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December wine of the month…..an impossible choice

Its December, its the wonder of Christmas and Mr whirly has the impossible task of choosing a wine of the month! With so many new delights in this month from all over Northern Italy, my first wines from Barolo in Piemonte, the home of premier red wine region in the North of Italy and the imperious Nebbiolo grape: Amarone Magnums from Bonfanti in Valpollicella as well as some lovely Valpollicella Ripasso and from Friuli a range of new vintages from Perusini including Magnums of Merlot, the choices are infinite and it makes the wine of the month choice virtually impossible. However I am going to tell you all about these new wines in a Christmas wine post this week so lets leave these Italian jobs for a while.

Lets take a step back and offer you something a little bit different and unknown. Its  tough out there, for many people so this year I have not focused on Champagne for my Sparkling for the festive season but some delicate “Blanqette de Limoux” from close to Corbiere in the deep south of France not far from the Spain border. ” Domaine de Fourn” make some really special wines from the little known Mauzac grape blended with a little Chenin Blanc about 3%. I have both the”Carte Ivoire Brut”  NV and the ” Carte Noire 2013″ here in the shop,both very enticing and different wines and offerinf fabulous quality sparkling at the £14.75 and £15.00. You cant go wrong with these wines if you want something a little bit different for a fizz on Christmas day and they are a lovely stepping stone from Prosecco to Champagne in terms of price.

Come on into the Whirly wine shop on Ritherdon road and check them out soon….

 

limoux-domaine-de-fourn-bottles

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Whirly wine vouchers launched this week, the perfect gift for Christmas!!

By the end of this week ( 18th December)  on the penultimate week before Christmas you will be able to buy vouchers for wine tastings and wine online. Its a simple and easy way to buy an experience,  a personal tasting with Mr Whirly on a Thursday night or to buy wine to a value of £10, £20 and £50. Please let me know on the order form if you would like to come in and collect the voucher or post it out to you when you make the booking and if you need the voucher as a gift I can write a suitable message on a Whirly wine postcard to go with the voucher.

Happy Shopping

 

 

Mr Whirly

 

 

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Mr Whirly’s Christmas cases!

Mr Whirly has hand selected cases of 6 and 12 with wines chosen to match classic Christmas fare!
From Blanquette Limoux whilst cooking to “La Roche Vineuse” Macon Gamay for the Turkey, to Lillypilly’s Fiumara No. 7 for your plum pudding, and everything in between, you are sure to find a wine for every course and every guest!
Discounted for a limited time only, until this Saturday 17th December

Half a dozen:

 

1. Blanquette de Limoux, Carte Ivoire, Domaine Fourn de Robert: 

unknown sparkling wine from south of Carcassone; top stuff and great to try something new!

 

2. Amboise Tourraine, Bonnigal Vignerons, Limeray, Loire: richer than most Sauvignons from Tourraine since its been left on the lees for 5 months. Great match with smoked salmon.

 

3. Chateau Domaine de Viaud, Cote de Bourg, 2010, Bordeaux: soft tannins elegant Merlot based Bordeaux from Blaye, a mile across the Gironde from St Estephe. Wonderful with beef and cheese as well as most festive red meats and cheese

 

4. Alain Normand, La Roche Vineuse, Gamay 2014, Macon: lovely soft strawberry on the nose and palate and unusual that this grape is from Macon. Fabulous with turkey, duck and goose.

 

5. Mas Rous, Muscat 2012, Cotes Catalane: dry Muscat, firm and grippy with some lovely orange zest on the finish. Great with goats cheese and Monchego.

 

6. Lillpilly, Fiumara no 7, Leeton, NSW, Australia: Cross between a port and Pedro Ximenez A blend of special cuvee’s from over many years, this wine is the perfect match for Plum pudding on Christmas day!

 

Total: £93.50 With discount of 7%: £6.54 Total: £86.96

 

 

 

A dozen: 

 

 

1. Champagne: Remy Bernard “Carte Blanche” NV, Allemant: small bubbles, delicate and moussey. Top quality wine made from the three classic Champagne grapes, Pinot Noir and Me- unier and Chardonnay.

 

2. Blanquette de Limoux, Carte Ivoire, Domaine Fourn de Robert: unknown sparkling wine from south of Carcassone; top stuff and great to try something new.

 

3. Amboise Tourraine, Bonnigal Vignerons, Limeray, Loire: richer than most Sauvignons from Tourraine since its been left on the lees for 5 months. Great match with smoked salmon on Christmas day morning as the lunch is prepared.

 

4. Perusini, Pinot Grigio 2015, Friuli, N. E. Italy: Pinot grigio as it should be in the glass from Fruili, the top white wine region of Italy.

 

5. Mehofer, “Organic” Gruner Veltliner, 2015, Wagram, Austria: light in alc, only 10.5%, and wonderful wine for the start of the day! Apples and pears, simple yet perfect.

 

6. Willespie, Margaret river white 2011, WA: a blend Of chardonnay,Verdelho, Riesling and Semillon from one of the top wine regions of Australia: takes Pork ands spicy dishes oh so well.

 

7. Chateau Domaine de Viaud, Cote de Bourg, 2010, Bordeaux: soft tannins elegant Merlot based Bordeaux from Blaye, a mile across the Gironde from St Estephe. Wonderful with beef and cheese as well as most festive red meats and cheese.

 

8. Alain Normand, La Roche Vineuse, Gamay 2014, Macon: lovely soft strawberry on the nose and palate and unusual that this grape is from Macon. Fabulous with Turkey, duck and Goose.

 

9. Bonfanti, DOC Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2014: small producer in Verona that makes very special wines indeed. Ripasso means two fermentations: rich yet sublime. Lovely Christmas day wine. New wine that has just arrived. 18 months in Barrel.

 

10. Mas Rous, Muscat 2012, Cotes Catalane: dry Muscat, firm and grippy with some lovely orange zest on the finish. Great with goats cheese and Monchego.

 

11. Lillypilly Noble Blend 2012: Noble rot, blend of Semillon, Gewurtz, pineapple with orange blossom. Perfect sticky with a steamed ginger pudding or something similar.

 

12. Lillpilly, Fiumara no 7, Leeton, NSW, Australia: Cross between a port and Pedro Ximenez A blend of special cuvee’s from over many years, this wine is the perfect match for Plum pudding on Christmas day!

 

Total: £195.00 With 10% discout: £19.50 

Total: £175.50