Pocket Vintages - wine guide, wine recommendations, wine reviews

2000 Chateau Brane Cantenac

One of the 2nd growth Margaux clarets, I opened this on Xmas day to drink with the turkey.  I could see a fair amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle and in hindsight should have decanted it first.  But I opened it up 4 hours before lunch and tasted it just before we sat down to eat.  On its own it was rich, smooth and with soft tannins.  It complemented the food perfectly and everyone enjoyed it.

We finished off a second bottle the following evening and having been open for 24 hours had actually improved on the first bottle.

This 2000 vintage is drinking very well now but will probably be a point around 2009 to 2010.

Planet of the Grapes New Wine Bar

Did you know....

Planet of the Grapes 2, The Wine Bar/shop type thing is now up and running. Located in Leadenhall market, less than 10 mins walk from Liverpool Street, Bank and London Bridge. It has a range of around 450 wines available by the bottle and a small but select range of wines by the glass.

What's new about your wine bar, I hear you cry, well all the wines are priced at retail and to enjoy them in the bar simply add £10, irrespective of price. Therefore Mouton Rothschild 1983 priced at £225 will cost you only £235 to drink in the bar, as opposed to £500+ in other bars and restaurants, more realistically Louis Roederer N.V is £42 per bottle and Pol Roger N.V £38

All wines are served in beautiful Riedel glasses and to compliment we will be serving platters of the finest meats and cheese from our friends at Cheese in Leadenhall. For full details of the bar and for a map see the website www.planetofthegrapes.co.uk or call the bar on 020 79297224. You can also reserve tables and order any specific wine to be chilled or decanted in advance.