Mt. Difficulty Chardonnay 1999

Went to Bedales in Spitalfields for lunch today. There were 3 of us, and the idea was to get a nice bottle of wine and some food. The wine on the restaurant wine list wasn't very interesting (at first glance anyways), and there was also the ability to buy wine from their shop to drink in house (with a corkage fee of £8). We decided to get something from the shop.

After a good 15 minutes trying to decide what wine to get, I was nominated to choose and I decided on this New Zealand Chardonnay. My rationale was: good producer, interesting vintage (10 years old) and figured a Chardonnay would be a safe match with whatever food we ended up getting.

The waiter, to be fair, did warn us that there was a risk of it being over the hill, and despite that I decided to try it anyways. I'm glad I did, because it was a lovely wine. Quite mellow and smooth, with some good fruit remaining, and nice spicy, vanilla oak. It also had a nice bit of butteriness to it. One of our party remarked that it had probably lost a bit on the finish, but nonetheless we all thought it was very good.

I thought it may have been a bit overpriced at first, but it was an interesting wine, and I don't think £24 is paying over the odds for a good, well made Chardonnay, especially if it's been cellared for 10 years.

Mt. Difficulty

Chardonnay 1999

Central Otago, New Zealand

Bedales

£24 (and change)

4/5

Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure Monbazillac 2005

The day I bought this I really fancied a dessert wine. We were going over to a friend's place for dinner that night, and I usually bring something such as a sparkling wine or a dessert wine, because the host usually has the dinner wine covered.

Anyways, I noticed Bedales in Spitalfields because I work in the area, and to be honest what I noticed about it wasn't the wine, but the food. They serve these fantastic looking platters of cold meats and cheese, and I've always wanted to go in there and order one along with a bottle of something. Looking over the wines, however, my enthusiasm waned a little. A lot of lesser known wines for sure, but pricey. Also a few big names, older vintage clarets, Burgundys, Barolos, etc. I wouldn't shop there without doing my research first.

Ignoring my own advice, I walked straight in and asked the (helpful) merchant for a dessert wine. Nothing interesting was on show, but he disappeared for a moment and then produced this Monbazillac. Monbazillac is part of the Bergerac region of France. It produces sweet wines of high quality from botritized Semillion, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes. Perfect, just what I was looking for, and it was only £8.99.

It was a nice wine. I'd say it was good. I wasn't bowled over by it, but it was all the things it should be. Sweet without being cloying, some depth (not a lot) and a good finish. A good effort. I think this is an up and coming region, and I'll be looking out for more Monbazillac.

Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure
Monbazillac 2005
Bedales
£8.99
3/5