Had a bottle of the Ridge Three Valleys last night - would be a good choice given your parameters.
how about A scholium project wine - maybe prince in his cave (extended skin contact SB), Babylon (PS) or 1MN (cinsault) for something fun and different. Having said that, the first scholiums I ever encountered and bought were at the Wine Merchant in London.
Bedrock t & s Syrah
Thanx all for the great suggestions and keep em coming. Southern England had its warmest September in 50 years. Finally got some real weather. A bracing day of rain ended summer quite abruptly. Aside from my dinners with Chris and family, I’ve been drinking loads of cider and bitters. Bexhill on Sea, like many English villages, are not ideal for wine buying, but the ales and stouts go on forever.
By the way, ESJ? Not finding it. I’m sure I should know but can’t place.
Edmund St. John
Thanx
Chateau Montelena is definitely the way to go.
+1 on the Ridge Geyserville and Estate Cab. Both the 2013 and 2014 Geyserville’s are excellent. Also, the 2014 Dry Creek Heritage Vines Zinfandel is an exceptional value at $15 or so and easy to find. This is not uniquely California, but the Lagier Meredith Syrah is always good.
Thanks,
Ed
Almost anything Ridge. Geyserville being my first choice. But you could go with their Petite Sirah or Estate Cab, too.
JD
Bingo!
Your friend may mistake it for a claret!
Wonderful wine!
Hi Robert
In case you’re staying for a bit longer, Hailsham Cellars / Wine Direct (in Hailsham) are a very well stocked merchant ~ 10 miles from Bexhill.
Meanwhile, if tasting ciders, does this mean you’ve been to the English Farm Cider centre at Firle? I used to go there ~ 25 years ago, and understand they’ve steadily prospered over the years. As well as over 100 ciders on tasting, they always had a very decent selection of food, including a fine cheese selection.
Finally, if looking for something quirky to do, the modern museum at Seaford, in one of the old coastal defence buildings (Martello towers) was enjoyable. A surprising number of rooms under what just looked like an old stone turret, often eliciting cries of “ha! we had one of those!”
regards
Ian
and FWIW I really enjoyed a 1977 Ch. Montelena, very much appreciating it not being a ‘big is better, biggest is best’ wine.
From what’s been written here (I’ve yet to taste any) I think Edmunds St John wines are also a great suggestion, and unlike Ridge, they aren’t seen around these parts much.
Ian,
I should have asked for suggestions earlier as we are heading home on Tuesday morning. Spent Sunday at Devils Dike watching the the hand gliders before being treated to a great roast lamb dinner by my friends who inspired this topic. Always enjoy the UK but this has been really fun. Coming back next summer and will look into Hailsham cellars.
Hi Robert
Good walking around Devil’s Dyke - and I used to play golf up there as well, generally at stupid o’clock in the morning.
regards
Ian
Funnily, I’d recommend against Ridge because it is pretty ubiquitous in the U.K.
The Sampler ( http://www.thesampler.co.uk/store/ ) carries at least a couple of the wineries suggested above (Bedrock and Scholium). Maybe consider them if you want to avoid international shipping.
Good luck!
For $40 and under?
I’m in the Scherrer Old & Mature Vines Zinfandel camp, an Edmunds St. John Syrah,
I think a Turley would not be appreciated by someone who has been reared on Old World wines. Edmunds St. John for the Rhones, maybe Littorai or Copain single vineyard bottlings if they like pinots. The Ridge Estate Cab is another good suggestion.
I was thinking the same thing, assuming you’re referring to the zins. They were on the shelves of the small shop near me in Hampstead in 1999 when I moved there.
Their standard Cab hovers around $40 at Total Wine, if I remember correctly. Add some coupons and you are good to go.
On the white side of things, Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay is still coming in at just about $0.01 below $40.00:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/arcadian+sleepy+hollow+chardonnay/
For a Cabernet-based wine, look to Powers & the Champoux Vineyard - either the Reserve Cabernet or the Red Blend:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/powers+champoux/
http://www.badgermtnvineyard.com/powers/powers_wines.html
For bubblies, I’d look at Laetitia, and send them a Brut Rose:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/laetitia+brut+rose
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And for AFWE, I’d sample Jim Cowan’s wines, and maybe send them something ORANGE:
For a CA sampler, I’d go with the most “Californian” wines i can think of:
Cab: Smith Madrone ($45 range), Freemark Abbey, Obsidian Ridge.
Zin: Ridge Geyserville, or better yet, pick your favorite North Coast Carlisle or Bedrock.
Central Coast Syrah: Jaffurs Thompson or SBC, Melville Verna’s, Stolpman Originals, or for a big example Alban Patrina ($45-50).
Bonus pick: CA Chardonnay: Patz and Hall or Chateau Montelena
So I have picked out my three bottles. A 2007Le Cigare Volante from Boony Doon, a 2014 Juvenile Zinfandel from Turley and a 2013 Familiar Mourvedre from Dirty and Rowdy. I’ll likely pay extra for weight of that Turley bottle, those babies are heavy