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The curious drinker

@the_curious_drinker

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🇪🇺🇮🇹🇬🇧
Enthusiastic drinker.
AIS 1 lev🧐
Between past and present.
Drink less, drink better, one sip at a time🍷
Devoted husband of @fedetheclumsychef

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They say that when you are in good company, wine may not be so important: I disagree with that. It is especially when you are in good company, perhaps celebrating an old friend, that you indeed need a good sip.

I've had many good ones during this night, some from well known producers, but the surprise was this! A very tiny producer, Mariotti, has made the two bottles you see here, and there's potential! Acanto is the winner tonight, Merlot and Montepulciano, the intense nose of cherry is the same you find in your palate, round and bold. 🍷

My word of advice, make sure to lower that alcohol otherwise I will never going to have another glass... but you are working in the right direction!

And, most importantly, have a wonderful life ahead, Lucia & Roberto! 👰🤵
Friends' happiness is my happiness!

Cheers! taken in Da Matteo Osteria Ristorante Montemaggiore by @the_curious_drinker

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4 years ago

Happy Birthday to me! 🥂😎🎉🎂
Thank you @helenaiabo & @moby_play for the thoughtful present! ❤️🍷
And thank you for the fantastic and delicious picnic set up from my lovely @fedetheclumsychef ❤️❤️❤️ taken in Richmond Park by @the_curious_drinker

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4 years ago

You'll never stop learning, and practice is the key! Even though I'm certainly not a professional, there's nothing more fun than testing yourself and being ready for the biggest of the failures! 😂
Thanks for this clever idea by @blindfaithwine
: 3 wines, same region. The long weekend made me realise that I have tasted so many amazing glasses, and some of them were blind tests and challenged @fedetheclumsychef 's palate. Obviously, improvements have to be made... 🤦
This was dated back to February so it shouldn't be a spoiler anymore by now! 😎 The task was to find out the region common to all three wines and I went immediately off piste way too South than it had to be, although the nose and palate could direct me to the most obvious Alsace 🇫🇷: no.7 was a nice creamy Riesling Cave de Turckheim, full of aromas of apple and honey; no.8 was an excellent Pinot Noir Charles Sparr, with this background of tobacco that sustained the more typical aromas of cherries and strawberries paired with hints of vanilla; no.9 was a late harvest Gewürztraminer, René Muré, such a golden yellow promise of sweet aromas of honey and apricot and dates, well balanced: loved it.
"Stay thirsty, stay foolish" 😂🍷
Photo by @fedetheclumsychef by @the_curious_drinker

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4 years ago

I haven't been here for a while I see, so much backlog to clear and so many amazing sips I haven't been able to tell you, but just bear with me, you'll know everything about it soon!
Speaking of which, I decided to pop in for what was sold as a wine and cheese tasting for employees so, regardless of attendance, I RSVPed immediately, I don't think I've waited more than a few seconds to! 😎
I was really looking forward to it, a wine tasting in person - after all this time - warmed my heart. Very curious how it would have been and I must give credit to the organizers, it was really fun! 🥂
The format consisted of 12 wines - 4 sparkling, 4 white and 4 red - for 6 cheeses.
And, I should add, some interesting drinks around. 🍷
Notable presences included:
- Gran Cru Champagne "Gatinois, Brut Tradition", light pink due to contact with Pinot Noir's skin with a lovely and fine bubble and a nice bouquet of aromas; 🇫🇷
- "Two Paddocks, Pinot Noir 2019", New Zealand's Central Otago, excellent example of out-of-France French style Pinot Noir, spicy and round, fresh but an interesting body and finish I wasn't expecting; 🇳🇿
- "Il Colle, Brunello di Montalcino 2016", do I really have to comment on that? Of course I have, plenty of red fruits and oak-y notes with elegant tannins; 🇮🇹
- "Château Berliquet, Saint-Émilion Gran Cru Classé 2014", nice Merlot, smooth with black fruits in the glass, vanilla and smoky aromas. 🇫🇷
Kind of missing the whites, or maybe because I pretty much knew all of them, nice but sort of forgettable to me.

All in all, a very well done event where I met some nice people too! Please do another one soon! 😂

Note: nice cheeses too, the mouse that lives in me has been very happy indeed! 🧀 taken in Milton Gateway by @the_curious_drinker

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4 years ago

Discovering means often getting out from the comfort zone, trying something you are not used to try and keep an open mind. It's not always easy as prejudices may play a big part of the experience and can spoil the enjoyment.
With this spirit I'm driving off safe paths here: a grape that I am starting to fully experience and appreciate in the last few years, and a region I know very little about. 🇩🇪
So here I am opening up a German Pinot Noir (or Spätburgunder, for the German speakers out there), Herrenstück 2018.
First thing I noticed is that brilliant light red, more like a grape juice than a wine. The nose reveals in fact strawberries, raspberries, light herbs, wet woodland, mushrooms perhaps. It's dry with light body and high acidity, nice because very easy to drink.
An overall enjoyable drinking experience. 🍷 by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

Getting lost in the City and found yourself again. Wandering around may take you off your quicker path but can be rewarding if you are open to discoveries! 🕵️
Of all the things I do in my spare time, this is one that I neglected the most (for obvious reasons) in the last two years. What a joy to re-emerge and to find new favourite places to go like Berry Bro's & Rudd, apparently in the same shop since 1698!
And if you're asking how is this Chateau Grand Mayne, you may want to wait until I taste it later today! 🍷
#winelover #wineenthusiast #wineanddine #winemerchants #myfrencheducation #bordeaux #merlot #cebernetfranc #cabernetsauvignon #grancruclasse #santemilion #instawine #winestagram taken in Berry Bros. & Rudd by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

Lovely December morning with a bubble. What was the bubble? I don't know, I haven't even asked to be honest because that wasn't the purpose of it. 🥂
Drinking is not always fancy labels and green apple aromas, in fact, it may well have been a low cost supermarket prosecco as far as I know. Nevertheless, that was one of the most rewarding glass I've had in a long time and what made it so special was the company and the location: it's accurate to say I'm a world lover but there's no place like home. 🇮🇹
I've enjoyed it very much! taken in Anzio, Italy by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

There’s something magic that happens when you are on holiday.
You are relaxed, all the stress of the everyday life seems so far away and you are just sitting, enjoying any minute of it: the company, the location, the food and the wine and everything coming with them. Your mind is more likely to focus on pleasure than it would be otherwise.
I think that that was the experience I had: cooking some juicy meat on the BBQ on a Devon countryside. 🥩🏕

So here I am, facing one of my latest additions from @thewinesociety1874, Château de la Commanderie - Lalande-de-Pomerol 2016, coming from that lovely piece of land that is Bordeaux, on the right bank and Merlot as main actor. 🍇

The nose is full aromas of dark fruits and plum and vanilla and that oaky note coming from the wood. It is warm at the palate, round and packed of red fruits with a good finish and balanced tannins. 🍷

Ah, how delightful being on holiday! And what a lovely bottle of Lalande de Pomerol!
📸 by @fedetheclumsychef taken in Lower Keats Glamping by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

Lovely to be back in a restaurant I love for a belated birthday dinner with loved ones. Service and food didn't come short of our expectations once again @latrompettechiswick and in a very covid safe and well ventilated environment, which is definitely a plus for me. 👍
This was my choice for the night and I didn't regret it. 🍷
There is some bias in my judgement but Nebbiolo is one of my (many) weakness so here it goes. As its medium body was better match for an overall meal without strong tastes in it, that Vajra was excellent.
I love it's colour, so vivid yet gentle, and I love the nose: strange that I first get black pepper and licorice even before cherry and blackberry that comes right after with so many little hints of red fruits, a good finish and a happy birthday to me! 🎉🎂🍷🍇 taken in La Trompette, Chiswick by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

I can tell that I’ve been blessed with love and joy, the people and the affection never fall short and it still keeping me grateful every day.
As I turn 42 I can’t stop thinking how lucky I am: although I should be the one to celebrate, I feel the need to thank everyone who made every single day of those 42 years something to remember.
So, cheers to you, @fedetheclumsychef and everyone who made my life so special. taken in Acton W3 by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

Don’t know if - unconsciously - it reminds me of of my early life in Verona and but I’ve always had a soft spot for Amarone. 🇮🇹 Most of you may recognise that part of the world thanks to The Bard and some piece of literature played in it, I do fondly remember it for the kindergarten and the first steps as a human being, a very quiet little skinny boy whose his entire world was confined in no more than few miles squared: funny how things and horizons change overtime.
Obviously I knew Tommasi products very well and enjoyed them time and time again but every time it’s a great pleasure!
You can feel dried fruits, and ripe fruits, blackberries and plums and cherry flavours and on the palate can be felt oaky notes, leather, black pepper, all so very balanced!
Alcohol is quite something but you don’t feel like it, medium/full bodied with appealing tannins and delicious and respectable finish.
Here a piece of advice: let it decant properly, like all the good things it takes time to show its true self! 🍷
📸 @fedetheclumsychef taken in Acton W3 by @the_curious_drinker

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5 years ago

It’s been awhile since I last posted here, life sometimes takes away all the time and you need to trim the essential leaving the rest.
And it is what I did, work and family takes most of the day but I am not sacrificing some relax time and the few excellent wines I have tried in between. 🍷
The book is particularly dear to me as my uncle wrote it and it is a remarkable story of a beauty spot in my motherland - not recognised enough and in fact defaced by the latest blind development of the area - with nature and man living together for a balanced ecosystem that it shouldn’t be missed. Franco Barbadoro - “Le radici del Monte Catria” Storie di piante e uomini 📖
The drink is as remarkable: an exquisite Californian Chardonnay from the Roost Blue Heron Vineyards in Mendocino County - yet again another to-visit place on my list - that battles fiercely with the more rated French counterparts without being really defeated. 🇺🇸
The lovely dark yellow catches your eyes immediately, the nose is full of honey and apricot and white flowers, so fresh and Spring-like before revealing notes of vanilla and oak under the cover. Round with well balanced acidity, very elegant with its medium body. It was a real delight, not only with some rich fish, but also great alone with a good reading and some of your favourite tunes. 🎼🎹🎺🎷🍷 taken in Acton W3 by @the_curious_drinker

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