it's a start, i guess

gooners 3: magpies 0

nice and slick today but the killer instinct is still missing ... could have been half a dozen. like 6-1 maybe.

the delicate dutchbaby got himself 2 and then limped off...deja vu?
not enough calcium in his diet, imo. and didn't his momma feed him cheese and milk when he was growing up? he's from holland for goodness sake.

wengker said:

"i am very pleased with the performance, both offensively and defensively. it was a complete one, there was great balance in the team, with movement. apart from at the start of the second half, we were always in control and played the game we love, and showed the way we can play."

"the improvement comes from a completely different attitude (first logical thing he's said so far). we showed that against twente and did it again tonight. the fulham match had come at the start of the season after difficult games, including one away in the champions league and maybe we were not ready mentally." (it's yo job, buddy)

it's how you do it

nice article by james lawton (here). we may bitch about the wengker but deep down, i think we like the way he does things, it makes us feel warm, a bit special and different from the usual crass and brutal "winners" everywhere else... anyone remember the final charge in "the last samurai"?... or chow yuen fatt in "a better tomorrow"?... a little fatalistic but way cooool.

ok ... nuff of that sentimental sh*te, it's back to wengker baiting...

sick as a dog

down with more than the sniffles ... nasty. cannot taste anything ... well, almost. didn't think of imbibing but strangely ended up at the usual place. anyway, been downing copious amounts of vitamin C, am told that the grape contain lots of the stuff...
la rioja alta, vina arana, rioja reserva 1995 (tempranillo)

ruby with slight bricking; cassis, mushroom, greenish stalkiness, some cedar/tobacco, nice and secondary; some fruit (plum maybe) with an initial sweetish hit at the front, aforesaid stalkiness, fruit and wood intergrated; still reasonably tannic but agreeable and quite ripe; acidity nice and fresh; not very long; some resin,slightly stalkiness and raisin in the finish; medium bodied; 12.5%; would be nice with some meat; given the price over here, quite a bang for the buck. BANG!

then 2 suspects appeared ......

chateau pouget, margaux, 2003 [generally cab sav 6: merlot 3; cab franc 1]

ruby; floral, cherry, oak, sandalwood (?), bandaid, smoked meat; sour cherry, plum, smokey barbequed meat/bacon bits; still lots of fine tannins (nice), balanced acidity; medium length/long; medium bodied; 13%; can be a little lean but fills out and lenghtens nicely with food; roast pork helped; elegant stuff; one suspect's choice ... not bad. even the contrarian chimed in with "not bad, can drink". BANG! (-)

with some bacon sandwiches and voila ... i could breathe easy again. there must be some anti-viral elements in plonk.

anyway, was a decent evening and to the other suspects away up north, ... cheers.

proud, eh?

gooners 4: fc twente 0

it's like "schumacher outdrives coulthard" ... an immutable law of nature, and nothing to get too excited about. yet wengker called it a "big mental test" (here)...bah!

ok, enough of the backslapping...now back to real work...don't think newcastle will be pushovers. update: ok, i was wrong, the magpies were sh*tty on the day.

dinner sat

barbequed pork ribs and ceretto barbaresco asij 2001.

consistent and again, much better about 45min after uncorking ... nose just opens up and palate broadens appreciably. BANG!

deja vu

here we go ... here we go again.

gooners 0: fulham 1

the wengker was quoted as saying:
"what we did today was just not good enough. in midfield we were dominated and not strong or quick enough - and we suffered. we lacked a bit more quality in our passing. when you look at the possession we had and what we did with it that is always a sign it is not only down to power but vision and technical quality. that was not there today. i don’t know why.”

buddy, you're paid the big bucks to know...

anyway, a crucial point is that ... we had absolutely no determination. the word "gutless" comes to mind. the cottagers fully deserved the win.

you old devil

another seemingly odd buy by the wengker. will grudgingly give him the benefit of the doubt ...le gaffer's given us no trophys but lots of joy. we'll wait and see.

"he can play left-back and centre-back, and he plays in an area where we are light on experience." ...

odd

it's late saturday morning at the pharmacy and there's no indication as to whether there'll be any grape juice today. didn't get any yesterday either. just shot after shot ...

and do i have breakfast or lunch? cabbage soup again ...

mussels from brussels

went to an alleged belgian pub. all interbrew (now inbev) stuff...stella, hoegarden (white) and leffe (blonde and brune) on tap plus some bottles from the same stable (leffe radius). nothing else... and let's not even mention trappist... sad init?

had some mussels in white wine, pork ribs and mussels wrapped in bacon washed down with the aforesaid brews...

the only excitement was bolt doing 19:30 on tv...

only one

were s'posed to meet at the usual place saturday afternoon. all suspects confirmed. however, one missed roll call. in fact, have not heard from him since the last message received, that his ride (a marvelous piece of british precision engineering ... there must be an oxymoron or three in there somewhere) went south... anyway he did not miss much, imo.

chandon de briailles savigny les beaune 1er cru 'les lavieres' 2005

ruby; cherry, raspberry, intermittent strawberry, a little later you get some ... oh,oh ...wet leather, fur?, musk ... thankfully not enough to put me off, cedar, spice (asian), turkish delight on the nose; sour cherry and plum, some green stalkyness, chalk/stoniness on palate; quite a lot of tannin, firm but fine; lots of acid; bit chalky/stoney; lean and so young; light/medium bodied; medium length; 12.5%; hoped it would open up over the 2 hours or so, it didn't oblige; does nothing for me now. maybe in 5. POP!

their pernand vergelesses (below) was much more approachable and enjoyable at this stage.

through the mild red haze, contrarian muttered something about cool vintage and stems ... well, not sure about the cool bit cos the vintage was supposed to have be exceptional but it seems that this house likes to go the "trad" route and does not destem at all [update: read somewhere that this particular one was 10% destemmed] ...... they also do not filter... maybe that's why brett gets to hangs around a bit ...

some roast pork and that was it.

if there's a moral to this story, it's ... get a toyota, man.

can you spell blunt?

gooners 1: wba 0
and wengker was quoted as saying:
"we always looked in control and i always thought the second goal would come." "but west brom defended very well and we lacked a bit of sharpness around the box. credit to west brom." "if the second does not come you can be punished in the last 10 minutes. But samir nasri had a good game and we are happy with the three points." ...... and we are happy with 3rd place ...

reds 1: sunderland 0
in the 83rd

bw 3: potterers 1
welcome to the big league, boys

it's what comes out, stupid

get my shots from one of these almost daily, a san marco 85 sprint E. physically unimpressive compared to the elektra belle epoque (see footer) [like a john deere to a lamborghini] but like they say, you can't judge a book ...... and the ammo is:

super bar.

the rhones to ruin

hope drinking on weekdays doesn't become a habit. this is bad, man.

lucien barrot et fils chateaunuef du pape 2005 (Gsm+)

ruby; initially dried flowers (rose?), cherry, plum, blackcurrant, alcohol, herbs, on the nose then about 15 mins. later it went dumb but developed soy sauce, vegemite/marmite/bovril, grilled meat, mushroom nuances; plum, ripe cherry (kirsch?), chinese herbs, chalk/stone like; lots of chalky, drying and firm tannins, sufficient acid; medium length; bit lean overall; too alcoholic; lots ot interesting bits here albeit not intergrated but then it's young and obviously needs more time; 15% boom boom ... any more and i'll switch to brandy; [cf. the roger sabon reserve earlier, which was more approachable at this stage]. BANG!

chapoutier belleruche cote du rhone 2006 (g:s)
light cherry; fruity, cherry, plum, pepper? on nose; follows onto palate, raisins?; lots of chalky tannins, crisp acid; light/medium bodied; lean and tart; with food. BANG!

roast pork and ribs.

neb and stu III

again, courtesy of the friends who feed me for free. some sort of "experimental" lamb stew for dinner sunday. meat and veges done separately. resulting in a very meaty yet fresh tasting concoction.

fontanafredda barbaresco 1999

garnet, bricking; cedar, mushroom, plum?, bit of smoke and very little primary fruit on the nose; follows onto palate, fruit, tannins and acid intergrated; medium bodied; medium length; mellow with some age, not really over the hill but something missing, ... bit dull. nearly a POP!

supplement

was at the pharmacy for coffee on sunday. saw someone having what looked like a sticky. it wasn't but looked nice, so had it with a couple of shots or six for tea.

fontanafredda moncucco grappa di moscato 43%

unlike the usual stuff i see, this one is "delicate";
gold; aromatic, muscat (what else), olives, oily, grapeseed and stalk, alcohol; carries onto palate, very agreeable alcohol burn (much less than the usual he-man stuff), smooth, long. BANG!

something different

had heaps of barbequed pork ribs, chicken and sausages and one too many margheritas for dinner saturday ... like rich and thick lemon and tequila sorbet ... result: had a mellooow sunday morning. THROB!

dinner friday

tried to de-stress after the adventure at teatime, had roast duck for dinner, tough old bird. others had some form of pasta or salad each.

bruno giacosa nebbiolo d'alba valmaggiore di vezza 2004 ("casa vinicola"/bought in grapes, single plot). stuff's not so common around here.garnet; dried flowers, plum, cherry, mushroom, cedar, tar/menthol on the nose; stalky flavours (but not green), ripe sweet fruit, cherry/rasp?, plum, tar/menthol, some raisin; fruit, firm ripe tannins and acid balanced; medium bodied; long; very slight bitterness at the back; s'pose it will age further but why wait; very nice indeed; baby barba. BANG! [only just as it was at a restaurant with the obligatory markup].

went home happy.

trial and errors on friday

1)columella 2005 (shiraz:mourvedre, 4:1) [swartland]

supposedly a cult drop by some whizkid/guru...eg. fruit from 7 tiny parcels with different soil conditions, individual berries hand sorted, open wooden fermenters, longish fermentation, basket pressed, long aging in french oak, blah, blah, blah. the label is in latin, for goodness sake; normally, "cult" is synonymous with "w*nker"; bottle was recommended by a denizen of the establishment, with good intentions i might add, but alas . . .

purple (think goober grape); cork out and you are hit by a musk and sandalwood shockwave ... and i mean a blast not just a whiff, extreme like some perfume ... characteristic of the big M? ...urgh, most of this blows away after about 20 mins. but still very apparent and too overt, sarsaparilla, plum, cherry, damp earth, mushroom and alcohol on the nose; cherry, dark fruits, alcohol, gravel/stone, lots of fine tannins apleasant acid, balanced but very lean palate; short drying finish; slightly bitter aftertaste; medium bodied; angular?; 14.5%; too young now. and too expensive ... it's in decent barolo territory. FIZZLE!

complex, but so's a trainwreck.

3 out of 4 present could not "get" this wine. the fourth was his usual contrarian self (someone's got to be one ... be bleeding boring otherwise) and found some interest, he even guessed correctly that it was a dry vintage. but all felt the nose did not reflect the palate ... like from 2 different wines.

this thing has got so many good reviews from camps you do not expect to agree, from ws to the brits.

this punter will still pass on it.

had to have something less stressful and challenging, so

2)alkoomi jarrah franklin river shiraz 2001

ruby; plummy nose; cranberry, red plum, furry tannins (still lots), acid pleasant, medium bodied and length; 14%; boring ... another inspired choice by yours truly. FIZZLE!

crappy strike rate, so had to get out of there ...

my friend brett

fell off the wagon

try not to drink weekdays but succumbed at the pharmacy monday. san danielle ham, bucatinni amatriciana and grilled porkchop with gorgonzola smeared all over (not happenin ... the cheese was too sharp even though they used the dolce).

isole & olena cepparello 2000

me mate had it recently and was generally positive about it.
100% sangiovese
garnet; cherry, mushroom, grilled meat (?), [wife volunteered sweaty t-shirt, leather and paint thinner] and alcohol; cherry, bit of herb (or was that the food), ... bit lean (initially); tannins fine and lots of it ... this punter likes it, refreshing acid; would have been more balanced if there was more fruit; medium bodied; medium length (ok ... short ... by cepp standards); 13.5%; actually slips down very nicely thank you; really needs and is much better with food ... broadens and deepens flavours and lengthens the finish; also, let it breath ... 30 mins at least; overall, nice but a little pricey with the extra markup here. BANG! [only just, restaurant markup].

[1999 much 'bigger' in flavour and structure. alas, these seem to to have disappeared from these parts]

last bit, about 2 hours later ... very very pleasant ... going to have a good night's rest tonight.

its only a penalty, ade

yoyo 1: madrid 0 ... now, how about 35 more when the real business starts.

red gooner?

s'pose the blighters need funds for barry but 18mil? ouch

oh, and we lost

0-1 to juve, juve ,juve ... offside!!! where's wengker when you need him?
the babies looked quite good though.

the yoyo from togo

here
here
and here

all you need is one drop of yeast and fermentation will begin. he'll be a bad influence, mark my words

ribs and a neb on saturday

at a rib joint. barbequed, braised ... etc., brutal meal it was.

washed down with a ceretto barbaresco asij 2001 (their basic one, consistent and cost effective)
garnet; raisins, dark berries, coffee (?), cedar, tar; ripe plum, berries, raisins tar/menthol on the palate; still a little tannic (but fine) with lots of refreshing acid; balanced enough i guess, slight bitterness at the finish; medium bodied; longish. BANG!

recharge

had a lousy week at work, so friday afternoon couldn't come too soon. usual place and company.
1)chapoutier gigondas 2005 (gsm + other bits)

cherry/ ruby; cherry, plum, herb (?) and a bit of smoke on the nose; jammy plum and cherry, spice (hint of star anise?) on the palate with a minerally/stoney kind of finish; grippy tannins and refreshing acidity (made me hungry); not long (fruit disappears before arriving at the back with only the tannins and acid hanging around ... but not unpleasent); medium bodied. POP!

2)alex gambal nuit saint georges 1998

thought a base model with some age might be nice. with my losing streak in burgundies rolling, this was a gambal .... lost again. who let the dogs out ... woof, woof, woof woof ...; decanting and prayer failed; light cherry; get past the fur ... raspberry, cherry: could not get anything on the palate, no fruit only tannins and acid (tart, man); not long (thank god); light bodied; nuff said. FIZZLE!

update: on his site alex says:
1998 nuits st. georges – primarily from old vines on the vosne side of nuits; aux lavières and au bas du combe. a bit more red fruits in nuits in 1998; very ripe raspberries with smooth tannins. 100 cases made,

i wish .....

3) sette ponti oreno 2004 [it was either this or another tuscan... antinori's guado al tasso...chose this, fewer syllables] sangiovese:cab sav:merlot ... 2:1:1;

dark cherry; plum, blackcurrant, hint of coffee and vanilla, woody: loads of fruit, ripe plum, dark berries, wood, acid and very fine tannins to balance; lush, rich and creamy mouthfeel; medium/big bodied; long; its odd that the mountain of oak did not really bug me this time; not very italian (at least unlike most of the stuff normally drunk); 13.5%; normally dislike oaky stuff but hope to see it again. BANG! (update september: now only just ... price just skyrocketed ... bloody profiteers)

bit of roast pork and lamb chops tagged along.