Friday 9th October saw a full house in the old cellars underneath the corner shop. Tim did a superb hosting job, talking us through the wines and offering various hidden secrets of Champagne, including the startlingly brilliant idea that recent studies have strongly suggested that Champagne is the answer to Alzheimer’s, I’m sold on that one. I can’t remember what … Read More
Compass Box This Is Not a Luxury Whisky / Flaming Heart 15th Anniversary
What could be better than a new Compass Box release? Two Compass Box releases…! When these samples turned up on my desk I was really quite excited, knowing these purveyors of premium blended whiskies always pull out all the stops when bringing new bottlings to the table Kicking things off with Compass Box ‘This Is Not a Luxury Whisky’, is … Read More
Bollinger Spectre Limited Edition At Nickolls and Perks
By Rhiannon Gardener The eagerly awaited release of the new James Bond film ‘Spectre’ is within touching distance, a film series that we here at N&P thoroughly enjoy. Along with the film, each time we are keen to discover what champagne gems Bollinger will offer up, as their long-term partnership with Bond seems as strong as ever. The association began … Read More
Another great night with MP and the boys at HDV
The Taittinger Comtes 2000 from a limited edition anniversary bottling celebrating 800 years of Reims’ Cathedral, was a bit of a surprise for me, seeming more youthful than the previous tasting of this excellent Blanc de Blancs. It’s character was not lost mind on the boys, MP picking up on the baby sick and Dave hedging for the smoky woody … Read More
Midlands Whisky Festival – September 2015
Another Midlands Whisky festival has been and gone and boy was it a big one! This September we saw more whisky enthusiasts than ever before to find new distilleries, whisky brands and new bottlings. As it’s that time of year when the distilleries release their new bottlings we were fortunate to be the first to show some of these, such … Read More
2005 Bordeaux Vintage review by Robert Parker
By Will Gardener Robert Parker may not be overseeing the assessment of Bordeaux Primeurs these days but his influence over the Bordeaux marketplace seems relatively undiminished. I am not surprised that the fresh look at this great vintage caused a stir, but I am surprised at the way in which its findings were leaked pre-release of the internet publication of … Read More
An evening at Chateau Margaux
By Will Gardener On Tuesday last week I was among the privileged few to be invited to a celebration and inaugural viewing of the new facilities at Chateau Margaux. Designed by Norman Foster, the new Chais with high tech laboratory and wine library boasting 800,000 bottles, is a triumph and one … Read More
Feis Ile 2015
By Jerome Gardener If you’ve been keeping an eye on our Twitter recently you may have noticed we’ve been over to Feis Ile, Islay’s annual festival of music and whisky, in Scotland. Each distillery have their own day upon which they celebrate the festival with plenty of drams, the freshest sea food you could wish for, and great music. What … Read More
Living it up in Leicestershire
Nine of us sat down in rural Leicestershire for an excellent gastronomic evening, with Michelin Starred Chef Sean Hope of the Olive Branch in Clipsham, drafted in to provide the fare to match no less than fourteen admirable bottles. Bollinger Grande Annee 2002, which gets better and better, was a perfect aperitif to kick off this warm May evening’s proceedings, and it was not … Read More
May Malt of the Month
Springbank distillery is located near Campbeltown, mainland Great Britain’s most Westerly town. One of only three active distilleries in the region, Springbank is one of only two distilleries in Scotland to perform every step in the whisky making process, from malting the barley to bottling the spirit, on the same premises. Our Malt of the Month is the two-and-a-half times … Read More