As has become customary I start the week thinking “what are we going to put in the email this week?” and before we know it we have too much to say. Feel free to skip through as you see fit. Do pay attention to the Shop Tasting article and the New Ins. And it would be remiss of you to pass by Amanda’s Jubilee article. On you go…

Here’s ‘N’, a puppy dog in training to perform the work of a Guide Dog. No names here, at the request of the trainer. We are only using a letter. We weren’t allowed to pet this working dog, but as you can see Carol has made friends under strict instructions on how to handle him.

Such amazing work by both handler and dog. We are always in awe of what can be achieved through the intense efforts of the Puppy Raiser and of course the dog itself. A treat to have the occasional, well-behaved visit.

There’s no stopping her, Jude has again been busy. The Easter display has been dismantled and replaced with Jude’s Jubilee Jumble.

To get you in the Jubilee mood, Amanda has written a little piece for you:

With just a couple of weeks to go before the Jubilee weekend we are starting to sell bottles of wine, beer and spirits in preparation for the celebrations. Jude has set up a mini display in patriotic colours and (most of) the team are getting into the party spirit and thinking ahead to what we will be doing to celebrate and more importantly what we will be drinking. So if you need some tips and inspiration for your own celebrations, read on …

Why not take a lead from Her Majesty The Queen and have a Gin and Dubonnet. Go local with a Cotswolds Distillery Gin. Or choose from the vast range of local and classic London Dry gins in the shop.

Our own Queen of Sheldon’s, Carol, is contemplating which rosé she will be celebrating with – maybe Whispering Angel or the English Lyme Bay Pinot Noir rosé? She’s keeping her actual plans close to her chest at the moment, keeping her options open.

Jude is going to be celebrating by working at the shop (sorry Jude). She is still making her way round the different wines we offer before working out what the final line up will be. This weekend she’s sampling the Plan B Riesling and Robertson Chenin Blanc as homework.

Shane is yet to fully embrace the joy of the occasion (bah humbug) and is currently only committing to ‘drinking copious amounts of something, probably in magnum format and almost certainly Champagne’ – that narrows it down a bit….. He will also be working in the shop. (Ed: Go large or go home!)

Trish will also be in the shop but will undoubtedly be joining Shane in his Champagne Magnum fest when the time comes – with possibly one of her favourite Rieslings thrown in for good measure.

Esther will be out of the country on a well-earned holiday with her family. She is getting excited about sampling the lovely wines of Croatia – particularly as one of our lovely readers whom we shall call ‘Bruce’ has given her a list of the best wines that he sampled on a recent trip there. Nicholas will be 7 on the Jubilee Saturday so cake will most likely be part of the celebrations in the sun.

I will also be on holiday – finally able to use up one of the many postponed trips to France that have been stacking up during lockdown. I shall be toasting everyone from a sunbed on the Ile de Ré, where the local delicacies are oysters and Pineau de Charentes. In reality I will probably be drinking beer and eating frites and saving my Divici Prosecco until my return.

If you would like some help choosing what will make your celebrations go with a bang, whether it be a low cost glugger to share with the neighbours or a special something to toast The Queen, please pop in and see us. As always, we will be delighted to help you find the right bottle for this remarkable occasion.

Amanda x

Earlier this week I wrote an article on the Italian Tasting taking place tomorrow to encourage you to attend, but it turns out we are now full. Apologies to those who were planning to walk in, I am afraid all of the spaces are taken. If you are booked in then we look forward to seeing you tomorrow – wear something warm, we will be in the cellars. For those not attending we’ll provide you with a full report on which wines were the stars of the show next week.

One final word on the Walton Hall 10k run in support of Shipston Home Nursing. I am promised one final donation which will take the total raised by you, our wonderful customers, in cash and online donations to…..

£3500

That is an amazing sum of money and well beyond my initial target of £2000. May I offer my sincere thanks to all of the donors. Rebecca from SHN has been in this week to pick up the hard stuff and she is over the moon. Give yourselves a hearty pat on the back for a job well done. Thank you. End of topic.

We have opened a couple of bottles from our friends at BBR for you to taste in the shop this weekend, please come and ask us if you would like to try a sample:

The King’s Ginger – a ginger liqueur specially formulated by Berry Bros and Rudd in 1903 for Edward VII. We’ve just had a shot in the shop and it is a tasty sweet liqueur with both the flavour and fiery hit of fresh root ginger, with the added lift of a dash of citrus oil. This is a perfect warmer on a cold day and also a magical ingredient in cocktails. I rather like the sound of a King’s Ginger hot chocolate – I might just try one tomorrow. I am sure the addition of this delicious 29.9% liqueur might be exactly what I need at 10am.

BBR No.3 London Dry Gin – named after the famous BBR premises on St James’s Street, London, this gin took two years to craft to produce what BBR consider the best blend of botanicals for the perfect G&T. And they are not the only ones – No.3 is the only gin to have been awarded ‘World’s Best’ four times in the International Spirits Challenge.

As a special treat we will give the first 10 customers buying No.3 London Dry Gin a No.3 notebook and matching ‘key’ lapel pin. Thanks Berry’s!

Some fun New Ins this week:

White:
2020 Mendel Semillon (£18.50) – an Argentine Semillon, it ticked the quality boxes when we tried it so although a little unusual to pick up a Semillon from South America, we felt it merited a trial run – tell us what you think.

2019  Mellot Menetou Salon Les Thureaux (£16.00)
2020 Mellot Quincy Le Rimonet (£16.50)

2020 Chapoutier Bila Haut Blanc (£12.95)
2020 Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone Adunatio (£14.50)

2020 Jadot Bourgogne Blanc Couvent des Jacobins (£12.50 per half, £21.50 per bottle)
2020 Jadot Pouilly Fuisse (£30.95)
2018 Drouhin Cote de Beaune Blanc (£23 per half, £45 per bottle)

Red:
2018 Mendel Malbec (£23) – we have a great range of Malbecs from Argentina so why another one? Because the quality is there. If you are a fan of Sottano this is definitely worth a try.

2006 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz (£105) – we have had the 2010 in for some time so I thought it might be nice to get a few bottles of an older vintage. Such a good wine by the producer of Australia’s most famous wine, Grange.

2020 Jadot Bourgogne Rouge Couvent des Jacobins (£22.50 per bottle, no halves I’m afraid)

2020 Casanova di Neri Rosso di Montalcino ‘Giovanni Neri’ (£55)

2018 Chateau Poujeaux Double Magnums (£170 per DM)

…and finally…

2005 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac. £200 a bottle. One nice full pristine case of 12 available if anyone wants the lot? A belter.

Now we’re talking! At last we have a proper car as our Car’s the Star. A Reliant Robin Mk 2 if I am not mistaken. Such an icon, dating from 1973 in it’s Mk1 form with the Mk 2 coming from 1989 onwards. What a car. No stability issues here, just a good, solid runner. A car we all know as the Robin Reliant but of course the maker is Reliant and the model is Robin. So it is a Reliant Robin.

Many thanks to Rob for bringing it round. I think it needs a name, don’t you? Send me your suggestions and I’ll submit to Rob – if we get any good ones we’ll announce the top three in a future edition of Sheldon’s Times. And well done ‘Robin’ for getting through your MOT!

That’s it for tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times. We have started to see the ramp up for the Jubilee long weekend, here’s hoping the weather is fabulous when it finally comes along. It is going to be sunny and warm tomorrow (I hope) and not too bad on Sunday so dust off the BBQ and visit your local wine shop for some lovely bottles to enjoy over the coming days. Trish, Amanda and I will be here to look after you tomorrow and guide those of you here for the Italian tasting to the right room in the cellars.