Piedmont

OK, so back to 2025. I am determined - just for myself and my sanity - to finish with 2025. There was one last trip in December, the third in a run of consecutive weekends. The one that I think I mentioned that I did not want to go on. The one that was the last thing on earth that I wanted to do at that particular time. The one that I went on anyway and in fact really enjoyed and looking back don't regret for an instant.

I flew to Turin on Friday evening and drove about an hour south to the small town of Carmagnola. Turin is north-west Italy, in Piedmont, where for me the big attractions are the wines of Barolo and Barbaresco. This would be another of those trips combining birding and wine exploration. Carmagnola was chosen for the former, and for being half way towards the latter. 

I'd arrived pretty late so I had a pretty leisurely start, with binoculars deployed only at around 10am. The first location was really as a prelude to the second, which did not open until a little later for some reason. This was the Bosco del Gerbasso, chosen simply because in that area it was the eBird hotspot with the most potential. This is standard practice and it tends to work out. 

The area was one of woods and lakes, with a large (and active) quarry slap bang in the middle of it. There were various paths and trails that generally did loops around the quarry and through the woodland, as well as along the riverbank - in this case the Po, Italy's longest river, which runs nearly all the way across the country to Venice. It was a cool morning but clear, the flat countryside in stark juxtaposition to the backdrop of the Alps, a line of snowy peaks that stretched across the entire horizon. I found the spot without too much difficulty and dropped the car on a stretch of gravel that seemed to function as a small car park. I didn't know exactly where I was going but picked a track that seemed to lead into the reserve, if indeed that is what it was. 

I had an enjoyable walk, a big loop of about three miles, and a lot of good birds seen. I got off to a good start immediately by flushing a Woodcock, and Marsh Tits made themselves apparent nearly from the very start, sneezing in the bushes. I wasn't initially sure what I was hearing, this is a not a species I encounter often, but the marvels of modern technology meant I worked it out quite quickly. Better was yet to come with a Goshawk being pursued by a calling Raven, and happily a Sparrowhawk seen just a few moments later with Collared Dove as if to really reinforce the point. A few Great White Egrets were dotted around, and being a very wooded area lots of small birds too so my list was added to regularly. I have not spent a lot of time in Italy, preferring France as I can speak French, and this means that it is somewhat virgin eBird territory with many common birds being new, which for me as regular readers know is more exciting than for most people. That is changing though, with I think five trips in the last two years. None of them have been dedicated birding excursions, but I always try and make a little time to see what I can add. 

I couldn't get directly back to the car due to a farm being in the way, so ended up on the outskirts of the last village I had driven through and had to walk back along the road, but this added a large group of White Wagtail in a sheep field and a couple of Yellow-legged Gull. My next stop was the real reason I had stayed in this location, the Centro Cicogne di Racconigi. As the name suggests, a Stork haven. In truth half of it was a big aviary, but surrounding this and as I had suspected from the aerial views were a series of pools and hides, and so I had a nice wander around these picking up Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe and Water Rail.  Ducks were less diverse than my online research had suggested, maybe I missed a pool, but I found the line Goldeneye and a pair of Gadwall. Mostly however it was Teal and Mallard. And camotwats, which are apparently a phenomenon in Italy just as they are here. Old and middle-aged white men (mind you, I am probably describing my won age group these days), camo head to toe, all with enormous lenses of varying quality. Every single hide had one in, which meant I mostly couldn't get in as they were almost all little two seater ones, which of course meant one seat for the togger and the other for his immense bag and pile of gear. Some of the larger hides had a whole row of photographers. And big or small all the same nonsense was going on, photographing into the sun, birds miles away, twigs and crap everywhere. I hadn't brought a camera and was glad I had not. Common Crane were heard but not seen somewhere out beyond the boundary, and of course there were good number of White Stork that seemed to be roaming free.

One final stop before Barolo, the Stagni di San Sebastiano, and this was much more satisfying other than the guy in camo hunting with dogs. I made sure he saw me, and to be fair he did seem to be keeping to the edges of the area rather than the large lakes stuffed with ducks. These did not even flinch when his shotgun went off from somewhere in the woods so I presume nobody ever enages them directly. The ducks here were a lot more interesting, with Shoveler, Pochard, Red-crested Pochard and Tufted Duck. On the lower lake, perhaps across the river, was a lone Egyptian Goose which the eBird police subsequently queried so I assume it was quite rare here. It was calling and flying around so not really in doubt - I just said that they bred where I live and were a common sight. A Black Redstart flitted around a ruined house, a Peregrine bombed over, and it was altogether really rather pleasant. And this time I actually got to see some of the Cranes I had been hearing when a group appeared over a distant treeline before dropping down. 

A famous address...

So that concludes the birding for Saturday. Now onto the wine. I was staying in the town of La Morra in the north west of the Barolo region. I popped into the fabulous More e Macine to make a booking for the evening - amazingly they could accomodate me, albeit quite an early table, but that suited me fine as I am not that much into late dining which means you go to bed stuffed. I had a very pleasant wander around the town - more of a village I suppose, buying a few goodies to smuggle home, and popped into a wine bar for a bit of a pick me up. I chose a glass of Verduno Pelaverga. Pelaverga is a grape unique to this region which is only sparsely planted by a few domaines, and is quite distinctive and a far cry from Nebbiolo albeit that is can share some of the same tannic brutality. It was all I wanted it to be - light, peppery and really quite lifted, and not at all a punch in the face. I followed this with a Langhe Nebbiolo from Roccalini which was rather unrefined and coarse. I know, woe is me right?

At More e Macine a little later on I kicked off with a glass of Langhe Favorita from Alessandria which wasn't all that good, a bit rustic I thought, but their 2019 Barolo Monvigliero was a classy number despite its youth. It was outclassed however by Gian Luca Colombo's Ravera - the man is a genius, eveything he makes from the lowliest Langhe seems to turn to gold. He makes a Pelaverga too and it is sensational. However eclipising all of these wines was a broccoli flan of the utmost delicacy and deliciousness. So good I was compelled to take a photograph of it, I am not normally one for this kind of thing, I mean I don't even have an Insta... Incredible, one of the best things I had eaten all year, and something I want to try at home. So light and airy, balanced by a rich pecorino sauce, a divine combination. I still think about it some months later. Tajarin for primi and Tagliati for secondi and I was done, a lovely meal, just a shame there was nobody to share it with. I love virtually everything about travelling solo but dining alone I do not enjoy. That is changing though as Mrs L and I are very nearly empty nesters or whatever the phrase is. When I started this blog our youngest child was two years old. She is now 18 and in Vietnam, and starts university in September. The other two are already at university and so Mrs L and I have a level of freedom that we have not experienced for more than two decades. And this time around we have money. So solo travel will diminish and instead we can go places a deux. Less birding, but better for other reasons, and we have started 2026 as we mean to continue.

Of course this trip to Piedmont was in 2025 and in a few short paragraphs it will be over and I can turn the metaphorical page and start afresh. I cannot remember if I had cheese or not, I expect I did, and fairly rolled back across the street to my accomodation. The next day I did a bit more shopping, wine shop browsing and vineyard exploration before switching back to birding mode. I dipped a Shrike somewhere and then went to some lakes called the Oasi Naturalistica La Madonnina which like the Stork place was absolutely stuffed with camotwats. Amazing. I added a few birds here such as Black-crowned Night Heron and Common Kingfisher, but it was in no way as productive as I had been hoping.

One more tajarin for the road

Back in wine land I visited the village of Verduno in the north of Barolo. I found the only open restaurant in the village and had another splendid lunch, albeit smaller and with only a tiny sip of wine as I was driving. As with the place in La Morra it was entirely populated with Italian families out for a family meal. Maybe this happens in London more frequently than I think it does, but I fully support it. That said nice food in Italy costs a fraction of what it does here, my meals in Piedmont would have got me mass-market chain food back home. And so that was it. Another stroll around Verduno to look at some of the hallowed slopes and then back to Turin where I could not help but stop at a pasta factory with an attached factory shop in which to fill up any remaining crevices in my luggage.

Ciao 2025!

     

Tuscany

As someone into wine - quite heavily into wine actually, a major interest that confirms me as a total bore - I am amazed that I had not managed to get myself to Tuscany before now. The Benvenuto Montalcino, the annual event that announces the new vintage of Brunello (in this case 2021), was held in the eponymous town last November and I and a few friends of similar ilk (eg fellow wine-nerds) went down for it.

My knowledge of Italian wines is nascent at best. Two decades spent obsessing over a fraction of the wine produced in France blinded me to the merits of Sangiovese. Nebbiolo also blinded me to Sangiovese - my Italian wine journey began and is still centred in Piedmont. But the magic of this country, the food and the wine together, is beginning to take hold. Last month Mrs L and I even went to an Italian cooking class.

But back to November. Four us flew to Florence on a Friday morning. From there it is but a short hop down to Montalcino via Siena. We had an excellent AirBnB in the village, and various members of the team had organised tasting visits and restaurants, with the star attraction being the Benvenuto which was open to the Public at the weekend - we had tickets for the Sunday. I was doing the driving, somewhat of a sacrifice given the theme, but I smelled everything extensively and had some tiny sips on the day that we used the car - it was actually quite easy to remain disciplined during the day when there was so much wine around in the evening.

We arrived in Montalcino late afternoon, just enough time to browse a wine-shop and head for that all-important first glass in a local bar before a fabulous Tuscan feast in a nearby restaurant. The Italian custom of a starter and then primi and secondi never ceases to amaze me, I remember visiting a friend in Puglia many years ago and having lunch at his mother's house. When another course materialised after what I had assumed was the main pasta course I didn't really no what to do. If I lived in Italy I would be even fatter than I am now. The Boulvardier afterwards was an unnecessary indulgence.

The following day our first visit was to Baricci in Montosoli, a famed site in the Brunello appelation that I knew nothing of whatsoever. We had an engaging visit with Federico, grandson of the founder Nello, in the surprisingly small winery situated in the middle of the slope, tasting the most recent Rosso and Brunello. So good was the visit, and so talkative Federico that we were then late to La Ragnaie mid-morning. That was a good visit too, but it had started snowing by then so it was more of a tasting than a tour.

Onto another lovely restaurant for lunch, where we were joined for the main course by Geoff, a late entrant whose work had finished up earlier than expected and which meant he was able to join us. In the afternoon we visited J G Benda for what I can honestly say was the best wine visit ever. A man of singular purpose and vision, of exacting standards coupled with letting the wine do its own thing, John and his wife Zoe are living their dream and were simply a delight to spend time with. We spent the whole afternoon at his small winery and subsequently his house in town in front of a log fire, wonderful people. And such is his cachet that he did not even have any wine to sell us (though Peter did manage to source a case of Rosso once back in London thankfully). That evening rather than gorge ourselves at another restaurant we held an impromptu offline at our accomodation, a shopping trip for light food and each of us contributing a bottle of locally-sourced wine. Good stuff.

Dawn was spectacular from our hilltop location. I should have jumped in the car and sought out that famous curved track of cypress that was not too far way, but instead I made coffee and sat and looked out of the window whilst waiting for Nick and Peter to wake up. Some minor birding occured, nothing out of the ordinary but I take a lot of pleasure from simply knowing what I am listening to.

Today was the main event, the festival itself. Hundreds of growers under one roof, an impossible series of choices. Our tickets bought us entrance and a glass, and we spent the whole day wandering around the stalls sampling the highlights of the appelation. There were some amazing wines, and we eagerly took notes in order to be able to find the wines once back home, the festival of course marking the release of the vintage and sale of wine to merchants for the en primeur campaign. I've been to enough wine tastings now to know the drill - if you drink everything you will be out of the picture extremely rapidly. You use your nose and you spit almost all of it wasteful though that seems. Thus we all walked of there late afternoon in fine shape and raring to go, in fact positively crying out for some wine to actually drink. Thankfully we had another restaurant lined up for one last hurrah and boy was it good - Alla Logge di Piazza.

We returned to Florence much heavier but with a fairly modest amount of wine all things considered. Since then of course I have found a few cases of Barrici in the UK, Peter found us some Benda, and I bought a couple of bottle of Ragnaie from one of our wider wine group. When it came to en primeur a few weeks later I was fairly restrained, buying just a case each of Canalicchio di Sopra and Le Potazzine - they had stood out at the Benvenuto and I was pleased to find them. But I have so much red wine that really I need no more for years and years and so these days need to be fairly circumspect. But I needed to have a little, it is so food-friendly, and very different to the grapes I spent the first half of my life getting to know. I know a guy who has around two thousand bottles of wine, all but around twenty of which are Tuscan Sangiovese or blends. This is just what happens, it is an interest severely prone to what I call rabbit holes. I have diversified significantly in the five years since the pandamic, but I am still hugely overweight with just under 70% of the entire cellar being French, and 60% of that being Burgundy. I was about to write that I can't drink it fast enough, but actually I can....

A weekend in Barbaresco

Barbaresco

As a lover of Pinot Noir it should come as no surprise that I am also partial to Nebbiolo. It is a much more powerful grape, very tannic in its youth, strident and long-lived.  In many ways you would think that this is the exact opposite of wispy old Pinot Noir, but it too creates very pale, translucent and ethereal wines that have that divine lightness of touch. The primary growing area within Italy for Nebbiolo is in the northwest, Piedmont. With this area Barolo and Barbaresco stand out, Gattinara barely gets a mention and I'm not sure Ghemme even makes it outside Italy. Certainly I'd never heard of it until a few years ago when I started making a bit of an effort with Italian wines.

Barolo and Barbaresco are almost next to each other, and the sensible place to start would be Turin. I started from Milan which in fact was the result of a complete cock up on my part. My plan had been to go and photograph Tuscan landscapes for the weekend, but I had a geographic abberation and booked the wrong airport. I did not realise this until much later when I started planning where I would stay and realised Milan was in fact hours away from where I wanted to be. Scratch that then, but what else could I do? Well, Piedmont isn't that far.....

I landed late on a Friday, another after work flight, and made it about half way before stopping in a cheap hotel for the night. A most bizarre place, and seemingly constructed expressely for illicit liasons. The rooms were all 'themed' and not in a good way, the only options on the TV were 18+, and you entered your room unseen from the rear where you parked your car, presumably so you could flee when your actual partner turned up. Luckily I was not staying long but I wondered later how I could have got this so wrong, Booking.com had given no clues. Presumably you needed to be 'in the know'. Anyway I survived it and early next morning went birding.

Yes it was a wine trip, but ultimately everywhere I go involves birds in some way, and seeing as my Italy list was pathetic (and still is) I thought I should at least attempt to improve it. Part of the draw of the dodgy hotel had been that it was close to a large lake that was one of the few eBird pins in the area, and although I slept in a bit as I hadn't gone to bed until 1am I was still there bright and early. The weather was a little grim but I toughed it out, walking the entire perimeter in about an hour and a half. The full list is here and contains absolutely nothing special whatsoever, however almost every single bird was new for Italy so clearly all very exciting nonetheless. Mid morning I hung up my bins and drove the further hour towards the town of Alba where I would be staying for the evening. As I approached the town I diverted off the autostrada and crossed the river. Before me lay Barbaresco.

Aldo Vacca, the man behind the success of the modern Produttori

I don't have a great deal of Italian wine, but most of what I do have squirreled away is from this region. There's a bit of Sangiovese from Tuscany, a bit of wine from Puglia and Sicily, but by far the majority is from Piedmont and most of it is Nebbiolo. From Barbaresco I have around seven cases, not a huge amount. Most of this is from the well-regarded local cooperative, the Produttori del Barbaresco, who work with numerous growers to produce regular Barbaresco as well as nine single vineyard wines - known in Italy as MGAs (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntiva). Barbaresco is both an appellation and a village (alongside Neive and Treiso) and it was here I went first. It must get very busy in the summer as there is a one-way system around the hilltop, but at this time of year it was completely dead and I could go wherever I wanted. The Produttori were open though, and so I wandered in for a small tasting and to learn a bit more about them. As it was low season only the front of house was open, no chance for a tour or a look behind the scenes, but it was great to be able to chat to the friendly employee about the wine, the vintages on the counter, the philosophy behind the wine, and the rules that the growers had to abide by. Fascinating stuff, but still behind the wheel at this point I couldn't really get into it!

Outside the village I popped my head in at Roagna and La Ca' Nova, the other producers I have a few bottles of, but they both seemed closed. Had I been in France I might have rung the doorbells, a conversation in French more likely to be well received on a Saturday than in English, but alas my Italian is non-existent and so I left them to their weekend and drove into Alba. Appropriately enough I was staying above a wine shop, and once I had dumped the car I went exploring on foot. Not too many of the producers have a presence in the town of Alba, and the obvious one that did, Pio Cesare, had closed about an hour before I got there. Such is life. I did the next most sensible thing and went and had a nice lunch with a glass or two of wine at the Osteria dell'Arco.

I spent the afternoon browsing wine shops and buying small amounts of goodies to take back home, including the local pasta, Tajarin, which I had enjoyed at lunch with ragu. For the wine this was window-shopping only for the time being, I wanted to try a few more producers before filling up precious luggage space. This was achieved by heading to a wine bar early evening and trying a few things by the glass. De Gustibus I think it was called, and it was here that I discovered a producer hitherto unknown to me called Sottimano. It was just their basic Langhe Nebbiolo, declassified Barbaresco, wine from perhaps younger vines and that is not required to be aged for as long before being bottled. In any wine area trying a producer's most basic bottling is always a good place to start, and it's as true in Piedmont as it is Burgundy. And this Sottimano 2021 Langhe was simply sensational, the best Langhe I'd ever had. This would be top of the list on tomorrow's wine-buying expedition. Alongside this I had an Oddero Langhe from the same year, which whilst also top notch wasn't in the same league.

In need of more sustenance I popped into the Prosciutteria Albese for a snack and another glass of wine, this time a local Barbera. In contrast to the pair of Langhe this was inpenetrable, really heavy going and not a good proposition at this time. Best stick with Nebbiolo is my advice. The small plate of ham I had was fantastic though - if I lived in Italy I would be even fatter than I am already.

I had another wander around town to get some air and think about where I might find an evening meal. The place I had my eye on was rammed, with families coming in all the time, but the totally unstressed owner took pity on me and squeezed me in on one side of a table. Perfect. I've had this happen before in Lyon and other places, and provided both you and the other diners are chilled about it, the focus being the food rather than the comfort, then all will be fine. The atmosphere in the Osteria dei Sognatori was off the charts fantastic, organised chaos, raucous chatter, huge extended family groups, and it felt more like being at somebody's house than being at a restaurant and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants both good food and a fantastic experience in Alba. They don't even have menus, just a few bits of hand-written sheets of A4 that are passed around. I had a small portion of Tajarin and ragu just to check that it was as good as I expected it to be, which it was, and then something based on pork that was also fabulous but that I was unable to get through. To accompy this a half bottle of Rocche Costamagna Barolo from the Rocche dell'Annunziata MGA. Although it was the latest vintage but one it was fabulously approachable already. Yum! I fairly rolled back to my hotel.

Osteria dei Sognatori

Unsurprisingly I did not wake up especially early on Sunday. I went for an invigorating walk around Alba in the rain and finished up my shopping at some of the wine shops I had gazed at the previous day. The Enoteca Fracchia & Berchialla is particularly wonderful, an Aladdin's cave of riches, especially downstairs where there were endless bottles of Gaja and loads of magnums. Space was limited to whatever I could fit in hand-luggage, as at that time you could take liquids on board where airports had the new scanning technology in place, which Linate did (I had 100% checked this!). Note that as of June 2024 this has been rolled back across the whole of Europe and we are back to 100ml. But at the time it worked, and this meant that I managed to cram in a magnum of Sottimano Cottá, and then four regular bottles - from memory a couple of Langhe from Produttori and Massolino, another bottle of Sottimano, and a new vintage Pelaverga from Burlotto. My bag weighed a ton but I got it all through and security didn't bat an eyelid! 

After I had packed up and retrieved my car I had another wander around the various hillsides of Barbaresco, getting the lie of the land a bit, and then with time pressing on drove back to Milan very pleased with my weekend adventure. I managed to sneak in a final birding session south of the airport followed by a quick very late lunch at an Osteria on the outskirts of town before dropping the car off and going home with my haul.

A decadent lunch in Rotterdam

I had some time to kill last week - not able to go back to work after Brazil as I needed to complete a mandatory ten days away from the office I was at rather a loose end. Unable to face local birding and not wanting to just mooch around the house doing long-postponed jobs, quite last minute I booked a day trip to Holland to go birding. I identified a few decent looking spots around Rotterdam that I could get to on foot from the airport, packed what's left of my bins (major rubber armour flaking issues), and set off early on Tuesday morning. 

The weather had other ideas, and on arrival in Rotterdam it was overcast and extremely breezy, with intensely heavy and thundery storms in the vicinity. Being out in the wilds in these conditions seemed like a bad idea so I elected to instead stay in town and within a short dash of cover. After a little bit of birding at Het Park down at the Nieuwe Maas,(Kingfisher and Short-toed Treecreeper the highlights, a million Egyptian Geese the lowlights), and a nice walk around sections of the massive harbour, I then ambled along to the Witte de Withstraat. Very peculiar coffee shops.... Then I went and had lunch nearby as the clouds gathered. A lengthy lunch. Quite decadent in fact, and made even better by the fact that the promised rain did indeed materialise, was as heavy as forecast, and I was right next to the window looking out at it rather than being stuck in it.

Now I've never done a post like this before so I'm viewing this as a bit of a test. I suspect it's rather a niche subject matter, but you know how it is on this blog. If the thought of gratuitous travel and expensive restaurants doesn't appeal for any reason then just skip it. Anyway, as regular readers will be aware wine is a major interest of mine. It always has been to some extent, but it found new prominence during the various pandemic lockdowns as other interests were forced to wane. Since then I've kept it up quite intensely, and these days I probably spend as much if not more time thinking about wine than I do about birds, photography, plants, travel. Possibly combined. When I eventually retire I will not be short of things to do. Nor things to drink.

I found a restaurant with rather a specialist wine list called Vineum, and it being Tuesday lunchtime there was tons of space. Excellent. I was one of only three covers, which combined with an extremely attentive and knowledgeable member of staff made for a superb experience.

Already looking promising

I had the four course menu for 55 euros which was fantastic value and really good. Although the wine list was monumental and glorious I opted to go for wines by the glass as they had a relatively good selection. I started with some Champagne, after all why not, I was on holiday.

Champagne

Amuse Bouches. Can't remember what they were I'm afraid! But I enjoyed them with the Champagne.

Young mackeral ceviche, leche de tiger with passion fruit, jalapeno, avocado creme. This was as good as it looks, with the tart yet sweet passion fruit coulis in the middle proving an excellent foil to the slippery and highly fresh fish. I don't recall the pepper making much of a mark. One of those pairing combinations that you would never in a million years think of yourself, nor attempt to make at home. This is why restaurants exist.

NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Premier Cru Les Vignes de Vrigny - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
Medium gold in colour. Instant champagne hit, nutty, bready and rich. Fantastic balance marks this out, supremely easy to sip and contemplate. Fine mousse, stone fruit, cake and pastry, stewed apple and a lovely lemony acidity that keeps it all in check. Although you can sense some age it does not stand out. Base 2019, disgorged July 2023.

Whites

Continuation with the ceviche and then onto:
Tagliatelle with fresh truffle, cream, rocket cress and parmesan. Fabulous. This is apparently their signature dish and I can tell why. Normally I dislike truffle, it's a bit like when something is smoked - it seems not to matter what that something is, it just tastes like all other smoked things. This however was excellent, just the right amount of truffle taste, not over-powering. It must be the fresh ingredient, rather than a chemically produced one which is all too prevalent. Pasta nicely al dente, and a good ratio of sauce. My one minor gripe was that it was rather difficult to eat, with some sections of the pasta a bit fused together and coming apart in lumps. Then again I was sat by myself, in a corner, and so a small amount of inelegance went unseen.

2020 Sylvain Dussort Meursault Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Light yellow. Small amount of reduction and smoke on the nose, dissipates to leave quite a mineral and chalky Meursault that is in a linear rather than fatty style. Nice clean burgundy, totally hits the spot, but at the same time doesn't scream Meursault. Depends what you want I suppose, and good wine nonetheless. Coravin pour.

2022 Schloss Lieser Riesling Trocken SL - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Light yellow. Fruity nose, whiffs of petrol after a swish, hints of pineapple. Wonderful freshness, the merest hints of sucrosity. For a base-level Mosel Riesling this is really good, and when you see the price you will be astonished. 

Reds

Sautees magret de canard with candied leeks, rosti with epoisses creme and sauce of figs and balsamic vinegar. Ooof, now this is food. The duck was OK, well executed but but not spectacular, but the rosti with epoisses taken with a small amount of fresh fig, wow. Just exceptional. You could almost see the calories mounting up as you ate each morsel. Good match for the in some cases rather strident wines.

A selection of 5 cheeses. I'm afraid I cannot now precisely recall what these were, possibly the lunch was a little too decadent... I remeber I had to eat them left to right, essentially in order of strength and with the blue at the end. Pretty sure #2 was a local young cheese, and that #3 was a Tomme, but that's it. All were delicious, though the blue was actually quite mild by my palate. I was not a huge fan of the matching condiments, I tend to like cheese by itself but I gamely gave each one a go just to see what they added.

2021 Jérôme Chezeaux Bourgogne - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne
Medium red. Good earthen quality to the nose, not deep and musty but definitely present and correct. Red and black fruit on the palate, there is a nice amount of acidic zip here and whilst this isn't an outstanding entry level BR it is very nicely done. I didn't know the producer but was pleasantly surprised as was not expecting much from the vintage. This is a decent bottle of Bourgogne with the right amount of sense of place for the price.

2018 Domaine de Ferrand Côtes du Rhône Mistral - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
Medium red. Quite olivey and gamey on the nose, dark fruited in nature but with lighter flashes. Astringent tannic core with more acidity than I was expecting and tough without food - definitely not in the sipping style for my tastes. However transformed as an accompaniment to magret de canard where this cuts through the fat.

2022 Le Chiuse Rosso di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino
Medium red. A lighter style of Sangiovese and very approachable despite its youth - designed no doubt for early drinking. Ripe soft fruit with sweet overtones, herbs and some grit. Very nice with or without food.

 

To close

2022 Schloss Lieser Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Intensely clean and fruity, just a brief impression as a small taste and I was on my way out. You could drink it more or less forever was my quick view. Super-fresh as you would expect. A nice parting gift.

Well what a fantastic discovery this place was. None of the wines I had by the glass were standout other than the Champagne, but I wasn't particularly expecting them to be. What mattered was they were universally decent, went well with the varied food and were reasonbly priced. I could have just about stretched to a bottle off the stupendous list, but decided that I'd prefer pairings for the variety. The list was enormous, pages and pages, filled with gems and with a real focus on Burgundy - a page from the Cote-de-Nuits shown below. There were so many bottles I would have loved to have tried but they were almost all beyond my means - restaurant markups are totally understandable but at the same time they make me very sad. This is why I am hugely grateful for the concept of corkage and am more than happy to pay what might seem like a lot of money to be able to bring something from my own cellar. I have a list of restaurants in London that allow this and that I visit regularly as a result.

Vineum uses Spiegelau Definition glassware which is what I use at home. They're excellent, basically 90% of a Zalto glass for about a third of the price. Lovely to drink from, but not a total disaster if you break one. You can see their Burgundy glass in one of the photos above. I had a fresh glass for every wine, and sometimes had several on the table at once - this is one of the markers of this being a place for wine lovers, and if I lived in the city it would definitely be a regular haunt. As it was not busy there was plenty of time to talk about the wines in depth with the guy running the floor, and I was treated very well with even a couple of extra tastes of things. I would go back in a heartbeat next time I am there. In fact I might travel specifically to go there...

After lunch I went shopping for cheese and then did a bit more birding near the airport, ending up with a day list of 36. Not bad for a three hour lunch....

Glad to be indoors looking out!