and moved on to Chateau Musar Hochar 2021. Back at the house we had a nightcap of Marquis de Sylène Calvados Vieille Reserve.
Monday, May 4th: This is the 20th year of the Pauwels-Aspler food & wine tour in Europe.
Deborah and I flew to Florence airport to rendezvous with our group for the bus transfer to Siena. Our initial base was the 5-star Grand Hotel Continental Siena, located only steps from the Piazza del Campo, which, twice a year, hosts the Palio, the world-famous bareback horse race. The group took a 90-minute, guided walking tour of the city centre ending with an aperitif overlooking the Piazza del Campo. Continue reading
Monday, April 27th: Tasted the following Strewn wines:
Strewn Sparkling Blush (Charmat process)
Equal parts Cabernet Franc and Riesling. Deep coppery-pink in colour;
lightly floral nose of strawberries. Petillant, medium-bodied, dry, strawberry and yellow cherry flavours; well-balanced and easy drinking with a touch of sweetness in mid-palate. (89)
Strewn Chardonnay 2025 (Niagara Peninsula)
Pale straw in colour; toasty, apple bouquet with vanilla oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted apple and pear flavours with well-integrated oak and good length. (90) Continue reading
Hester Creek wines
Monday, April 20th: Here are the notes on the Hester Creek wines I tasted last week, which are now released.
Hester Creek Character White 2025 (Okanagan Valley)
A blend of Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. Pale straw in colour; aromatic, spicy, peachy-apple bouquet with a floral top note; medium-bodied, dry, apple, lychee and lemon flavours. Well-balanced and lingering. (90)
Hester Creek Pinot Blanc 2025
Pale straw colour; white peach bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, well-extracted peach and lemon flavours. Lovely mouth-feel, great length. (91)
Hester Creek Pinot Gris 2025
Straw colour; floral, peach pit nose; medium-bodied, dry, peach and green melon flavours. Vibrant acidity, good length. (91) Continue reading
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