Life is definitely too short to miss trying this wine

Hello and welcome to the first of me wine blogs, tasting notes or drivel, whichever title you prefer.
The question I keep asking myself as I approach the 20th year of our Fine Wine business is how did a chap who thought peach Concorde was the height of middle class desire end up selling wine at up to £400 a bottle in a small town in West Cumbria? Tis a long story and over the next few blogs, Ill gradually introduce the history of our business in between offering you some personal suggestions to try at home.

Although I can remember having wine in the house as a youngster, it was mainly Sanatagen Tonic wine or Cyprus Sherry, both of which are quite disgusting so my first experience of a decent red wine was always going to be make or break. I remember it being a merlot from Chile and I remember thinking it was quite fantastic that you could get so many complex flavours out of a singe grape variety. Later that year, Dianne bought me Oz Clarkes wine guide for Christmas and the following year, we were listed in the next edition as specialist fine wine merchants! Over the nearly 20 years since, we've take the business and ourselves on a journey most people couldnt even dream of involving celebrities, submarines and Iceland! Yes, I did get that last sentence right and the strange thing is it all feels normal now.

Anyway, this is called Tasting Note No 1 so I guess we need something wet, alcoholic and preferably sealed with a cork. The latter is neither here nor there in terms of the quality of the wine anymore but I do like the whole ceremony around removing the cork, far more romantic than unscrewing a stelvin but then I am a tad old fashioned.

Im going to start the tasting notes with a long time personal favourite red wine called Method Ancienne Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from the Springfield Estate in South Africa. Ive tasted numerous wines from Springfield, none of which have ever let me down but up until this lovely creature came along they were all commercial mid week specials ie wines that were okay with fish and chips or a packet of cheese and onion crisps.

The Method Ancienne is in a different league. Planted on a rocky outcrop of land that was previously thought unusable for vines, the plants have had to work hard to present the fruit and what they create are tiny rich almost over ripe grapes that are densely packed with flavour. The Cabernet is aged for 2 years in French Oak  barrels and a further 3 in bottle before it leaves the vineyard and the patience shows on first taste. Bottled unfiltered, so it may throw a small sediment after standing for some time (the extra flavour benefits of unfiltered wines far outweigh the issues with sediment), the fruit is litterally bursting to get out when you free the cork. Warm almost sweet aromas of violets and pencil shavings lead into a sumptuous palate of almost syrupy blackcurrant fruits held together by lush soft tannins. The finish is long and I found the Method Ancienne at its best with a rich hard cheese or the full Sunday Roast although I have been quite decadent in the recent past and just enjoyed it for what it is, a superb and rightly described Fine Wine.

£29.99 per bottle in Richardsons, 26 Lowther Street, Whitehaven

For those of you new to our strange business, we're based in a tiny Georgian Shop on Lowther Street Whitehaven from where we hold stocks of all manner of old Port and Madeira as well as a wide range of fine wine including the classics from Bordeaux and Burgundy. We also roast our own coffee and as of late, we stock ranges of products from several Lakes suppliers such as Brysons Plum Bread, Bedrock Gin and Farrers Lakeland Blend Tea. We also major in hampers so if you need a special gift at any time of the year just give us a few hours notice and we will prepare a bespoke Hamper gift. In Dewcember please give at least a days notice.

Anyway ladies and Gents, more to follow next week and I'll put formal tasting sheets on our web for download from this coming weekend.

Bottoms up

Gerard Richardson MBE

Was that okay for you?

Well, we completed our major events programme for the summer last weekend with a fabulous gig by Big Country, The Stranglers and Bob Geldof only for a chap to walk in the shop on Saturday afternoon asking when the festival was happening. I reminded him that it was finished for good and was being replaced by a series of other events and then proceeded to list them for him. His next question? When do the events start? If he had ignited a fart over my pavement sign I wouldnt have been as surprised but you know what, in the true spirit of a seasoned local, I told him the events started next May and watched him leave peacefully, probably off to his padded cell to count his sea shell collection.

Anyway, in case you werent there, the gig itself was superb, as was the weather. Dianne and I were invited backstage to talk wine to Bob Geldof who turned out to be the most unassuming person you could imagine. A nicer gentleman you would find it hard to meet. Turns out Bob (just to his friends, Sir Bob to the rest of you) has just bought the state vineyards off the Ethiopian Government and was keen to talk to Jancis Robinson arguably the worlds leading wine expert. Twas Bobs lucky day as Jancis and I go back a long way so he should now be on his way to securing world class advice courtesy of a little gig in Whitehaven last Saturday. Big Country were superb musicians and opened the gig. Sadly their set seemed to end as fast as it had begun but Bruce and the team were so lovely, they joined the crowd to watch the Stranglers. As usual a few minor issues came up meaning I missed about half their set but I was back in the crowd for the big hits and by the time the opening chords of No More Heroes drifted across the pitch, my brain had turned back the clock 30 years and I had to forcibly stop myself from doing the pogo stick. Remember that crazy dance? It was actually inspired by bands like the Stranglers but while my brain kicked into gear just in time to save my dignity, lots of others didnt. I can only assume they were numbed by alcohol in the pit area of the crowd, either that or someone was making a killing selling his parents supply of Tramadols to the audience.

Anyhow almost before we knew it Bob Geldof and the Rats were taking to the stage and no one could argue that the guy had stage presence. Crikey, singing was optional with him but thankfully he did. Musically the Rats were as close to perfection as Madness and Geldof only matched by that other charismatic performer we had a few years ago, Boy George. I watched as respectable pillars of the community became engrossed in the moment and turned back into teenage punk rockers, probably railing in their minds against the very establishment they now represented. Sometimes the power of music is just awesome. Anyway, after a final blistering 'We are the Boomtown Rats' was belted out towards Dent fell, I popped backstage where I was asked the most surreal question of all by Mr Geldof; Was that okay for you? Thankfully my breath was taken away because the only reply on my mind was Ooh, yes, yes, yes, Oh my God yes, true Meg Ryan style.

Anyway, from the heights of the events and hobnobbing with legends back to reality is a bit of a fall and gets no easier no matter how many times you do it so heres to a humdrum existence for a few weeks, reading stock catalogues, planning Christmas orders, roasting coffee and so on, while all the time remembering that Sir Bob Geldof called me Gerard and asked if the gig was okay for me?