A surprise visitor to the groghouse // October 2017 Christmas 2017 Index & Key to Symbols FESTIVE CHAT FROM GROG…. THE WINE LIST….. 3 Hello & last order dates 20 Argentina 4 Simon Says South Africa 20 Australia 6 Rioja Vega Focus 21 Chile 7 Davi Says South America 22 France 8 John P’s French Fancies 24 Italy 10 Bottleshop Beer Chat 25 Mexico, Lebanon, Austria 11 Christmas Mixed Cases 26 New Zealand 12 Clare Says Esporao, Portugal 27 Portugal 14 Trentham Estate, Oz Focus 27 Spain 15 Gosset Champagne Focus 29 South Africa 16 Bottleshop Whisky Chat 31 Uruguay 17 Gin Baubles!! 31 USA 18 Food & Wine Pairing 32 Champagne 34 Offers at a Glance 32 Fizzy Wine 35 Events 33 Port & Sherry 36 Warehouse Opening Hours 33 Dessert Wines & fortified Key to symbols = Screwtop closure ● = White ● = Red ● = Rose VG = Vegan V = Vegetarian O = Organic BIO = Biodynamic (Rudolph Steiner) All Biodynamic wines are Organic too BIO/N = Biodynamic & Natural Ferment 2 Hello Groggers! Welcome to our Christmas List! We’ve been around the world this year in an attempt to find the best bang-for- your-buck wines on the market. Remember life is too short to drink bad wine! Cheers, Richard, Simon, Janice, Ian, John, Davi, Clare, Heather, Jamie, Gary & Chris. MINIMUM ORDER £70 FOR FREE DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND! £10 DELIVERY CHARGE APPLIES BELOW £70 www.greatgrog.co.uk WAREHOUSE 17 East Cromwell St, Edinburgh, EH6 6HD 0131 555 0222 w [email protected] SHOP 2 Dalkeith Rd, Edinburgh, EH16 5BP 0131 667 2855 s [email protected] LAST ORDER DATES For Christmas- UK wide courier deliveries - Monday 18th December Glasgow deliveries - Wednesday 20th December Edinburgh deliveries – Saturday 23rd December For New Year – UK wide courier deliveries – Monday 18th December Glasgow deliveres – Wednesday 27th December Edinburgh deliveries – Saturday 30th December 3 Simon says... A Trip to South Africa January 2017 As the gloom settles in for another Scottish winter, it’s good to remember the clean white light and sun-scorched spaces of Africa. Just for you beloved customer, I undertook a whistle stop tour of the Western Cape wine lands which pretty much all cling to within a couple of hours drive from Cape Town. My impressions? Dramatic Stellenbosch resembles a green Glencoe with vines (and leopards); Darling’s scrubby moorland, massive skies & white beaches riff off the Hebrides; cool Elgin looks like the Cairngorms, Swartland is white-hot, sun-blasted, dry & dusty (not like anywhere in Scot- land funnily enough); Fish Eagles & Jackal Buzzards soar over smouldering earth blighted by devastating wild-fires; jewel-like nectar-eating sunbirds; mice striped like chipmunks; grumpy sea lions; shocking wealth; shocking poverty; warm welcomes; great food; lots of white pick- up trucks (aka buckies); palatial white-washed Dutch colonial farmhouses; chaotic townships; rickety, bo-ho wineries; lavish, concrete & glass wineries; old-money thatched wineries; zip- wiring 110m above an Elgin gorge after an “African massage” (i.e. a 45 minute bumpy 4X4 ride up the mountain); a surprising amount of salad; sun; blue smoke haze. At some point, we tasted some pretty decent wine which remains superb value thanks to the Rand being an even worse currency than the Pound. I’ve had a rummage in Santa’s sack and come up with…. My top 6 Cape Crackers * ** Indaba Chenin Blanc 2016 8.35 Western Cape LUSH Man-mountain Brewer Raats oversees the winemaking here, reserving a tiny amount of barrel fermented fruit to add in to this lush, moreish cracker of a wine. Also, you fund early life education in the cape by buying this – crucial to future social mobility! Lemberg Lady 2015 12.15 Tulbagh MY WINE OF THE YEAR I only made it to owner Suzette’s beach house at elemental Gonnemanskraal on the West Coast and fell in love with this stuff on first sip (with a iced platter of big, fat oysters). A bonkers blend of Viognier, Harslevelu, Semillon and Sauvignon; wild yeast ferment; aged in 500L old oak on lees for 10 months. Like a fine Burgundy; golden, textural, smooth, joyful. * My first deliberate festive pun ** Do not contain little screwdrivers and tiny tape measures and crappy jokes and won’t go bang after a firm yank 4 Kaapzicht 1947 Chenin Blanc 2015 or 2016 27.65 or 32.99 Stellenbosch VERY RARE Danie Steytler Jnr is one of the nicest, most generous men in Africa and has graduated from Great Grog Van Driver (Summer 2006ish), via a stint with Allan Scott in NZ, into one of the best winemakers in the world. This stuff was on my Xmas table last year and will be again. Tiny production. 70 yo vines (the second oldest Chenin block in the country), natural ferment, aged in a mix of size and age of oak barrels, intense, fresh, alive. Already in most critics top 5 whites from SA. Handmade Red 2016 8.45 Stellenbosch NEW LABEL Ex-Grog van driver does it again! Richard and I put together the first blend in 2009 having tasted an unwanted tank of the fruitiest, juiciest Cinsaut and put some Shiraz in it. Cinsaut is now SA’s most fashionable grape and Danie’s dropped the Shiraz and added Pinot Noir, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cab Sauv to create a sweetly fruited, berry-rich, gentle, unoaked, very drinkable concoction. The Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc 2017 are world class again too btw. Catherine Marshall Sandstone Soils Pinot Noir 2016 15.69 Elgin This is proof that big characters can come in tiny packages. Catherine is a huge personality and has needed to be in the male-dominated SA wine industry (and society as a whole). She makes ethereal, beautiful structures out of Pinot Noir, like this charismatic, haunting red. Topiary Shiraz 2014 15.29 Franschhoek OFFER - was 16.99 Franschhoek translates as French Corner and rather unimaginatively, Chassagne-Montrachet legend and Frenchman Philippe Colin chose to buy a vineyard here. His Chardonnay is making waves but actually this STUNNER of a red is the current standout. So Rhone Syrah-like; violets, bacon, pepper, open, lively, balanced. A truly fine wine. Only 3500 bottles made so hurry. 5 Rioja Vega dates back to 1882 when Frenchman Felipe Ugalde, leaving be- hind Phylloxera ravaged wines in France, established a bodega in Haro, about 100km south of Bilbao. This 125 year his- tory pre-dates the introduction of the De- nominacion de Origen (DO) created in 1926, and allows Rioja Vega to use 'Rioja' within their name. Rioja Vega is now one just 4 remaining Bodegas out of over 600 in the region with this honour. Their new, modern winery built in 2000 is located in the town of Viana, 10 km SE of Logroño. There are 51 hectares of Tempranillo and 9 hectares of Graciano planted around the winery. The goal is to produce high quality grapes from low yields in modern surround- ings. What makes Rioja Vega wines so special? - Esperanza Elias, winemaker at Rioja Vega “Rioja Vega is based in an area with a microclimate, just on the border between Rioja Alta and Rioja Baja. Limited by the Ebro River from the South and the Sierra Cantabria moun- tains to the North. Our own vineyards are the key for us. We own 70 hectares of vineyards and we work with small growers in different áreas, in between 300 m and 500 m altitude, giv- ing us the chance to get different soils, qualities and character. Atlantic climate from the North and Mediterranean climate in the Ebro Valley from the Southeast. Usually, tempera- ture is very consistent during the year.” Rioja Vega Tempranillo Blanco 2016 12.49 Tempranillo Blanco grape is the most exciting thing that has happened in Rioja region in decades. Tempranillo, the most emblematic variety of Rioja, in its white version. We launched our first Rioja Vega Tempranillo Blanco Barrel fermented in 2014. Also available as part of an amazing gift box/ personal treat together with the Rioja Vega Tempranillo Collection 2015 and Rioja Vega Gran Reserva 2009 for 40. 6 Davi’s South American Chat… These are must-try Wines from Vinedo de los Vientos. Uruguayan winemaker Pablo Machado is known for producing natural wines at very high standards. Being Brazilian, foot- ball has been a big part of my life and it is nice to see Uruguay creating not only amazing natural wines but decent Strikers too. I was in Montevideo 10 years ago and it is well worth a visit. Viñedo de los Vientos translates into Vineyard of the Winds, it is located where the River Plate estuary,the largest in the world, and the Atlantic Ocean meets, providing clean cool ocean breezes and the ideal climate for the maturation of fine wine grapes. Here they practice a minimal interventionist viticulture. Esvital 2016 12.75 Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Muscat Early-picked Chardonnay gives a lemony freshness to the weightier aromatic varieties, clean, citrussy and very interesting. Lovely floral lychee, white orchard fruits, deliciously vibrant and lightly creamy. Catarsis 2015 12.75 Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Barbera Intense, with toffee aromas, black fruit, toast, cherry, meat, funk. Full bodied wine, with strong notes of cherries, delicate vanilla, smokiness, and a hint of eucalyptus. Great complexity and long lasting finish. Anarkia Tannat 2016 13.69 100% Tannat Natural, no-added-sulphur, wild yeast ferment Tannat is Uruguay’s signature variety, a black-skinned, tannic grape; well usually! This one’s got a striking label and is way more accessible than most natural, no-added-sulphur, wild yeast wines. Bold, meaty but well-defined black fruit and good acidity. Richard loved it saying somewhat cryptically “almost undrinkable in a really good way.” 7 John P’s Festive French Fancies..