The Wine Society held ‘A World of Fine Wine’ tasting in The Crypt of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. As usual this walkabout tasting was well attended and there were some very nice wines on show.
Here are some my personal favourites on the night.
Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV. A delightful champagne, with lemon, red fruits and a toasty biscuit. A nice mousse and quite full bodied with a lingering lemon and biscuit finish. Very drinkable!
Fefiñanes Albariño. Rias Baixas. 2017. The nose is stone fruit, peach and apricot with lemony citrus. The palate is medium bodied with lovely balance. Refreshing. Very nice.
Sandhi. Santa Rita hills. Chardonnay.2014. This is delicate and well balanced chardonnay. Lemon rules here along with a hint of toast and a great lingering finish. A great chardonnay.
Ockfener Brockstein. Riesling. Spälese. Zilliken. 2003 Rich and powerful with acidity to balance and the fruit shines through, stone fruit with a touch of honey and orange. A wine of real class.
Domaine de Bellene. Nuits-Saint-Georges. Vieilles Vignes. 2012. Red berry fruit, cherry and an earthy core make this a very enticing wine indeed. The palate is medium bodied with some lovely savoury red fruits and a slight sweetness. Well balanced and drinking so well. Excellent.
Miles Mossop. Max. Stellenbosch. 2014. The nose is a little closed with hints of black fruits and plummy spice. The palate is much more expressive, with nice balance and structure. Very approachable and very drinkable. Great value for money.
Cairanne. Haut Coustias. Domaine de L’Oratoire Saint Martin 2015. A big, intense nose of red fruit, cherry, clove and dried herbs. The palate is full and rich with red fruits and a savoury, peppery finish. This is excellent.
It has two cathedrals. The Anglican Cathedral is separated from the Metropolitan Cathedral by the length of Hope Street. You could almost believe that it was planned that way, but it unfortunately wasn’t.
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
The Anglican Cathedral took 74 years to complete from when building began in 1904 and when you visit you can begin to understand why, its enormous. The Metropolitan Cathedral opened in 1967 and took a mere five years to build although there had been plans to build a Catholic cathedral in the city for many years. A previous attempt was abandoned in 1958 because of spiralling costs but the crypt still remains and has access from Brownlow Hill.
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
The whole area around the cathedrals is well worth exploring. You can read about it here
2. It is the home of the Beatles. All four Beatles were natives of the city and performed many times in local venues before they became well known. The most famous of which is The Cavern Club on Mathew Street, although it is not the original building its a pretty close recreation and is well worth a visit.
There is so much that you can do in the city which is Beatle related, from The Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock to tours out into the suburbs to see their childhood homes and locations such as Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. If you are in the city before 22nd April 2019 you can also visit the John and Yoko Double Fantasy exhibition at The Museum of Liverpool which is a must see for all Beatles fans.
For information about Beatle related locations in the city you can read an article here
For details about the Double Fantasy exhibition you can read an article here
3. It has the Three Graces. The Three Graces together make the iconic Liverpool skyline at the Pier Head. Consisting of The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building they were granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2004.
The Royal Liver Building opened in 1911 and its design was influenced by buildings in Chicago. Two Liver Birds sit atop, one is looking out to sea, the other faces the city. It is said that if the Liver Birds were to leave, the city would fall!
The Royal Liver Building
The Cunard Building built between 1914 and 1918 and was the headquarters of The Cunard shipping line. At the start of the twentieth century Liverpool was the point of arrival and departure of numerous passenger ships and the building would have been a hive of activity.
The Cunard Building
The Port of Liverpool Building was the home of The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board when the city was one of the largest ports in the world.
The Port of Liverpool Building
Several years ago there were plans to create a fourth Grace, it was to resemble a cloud, but spiralling costs meant that the project was shelved.
4. The Royal Albert Dock. The Albert Dock is a waterfront warehouse complex built in 1846 at the time when Liverpool was a great trading port. It was the first building of its type not to use timber as part of its construction. It was therefore fireproof compared with similar dock warehouses. It was damaged by bombing in the Liverpool Blitz of 1941 and eventually closed in the early 1970s, quickly falling into a state of disrepair.
Regeneration in the early 80s saw the Albert Dock rise again and it quickly became a top tourist attraction in the city. In many ways the birth of Liverpool as a tourist destination began with the Albert Dock and the nearby Festival Gardens. Today the Dock is multi use with shops, restaurants and bars. It is also home to three excellent museums; The Beatles Story, The Maritime Museum and Tate Liverpool. The Albert Dock was granted Royal status in 2018.
5. Museums. If museums are your thing then Liverpool is the place for you as it caters for all ages and interests. William Brown Street is home to The Walker Art Gallery and The World Museum. The architecture here is well worth a visit in its own right.
Down at the waterfront there are a whole range of options with; Museum of Liverpool, Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, The Beatles Story, British Music Experience and Tate Liverpool. If you are able to move further out to the suburbs and beyond a whole new range opens up including the childhood homes of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
After a break over the summer it’s back to Bunch Wine Bar in Liverpool for a tasting of wines specially chosen by co-owner Lara in honour of her birthday.
A wet and rather wild night in Liverpool marked the start of autumn and many could be forgiven for having a night in front of the television. As usual the tasting was held downstairs and there were no spare places as far as I could tell. As usual the wines were well chosen and served at an appropriate temperature. There is always something interesting to try at these tastings which is why I enjoy them so much. The surroundings are ideal for a small, intimate tasting where all are free to contribute questions or comments if they so desire. Â These tastings are fun which is exactly what drinking wine should be.
Ortega. Tillingham. Peasmarsh, East Sussex. 2017Â – Made from 100% Ortega, a grape variety well suited to the English climate as it is quite hardy and not as susceptible to frost damage as some other varieties. As with many natural wines, production is quite small with only 1000 bottles made in 2017. Barrel fermented, no fining or filtration and only low sulphur dioxide levels ensure that the purity of the fruit is preserved in this lovely, very drinkable wine. The aroma is intense, grapey, elderflower and florals. The palate is dry and the acidity is quite high but is balanced by lovely stone fruits. The texture is quite creamy and there is a touch of spice on the finish.
Fist of Fancy. Chardonnay. Kyle Dunn. Swartland. South Africa. 2016 – I was unsure about this wine at first but with plenty of aeration it opened out to be a very nice wine indeed and great value for money. Lemon citrus and a smokey minerality are key here along with a hint of biscuity vanilla. Shows lovely balance and a great chardonnay for all those that don’t like chardonnay!
El Bandito Testalonga. Swartland. South Africa. 2016Â – made from 100% Chenin Blanc which has had 10 day skin contact to produce an orange wine that shows just how subtle this style of wine can be. There are oranges, stone fruit and some light caramel here. The wine is dry with a nice finish. A wine for food, very nice.
Baby Bandito. Follow Your Dreams. (Magnum). Testalonga. Swartland. South Africa. 2017Â – Made from 100% Carignan. A wine for everyone to drink when they need reminding what life is all about! Nose of red fruits and a touch of wild herbs. The palate is dry, red berry fruits, cherry, some cola and an olive savouriness. A well made wine that is worthy of some serious attention.
Chatrons de Garde. Andrea Calek. Ardèche. France. 2014. – the back story of Andrea Calek makes for interesting reading and his wines make for some interesting drinking if this example is anything to go by. Aromas of dark berry fruits, cola, liquorice and a touch of farmyard! There is some real character here. The palate is dry and the dark fruits are smokey, there is a touch of pepper but it is very subtle. Tannins are a little dry. A great food wine but having said that I enjoyed it on its own.
