Vinesack

Triple fff Brewery, Four Marks. Fortississimo!

This tiny brewery near my brother’s house, by my old home town of Alton deserves notice. There are a few pubs in London, like Parsons Green’s legendary White Horse where you might see a bit if this in London, and they now bottle some of their ales, sensitively pasteurised at a moderate carbonation. My brother introduced me to Alton Pride, fff’s most well known ale a few years ago. It achieved CAMRA Champion Ale on 2008 too, exposing this little brasserie to the world. They make a whole range of different styles, some seasonal, but often named after legendary songs of the modern music era. I am very partial to their seasonal strong pale ale, Stairway to Heaven, although there is probably some auto-suggestion. Because the Zeppelin is sacred. I can only say that it is a worthy homage in the Taylor’s Landlord mould. Which brings me onto the beer in my glass in front of me. Rock Lobster. If I’d seen it before trying it, I would have walked away. It is a nut brown, ruby style ale, with a clean buttery texture, with a lovely twist of malt sweets and cocoa powder on the back palate, and a flipping delicious, brewery bright, orange and cranberry hop bite. The hops definitely drive the appeal of this beer for me. Hoppy like Brakespear Best but rich like Ruddles County in the old days. Almost hinting towards Fullers London Porter.

Drop it like it’s hot.

They’re on Twitter and Facebook. Show them your support.

What is a bottle of wine worth?

I asked Twitter this morning what it would spend on a bottle of wine. My old mate and former colleague Howard Winn asked if it was to drink or invest? This made me realise how irresponsible it is to sell a wine for more than you’d pay for it as a drink. It reminded me of house prices. No house in London is worth more than about a quarter of its face value, in bricks and mortar terms. It only sells at that price because someone believes that it will be worth more when it is sold on. This inherently devalues the money and currency one uses to buy it. Isn’t this how the credit crunch happened in the first place? By giving everything unrealistically high cash value, the cash itself became valueless. Ditto for ‘collectable’ wines. They have a true value, and an opportunistic value. If we support the wine investment business by buying wines priced opportunistically to sell on, we are, in our own little way, harming the economy for personal gain. Buy wine and drink it. Buy wine, cellar it and drink it. Buy wine, cellar it and swap it. But for fuck sake stop spending three times the true price for a wine hoping you’ll get five in a few years time. The wines aren’t getting more valuable, the pound is getting less.

Ok. Slug and Lettuce a.k.a Da Slug (Ya get me?)

I am sitting here at a table that I have sat at a few times before, but it feels different this time. You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this, but I’ve had excuses to be here. Number 1, they have Sky Sports 3D, making it the regular for watching 6 Nations and Liverpool FC games when I lived up the road. Secondly, it is the most convenient place to meet my brother before his commute home. Granted, I could have taken better advantage of the latter over the last two years, but that’s why I’m here this time. Indeed I am joining him on the joyful Friday commute back to Hampshire to see my niece. Back to the Slug. They’ve done it up. Not so as to scare away the midday train station regulars and assorted transients of Battersea, but I am surprised by the general standard of punter in here today. Now that I’m looking around, I notice other things. It’s Friday next to the busiest train station in Britain and the floor is clean. And the tables. (Get’s up to have a gander) And the bar. Right, a quick look through the kitchen hatch. Clean and Odourless. What on earth the fuck is going on? My bro arrives in time to insult me for drinking a glass of white wine “like a girl”. Which brings me on to the next point. I can’t see a beer that I’d actually enjoy drinking, especially now Peroni has turned to piss, but this place offers up a few really reasonably-priced glasses of wine. I am drinking the more than tolerable (there have been better vintages) Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc. There’s a strong Constellation presence (rarely promising) but they’ve managed to pick wheat from the chaff. There’s a delicious line-up of proper fizz at seductive prices, and despite this pub being full, I have enough space to swing a giraffe. I’m coming back.

Footnote. My sister in law couldn’t join us because she ripped her cruciate on New Years Eve, dancing to Jump Around by House of Pain. The irony.

Claret is a Con.

All regions have exceptions that prove the rule. Even Bordeaux. I agree that there are bargains - Deyrem-Valentin 08, Cambon La Pelouse 05, Labégorce-Zédé 04 to name a few, even the odd Cru Classé, like Durfort-Vivens or Pedesclaux 2004. But, no one can hope to justify the price increases experienced since 2005.

Just to completely and utterly bury myself in shit, I would like to state for the record that I don’t rate either 2009 or 2010 very highly. 2009 are generally over-ripe. and the 2010 won’t in my opinion age. Not in the way virtually everyone else thinks.

When the winemaker left Margaux to work at Rubicon Estate in the Napa, I imagine it was because he didn’t like the way wine making is going in Bordeaux, and wanted to make less ripe wines with finer tannins and lower alcohols. 

If you want ripe, fruit-soaked, tannic blockbusters, why are you looking at Bordeaux at all? Buy Penley Estate Reserve Coonawarra Cab, or Leeuwin Art Series, Phelps Insignia, Ridge Montebello Cab. The list is long. If you like claret at all, then vote with your wallets and drink the delicious, reasonably priced, silky, ‘clarety’ 2001s, 2004s and 2008s. From where I’m standing they are consistently more delicious.