However, short of actually building another floor, we have to make room for these new wines, so Neil has put together an amazing Winter Sale list which is regularly updated. Please click here to download the list and see what delicious bargains we have available.
Whilst we were away we also had the opportunity to go to some great restaurants including Gaucho, a fantastic Argentinian restaurant where Malbec and Steak combine to create a match made in heaven. We went for lunch on our first day with Neil McAndrew from H & H Bancroft after the amazing tasting he had laid on for us. This included the chance to taste the incredible Hartenberg Gravel Hill Shiraz 2005 which was just as good as we hoped it would be. We can't wait to receive this! We were also very impressed with the Shield Estate Wines, the Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Domaine Cristia, the Luigi Bosca Malbec, the new vintage of the Arrocal (Ribera del Duero) and the Domaine Caillou Cotes du Rhone. I digress.....the steaks were incredible and highly recommended washed down with Luigi Bosca's Gala 1 (Malbec, Petit Verdot and Tannat) and Gala 2 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot).After lunch it was on to our next tasting with our good friend Simon Hore from Thorman Hunt. He had also laid on a fully comprehensive tasting of over 50 wines, mainly from Burgundy. It was great to see that the Vincent Girardin white wines were consistently good, as was the Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos from Christian Moreau. We also loved the Domaine de Montcalmes Rouge 05. Thank you Simon for a great tasting once again and for a very enjoyable meal at Bocca di Lupo, a buzzing modern Italian restaurant in Soho!
Day 2 - Liberty Tasting. Held at the wonderful Oval Cricket Ground there were over 400 wines available to try from all over the world. We got their early to make a head start as we knew from previous experience that this is always a busy tasting. We also split into three teams to cover more ground! Highlights included the wines from Dressigacker (Germany), Schloss Vollrads (Germany), Jean-Claude Boisset (Burgundy), Seghesio (USA), Innocent Bystander (Australia), and Greenstone Vineyard (Australia). Some excellent wines and also a great Olive Oil tasting that actually helped with the palate fatigue. A real blessing! A great day's tasting and black teeth all round.
That evening we had booked to go to a French restaurant called Whits. Now, as a research fanatic, I had read just about every review of every restaurant in London. I know many people are not fans of Trip Advisor due to the fact that some reviews are reportedly fake (however, it's not difficult to work out the truthful ones) but this restaurant is currently number 4 out of over 7500 restaurants listed on the site. Having read between the lines, read other reviews on other sites and looked at their website I decided to book. I was slightly nervous about it as some reviews mention that they allow dogs into the restaurant. Not only do I not like this (for hygiene reasons) but Neil is highly allergic to dogs. The menu however sounded perfect and it wasn't overly expensive in comparison to many restaurants in London so that was the reason 
for booking and Neil said he was happy to go, antihistamines in his pocket. Well, I am now very glad to report that Whits is a 'must go'! It is a real locals restaurant (no one we spoke to had ever heard of it) but the food was absolutely incredible. Run by a husband (chef) and wife (front of house) team, we almost forgot that we were in London because the service was so personal. Ava was exceptionally charming and really played down the reviews the restaurant had been given. She really shouldn't. They are very much deserved. Every single dish we had chosen was perfect in flavour, quality and presentation. Ava admits that she has a limited wine list and so runs a BYO policy with corkage (perfect for any suppliers out there that want to take out customers and show off their wines) and she even said that some customers take their own glasses. She loves to make people happy! Please take our word for it that this is a superb hidden treasure! There were no dogs there either. Phew! Here is a link to their website Whits, Restaurant, Abington Road, Kensington, London and next time you are in London, please go, you won't be disappointed.Day 3 - Bibendum tasting at The Saatchi Gallery - 11 rooms of wines from all over the world. This a always a massive tasting with hundreds of people in the trade attending. The gallery was completely transformed into themed rooms and seperate countries with almost 200 producers attending to showcase their wines. Our highlights included Laurenz V (Austria), Alois Lageder (Italy), Spy Valley (New Zealand), Journey's End (South Africa), Fortaleza do Seival (Brazil) and Agustinos (Chile). We also tasted some great wine from Crete but somehow don't think there will be enough of a market to bring it Jersey??? Anyone fancy it? A very well executed tasting and huge thanks to Patrick Mallinson who looked after us.
A visit to Planet of the Grapes Wine Bar in the evening ended our day. What a great place that is. Take a look at their website to read about it. Ended up drinking far too much wine but it was damn good. A bottle of Two Hands Sophie's Garden Shiraz 2003 and Wild Duck Creek Estate Cabernet (forgotton the vintage). Yum!
Day 4 - Tasting at Alliance Wines - Garrick and Fergus laid on over 50 wines for us and although palate fatigue was setting in and our teeth were aching their were some great finds here. Highlights included Steela Bella (Australia), Campo Azafran (Spain), Lagar de Bouza (Spain) and Luis Canas (Spain). Huge thanks to Alliance! This concluded our tastings and after a couple of hours free time to shop, we made our journey back to Jersey.
Now the work begins!
Jane
Now the work begins!
Jane
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