red Archives : Me, Annie Bee.

Weekly Winedown #32 – Fitou Mme. Claude Parmentier.

Anna — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 19:32:05 +0000

The post Weekly Winedown #32 – Fitou Mme. Claude Parmentier. appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

Weekly Winedown #30 Chateau Corbonac Corbieres

Anna — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:11:12 +0000

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. 30 Winedowns! It’s like an anniversary or something! Anyway, this week Donald Trump has been deemed to remain ‘fit for duty’ for years by the White House Doctor (who has no invested interest in saying just that-obviously). According to the report, Ol’ Trump is physically and mentally capable of running America. Interestingly there was no morality test. As a woman of heft, I am not a fan of the BMI system (even when slimmer I find it ridiculous so it’s not a ‘fat person’ thing). However I do not, for one moment believe that Trump doesn’t fall into the obese category. I fear there may be some of that fake news in play, he may have added to his height and subtracted from his waist – good maths! So yes, sighs of relief all round. Donald has a good few years left in him to run America into the ground YAY. In good news though, I asked Aoife the questions on the cognitive test and she too is fit to run the USA. She also isn’t obese, just like Donny T… My high hopes for that girl have just gotten a little higher. Now, WINE! I am feeling the cold and wishing we were living in France and so, as the next best thing, I have French Wine. Bonsoir Château Carbonac Corbières, comment ça va? The Label Looks familiar, I’ve checked through previous weeks and never tried this wine though so I guess it’s just a bit generic. An off white label with black text and a line drawing of the Chateau on the Carbonac estate – tidy. It does what is required of it, tells you what’s inside the bottle. We don’t need any fancy stuff. The blurb “Just outside the village of Monze, close to Carcassonne, Carbonac is a wine-growing estate with a single-stretch of 33 hectares (82 acres) where they produce a wine known as the nectar of the Corbieres. On the edge of the “Bretonne” road, the estate is a former monastery for women. The old, tall and well preserved square tower still stands. Chateau Carbonac with deep purple reflections, offers an intense bouquet distinguished by notes of dark fruit and spice. On the palate, this wine produces wonderful expression, with tannins perfectly integrated. Served at 16-18°C, it will elegantly enhance red meats, game cooked in sauce, and firm cheeses.” You get a little geography, a touch of history and some wine information. That’s what I like to call ‘Wineducation’, you’ll all be saying it soon. ‘Intense’ combined with dark fruits and spice makes me hopeful that this is the kind of wine I’m hankering after to warm my cockles tonight. I’m hoping for something full bodied, a good mouthful. I’m hoping that the temperature has been specified to make the Vintner look more impressive. A wine that can go from good to bad in the space of a degree is far too risky a wine for me! Let us investigate! The nose was…..dubious, like when you open vacuum packed meat. Except it didn’t dwindle. If you can get past the smell the taste is actually OK. Not too fruity, certainly not sweet. Deep and full bodied, just how I like it. It’s not the best wine I’ve ever had but by no means the worst. I’d happily have a case of this on standby because, life. Name – Château Carbonac Corbières Price – £6.99 Colour – Deep red/purple Smell – Like vac packed steak…with pepper Taste – Dry and full. Bitter aftertaste but not awful Goes well with – Average me. Overall score – 3/5

The post Weekly Winedown #30 Chateau Corbonac Corbieres appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

Weekly Winedown #19 I Heart Pinot Noir

Anna — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 19:03:01 +0000

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. I had to parent alone this week. ALONE. OK, maybe not all week. Rory went away for a night – he was meant to, we hadn’t fallen out or anything. At least I don’t think we had. The work thing could have been a ploy I guess. Coventry is miles away though. No matter how much I’d pissed him off I don’t think he’d choose Coventry as the place of respite. But it was work so that’s all by the by. He went really early on Wednesday and returned Thursday night. I had to do two get ups and two bedtimes by myself. This is not my area of expertise! Given that Rory does the whole getting everyone (except me) ready on a morning, I was not up for the challenge. I did, however, completely survive. We made it to school on time, everyone was dressed and I sported a full face of make up and washed hair. I’ll be honest, I surprised myself. I was dreading bedtime though. That is usually when Aoife summons all her Sass power to use on me and when Seth decides only Daddy will do. I can be stood there, right in front of him. He will refuse to make eye contact and yell “DADDY DRINK” in a way not to dissimilar to Father Jack. If I offer the drink he blanks me. He tries to look round me, through me, any which way but at me. Sometimes there’s a small swipe, the sort one would use when harassed by a fly. When Rory offers the very same drink, it is received with delight then he pootles off to bed. For once there was no sass and no shouting. Just compliance. We made it through! In all seriousness though, I have so much respect for anyone who has to parent alone all the time. After two days I was exhausted. You deserve a massive medal for having to do it all the time! Saying that, I believe I have earned my wine c’est soir! I heart Pinot Grigio from Hungary. £5 a bottle, well, everywhere! I have been super busy this week (justifying my existence) and so it was really late when I ordered my shopping. That is the only reason I can think of for choosing this wine. Not that I think it’s a crap wine – I don’t know. Rather I usually find Pinot Noir a bit light so it’s odd I would choose it. I think I chose it because it was Hungarian and in the right price range. Who knows? The Label Now, we all know I bang on about a nice, simple label. Indeed, this is just that label I ♥ Pinot Noir Straight and to the point. I also really like that the heart is made up of the company’s mission statement. It’s a nice touch. The Blurb “Smooth and elegant, a lighter bodied wine full of sweet plummy fruit and a hint of spice. Pinot Noir means ‘pine black’; down to its colour and the way the grape bunch is pine cone shaped on the vine!” And that’s it. That’s all the bottle says, it’s all the website says. Though their website DID suggest using it as an ingredient in chocolate brownies – interesting! They either ran out of stuff to say or they’re very confident in their product . Plummy and spicy are both good words. Who doesn’t like a spiced plum? Hey ho, let’s go! The colour, not as rich as I’d like. It’s a bright red like summer berries squash. No one wants wine to look like squash. Unless you’re daytime drinking and pretending it’s squash. In that case you’ve probably got bigger issues than the colour of your wine. The scent is subtle, slightly woody but not a lot more to it. I’ll admit, by this point I had mentally written this wine off! The taste….It’s a little thin, Booooo. I’d expect that from a Pinot Noir though. It wasn’t bad though The initial hit is plummy with a longer taste of red berries. It’s a smooth wine, entirely drinkable. Probably sweeter than I would like but again, the nature of a Pinot Noir. I think this would even appeal to those weirdos people who don’t like red wine. I would certainly try the other wines in this range. Name – I heart Pinot Noir Price – £5 Colour – Bright red, like squash. Smell – Subtle, slightly woody. Taste – Plum and red berries. Goes well with – Nights with friends. Overall score – 3.5/5

The post Weekly Winedown #19 I Heart Pinot Noir appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

Weekly Winedown #14 Araldica Barbera D’Asti Superiore

Anna — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 18:59:44 +0000

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. I’m back!! Is that a collective whoop of glee I hear? I choose to tell myself it is! We find ourselves in week two of the school holidays. Week one was spent in France, basking in temperatures of around 30 degrees, make up free with massive hair and drinking the most wonderful local red wines. Days were spent at the beach or in the pool, taking in spectacular views and wishing we lived there. Week two has been spent here in Leeds. Huddling in the house with the heating on, avoiding external temperatures of 15 degrees, face full of slap and hair ruined by the drizzle/rain/hail/wind (you choose) drinking lovely red wine but tasting the miles that have been put into them. Days have been spent at washed out activities, arguing, falling out and wishing we lived there. France, not here. Thank crunchie Friday is here at last because now I can drink wine with purpose. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! After drinking a LOT of good French wine I decided to opt for something different this week. I had a look at a wine from Israel. Luckily for the first time ever I checked the details and saw it was a dessert wine thereby avoiding catastrophe. We ALL know red wine should never be sweet or thin. I looked again and opted for an Italian red. Tonight I will mostly be enjoying (hopefully) Araldica Barbera D’Asti Superiore on offer at £6.74 at Ocado this week. I have decided to christen my wine for this evening ‘Babs’. Bargain. The word ‘Asti’ always makes me think of sparkling white wine. In this case I am assuming that D’Asti means ‘from Asti’ rather than fizzy. I HOPE that’s what it means. Today my brain cannot cope with fizzy red wine. And so, to the label! It’s one of those simple yet elegant designs, off white with red and black type and an embossed logo. Clean and straight to the point. It’s obviously tried really hard to look like it’s not tried hard. It works, I’m sucked in, it looks well expensive and feels like posh business cards. “Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark.” 10 points if you got that cultural gem. Back to it…. The Blurb “…This is a soft, warm, mature red wine. It has been aged for at least a year in large old oak casks. Cherry and plum fruit character is overlaid with delicate smoky wood scents, a welcoming red that perfectly accompanies grilled meats, roasted vegetables or pasta dishes with tomato based sauces.” Since doing these Winedowns I have discovered that words like ‘warm’, ‘oak’ and ‘spicy’ usually point to a wine I enjoy. Something full bodied. I am hoping this is the case today though ‘Asti’ keeps playing on my mind. I’m getting a fear of sweet and fizzy. It’s OK though, it’s got ‘Superiore’ in its name that means the same in English right? Here goes….. The bouquet is plummy, it makes the back of my tongue go all fizzy, like it’s going to be a bit bitter. It’s not sparkly, hooray! The taste is interesting, there is a definite smoky after taste, one that you’d expect with a full bodied wine but this isn’t full bodied. It’s sweet, not too sweet but it is thin in texture. We all know I like a thick wine! It tastes more like a really good quality rose than a red wine. It’s a confusing wine but I like it. A proper wineventure (copyrighting this). With Seth’s insistence on waking between 4.20 & 5.20 am for the last two weeks and Aoife deciding that sleeping through the night is for losers, this has been a week of exhaustion. I KNOW some parents with babies are suffering worse than I. I know they are up four or five times in the night but you know what? We’ve done our share of that. We signed up for it and we got through it. Ours are 3 and 6, we should be the parents enjoying a full night’s sleep and telling those with babies that one day it will pass and they will be sleeping through! I should be smug mum not tired mum! The tiredness and the crappy weather has ensured that the end of my tether has certainly been close at hand this week. Next week can only get better right? Name – Araldica Barbera D’Asti Superiore Price – £6.74 Colour – Rich Red Smell – Plummy Taste – Spicy but thin Goes well with – The anger I feel toward my technology. Overall score – 3.5/5 Salut

The post Weekly Winedown #14 Araldica Barbera D’Asti Superiore appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

Weekly Winedown #10 Pardon My French – Minervois.

Anna — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 18:59:26 +0000

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you offer a review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. Let me start with an apology, I’m sorry for not partaking in a Winedown yesterday. I know, I know. I let you all down but worst of all I let myself down. Or is it the other way round? Or do you even care? I went to watch the rugby and drink beer instead. Karma ensured I will never abandon a Friday again. Rugby requires four basic skills (in no particular order) 1) Catch ball 2) Hold ball 3) Throw ball 4) Run like Billio. Simple you’d think. We lost. HORRIBLY. Let’s speak no more of it. My palate is not a stranger to today’s wine. A few weeks ago my Auntie Anna (yes, we’re a family of very few names) sent me a bottle. She knew I’d appreciate the label, and the contents. Alas she sent the wine on a Monday. There wasn’t a hope in hell it would still be around by the Monday night Friday so I bought a replacement for purpose of review. Please give a warm welcome to Pardon My French, £4.49 a bottle from Aldi. I’m going to start with the label – the reason this wine was chosen for me in the first place. IT’S PERFECT. It’s very ‘En Vogue’ (not the 90s RnB girl group). It’s the outfit I’d like to wear and the life I’d like to live. Like a still from the 50s, the Hollywood one. It’s a label that would encourage me to buy a case of the stuff. Yes, I’m that easily swayed. It’s just so… Bang on trend as the kids would say. The kids still say that right? The blurb “‘Pardon my French’ is a ‘tongue in cheek’ approach, designed to trigger memories and emotions which we’ve captured in every glass. ‘Min Air-Waa get down with the Minervois’. A key Appellation in the Languedoc region of Southern France, with vineyards pushing up into the airy foothills of the dominating Montagne Noire, making attractive, lively and characterful reds mainly from Syrah and Grenache grapes. ‘Min Air-Waa get down with the Minervois’!” That’s a lovely little write up but I need more information than that. I turned to the internet to get a more precise description… “A deep ruby red with intense black fruits, tapenade and liquorice aromas elegantly mixed with soft spices. Well-balanced and structured with silky tannins and a lingering finish.” Now that’s the kind of descriptive description I like. Even if it sounds a little dubious. I’m now looking forward to a glass of berries, memories and emotion (could go horribly wrong) with a smell of olives, liquorice and spices. Well. The aroma is one of moss, which is lovely in general but maybe not in a glass. I am not getting any olives or liquorice. Which is probably a good thing as I don’t REALLY like olives. They’re just confusing grapes. The taste is bitter and rich, like blackberries and spice. Not an elegant taste but a completely drinkable one. It’s warm like autumn and I think would suit being chilled as well (controversial I know). It’s a good party wine. Not to take to the party of your rich fancy friend, if you have those kinds of friends. But you’re normal, totally cool friends will love it if only for the label. I’m still waiting for the memories and emotions. I’m guessing I need to be a few glasses in for them to kick in with effect. I’m hoping for memories of indie discos circa 2008, skinny jeans, elaborate hair and dancing to The Libertines (or The Bravery). Name – Pardon my French – Minervois Price – £4.49 at Aldi (or Aldi, however you say it) Colour – Sexy (not smutty) red. Smell – Like oak and moss. Taste – Sharp and bitter berries. Goes well with – You tubing indie songs from 2004 onwards (Kooks, Panic at the disco, Fall out Boy…Do it!) Overall score – 3.5/5 For the wonderful indie earworms, you’re welcome.

The post Weekly Winedown #10 Pardon My French – Minervois. appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..

Weekly Winedown #2 Brancott Estate Classic Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot 2012

Anna — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 19:48:24 +0000

Welcome to my new feature, The Weekly Winedown where each week I selflessly drink wine for you and give you a little review. Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro. The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy. When I was younger, like up to my 20s, I always thought people drinking wine would usually have ‘guests’ round and be indulging in intellectual conversation and maybe even a tasty meal yet here I am in a pair of leggings (that may or may not be old maternity leggings) an oversized t-shirt and misshapen cardigan. Wine isn’t glamourous and intellectual, it’s inclusive! So here we are, week two and this week I will be swigging tasting another red, Brancott Estate Classic Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2012. £10.49* from Ocado. I don’t know how the 2012 one differs from any of the subsequent years, you’d think if they thought they were on to a good thing they’d just follow the same recipe? Unless they haven’t got it quite right just yet and they’re still practicing? WHO KNOWS? The Blurb “This wine is the perfect accompaniment to succulent lamb or beef based dishes or as a pairing with mature cheese. Rich berry and dark fruit characters combine with subtle cedar and spicy oak complexity. Premium red wine from Marlbourgh, New Zealand – Perfect for dinner parties or everyday Intense flavours of plum and cassis fruit with underlying coffee, chocolate and leather. Fresh fruit flavours combine with savoury tannin and oak characters to provide a long warm finish and persistent fruit notes.“ I normally wouldn’t choose this wine for two reasons 1) I don’t normally like New Zealand reds 2) I don’t like the label. I like a nice label, this looks a bit £3.99. But for you, dear reader, I’m removing all wine boundaries. FOR YOU. I’m never entirely sure what to expect when a wine claims to have a spicy bouquet or palate. In my head spicy either means curry or Christmas spices. As much as I love a good curry I don’t want my wine to smell of it. As for Christmas? I’d be over the moon if my wine smelt of Christmas! The wine is really dark red, you know the colour they drink on a film or TV show and you just HAVE to have some red wine now. That colour red. The whiff is a bit like swimming pools, I tried again, it smells like bitter fruit and swimming pools, strangely not as unpleasant as that sounds. The taste is very thick, like almost chewy. I can’t get the coffee or the chocolate (or the good tastes as I like to call them) but I can get the cassis, totally tangy and I would suggest the leather is more on top than underlying. I am over the moon that this is the first time I’ve ever drank a wine and tasted a fruit that I’m meant to taste. C’mon cassis! The suggestion that it goes well with lamb, beef or mature cheese is probably a good one. It would go really well with a nice meal. However, I will be enjoying it with a Berlin Doner from I am Doner which will contain lamb and halloumi so I’m part way there. Besides, it says in the rules up there Perfect for dinner parties or everyday, today is everyday! Incidentally, any one reading this in Leeds should REALLY try a kebab from I am Doner, they’re immense. Not a dirty kebab but one you can eat with pride when sober. Slow cooked meats, cheese and pickled veg. One could almost argue they’re healthy. This evening the wine is complimenting feelings of happiness because Seth’s behaviour has improved a lot this week, thankfulness because life is just pretty good right now and joy because it’s a long weekend. It would definitely go nicely with an episode of Pretty Little Liars but I don’t think Rory is up for that. Name – Brancott Estate Classic Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2012 Price – £10.49 (or £7 at Sainsbury’s) Colour – Burgandy. Smell – Like fruity swimming pools Taste – Super sexy, tangy fruits and deep flavours. Gives that warm chest thing like Aftershock. Goes well with – A happy day and a posh kebab. Overall score – 4/5 – I’d definitely get this again but only at 50% off. I’m a SAHM, not rich! So that’s this weeks wine, I took a risk with the unpleasant label and the less favoured country of origin and was pleasantly surprised. Just shows you can’t judge a wine by it’s label. I still will though. *I know I put a sub £8 rule in place but it was 50% off so strictly speaking it comes in at well under £8. I am still undecided as to whether I’ve broken my own rules here, what do you think? Saying that, Sainsbury’s are selling it for £7 so technically you could go and buy it for under £8.

The post Weekly Winedown #2 Brancott Estate Classic Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot 2012 appeared first on Me, Annie Bee..