We bought this lovely rosé in Collioure in September, when it was 30°C and wall to wall sunshine. I’m rewarding myself with a glass on this November evening, having cooked Ottolenghi’s Ultimate Winter Coucous for dinner. One deserves a reward after battling with all those pesky ingredients.
Guy Farge Saint Joseph Terroir de Granit 2020
With Rib of Beef in Paris last night. Excellent combination.
Haven’t enjoyed a good French wine in many decades and here going by the local wine merchant’s own label i’m pleasantly surprised, despite a little lacking in body there is a clean and very round nicety drinkability.
Pasta for the evening meal, better get on with this too, times getting on…
Fantastique Monsieur 
This was a nice evening.
And a great way to kick off Rovinhud, in Timisoara, Romania. The wine event in the world with the biggest heart.
Everyone supplies their time/wine/expertise for nothing and all the ticket sales go towards the underprivileged children and disabled people of the local communities. It has bought minibuses, electric wheelchairs, refurbished houses and apartments for disabled use and runs a foundation. A truly heart-warming initiative, of which I am proud to be a part.
As is Isidoro Vajra, and he presented his lovely wines with a fantastic menu last night.
A lovely wine, big but high altitude so lighter than expected, which is good. Fruity and balanced, low tannins, so too easy.
Latium, Campo Leòn, 2014.
This really is one of the best in Valpolicella, which is saying a lot. There is an emotional connection as I remember very well when we went for it, five years ago. Many thanks A.
It smells and tastes of cherries and celebration.
We had dinner at the Swan at Chapel Down last night. The food was better than ever (the grey mullet cevice starter utterly sublime!) and the Chapel Down Bacchus was just lovely…
I should also mention the pudding, which was just called “A Kentish Apple”. Well worth making to trip to find out for yourself…
I overdid the booze when I was younger, so am off it entirely now, but…
…if you want to try something special, seek out a few bottles of Chateau Musar, from a Lebanese grower near the Bekaa Valley. It has a vibrant, earthy taste - very different, if you’re used to drinking, say, claret.
I always thought that it was wonderful, but others likened it to drinking mud!
It’s not cheap, by any means (around £40 per bottle), but it may change what you think that you know about hearty red wines.
Agree @anon70766008 that this is a great wine. Relatively easy to find (Waitrose, Majestic) too. I have found the cork can be weak, no matter how well I stored the wine. Had one replaced on the back of this.
I may invite my son and family for Xmas, and ask him if I’m allowed a glass of it!
I have had quite a few Musar corks break over the years. When I last opened an aged Musar (a ‘93 a couple of years ago) the cork disintegrated, but had done its job and the wine was classic Musar. Even after a quarter century in bottle it took an hour in decanter to come round.
The Musar website recommends using a twin blade corkscrew on older wines.
Assuming you mean the ones where a blade slips down each side of the cork, I have one of those, originally bought for port, but I never really mastered the use. I have painful memories of somehow fragmenting the cork of a ‘76 Guimarens and pushing the last bit into the bottle. I think they’re designed for people less clumsy than me.
For aged corks I now do my best and then decant through muslin if required to catch the bits.
