It was the very end of October when Alba came in to see us. I can see I have 4 photos of Alba on my phone, each one trying to catch the perfect shot. That suggests that this gorgeous woofit was a bit of a mover, dodging around and not sitting still. This photo is the best of the bunch, and isn’t it great? Eyes focused on…..a treat of course!

Many thanks to Christian and Danielle for bringing Alba in to see us. Smashing.

We have positively encouraged you to send in pictures with bottles whilst on your travels, knowing that many of you like to enjoy the treasures from the shop in many different contexts. This week I received an email from our good friend and regular customer Per which I feel compelled to share. I love the fact that the placemats on the table are festively themed and the man in the kitchen has his hat on. The bottles look pretty smart too!

Per also included some rather nice pictures of two iconic structures in Sydney, the photos are too good to leave out, so here you are.

A boat trip around Sydney Harbour is one of life’s great pleasures (along with fish and chips on Manly beach) and of course it is summer down under. Lucky devils. A big thank you to Per and family for sharing and for making us green with envy. It reminds me that we are overdue a shout out to our friends in Western Australia – hello John and James – still with us I hope?

This week has been dominated by courier deliveries. We have all been knee-deep in cardboard and other packing materials as we processed shipment after shipment. It is clear that (as predicted) the courier network is beginning to creak. Our main courier (APC) has already suspended deliveries to a number of regions across the country due to high demand and staffing issues.

We will continue to take requests for courier deliveries up to Thursday 16th December. After that the likelihood of successful pre-Christmas delivery is significantly reduced and we don’t want to disappoint. If you do want anything shipped, please let us know sooner rather than later so we can prepare and hopefully get the beloved wine you wish to share into the hands of your loved ones/friends/customers/in-laws etc.

This week’s guest beer is from Hobsons Brewery which is based in the Shropshire town of Cleobury Mortimer. Founded by Father-and-Son team Jim and Nick Davis, they have been successfully brewing since 1993. Hobson’s have won many awards, not just for their beer, but also for their approach to environmental sustainability.

We have picked Shropstar as our guest beer this week because it was originally conceived in 2019 as a Christmas ale but it was so popular at the time that it got promoted. Shropstar now forms part of the Hobson’s full-time line-up. The team at Hobson’s describe the beer as:

Amanda and I have just tried it and we say “looks fizzy in the glass, nice nose, hoppy palate, a bit of bite and a crisp finish. Lovely beer, definitely a pale ale and delicious. A bit too hoppy for Amanda but great for Shane”

Following on from the successful back door sale of some mistletoe last year, our friend and customer Mr M has again delivered. We have some rather lovely pieces including a full crown ideal for dangling from a high ceiling.

All proceeds go into Mr M’s wine fund, so give generously and let’s give him a Happy Christmas!

Esther is definitely back and in full swing. She has been busy booking stock in ever since she got back from her “unscheduled holiday”. We have an eclectic selection of goodies for you today in all shapes and sizes:

White:
2018 Joseph Mellot Quincy Le Rimonet (£16) – we have worked out way through the stocks of Menetou Salon from Mellot, so rather than stick we decided to twist and give his Quincy (pronounced ‘Can-see’) a go. Like the Menetou, Quincy is a village near Sancerre, the wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, is often as good as Sancerre but is priced at £5 a bottle less.
2019 Vergelegen Reserve Chardonnay (£18) – on the recommendation of a trusted customer, good South African Chardonnay.
2020 Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse (£29) – as we have just sold out of the last bottles of Chateau Vincent Pouilly Fuisse and are unable to get any more, we have decided to replace it with a village Fuisse from the rather well-known Domaine Jadot. We also still have Couturier’s PF.
2018 Bouchard Meursault Village “Les Clous” (£40) – well made classically styled Meursault from a ripe, fruit-forward vintage
2018 Joseph Drouhin Clos des Mouches Blanc (£130) – delighted to have been able to get a little more of this, albeit at a slight price increase from the original en primeur batch. We had a bottle a couple of weeks back and it is simply delicious.
2016 Louis Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru (£180). ’nuff said.

Red:
2018 Kendall Jackson Reserve Pinot Noir (£21.99) – priced as the same as the Reserve Chardonnay, a number of you have asked us for this. Come and give it a try.
2010 Chateau Bernadotte (£32) – this will be the last of this vintage of Bernadotte that we see (just 5 cases) as the price is creeping up and we will be inclined to move on to the next great vintage of 2015.
2009 Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne (£50) – no I didn’t buy this because I am a Labour supporter. It is just a good wine with a bit of age on it at a great price.
2000 Sociando Mallet (£80) – to add to our stocks of 1996, 2005 and 2010, we are building a nice good-vintage-vertical of this often under-the-radar Claret
2005 Chateau d’Armailhac HALVES (£54) – just 24 halves of ex-chateau stock delivered straight to us. For those who like quality things in small packages.
2018 Joseph Drouhin Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Proces (£85) – one of the more difficult wines of Drouhin to find and from vines owned by Laurent Drouhin, Trish and I drank this wine in the summer and thought the quality of the fruit was amazing. Pleased to have found just 12 bottles for the shop (well, 11 really coz one is going home).

And for those who like to go large:
2000 Chateau d’Armailhac Imperial (6 litre) – £1200. Party time.

We are bang up to date with cars that have visited the shop, so I thought I would pop in a picture I took back in September at the Whichford “Third Thursday” informal car and bike gathering. I have chosen this picture because I used to have a car just like this one, almond green with a white roof. The only discernible differences are that mine used to have a full size folding fabric sunroof (electric of course) and black leather seats with white piping rather than almond seats with black piping in this version. The 13″ alloys really set the car off and it was wonderful to see one is such stunning condition. Took me back a few years.

I sold mine back in the mid nineties to John Cooper Garages in Ferring, down on the south coast. The deal was done with Mike Cooper, John’s son and as part of the deal I went out in a Cooper S and then spent an hour chatting over coffee with John Cooper himself. Sadly no longer with us, my time with John remains one of my favourite car-related memories. An icon of his time and his name remains synonymous with the Mini concept (even the new ones). Original Minis are such fun motor vehicles, I am sure I will have another before my time is out.

That just about does it for tonight’s Sheldon’s Times. Weatherwise it looks like we are going to get some rain tomorrow afternoon, have a dry but overcast Sunday and then rain returns on Monday morning. But who knows. We are certainly going to have some mulled wine on the go again this weekend, we need something to keep us nice and warm.
Amanda, Trish and I will be here all day Saturday to chat away about food, wine and festive jumpers. Pop in and see us, we’d love to help you find a lovely bottle for the season ahead.