Petes Pix 2022

This was outside Marks & Spencer in St Albans this afternoon.  On the trays they were giving passers-by Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec. The savvie was dry, not as crisp and gooseberry sharp as I prefer but better then many insipid savvies I’ve had in pubs.  The Malbec wasn’t bad, fruit without the jammy sweetness I associate with Barefoot. One could taste any wine they had in the van.  The only other red was a Shiraz and I was pleasantly surprised in that it was noticeably dry with tannins. Would I rush out now and buy a bottle of Barefoot?    No, but I’m much more pleasantly disposed to them than I was before the tasting, and if there were a glass of Barefoot Shiraz in a pub I’d go for it, if only to taste it properly in a glass.  Horrible little plastic beakers of course; but I did score a pair of Barefoot branded sunglasses!

Walking today near Brocket Hall we saw these poppies on Ayott Estate farm lands.

Viking Lif, sailing down river Danube from Budapest to Bucharest. 11 days starting 3 June with two days in Parisi  Udvar hotel in Budapest, seven nights on the boat and one night in Radisson Blu, Bucharest. View from cabin in Budapest The Danube was swollen and the boat we'd been scheduled to board, Embla, had been unable to pass under a bridge upstream on Budapest so they'd swapped the passengers onto the Lif. Parisi Udvar entrance and restaurant Parisi Udvar ceiling Parisi  Udvar had opened only two weeks before we got there after a massive renovation . The entrance hall is magnificent, the rooms are spacious and well equipped but the restaurant was luxury priced for inexperienced, slow, inefficient non-luxury service. Driving 10 horses, standing on last 2 The cruise was, as usual, excellent, though the included trips mostly featured castles and churches. The Bakodpuszta horse farm (Kalocsa, Hungary) was the best with a welcome glass of wine and a snack on arrival, and amaz...

Congrats to Dan and Team Clowniau for winning the Entertainment Trophy at the Menai Great Strait Raft Run .  Clowniau Raft They came 18th taking 01:25:21 to complete the course. They are planning on a bigger, better raft next year.

Again to London, this time the offices of Moet Hennessey close to Victoria Station for the Circle of Wine Writers AGM. CWW Chairman Colin Hampden-White Afterwards we were generously poured a 2006 Krug Grand Cuvee. Although non-vintage (or perhaps more correctly multi-vintage) the six-digit code on the rear label entered at the Krug site give all the details. This wine coded 413073 says this bottle aged at least 7 years after receiving its cork in  2013. This bottle belongs to the 162ème Édition, a blend of 142 wines 11 different years. The youngest dates back to 2006 and the oldest to 1990. it was blended in 2006 from 44% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 21% Meunier. And it was delicious.

To Olympia for LIWF, staying Monday night at Simply Rooms & Suites with dinner at Popes Eye

Dinner with Caroline at Oslo Court