New Year Smirk

The lads discussing the rather innocuous fact that most people who give up religion do so because they simply don't believe it anymore, why should they, there's no tangible or scientific evidence to support that worldview and much (including a ton of human suffering) to suggest it's false. 

Classic St. Julien

Another new year wine, Duluc which is the second wine of Chateau Branaire-Ducru one of the heavyweight producers of the St. Julien region of Bordeaux. The term "Second Wine" just means that the wine is produced from (usually) younger vines by the same people and processes as the main wine or "grand vin" and is made to be enjoyed slightly sooner, a less "serious" version of a Chateau's wine if you like. 

This one was classic St. Julien (my favourite Bordeaux region) red berry fruits, cassis, pencil lead, balanced and very drinkable, a fabulous wine to have with food. This one was about £40 which sounded expensive until I enquired about their "grand vin" which in 2016 weighs in at £110 a bottle, I think this one will do fine until we win the lottery!

New Year Treats

We decided to treat ourselves this NY and open a bottle of 2001 Vieux Chateau Certan, a pretty good year in Pomerol and I bought a case of these back in the early 2000's to celebrate the birth of our first child back in 2001. I've been hanging onto a couple of bottles to see how they age and this one was absolutely singing, cassis and dark fruits with excellent balance, I reckon it'll easily manage at least 10 more years of maturation, my Son enjoyed it and got a kick out of drinking wine that was the same age as him! We'll have to open another one in a few years time and check its progress!

Midweek Mirth

Maybe the dog knows something we don't?

Cliches

Had one of these at the weekend, a new one from my favourite brewers Verdant, "It's Cliched to be Cynical at Christmas" is a juicy IPA in a classic Verdant package, murky, fragrant and rich it's all you want for Christmas!

Thinking about stuff...

The older we get the more we think about what remains of our lives and how we can make the things we do count for something, typically that means making us happy or making our loved ones happy. It's a tricky thing to do but fortunately (with luck) we're a bit wiser now that we once were!

Christmas Vino

We opened a nice bottle of Ozzy Cabernet to have with our Christmas dinner this year, from the Margaret River in Western Australia, this Leeuwin Estate offering was really singing, chalky soft tannins with a huge hit of blackcurrant and cassis with a spicy finish, an excellent wine. It cost about £50 quid and would definitely improve with some more bottle age, I might even treat myself to another bottle and keep it for a few years!

Pair of Deer

While out for my constitutional walk the other day I rounded a corner and happened upon a couple of deer, it was quite a shock for all of us as I was in the middle of a housing estate! They took one look at me and legged it but it was a nice moment on what was otherwise a typical grey day in December.

Other Dimensions

While in Bermondsey the other week we had a look around a Glass maker's shop, there were some lovely vases and ornaments sculpted from coloured glass, at the back of the shop was the workshop and I noticed that the furnace was open, I had to snap a picture as it looked just like a portal to an alternative dimension, amazing stuff!