Wine Appreciation / Oenophiles

or my wine merchant.

Who is your wine merchant?!

I'm also very appreciative of the wine society.

For added golf club value, I also have an account with Berry Bros, but rarely use it as I can get more than enough from wine soc.

Also get stuff from Uncorked occasionally. They are particularly good for Italian wine.

Was in Montalcino with Mrs JJ last weekend.

Drank a lot of 2015 Brunello. Each one we tried was superb. Well worth a trip.

Burgess and Hall - I meant to type ‘my local wine merchant’

Do you have anything cellared with Wine Soc - I kind of forgot about some of the stuff I had and need to work out what I’m doing with it!

Great tips, thanks! Will report back.

Shouldn't @Gav86 be in here? He's been making wine in London for a few years now...

Yield regulation
The harvest base yield fixed by the INAO is 10,400 kg/ha, revisable upwards or downwards depending on the quality and quantity of the yield but capped at 15,500 kg/ha for AOC production.

The rationale for capping yields lies in the high-density planting system in Champagne, with vines planted very close together (8,000 per hectare) to improve ripening and therefore quality. Limited juice extraction – just 102 litres of must per 160 kg of grapes – is a key part of this policy and brings the final yield to 66 hectolitres per hectare.

2020
Houses have been given the AOC 7,000kg per hectare immediately, whilst grower-producers will be given 8,000 kg. If sales figures reach 202 million bottles this year, then Houses will be authorised to use a further 1000 kg per hectare. If these sales are not met, then this 1000kg will be authorised as part of the 2021 yield. Given that the average over the last decade has been 13,500 kg, this represents a large drop in income for growers.

Did the restricted yield mean leaving grapes on the vines?

Technically you are not allowed to leave grapes on the vines within the Champagne AOC - it is one of the many rules. You can use a harvest machine to shake them off though, that's acceptable (not acceptable for the grapes used to make champagne, they have to be hand picked).

The restricted yield, on paper, allows growers to be more selective with their picking so you would keep the best and put the lesser one to the ground.

Our vineyards have organic credentials in France and we use no herbicides/ pesticides. We also manage grass between our rows and use no fertilisers.

It is a lot more labour intensive and it naturally lower the yield to about 10,000kg in a good year without straining the vines - thus getting a higher quality of grape.

So for us, it tends to balance out.

For others, who use herbicides/pesticides/a raft of fertilizer and prune "hard" in the winter, they would have achieve a yield of about 15 to 18,000kg this year so they would need to cut half of their grapes to the ground.

The Champagne AOC does not allow you to make other wines with surplus grapes so the best you'd do would be vinegard or hydro-alcoholic gel, which does not pay sufficiently to warrant doing so.

So all those producers have strained their vineyards and poisoned the ground for absolutely no reason this year.

But hey, Tesco and Aldi need Champagne at £12 per bottle so that's that - cut corners to get people what they want!

This is nice. Very lovely.

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With lockdown 2 coming up, you might find yourself in need of Champagne...

Want champagne without the hassle of contacting me?
Well you are in luck! 6x Pole Position Brut + UK Shipping = £140

It's just a click of a button away:
https://checkout.square.site/buy/OYYFVM53IKTG7U2MWGUX5VNM

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Currently drinking this. It’s very nice.

I’ve also recently found an aerator (unwanted Christmas present from last year) which only befits the wine

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Jeeps I read some gas about dry sherry so tried a sip and it must be the nastiest thing I’ve ever had. Just some basic tito pepe stuff but wow.

Yes, I have a bit in "reserves" with wine soc. Once or twice a year I have a look and get some delivered out.

It’s all about the ambience. Needs to be drunk ice cold, under an Andalusian sun, with Marcona almonds.

If anyone is after Champagne this Christmas, I will cover the shipping costs UK wide.

Let me know what you want, I will then send you an online invoice where you will put your delivery address - APC Overnight will then deliver your case the very next day for all orders placed before 12 noon

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Went to Hedonism Wines for the first time earlier.

I was amazed and appalled in equal measure. The appalled bit might just be jealousy though.

Last minute bit of Christmas shopping at our friends place Binch today and spotted the forum’s very own @Vince ‘s Champagne amongst some other new ones

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I'll be having a Musar 2001, decanted for two hours for Christmas lunch.

Weirdly, so will I!

Thank you for supporting 2x small businesses in one purchase!

Veg prep done, birds in the oven, time to open some Lasseaux:

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This is fantastic

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Popped the cork on a bottle of Vince's finest to have with lunch Triple Courrone, very good, possibly my favourite of his.

Just waiting for the pot au feu !

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Time for some Brunello action:

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