Saturday 12 February 2011

Selections...12th February

Looking forward to going skiing next saturday and watching the rugby later but first a few bets:

2.45 Leopardstown - Oscars Wel
l 2pts win @ 15/2 - Basically fancied taking on Zaidpour and much as the form of OW's last win isn't great he won and I feel is a bit of value.

3.00 Newbury - Cornas 2pts win @ 4/1 - Understand the logic that he got it all to do at the weights but 2 mile chasing is all about fluency and form so I feel he has been largely ignored at the other expense and he sees the trip out very well.

3.15 Leopardstown - Kempes 2pts win @ 13/2 - Was pleased to see a decent write up by Mullins and just feel the price is good enough, he needs to prove himself but why not.

All three bets with Corals who were best on Oscars Well and the same as the others on the other two. More my type of bets today as a win on any would guarantee a profit. Interested to see how the other Newbury races go but feel they are priced about right especially the Aon where I like What a friend but is potentially too quirky to be a bet at those prices against the "form in the book" Riverside Theatre.

Saturday 5 February 2011

Selections..Saturday 5th

No rugby today as a family birthday then a Christening tomorrow...all a bit sociable for me really...

Todays racing features lots of good horses but the punting opportunities look a wee bit thin so I have gone for only three bets:

1.30 Ffos Las - Kazzene 1pt win @ 7/2 - Basically fancied taking on the respected Henderson favourite and Scudamore and Pipes young horse looked the best option

3.00 Sandown - Numide 1pt e/w @ 40/1 & Altilhar 1pt e/w @ 33/1 - Not the sort of race I get that involved in normally but I just think Numide is coming back to some sort of form (won last time) and 9/1 a place (4 of them on offer) is a decent bet. Would love it to happen for the Millman's. Numide used to be with Gary Moore and that is who trains my other selection - Altilhar. This is the sort of race Gary would not waste a good hurdling mark on so it looks interesting again I think it is the place part of the bet that makes real appeal. Numide to beat Altilhar would be nice (I'd willingly take it the other way round!)

Have a good one!!

Thursday 3 February 2011

Domaine de la Romanee Conti...the 2008's

Being in the privileged position of working for the UK agents it is one of the annual highlights to get to taste the Domaines wines on release at the trade and press tasting each year. I have never missed the tasting in my time at C&B and started with the 1997's only about 2 months after joining. The wines always show well on release, you would think it would be nerve racking to show wines that have this incredibly lofty reputation but actually as long as we get the temperature right, "cool" then the wines look after themselves. Below are my personal thoughts on the wines from one quick tasting. This year was especially interesting as we had drunk several older vintages of Romanee Saint Vivant and Richebourg the night before (written up in the entry before this one).

Given the title of this blog and the name I go by on twitter it was a shame not to taste the Vosne Romanee 1er Cru "Duvault Blochet" - there was one in 2008 to follow on from 1999, 2002, 2004(only released in France) & 2006. Prior to this it was made once in the 20's and once in the 30's. It is essentially declassified Grand Cru fruit that the Domaine feels more that merits the 1er Cru label. Otherwise, everything the Domaine release is Grand Cru...

Echezeaux - This had almost the perfect pure "Pinot" nose, very red fruits, feminine and just so inviting, as impressive as I can ever remember the Echezeaux...really great. Very long too.

Grands Echezeaux - A step up in structure and also complexity, not as pure as the Echezeaux to my mind a dash of black fruit to add to the red of Echezeaux. A more spicey and savoury edge there too. Good length, will be fascinating to see how this ages compared to the Echezeaux.

Richebourg - Very interesting compared to the previous nights vintages. Fruit a shade darker more density, bigger shoulders than those that went before it but possibly not as much as usual, almost a touch of green pepper and graphite.

Romanee Saint Vivant - My notes say a little like a bigger Grands Echezeaux, this is true in profile but there was also a purity fruit that reminded me of the Echezeaux. Stunningly complete. Real finesse as has become more and more evident in recent years.

La Tache - Often the star of the show (comparatively), deep darker, more textured than the Romanee Saint Vivant. Spicey and almost an edge of tar too. A little of all those before it but with more depth...very, very impressive and very La Tache...classical.

Romanee Conti - Obviously impressive, amazingly complex nose giving away more than it sometimes does at this stage, a nice earthy edge, fruit character is not really categorizable as red or black, Amazingly length.

And so that was that, except that a very nice (and lucky) practice has started whereby we take Aubert (de Villaine) for a brief lunch afterwards, at The Don this year, and open...

Le Montrachet - as always a nose and colour that would never let you believe its youth, an almost impossibly rich nose that somehow manages to be both rich and fresh, dense and light, it sounds trite (and biased) but there really is no better white wine in the world - that I have had - the empty glass was almost impossible to let go as the aromas just go round and round. With no wine left it is a butterscotch glass but so much else before that...where does the 2008 "rate" amongst the vintages I have had from Le Montrachet - 2003, 2005, 2006 & 2007? I would say along with 2007 at the very top.

So with this tasting done and the previous nights dinner it had been the most immensely pleasurable and fun 24hrs of the Domaines wines...never to be forgotten.